Tag: Christopherson Business Travel

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Business Travel Travel Management Travel News

How to Support Your Business Travelers During The Coronavirus Outbreak

Originally published Feb 27, 2020 at 4:02 PM, updated March 09, 2020

As the coronavirus continues to affect business travel, we want to provide corporate travel managers with helpful tools, resources, and information to best support their travelers. For the most up-to-date information on the coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. 

CDC Travel Guidelines

The following warning and alert classifications have been outlined by the CDC. We encourage travel managers to review the warnings and make informed decisions to protect their travelers.

Warning Level 3 

Nonessential travel to these highest-risk locations should be avoided. This currently includes China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran.

Alert Level 2 

Due to sustained community transmission of the virus in Japan, the CDC recommends that older adults and those suffering from chronic medical conditions postpone travel to these areas. Corporate travel managers could also consider adding an additional level of approval for these business trips by having senior leaders review them on a case-by-case basis. 

Watch Level 1 

The CDC recommends practiving usual precaustions when traveling to Hong Kong at this time. The CDC will continue to update its recommendations on their website. Companies with employees traveling to level 1 watch areas may want to consider implementing additional health and security protocols to ensure traveler safety.  

Personal Travel 

While personal travel does fall outside the realms of a corporate travel manager’s purview, companies may want to encourage employees to travel with caution and remain aware of this ongoing situation. If an employee has personal plans to visit or has visited one of the warning level areas, you could consider having them self-quarantine for 14 days. If an employee participates in any travel, regardless of the area, and shows signs of being sick, you could also ask them to follow the same 14-day self-quarantine. 

Reminder to Only Book Within Approved Corporate Tools 

Travel managers should reiterate the importance of booking business travel within the organization’s approved corporate booking tools and enforce these policies. Booking within policy ensures you always know where your travelers are so that you can best support them and communicate critical information in a timely manner. 

Review Your Risk Management Policy and Update if Needed

Be sure you have included a protocol for an infectious disease outbreak like this in your risk management plan. Events that could trigger action include travelers becoming infected or being stranded in an infected area. Do you have a plan in place to quickly and appropriately support your travelers? 

Remind Travelers to Follow These Best Practices While Traveling 

Ask business travelers to follow these actions recommended by the World Health Organization when traveling. 

  1. Wash hands frequently
  2. Maintain social distancing 
  3. Avoid touching eyes nose and mouth 
  4. Practice respiratory hygiene
  5. If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early
  6. Stay informed and follow the advice given by your healthcare provider

Additional Resources

For more resources to help you plan and respond to this situation, visit the CDC’s Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019. 

BCD Travel also has a current list of airline updates and advisories by country. 

The information presented here is up-to-date as of March 9 and is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Christopherson does not give recommendations on the prudence of travel to affected areas. Our aim is to provide helpful information that allows companies and travelers to make informed decisions. As the situation continues to unfold, companies can access real-time information through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization website.

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Business Travel

A Millennial Friendly Travel Policy?

Real-ID-Act

While attending the GBTA Convention in Boston this past month, I was both expectant but still a little surprised about the buzz around the concept of millennial business travelers. After all, millennials have been in the workplace for roughly 15 years. During this time, this generation is still inspiring new ideas to pop up.  While there, I attended a couple of education sessions focused on travel policy. One session that I found particularly interesting, featured a panel of two travel managers.  They presented and answered questions on their individual company’s travel policies, including millennial travelers.

Millennial Friendly Travel Policy

• There is a common assumption that millennial travelers are collaborative and like big open public lobby spaces where they can relax and catch up on work. Actually, some are introverts and still appreciate having a work station in their hotel room.
• Millennials have a need to personalize everything and are more likely to dine out in a unique restaurant or go sightseeing on a business trip. It tends all about the experience for these travelers but, as this generation gets older and takes on more personal and familial responsibility, we might begin to see a shift in the “bleisure” time.
• Millennial travelers are 60% more likely to pay for an upgraded hotel room or seat on their flight. This one is actually true and they seem to be willing to treat their comfort as a personal expense.
All of this comes down to one word- OPTIONS. Build a policy that works for your company, is good for your bottom line and vendor relationships but also provides your travelers a few options and you will have happy travelers.

