Corporate Travel in the Modern World: A Balancing Act
Posted by elaineadmin on Aug. 2, 2016 / Subscribe 0
Lisa Atchison, winner of one of three Scholarships awarded by BABTA talks about her experiences at the 2016 GBTA Convention . . .
After some technical difficulties and delays at OAK, I finally got into Denver late Saturday eve and grabbed a Lyft to the hotel where I had a quick bite to eat before heading to my room where I continued to study for the GTP exam I was scheduled to take early the next AM.
After a much needed night’s sleep it was up and at ’em Sunday morning. Over breakfast I spent a few more moments preparing for the exam that had been described to me in a series of juxtapositions . . . tricky, easy, difficult, common sense? So it was with some trepidation that I headed to the convention center. Not sure what to expect, I began the exam and, lo and behold, found it to be on the common sense end of the scale, or maybe I was tricked? I guess I’ll find out in about six weeks.
Back to the hotel for some exercise and relaxation before the Emirates dinner at the Denver Art Museum. Before I go into that, here is a description of what was conveyed to me as a spectacular opening reception by Brett Howard . . . . Take it away, Brett!
“GBTA really pulled out all the stops for this year’s opening reception at Sports Authority Field, known by most as Mile High Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos. The event took place right on the field with food trucks and stations generously positioned throughout, offering something for everyone, from pulled pork sandwiches and burgers, to soft pretzels and ice cream, topped off perfectly with multiple open bars. From an entertainment standpoint, the event was complete with a live cover band to keep everyone dancing, the Denver Broncos cheerleaders, and a 20 foot tall blow up rock climbing wall. As if this wasn’t enough, after a short announcement from the band, they reverted everyone’s attention to the sky as 3 skydivers were closing in, landing perfectly in the designated landing zone in the back end zone. All in all, it was a great event to get all GBTA attendees, buyers and suppliers alike, excited for the week ahead!”
Back to the Denver Art Museum . . . . It came as no surprise that Emirates put on a top notch event, with great food, drink, and ambiance. After drinks and museum browsing with Curt Mattos and Sarita Evans, I headed to the table that I shared with several direct members as well as the illustrious JJ Catanzarita, who has worked with Emirates for as long as I’ve been managing travel on the direct side, a rarity in the travel industry, to be sure! After some work and personal story sharing with the folks at my table, I made a quick pit stop at the Direct Travel party, then headed back to the hotel to get some much needed R & R before my 7:30am Think Global, Act Local session Monday morning.
And so it was at my first education session on Monday morning that I heard a theme that would be repeated throughout the event, a theme that I believe resonates with many mature travel managers in the industry . . . create a balanced program that considers not only cost but traveler satisfaction as well. The speakers were all seasoned industry veterans who imparted simple yet profound wisdom . . . create global strategies with local legal and cultural considerations, provide thoughtful, responsible multi-country solutions, streamline processes and minimize suppliers . . . but most importantly build a program that takes the traveler into mind. It was then that I came to realize the pendulum was swinging back in the other direction, away from heavy procurement and back towards a middle ground where cost and the traveler experience are considered over pure numbers on a spreadsheet. To quote one of the speakers, “Prioritize service over REASONABLE costs.” This would not be the first time the word reasonable in terms of cost and discounts in concert with the traveler experience would be referenced.
Second up, Closing the Gap between Traditional Travel Programs and Today’s New Challenges. I must have missed something here because there didn’t seem to be a solution offered for closing the gap, but rather an assertion that the gap, regardless of what you do, already is or will soon be a reality, so basically abandon up-front policy application, workflow, and competitive fare offering among multiple vendors and be happy with the great back-end data provided by Concur direct connect. While I’m sure progressive Travel Managers such as Dorian Stonie, BTN’s Travel Manager of the Year, have worked on solutions surrounding these gaps, they were not offered up in this session. Further, I’m not sure where an airtight risk management program plays into this; hopefully nobody has to find out the hard way. While I felt inspired and motivated by the first session, this one felt more like a direct connect sales pitch rather than a solution to fill the gap.
