Hotels camps are they safe for travelers

The global economic slowdown is the defeat of the business trip, when it hurts: A new survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), more than 70 percent of American travel managers plan to spend less on corporate travel in 2009. These results represent a dramatic shift from earlier ACTE survey (September 2008), which found that only 33 percent of U.S. travel managers in planning trips has spent a year.

Despite the fact that the ACTE survey may focus on the United States, the problems faced by buyers of travel and travel managers in all sectors of our planet. From the reduction of travel to tighten policy in the travel, and review with the suppliers to adjust the travel behavior, trip participants will travel rapidly and cost containment.

The silver lining in financial storm clouds, said Cathy Jackson, executive vice president.

History shows:

* Travel buyers and managers are now able to make changes that were not possible in the past,

* The new role of managers in the understanding and support for business customers drivers

* Changes to travel policies, procedures for approval of a road leading machinery cost conscious companies

* Demand management and online technology, are key supports

Global Customer Management at BCD Travel is that the economy is favorable travel buyers and their teams to change that, frankly, has never achieved in the past.

The problem, adds Jackson, to save on travel costs, without prejudice to the business challenges: "As difficult as it can predict the recession will not last forever. Companies will have to emerge from recession with growth plans and solid business relationships in place and travel is important element in supporting the growth and retention initiatives. "

Terry Miller, senior vice president of global customer management in the Americas for BCD Travel, sees great opportunities for travel management company account managers in the current situation: "Account managers need a deep understanding of client business drivers, so that they can anticipate and added value, rather than react. For example, if a customer closes factories in three countries, our account manager will explain how travel patterns will be shifted as a result, illustrating that the impact that might have on your contract and submit a plan of optimizing the potential exposure. "

What steps BCD Travel for corporate clients are taking to combat the economic downturn?

Companies need to look beyond the big ticket items, said Jackson, and adjusting the filter through every part of the trip. "This may be a temptation to focus solely on airfare costs, but for some programs, the air can be made only to the extent of 20 per cent of the total number of T and E expenses. Our managers, often with the support of an advisory engagement with Advito [independent consulting affiliate of BCD Travel] help our clients to focus on the total cost of travel, including hotels, ground transportation, and even a restaurant costs. "

A list of some decisions in which BCD Travel supports its customers recession travel management strategy below.

On the choices and decisions made are great opportunities for companies to make a lasting beneficial changes in their travel programs, Jackson said: "As with any diet, success is incumbent on making changes in lifestyle, rather than the 30-day regime of a miracle . "

Changes to travel policies

Rising costs of corporate consciousness is manifested primarily in the elaboration and adoption of more stringent travel policies. Among the elements of the overall costs BCD Travel is seeing: the transition from business class to coach class (options include mandatory coach class for all travelers, regardless of hierarchical level and the expansion of business-class flight-time threshold); down multilevel hotels (eg, three stars instead of four stars), the mandatory use of public transport rather than taxis, but also to maintain frequent flyer miles for business travel, rather than personal visits.

BCD Travel also seen an increase in the use of rail transport and low-cost carriers in EMEA, said Felix Vezjak, senior vice president of Global Customer Management in EMEA: "Companies are more likely to accept the fact that earlier saw the discomfort (eg, secondary airports ), in exchange for savings. However, particularly in the case of low-cost carriers, companies need to ensure that travelers have always preferred to use the booking channels (on-line tools, and agency) of choice to ensure adequate information and security, tracking.

For further suggestions to clarify and ensure travel policy, see our February 2009 paper "Building on the line." Changes in the approval process travel

Whether it is instituting a formal approval process, which could not exist, or - as is more common - to make existing processes more restrictive, this cost reduction method is winning widespread among BCD support for corporate clients, travel is easy to "quick victory".

In a concerted effort to reduce travel costs, one of BCD Travel global customers, which number more than US $ 450 million in annual travel costs and more than 325,000 employees worldwide, have changed their travel approval process is a radically to include the following:

# No travel without the permission of the Vice-President in one trip basis (<150 DP in the company)

# Not the last-minute trips (up to seven days advance purchase), unless approved by the executive vice-president (<15 EVPs in the company)

Demand management (reduction in travel or travel freeze)

More and more companies today to demand management as one of the biggest opportunities that they need to control or reduce costs without compromising their overall business goals and requirements.

Among possible measures, companies can take to reduce the demand for travel:

# Eliminate all non-client-related travel

# The moratorium on the participation of industry conventions and conferences

A BCD Travel client refers to the internal meetings, as the "mother of all visits, and performs the following ways to reduce the travel they generate:

# Priority of video / Web-conferences for internal meetings

# Reduce the number of participants in the meeting (all members must be on the agenda)

# Require meetings to be scheduled visit to the neighborhood, not vice versa

# Eliminate the hotel the night before and after the meeting

# Choose a venue based on the total costs, including employee travel and spend time

Travel management company the quality of education and human resources

BCD Travel has played an important role for a number of large clients, helping to educate visitors and organizers of tours for a number of issues in order to increase their ability to support companies saving initiatives. For some clients, BCD Travel account management seminar provides classes for travel bookers; for others, the company created a "Tips and Tricks" document to economically heeled travel, which customers made available to all travelers.

Some customers have also had to cope with the reduction of internal, resulting in the loss of key staff travel. In one recent case, after the departure of the head of travel, BCD Travel has been able to allocate resources to this role. Account Manager also supports the client through the analysis to predict a further reduction in personnel in front-line adoption drive. These staff reductions were recorded in the budget for 2009.

Increased use of the on-line

In order to save on operating costs and improve processes, companies more and more mandates that all local or point-to-point travel to be booked online. Online tools can also play an important role in supporting changes in policy, and travel to the traveler behavior, Miller said : "Companies can change the order of instruments on the need for travelers to request travel or offer alternatives before proceeding with the order."

Consolidation Program

Finally, Jackson said, the economic downturn may represent a significant "carrot" for companies that are looking to strengthen their tourism services on a regional or global level: "The consolidation of multiple services, multinational service center, for example, can represent significant savings in resources and costs process. Nevertheless, the company must be confident that their organization is ready to fully support the consolidation, in order to fully realize the advantages. This means that asking questions like, 'We have a consistent policy travel to a place which covers the market participation? There are language difficulties, which will be borne by the service center? "