In a 2014 GBTA Foundation survey,1
travel managers in North America and Europe cited containing rising costs as
their #2 priority, behind enforcing travel policies, and it’s no wonder — given
the anticipated 2.6 per cent increase in global hotel rates.2 Yet so
many corporate travel managers have to scramble just to stay on top of
administrative tasks associated with their hospitality programmes — making it
hard to focus on reducing costs.
Inefficient processes for sourcing hotel rooms, inadequate negotiating
leverage, and noncompliant bookings only add to the problem and make
controlling these costs virtually impossible.
To truly get a handle on costs,
travel managers need to automate these processes as much as possible. By automating the RFP process, travel
managers gain control over negotiations with suppliers by being able to manage
higher bid volumes.
But getting great hotel rates
isn’t enough. Travel managers need to ensure that their travellers are booking
hotels at correct negotiated rates. That’s why automated rate auditing is also
crucial to keeping costs down.
Travel programmes that have
embraced automation have seen dramatic reductions in their overall spend — by
negotiating lower rates on hotels, increasing traveller compliance and by
reducing the labour spent manually managing these processes. If that’s the case, then why aren’t all
travel programmes getting on board?
One reason is complacency; people
are just used to doing things a certain way, even when it’s not in their best
interest. Perhaps they aren’t bothered by all those nebulous spread sheets, or
perhaps they’re afraid they’ll be sacked and replaced by a computer.
More likely, travel managers are
simply unaware of the significant return to be made on an investment in an
automated travel management solution. And while there’s not much to be done for
the complacent, this can and must be addressed.
In 2014, Lanyon partnered with Hobson & Company, experts in
ROI/TCO modelling, to help quantify the return on investment of our travel
management solutions. We found that, by using our software, travel programmes
could receive upwards of 448% ROI over three years.3 Working with
Hobson & Company, we’ve also developed a travel programme ROI calculator,
which we will be demonstrating this February at the Business Travel Show.
This post was written by Jean Squires, director business development EMEA, Lanyon. You can visit Lanyon at the Business Travel Show, which takes place 25-26 February 2015 at Olympia Grand in London. Register now at www.businesstravelshow.com/register.
Notes:
1. A Day in the Life: The Role of
Travel Managers (North America and Europe), Global Business Travel Association
Foundation, October 2014
2. 2015 Global Travel Price
Outlook, Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) & GBTA
3. Driving ROI: The Business Case
for Comprehensive Travel Management Software, Lanyon, 2015
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