I opted to skip Monday’s lunch and keynote speaker because, while I am a fan of Julia Louis Dreyfus, I wasn’t sure what she had to offer aside from entertainment, and I was on a mission to maximize the educational aspects of the convention. Turns out it was a good decision because a/v must have missed the memo about turning the lights on during lunch then off during the presentation. Stories of dining in the dark and of inadvertently stuffing a lime wedge into the mouth were told to me by more than one unfortunate diner.
After my well illuminated lunch at Chipotle, it was back to the hotel for a quick work-out and shower before heading to the trade-show floor. This was one of the only times during the convention I felt I didn’t maintain the balance I had been striving for, as I wound up spending over an hour between two booths. While I appreciate the time and money the vendors spend on GBTA, I vowed to move more efficiently through the trade-show floor after finding that I had little time left to peruse the remaining booths before the floor closed at 6pm, then it was back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
Dinner that evening consisted of a variety of small plates representing cultures from around the world at T & T’s Destination Imagination. Paired with the international plating’s was corresponding entertainment, such as Irish dancers, martial arts experts, and carnival dancers, to name a few. I sat next to a big business travel manager and learned how his global company was handling risk management by pairing the enhanced risk management resale offering through their TMC with a third party solution that included full extraction by retired military personnel around the world. I was particularly intrigued as this sort of robust risk management program has been a dream of mine since the time that I worked for a company whose employees regularly traveled to North Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Concerned about fulfilling our duty of care, I had International SOS come in and present, but their value was not recognized at the time; however, in light of recent current events that sentiment seems to be changing for the betterment of companies and travelers alike. It was great to hear about a program that essentially embodied my dream come to fruition! After the adventurous dinner I was supposed to meet up with some folks at a GBTA staple, the UA party, but, alas, I found myself wilting and opted for the hotel and bed in lieu of a late night, a decision I would be grateful for when my alarm went off the next morning.
A quick coffee and some fruit, then off to the convention center for The Tiger and the Dragon: Expanding Global Travel Programs in India & China. Like Monday morning I was presented with a panel of industry experts who highlighted the importance of understanding these cultures in order to build a viable program in the regions. They started off with an impressive slide that depicts the world with a circle around the APAC region, pointing out that there are more people living inside of APAC than outside of it collectively. The discussions revolved around the three C’s…culture, content, and cost. What are the key cultural differences? These are gift giving cultures that value relationships and deference in the business arena; thus, implementing an OBT can be met with apprehension and resistance. And how do you disseminate content through an OBT when the distribution channels are underdeveloped and fragmented? Is the most optimal solution in these regions with archaic distribution platforms and restrictive regulatory environments a combination of both on-line and off-line offerings? While off-line solutions have been standard in the past due to highly competitive agent transaction fees and content distribution challenges, it would seem that both regions are slowly beginning to embrace on-line booking as an option for business travel by being educated about the value in both dollars and sense. The panel moved from the travel booking process onto payment solutions. As with travel, both regions are traditional where payment is concerned, with invoicing being predominant over corporate card programs, but that too is evolving. Another compelling session which provided a look into the changing landscapes in what are sure to be, despite recent road bumps, hyper growth economies.
One more session for the day, Advanced Airline Sourcing for Strategic Impact, led by Scott Gillespie, a seasoned veteran of travel procurement. He emphasized the move away from tactical sourcing focused purely on discounts regardless of overall impact versus strategic sourcing which focuses on traveler friction and subsequent category impact. By linking business goals, such as increased sales among road warriors, retention, and the ability to fill road warrior positions in a timely manner, the category impact combined with the reasonable discount creates greater savings by affecting both the top and bottom line. He goes on to show evidence that regardless of spend, price gaps on average are static; thus, spend has little relevance on discounts but rather on the ability to move market share, and the profit margins on the tickets you buy are the key drivers behind discount structures. One of my favorite slides referenced CPI’s, or Crappy Performance Indicators. Among those were savings, discount, average ticket price, price per mile, and spend under contract. Why? They tell only half of the story by ignoring other factors such as trip outcome, willingness to travel, retention, sales performance, and overall health & safety. Without looking at the full picture and valuing the real impact on travel budget, you are capturing only a portion of savings through the tactical approach. In short, while negotiating using standard analysis such as FMS/QSI, coverage & overlap, and NESR/WAS is still essential to maximize an overall positive impact, they must be combined with a policy that considers the traveler, especially the road warriors, to have lasting positive effects on travel budgets. Once more the theme of this year’s convention, balance, came to mind. It would seem that travel procurement, along with technology, is evolving.
