DO YOU REALLY NEED A TRAVEL AGENT

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DO YOU REALLY NEED A TRAVEL AGENT?

• FOUR ENTITIES WITHIN A CORPORATION WHO ARE
  EFFECTED BY
• THE TRAVEL AGENT -
• CORPORATION (as a legal, commercial entity)
• TRAVEL ARRANGER, Could be the PA, Secretary or
  Traveler
• TRAVELLER
• ADMINISTRATION (e.g. Creditors Dept.)

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AT THE SAME TIME THE TRAVEL AGENT IS EFFECTED BY
THE SAME FOUR, HOWEVER THEIR END GOALS ARE
DIFFERENT CORPORATION Aware that travel is a
cost center however wants value for money
therefore each Rand must go further, thereby
maximising the travel budget. TRAVEL AGENT
Aware of corporates requirements, but wants to
make money as much as possible in fact
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CORPORATION

• Point of sale savings
• Adherence to and enforcement of Travel Policy
• Authorisation procedures are followed
• Support of corporate's preferred suppliers
• Traveler safety, peace of mind
• Full service delivery
• MIS Reports
• Exception reporting
• Savings reports correctly benchmarked
• Total satisfaction of Traveler, Travel Arranger
  and Administration

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TRAVEL ARRANGER

• Speedy and accurate confirmation
• Full information and requirements
• Assurance that travelers personal preferences are
  adhered to
• Accurate and timeous document delivery
• Why is this the case -
• In 99 of cases, corporate travel takes place for
  business
• purposes and therefore the travel arranger must
  ensure that
• meetings are scheduled efficiently, maximising
  time and ensuring
• maximum productivity. Before this can be done,
  the first two points
• must be fulfilled. Travel Arrangers are probably
  being measured on this, as part of their
  performance appraisal.

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TRAVELER

• Optimise time spent traveling
• Assurance of accuracy of reservations
• Assurance of accuracy of documentation
• Reassurance that full information has been
  provided pertaining to trip
• Frequent traveler benefits are noted and advised
• Personal preferences are adhered to, i.e.
  seating, meals, etc.
• Emergency Service, reliable and efficient
• Efficient and streamlined processes to ensue the
  least amount of inconvenience
• The traveler is on a business trip to conduct
  business meetings, not to be inconvenienced by
  things that go wrong with their travel
  arrangements

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ADMINISTRATOR

• Accuracy of administration documentation
• Authorisation procedures have been followed
• Timeous delivery of administration documentation
• Timeous and efficient resolution to queries
• Deadline adherence, especially when credit cards
  have to be paid
• Seamless and efficient processes
• The administrator needs to ensure that expenses
  are expensed in the
• same month or allowances are made for those
  expenses in the next
• month. Administrators are measured on
  performance in these areas, and interest charges
  because of late delivery and inaccurate
• documentation will not be received well.

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WHEN YOU RELINQUISH CONTROLTO A THIRD PARTY
(TRAVEL AGENCY/TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY) YOU
NEED THE ASSURANCE THAT THEY ARE IN CONTROL OF
ALL FOUR OF THE ABOVE AND ARE OPERTAING IN YOUR
BEST INTERST AT ALL TIMES
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DO YOU REALLY NEED A TRAVEL AGENT?

• With the looming changes in remuneration to the
  travel agent by
• third party suppliers in the future any
  corporation who requires
• the above from their travel supplier will have no
  alternative but to
• pay for it! The big question is now
• DO YOU REALLY NEED A TRAVEL
• AGENT AND IF SO AT WHAT COST?

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For the past 3 years South African travel agents
have been preparing the client for the
disappearance or reduction of commission
resulting in the need to charge fees for the
various services offered under different titles

• Services Fees some have been bold enough to
  call it essentially by the name of the industry
  that they find themselves in The service
  industry
• Transaction Fees
• Management Fees
• Administration Fees
• Ticketing Fees
• Menu based pricing you pay for what you use
• Travel is now costing the end user more and as
  travel agents have
• had to find a way to recoup loss of revenue
  corporations have had to look at
• New financial agreements which will allow them to
  maximise travel
• budgets without having to cut down on the number
  of trips undertaken to make
• up for the fees that they are now paying.

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HOW IS THE CORPORATION DOING THIS?