 

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Business Travel Travel Management

Why Universities Use TMCs

Millennial friendly travel policy

When I tell people what I do for a living, they always look surprised when I mention working with universities and higher education. Because Christopherson Business Travel has the word ‘business’ in its name, it’s easy to assume that that’s our only client base. The truth is that colleges and universities need as much travel management as corporations. Here is why many institutions of higher education choose to take travel off of their own shoulders and work with a TMC:

Reasons universities work with travel management companies (TMCs)

1) Universities often have many departments. All of those departments can be a lot for one person or one department to manage. The average university travel program includes; athletics, faculty and staff business travel, study abroad/ student trips and groups. This means at any one time, a university has dozens of people, with varying ages and levels of travel experience on the road. Christopherson employs a University Travel Team of agents who are highly experienced in booking all segments of university travel.

2) As an employer, a university has a duty to ensure the safety of their travelers. This is where we come in. With SecurityLogic, which is housed in our proprietary AirPortal 360 technology, travel arrangers are able to stay informed of the location and security of all travelers. SecurityLogic is a dynamic reporting and communication tool created to facilitate your duty of care responsibilities.

3) Keeping payment methods secure. It is very rare that all university travelers will have their own university specific credit card. So it is quite common for schools to elect to use a departmental card, or ghost card, to be utilized by several travelers. With Christopherson, regardless of your payment configuration, the appropriate card is stored in the Traveler Profile. Once it is stored, it is masked for your protection.

4) 24/7/365 agent access. Things happen when your travelers are on the road and we are here to help your travelers find options. Between our University Team of Agents and our after- hours support, we have you covered.

5) Consultative account management. Managing a university travel program can be a daunting task and you want someone in your corner with more than just a little experience. Our highly experienced account managers take a consultative approach in ensuring the success of your program.

Christopherson Business Travel has been successfully fulfilling the travel needs of higher education clients for more than 30 years and currently manages travel programs for more than 30 colleges and universities.

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Business Travel Travel Management

The Overlooked Factor In Efficient Travel Programs

federal employees sharing economy

In February, the GBTA- North Carolina chapter had the pleasure of hosting Scott Gillespie, a true travel management thought leader.  Mr. Gillepsie is the CEO of t-Clara and frequent contributor to Business Travel News. His presentation focused on a question travel managers often find themselves thinking – how do I gauge success with my travel management process?

Identifying the difference in efficient travel programs

Gillespie based his findings from a recent study, sponsored by ARC, American Express Global Business Travel, and his firm, tClara.  Participants were 700 US-based road warriors who answered questions about their company’s travel policy. The questions focused on if their travel management policies emphasized convenience or budget.

Not surprisingly, travelers operating under strict cost-focused travel programs tended to be more dissatisfied. They admitted to nearly 13% less compliance with their travel policies. They also indicated a 15% higher rate of burn-out and were significantly less willing to travel within two years time.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, travelers with companies that had convenience-based travel policies tended to be more productive on the road and had an overall better outlook about their jobs.

What travel managers should also be measuring:

So are these companies specifically prioritizing cost over the wellbeing of their employees? Of course not! Most companies just aren’t measuring employee satisfaction as a KPI. Gillepsie advised that each travel manager obtain an employee turnover report for employees in traveling roles from their HR department. Getting insights on high turnover rate is the first step to see if adjustments to the travel policy to result in higher employee retention. From there, it may make sense to look at other priorities for travel policies than budget.

Read Scott Gillepsie’s article for other key performance indicators and details on the survey.

 

With our 24/7 service, online support and exceptional service delivered by our travel agents, Christopherson helps ease any challenges that occur when your travelers on the road. In addition, your consultative account manager will assist you in making the necessary changes to your travel policy to decrease traveler dissatisfaction and increase productivity!

