October 2016 - CB Travel

Travel managers and corporate executives spend considerable time researching and bidding TMCs, and partnering with the right one to deliver cost-savings and travel efficiency. Occasionally though, the chosen TMC is purchased or sold to another company. In today’s business environment, consolidation is rampant.

Larger companies look to buy-up the competition for many reasons: technology gains, customer acquisition, or simply to eliminate a growing threat. Not surprisingly, the travel management industry can be affected as well. Unfortunately, this can leave the travel managers and corporate executives caught in the middle. I believe, that when looking for a new travel management company, it’s important to consider this possibility. Often times there is too much emphasis on the now, when the past and the future of the company should be considered as well. Companies seeking a long-term TMC should research the following, so that the TMC they choose today, doesn’t change tomorrow:

Questions to consider when looking for a long-term TMC:

What is the history of ownership?
Have they previously bought up small companies to grow, and then sold their company in the past?
Are they portraying the same history under their current TMC name?
What is their organizational health?
Are there any ‘red flags’ like poor growth, employee turnover, client retention, or percentage of debt? In an environment of consolidation, weakness equals opportunity.

Bottom-line is that if you want a long-term relationship with your chosen TMC, be sure you understand their past and their vision of the future. Ask questions and ‘peel the onion’ to make a better determination before signing a contract.

Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate travel management company with more than 60 years of experience. Based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, we have been privately owned by Mike and Camille Cameron since 1990. Since then, we have grown to be one of the top travel management companies in the nation, with five offices and more than 380 travel employees. If you would like to learn more about our history or our future vision, please feel free to contact us.

Does anyone else remember the nightly news slogan from years ago, “It’s 10 o’clock… do you know where your children are?” This catchphrase, of keeping an eye on your loved ones, still resonates today. The past few weeks the airwaves have been flooded with terrorists attacks in New Jersey, New York, Washington State and Minnesota. And now, Hurricane Matthew is about to hit the east coast, potentially causing massive damage. I also find myself thinking of family, but also co-workers and other business travelers when distaster strikes.

Working in an industry filled constantly with travel and constantly changing schedules, it’s hard to know where everyone is in a moment’s notice. Unfortunately, it’s important now more than ever to not only get in touch with employees or co-workers, but have a plan in place should disaster occur.

Communicating with your business travelers during a disaster

Having an established plan in case of an emergency is the first step. Ask yourself, what is your company’s current protocol should an event occur in a city your employee is currently traveling? Do you have their email and cell number readily available? Will you need to dig through emails to find their itinerary? Who will be in charge of making these safety calls to traveling employees?

Answering these questions ahead of time will make your company more prepared, should an event occur. Developing a travel policy usually helps to establish these protocols. If you don’t have a travel policy, check out our travel policy FAQ to get started.

SecurityLogic provides peace of mind for travel managers

One of my favorite features of the Christopherson software is our SecurityLogic technology. Perhaps it’s because I can be a worrywart, but the value of this immediate and interactive technology is a lifesaver in dire situations.

For a travel manager, the goal is simple – locate all of your business travelers instantly. Through our AirPortal360 interface, you immediately know how many employees are traveling at a moment’s notice. We supply a world map view, with pins representing your travelers. From there, you can overlay alerts, warnings, and weather. Really anything that may influence your business travelers is viewable from the map.

Using the rest of our technology suite, we offer easy access to your traveler’s itinerary and contact information. Travel, security, and human resource managers are able to locate travelers and send them messages. Your business travelers can then respond to the security check and let you know they are safe. Our SecurityLogic takes the guessing out of what could be a hectic situation and provides immediate answers.

Christopherson Business Travel is an award-winning corporate travel management company. We’re passionate about assisting companies with their travel, and we think our travel technology and consultative account management does a pretty great job at it. Contact us to learn more about SecurityLogic or our other travel technology tools.