Travel program consolidation is a key objective for travel managers. Successful program consolidation results in cost savings, strong vendor relationships, greater travel policy compliance, and, often, streamlined program administration.

You can achieve consolidation by reviewing the various components of the program, evaluating and choosing the best options for each component, then implementing the practices throughout your company. The four most common components organizations consolidate include:

• Supplier Data
• Travel Policy
• Supplier Agreements
• Travel Management Company

In order for global consolidation to be successful, the program requires support from the uppermost levels of an organization. First, identify the strategy and reasoning for consolidation—usually garnered from the list above. Next, secure an executive sponsor to promote program changes. Then develop a cross-functional team that is equipped to lead the process.  Lastly, gain support form travel champions in the countries and regions where business is being conducted.

There are three common configurations for globalizing a travel program:

One size fits all/One solution

• This is a single contract with one global TMC, GDS and OBT
• Commonly serviced through regional call centers

Best in region

• Various points of global accountability based on region
• This includes multiple contracts, TMCs, GDS and online booking tools

Lead TMC/Partner network

• Contracting with a network of TMC partners that operates through a lead TMC partner

Through our experienced client solution managers, Fox World Travel guides clients through the global consolidation process.  We assist you in selecting the program that achieves successful consolidation for your organization.

Any organization with staff who travel for business will at some point ponder how to write a travel policy. After all, an effective travel policy encourages staff to be wise stewards of company resources, supports employees while on the road, and helps to manage traveler stress. But if your organization has never tackled the task of writing a travel policy, the undertaking can seem overwhelming.

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Driving value and placing customers first is how Fox World Travel delivers exceptional service to our clients.  Keeping these goals in mind, Fox World Travel attended and gold sponsored at SAP Concur Fusion in Seattle.  Our team of sales executives, account managers and technology experts immersed themselves into the entire Fusion experience.  Continue reading →

As any travel manager knows, business travel booking through a corporate travel program has a number of benefits. Personal safety support and reducing traveler friction rank near the top. In the travel industry, there’s a new term coined to describe the near-constant state of fear that many travelers experience these days: permanxiety. According to Skift Magazine, “Travel in An Age of Permanxiety,” travelers are constantly bombarded with stress related to politics, terrorism, security, technology and much more. Any company that sends staff into the field to build business and strengthen relationships could face the impact of this state of permanent anxiety. Simply put, business travelers who are stressed may not perform at their highest level. Continue reading →

Sometimes the travel industry seems like it can move faster than a Boeing 787.

Today, a growing number of professionals from various backgrounds, such as human resources, procurement and finance take on the role of managing their organization’s travel. To help these professionals keep up with the fast-paced industry, Fox World Travel created the Travel Manager Institute. Continue reading →

Corporate travel safety is an essential consideration for any company, and the importance of fulfilling your duty of care responsibility cannot be understated. No matter what your business, how your employees travel, or where they go, having a duty of care travel plan in place is fundamental to your organization’s success. Continue reading →

Delivering exceptional service during travel disruptions starts with planning before the events even take place.

Winter storm Mateo spread ice and snow throughout the Midwest and Northeast Feb. 8 to 10 causing delays and cancelations at many airports, including Chicago O’Hare.  According to FlightStats, from Thursday to Sunday U.S. airports saw more than 4,000 flight cancelations and roughly 20,000 flight delays.

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The Customer

An international commercial and industrial printing company.

The Situation

The list of preferred hotels for the printing company grew to a point where the volume of each hotel was being diluted. Fewer and fewer hotels were negotiating a preferred rate and the company’s hotel expenses rose. Additionally, managing so many hotel agreements program increased costs and reduced their volume leverage to negotiate lower rates at many hotels.

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Hotel program audits protect an organization’s investment

For many organizations, the first quarter brings a time of reprieve from hotel program sourcing.  Negotiations are likely finalized and preferred hotels are selected for the year.  And, the turn of the year is a few months removed from the necessity of beginning analysis and strategy for next year’s RFP.  It’s the ideal time for a hotel audit.

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