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Business Travel Travel Technology

How Christopherson Provides Organization for Travel Management

Denver

It could be the ‘type A’ personality in me, but I often think there’s room for improvement in most situations. I’ve also noticed this trait in many travel managers, procurement officers and executives. In positions as busy as these, isn’t the job more manageable with a structured and reliable system? Fortunately, I know Christopherson can provide that oh-so-necessary organization for travel management tasks. Our technology allows for peace of mind and instant access to information for company’s travel management needs. Why are we so confident that we can provide that satisfaction? Read some of our top benefits below:

How Christopherson provides organization for travel management

  •  With our AirPortal 360™ Dashboard and Mobile App, you have a 360° view of your travel program instantly and at all times.
  • No more digging through your inbox to find a traveler’s itinerary. Christopherson’s SecurityLogic® will tell you exactly where your travelers are in seconds. You can even look at their past or upcoming trips by customizing your search.
  • Eliminate that spreadsheet tracking your company’s unused tickets. AirBank® technology seamlessly tracks the unused funds from cancelled tickets. We even provide reminders, ensuring they are used before expiring.
  • All of your traveler’s pertinent travel information and preferences is stored in our Traveler Profiles, allowing you to take one less step when booking. There is no need to keep a series of post-it notes on your desk with traveler’s information written on them.
  • Lastly, eliminate the need to “shop” for fares prior to booking a trip. With PolicyLogic™, your company’s travel policy is built into our software. When travelers book their travel either with an agent or through one of our online booking tools, your travel policy will always comply.

By choosing Christopherson Business Travel as your travel management partner, you are signing on from streamlined and organized travel management. We are at the forefront of travel technology, and have been since we opened our doors in 1953. Contact us to learn more about our AirPortal® platform, and how we can declutter your travel management procedures.

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Business Travel Guides Travel Tips Vacation Travel

Travel Packing List For Dummies: Use Carry-on Luggage For EVERY Trip

Passengers gathering at the gate prior to their boarding time is strange to me. My first thought is often, ‘why stand in line before you are called, cutting into time that could be used for work, a preflight meal, catching up on a phone call?’ But then I remember that these travelers, like me, are terrified of not finding a space for their bag on the plane. I pride myself on using the same international sized carry-on for every trip, no matter how long. In fact, I wrote a blog on my favorite packing tips a few years ago.  Since I wrote this, I’ve continued traveling for business and leisure and know even more about packing light. I’ve discovered a few easy tips that are especially helpful as we move into the cooler months.

Carry-on packing tips for business and leisure travelers

1) Invest in packing cubes. They not only help you separate your clothes, but they really do keep everything compact. They are especially useful for sweaters!
2) Boot season is upon us and while they look great, knee-high boots can take up an entire suitcase. If boots are part of your wardrobe, wear them on the plane to save space.
3) Try wearing items that you have packed a few times during the same trip. A scarf or tie can really transform an outfit, and nobody will even notice that you had worn it the previous day.
4) If you plan to use the hotel gym, invest in a good workout outfit that is made of nylon. This material gets really small when folded and you can even roll the items and store them inside your workout shoes.
5) If you buy your cosmetics from a mall department store, do so when you can get a promotional gift. The bags that come with these gifts are often the perfect size for travel and the samples are usually travel sized.

Overall, I’ve learned that even with the stressful pre-boarding line, carry-on luggage is the best option for plane travel. Especially if you have an established packing routine with usable tips and tricks.

Looking for more helpful tips on business travel packing? Check out our other blog posts:

Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate travel management company. We’ve worked passionately for more than 60 years to bring travel solutions to busy businesses. Learn more about our specialty travel technology or consultative services that save our clients time and money.

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Business Travel Travel Management Travel Technology

Christopherson Business Travel Helps Companies Acheive Maximum Travel Policy Compliance

Communication and enforcement of travel policy is a common challenge for many companies. As a solution to that challenge, Christopherson Business Travel uses a blend of technology and established processes to verify that at the time of booking, policy guidelines will be enforced as designated by the company.

Should the policy need to be rewritten or enhanced, Christopherson can assist. Our Account Managers act as expert consultative advisors helping companies establish a fair, complete, and cost saving policy that benefits both the business travelers and the company.

Christopherson also developed PolicyLogic®, software that provides consistent application of preferred vendors, travel policy, coding, and reporting needs, as well as a new functionality that alerts travel managers and arrangers when travelers are not using preferred vendors. Travel policy configuration allows policy rules around the following categories: travel itinerary, flights, flight fares, flight classes, ticket change, car, hotel, and messaging.