• Direct negotiation with the 3rd party suppliers
• Support of low cost carriers
• Submissions of RFPs to validate agency services
  and costs, despite long standing relationships
  with current travel providers
• Direct bookings through 3rd party suppliers
  websites, which often offer additional savings at
  point of sale
• On-line booking solutions which bring travel into
  the procurement workflow, allowing the corporate
  to take control of their bookings

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POSSIBLE OBSTICALS OF ONLINE SOLUTIONS

• Ease of use
• Adoption rates
• Speed and bandwidth problems
• Travel arranger behavior
• Traveler behavior
• Support

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SUCCESS STORY

• British Sky Broadcasting Group(BSkyB) media giant
  in the UK,
• employing over 10 000 people, rolled out a total
  on-line solution in
• April 2004 and within 2 months had a 52 adoption
  rate.
• Why?
• Ease of use translated into adoption and
  travelers and travel
• arrangers felt in control of the reservation
  process, enjoyed the
• speed and reliability of the solution and were
  incentivised to book
• online as well as save money.

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BENEFITS

• 52 ADOPTION WITHIN 2 MONTHS
• LOWER FARES SELECTED WHEN TICKETS ARE BOOKED
  ONLINE
• SIMPLIFIED PROCUREMENT PROCESS
• TRAVELERS WERE EMPOWERED TO BOOK ONLINE TAKE
  RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRAVEL COSTS, WHICH TRANSLATED
  INTO EFFICIENCY AND SAVINGS FOR THE CORPORATION

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WHO IS BENEFITING NOW?

• CORPORATION They now control and direct travel
  spend to 3rd party suppliers, in some instances
  cutting out the travel agent completely, which
  allows them to maximise each Rand spent. On-line
  solutions increase productivity, and when
  integrated into the procurement workflow offers a
  total travel solution from A(planning stages) to
  Z (payment and reimbursement)
• 3RD PARTY SUPPLIER Building the relationship
  directly with the end user, no longer having to
  keep the middle man happy ensuring direct
  booking by way of their own on-line solutions, in
  which they have invested substantially

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THE TRAVEL AGENT

• May still be required for complex international
  travel
• May still be included in the approval process,
  for quality control purposes for on-line
  solutions which bring travel into the procurement
  work flow
• May still be required for destination expertise
• May still be required in emergency situations
• May still be required for intelligent MIS
  reporting
• May still be required for visa applications
• May still be required for charter flight
  reservations
• May still be required for group incentive
  travel

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ARE THE TRAVEL AGENTS MAKING THEMSELVES OBSELETE?

• There is no doubt that with the reduction of
  commissions, travel
• agents need to
• Ensure that they retain the client, by the
  experience and assistance that they contribute to
  the relationship
• Ensure their service offering and value
  proposition to the client is indispensable
• Attract and retain experienced, service
  orientated, responsive and skilled staff
• Adoption of and improved technology and
  automation
• Recoup lost income

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RECOUPING OF LOST INCOME!

• In this digital era, travel agents are moving
  away from exactly what made their service
  offering indispensable to the end user in the
  first place personal service
• MY CHALLENGE TO YOU TODAY, WITHOUT GOING BACK
• IN TIME, IS TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY AND THE CHANGES
  IN THE
• TRAVEL INDUSTRY, WORKING WITH YOUR CLIENT TO
  ENSURE A
• TOTAL TRAVEL SOLUTION.
• HOWEVER AT THE SAME TIME INCORPORATING THOSE VERY
  FACTORS THAT MADE THE TRAVEL AGENT INDISPENSABLE
  IN THE PAST, LIKE
• Responsibility for Visa, Health Requirements
• Creative, optimised itineraries
• Consultants, available all hours, taking pride in
  what they do, building personal relationships
  with senior travellers, taking ownership of
  problems and will not stop until it has been
  resolved, the flight is confirmed, etc.

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• COUPLE IT WITH ENTHUSIAM,
• EFFICIENCY AND EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE LEVELS, CHARGE
• REASONABLE FEES, AND OPERATE IN TRUE
  TRANSPARENCY WITH
• YOUR CLIENT AND I LEAVE YOU TO DRAW YOUR OWN
  CONCLUSION
• TO THE ANSWER OF OUR TOPIC TODAY!

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THANK YOU
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QUESTIONS?