Off to lunch with the benefit of lighting this time, then next up, Payton Manning. Not being a football fan I wasn’t sure what to expect but found myself pleasantly surprised by his easy-going delivery of inspirational words. Blended in with his motivational story telling was a little strategic humor about Colorado’s recent legalization of recreational marijuana and the positive impact it’s had on Papa John’s Pizza, for whom he is a spokesman, but then it was down to business. He spoke of being a leader through influence and taking control, while relying on first rate teamwork to win. Of having a steadfast vision and scrutinizing situations and people around you to enable you to see things that may not be evident to your competitors or peers. The importance of working in unison toward common goals to defy the odds. Preparing for a wide range of inevitabilities and identifying strengths and weaknesses in your team, and the importance of honest communication with everyone around you, including yourself, to instill faith in your leadership abilities to work toward victory as a team. His message . . . when applied, these words and sentiments can lead to a winning strategy in all facets of life. Amen.
Back to the tradeshow, where I balanced my time between networking and learning while keeping up my pace across the tradeshow floor, then it was back to the hotel to get ready for another fine dining experience.
Dinner Tuesday night was hosted by CTM at The Nickel restaurant in the lobby of the Teatro hotel. After a few Takillya signature drinks I sat down to a mouthwatering meal where I met more industry veterans and began sharing war stories. Regardless of the fact that most of us have had decades in the travel industry, and that we are at an industry event, we never seem to tire of travel talk. I guess it’s in our DNA at this point. Dinner was followed by some dancing at the FCM/Lyft party with some cohorts from the dinner, then a pit stop at the T & T Light Up the Night Event, then, prompted by my aching knee brought on by too much dance, or walk, or both, it was back to the hotel.
Wednesday morning and the last day of the event. I headed to Buyers Only: Creating Your Own Traveler Engagement Roadmap, where I learned about the importance of marketing/branding in your communication strategy with your internal customers and traveling community. This prompted me to reach out to our internal communications team promptly upon my return in the hopes that I am able to send out some company-wide, or strategically selective, communications which aren’t promptly deleted in lieu of reading through bland, tedious Calibri font with bullet points. Nutanix Travel branding is in the works!
From the session it was back to the last lunch and final keynote speaker of the day, Captain Scott Kelly. Like Payton Manning he blended humor and first-hand experience and story-telling to provide an entertaining yet memorable speech. He highlighted the need to challenge yourself by doing hard things, making mistakes, and testing the status quo. He spoke of hard working a goal with a plan and small, manageable steps. Don’t stop making small, constant corrections and adjustments. Treat what you are doing like it’s the most important thing each moment. Then he spoke of a near miss while on the space station he shared with two Russian cosmonauts. While the asteroid missed the station, he put the disaster plan in place for a hit into motion. And so while the worst may not happen, you have to be prepared for it in the event it does, just as our risk management plans to for our corporate travelers. As I listened I pondered how the words of great people reiterate what we already know but that some of us are afraid, or otherwise unable, to follow but must continue to strive for.
And so once more I walked away from a GBTA convention spent but full of inspiration, wisdom, and great memories.
Back at DEN I was reminded how dependent we are on computers when, after running around the terminal frantically, I finally found my Southwest flight back to Oakland at a gate marked “Portland,” and after a 1.5 hr delay on the tarmac as they filled out the paperwork necessary to get clearance for take-off, I headed home. Another GBTA has come and gone and once again I relish the experience, but I am grateful to get home and to my bed!
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