These specifics are integrated with Christopherson’s experienced travel agents, online booking tools, and our mid-office and back-office systems to ensure accuracy and compliance across all booking sources. We will customize and update training and point-of-sale scripts when needed.

If business travelers book online, each action displays in the user interface reservation workflow so users clearly see policy compliance as well as policy violations at the point of sale. This empowers travelers to make better-informed decisions and help drive cost savings.

All reservations are reviewed by Compleat with your company policies and negotiated programs in mind. This resource drives costs down by auditing every reservation for compliance to your company’s travel policy and preferred-vendor lists. Compleat will not allow a ticket to be issued until the reservation is in compliance or has been approved by a manager. With these compliance reminders and checks in place, Christopherson then takes policy savings a step further by tracking trends in policy compliance to identify problem areas.

For information evaluating business travel policies, Christopherson has provided this white paper outlining a few basic steps companies can take to guide travelers and ensure compliance.

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Travel News

Christopherson in the News: Seven Corporate Travel Trends for 2016

Travel Market Report recently interviewed Christopherson Business Travel’s CEO, Mike Cameron, about his outlook for next year. Click here to read the full article and his thoughts on Christopherson’s overall increases in travel, investments in technology, and the growing meeting sector.

Corporate travel trends

 

 

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Business and Leadership Business Travel Travel Management

“The Handshake” and Communication Protocols for Better Business

handshake communication for business travelAll communication between computers requires that the devices agree on the format of the data. The parameters of a communications channel must be established before the digital “handshake” will allow the communication to begin.

All communication between humans also requires that both parties agree on the parameters of the communication before they meet–shall we use digital, telephone, or a physical handshake for this meeting?

In 1889 Jules Verne imagined that the “phonotelephote” would replace the need for physical handshakes. This is no longer science fiction. All of us are now inundated with email, text messages, and WebEx meetings. And yes, we still use the old-fashioned telephone too. But according to a recent article in The Economist, “Companies are spending more on sending their staff out to win deals.”

At Christopherson Business Travel, we’re seeing the same trend, with our airline bookings up 13% year-over-year. While some of this growth is from new clients, much of it is coming from existing clients who are sending their people out to meet face-to-face, shake hands, build relationships, and win deals.

Whenever we experience a poor-quality internal conference call, we remind ourselves it’s a good thing that people need to see each other face-to-face in order to obtain greater effectiveness. After all, that’s the business we’re in. For more than 60 years, we’ve been providing companies of all sizes across the globe with cost-effective, personalized, and hassle-free business travel management and resources. Plus, our exclusive AirPortal® travel technology applications are the only tools you’ll ever need to manage your business trips.

If you’re looking for better business travel management so that you and your team can extend more than a virtual handshake to your clients, our executives would be happy and share more information about our services and technology.

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Business Travel Travel Industry

Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention 2015

GBTA 2015Christopherson Business Travel is pleased to announce our continued sponsorship of the annual GBTA Convention to be held this year in Orlando, Florida, July 25-29. This year’s convention is estimated to draw more than 6,000 attendees from 58 countries, making it the largest business travel event in the world. In addition to key note speakers and educational opportunities, the convention hosts a tradeshow with more than 300 companies exhibiting, including Christopherson Business Travel.

If you are attending the GBTA Convention this year, please plan to visit the Christopherson booth (#363) to learn about the innovative business travel technology solutions we have been developing for release at the convention. Each attendee who participates in a 3-minute product demo of those technologies will have the opportunity to draw for a $5 to $100 gift card. We look forward to seeing you at GBTA!

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Business Travel Travel Industry

Christopherson Business Travel: 2014 in Review

Growth-ArrowIn 2010, Christopherson Business Travel’s executive team set a goal to double in size—from a $240 million company to a $500 million company—by 2015. One year early, we have reached that goal, booking $510 million in travel during 2014.

2014 Was A Year of Big Growth

  • We increased our sales from $384 Million in 2013 to $510 million in 2014–a 33% increase.
  • We implemented 84 new corporate clients last year. We now manage travel for more than 900 companies and organizations across the country.
  • We added 40 new team members, bringing the total number of travel professionals employed with Christopherson to 365.
  • We built 136 new Concur booking sites for both new and existing clients.

