Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Know business travel operational
practices
SECTION 2
Business travel agencies differ in the way that they
manage their operational practices and business
systems. This is infl uenced by a number of factors,
such as whether the agency is an independent or part
of a larger organisation, how many people it employs
and the type of IT/GDS systems used in the company.
Whatever working practices and business systems
ar
e
used, the key requirement is to provide client
s
an
d
their companies with an effi cient and effectiv
e
service
that delivers cost savings.
•
Credit arrangemen
t
s for travel payments - business
travel is gene
r
all
y
offered on a credit account basis,
with the a
g
ency making the travel arrangements
settin
g
up credit terms with its business clients.
Smaller businesses may well pay for their travel
arrangements by business credit or debit card;
•
The need to be able to make reservations or
changes to bookings at short notice - travel agents
making arrangements for businesses must be able
to respond quickly to clients' needs, which may
change quickly due to unforeseen circumstances
such as a cancelled conference or hastily-arranged
meeting;
Working practices in business
travel
•
Making bookings out of normal offi ce hours - in
today's global 24-hour society businesses expect
to be able to make their travel arrangements out
of normal offi ce hours. Business travel agents are
responding by extending their offi ce hours and/
or allocating specifi c members of staff to handle
out-of-hours enquiries. The use of internet-based
systems is also offering 24/7 access to clients;
These focus on proce
d
ures and documentation for selling
products and services, global distribution systems (GDS),
commission levels, sales targets, cost saving techniques,
promotional schemes, service level agreements and
working to the company and passenger profi le.
Bef
o
re we investigate the fi rst of these - procedures
a
n
d documentation for selling products and services - it
is important to highlight some of the key characteristics
of the business travel industry and how these affect
operational practices, for example:
•
The particular needs of business travellers - people
travelling on business look for speed, convenience,
fl exibility and quality when choosing their travel
suppliers. Today, there are far more women travelling
on business than in the past, meaning that travel
companies must strive to meet their particular need
for safety and security;
•
The importance placed on price, value for money
and effective use of time - as we saw earlier in
this unit, business travel can be 'high value' travel,
since business people often have to make journeys
at short notice and generally use high quality
accommodation. However, this does not mean
that they are not concerned about the prices they
pay for travel. Just like leisure travellers, business
people expect to get good value for money when
they travel. Organisations that have a large budget
for business travel can negotiate better rates for
accommodation and travel when compared to
companies with small travel budgets. Many business
travellers are prepared to pay extra for travel if the
arrangements mean that they can make better use
of their scarce time;
•
Type and class of travel and accommodation
- business people tend to use higher quality
accommodation and upgraded travel, particularly
when entertaining important clients. However,
there is an important sector of the business travel
market that uses budget hotel accommodation and
the low-cost airlines in order to keep travel and
accommodation costs to a minimum;
•
Management information reports - large business
travel management companies, such as HRG,
Thomas Cook, American Express and Carlson