Christopherson’s Plans for 2015

In 2015, we plan to leverage the benefits of our larger scale and resources in the following ways:

Strengthen our Operational Excellence

  • We will review, evaluate, and combine the best practices from each of our five offices.
  • We will build a better disaster-recovery plan into our expanded geographical footprint.

Continue to Invest in Unique AirPortal® Technologies

  • We will invest in a UI/UX makeover and responsive design for our AirPortal platform.
  • We will invest in new, revolutionary technology that is useful, elegant, and intuitive.

Increase AirPortal Adoption

  • We will continue to listen, prioritize, and act upon feedback from our clients.
  • We will provide more training to a “higher, wider, deeper” group of client users.

Screen shot 2015-02-02 at 5.05.11 PM

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Business Travel Travel Tips Vacation Travel

Traveling With Your Four-Legged Friend

traveling with petsI recently saw a bumper sticker that read, “It’s all About my Dog,” and oh, how I could relate! For me, it’s all about my pet Hank. Without me realizing it, Hank has slowly begun to control my life over the last four years and has somehow became a member of the family. People say pets become like children. At first, I didn’t believe this statement, but now I think it’s worse than that. My children have never kept me from taking a vacation, but every time we think about going out of town, the big dilemma is: Who is going to watch Hank and will they keep him at their house or will we be able to find someone willing to stay at our house because, of course, it’s better for Hank to be at ‘his’ house.

Luckily there are pet-care options when going out of town for a business trip or vacation. Should you choose to leave your pet behind, there are many services for dog sitters, either at your home or at an off-site location. If you do take your pet to an off-site location, you may want to slowly introduce them to the new surroundings so that when you go on vacation it won’t be a traumatic experience. If you choose to have someone watch your pet at your home, it goes without saying, be sure you do your homework to find someone you can trust, who comes highly recommended.

Additionally, there is the option of taking your pet with you. Many hotels–even upscale hotels–are pet friendly with a deposit. Your pet can even travel on the airplane, but be sure to check your airline’s policies for the size of your pet, time of year, and temperature of the cargo compartment if you have to ‘check’ your pet.

Your Christopherson Business Travel agent or Andavo Travel agent, depending on whether or not you’re traveling for business or leisure, will be happy to assist you in finding those pet friendly hotels and airline regulations. Happy Traveling … Ruff, Ruff.

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Business and Leadership Business Travel

3 Steps to Effective Client Collaboration

CHG_WEX_CBT
Christopherson Business Travel recently collaborated with our client CHG Healthcare in an effort to identify best practices and create simplified solutions for their travel management program.

col·lab·o·rate \k?-?la-b?-?r?t\ (verb) : to work with another person or group in order to achieve, do, produce, or create something

Collaborating with clients is an important part of my role as an Account Manager for Christopherson Business Travel. Recently, I was invited to participate in a collaboration meeting with our client CHG Healthcare, in an effort to come up with best practices and simplified solutions for them.

CHG did a fine job organizing the details, the meeting itself was highly beneficial as we were able to create and modify processes that will make their overall “user experience” better, and follow up tasks were assigned. It also gave me an inside view of CHG’s organizational and professional practices, which impressed me greatly.

Having been involved in this meeting, I have identified three important steps to encourage an effective collaboration effort:

1. Identify a clear goal.

Know why you’re meeting together. What is the end purpose? What are you trying to fix or create? Once you’ve identified the goal, don’t allow anything to sidetrack your collaboration.

2. Involve/invite all the key players (and make sure everyone participates).

Every individual (or department) is going to have a different perspective, and each of those perspectives is important. What might seem like a solution for one group, may create problems for another. Make sure that everyone has a chance to share opinions and ideas. If one person is dominating the discussion, shift the focus and specifically invite others to weigh in on how certain ideas will affect them.

3. Assign follow-up tasks.

Make sure someone has been assigned to keep track of assignments. Once the meeting is over, send those assignments out with clear deadlines for completion. The whole meeting will have been for naught if action isn’t taken and followed up on.

I appreciate my relationships with all my clients and am certain that collaboration and sharing ideas is the best way to learn and be engaged.

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Business Travel Travel Technology

The Benefits of Using Christopherson’s Duty of Care tool, SecurityLogic®

SecurityLogic® is one of Christopherson Business Travel’s premier travel technology tools that allows you to locate and alert your company’s travelers anywhere in the world, at any time.

For example, let’s say I just landed in Paris (from Los Angeles) and my assistant (who is flying in from Atlanta) is meeting me at the airport. My business partner left this morning from Beijing to join us, but is delayed in Jakarta. Two of our executive board members are in the air from Dallas to meet up with us, and the attorney is en-route to the Chicago airport to catch his flight to join us for dinner.

After a week of business in Paris, we are all off to a trade show in London, and then onto Dubai for a 6-hour board meeting. Because of our hectic trip, we decide to make a change on our return to be rerouted through Japan, in order to spend a few days relaxing and enjoying the Tokyo night life.

Keeping track of all the variables, flights, cities, and travelers for such a trip could be confusing and time-consuming. But with Christopherson’s SecurityLogic, each traveler has been tracked every step of the way. Additionally, if our travel manager wonders if we are okay at any point in the trip, they can send us a Safety Check alert that will come straight to our phones, to which we can then respond with a yes or no depending on our situation and needs. Ultimately, SecurityLogic® brings peace of mind to the traveler, colleagues, and loved ones at home.

To learn more about this and other tools that can enhance your company’s business travel program, contact one of our executives for more information.

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Business Travel

Christopherson Business Travel at GBTA Convention 2014

Untitled-1 GBTA Convention 2014 in Los Angeles, CA has begun! And Christopherson Business Travel is pleased to be participating in this year’s event as a trade show sponsor with nearly two dozen employees in attendance.

Christopherson Business Travel is the independently owned leader in intelligent business travel management, online travel tools, and business travel resources. As the 11th largest business travel agency in the United States, and an affiliate of BCD Travel, Christopherson operates from five full-service locations (plus 35 client-dedicated on-site locations) and booked $384 million in travel in 2013 for more than 900 successful organizations across the country, including Fortune 500 companies, government entities, universities, and private businesses.

We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the unique benefits we offer as a business travel partner and invite all GBTA attendees to stop by Booth 957 to speak to our executives and see live demos of our technology tools. While there, you can recharge your electronic devices at our charging stations, enjoy one of L.A.’s famous Sprinkles cupcakes, and enter to win on of multiple cash prizes. Winners will be drawn every hour.

We look forward to meeting you!

 

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management Travel Technology

Business Travel Duty of Care: What is it and why does it matter?

SecurityLogic
Christopherson’s SecurityLogic® technology helps companies fulfill their duty of care responsibilities.

du·ty

noun \?dü-t? also ?dyü-\ : a moral or legal obligation, responsibility or commitment

care

noun \?ker\ : effort made to do something correctly, safely, or without causing damage

“Duty of Care” is currently a popular topic in the travel industry for important reasons:

  • The world can be a dangerous place with many risks
  • Organizations have a responsibility to keep their travelers informed and safe
  • Organizations are a target for lawsuits when things do not go as planned
  • Providing critical information and support to your travelers is good customer service and good business

At Christopherson Business Travel, we believe that duty of care consists of four key elements:

1)  Pre-trip –

Or in other words, the “need to know before you go” information

  • What are the current conditions at the proposed destination?
  • Is is safe to go? Are there Weather, Political, Security, Natural Disasters, or Health issues?
  • Does the traveler need any special documents to travel, i.e. passport, visa, immunizations?
  • Will the traveler be traveling with others on this trip for safety and/or support?

2)  En-route –

Where you keep your travelers informed of current issues while en-route

  • Have circumstances at the destination changed since the travelers departure?
  • Are there updates on developing issues that need to be monitored?
  • Are all of your travelers safe and accounted for?
  • Do you have multiple ways to communicate with your travelers, i.e. text, email, phone?

3)  Emergency Response –

Supporting or evacuating your travelers when circumstances deteriorate

  • Do you have a plan for support or evacuation of travelers in need?
  • Do your travelers have the training/skills needed in an emergency situation?
  • Do you have access to the traveler’s emergency contact info, i.e. family, friends, etc.?

4)  Post Trip –

Documenting and reporting your duty of care activities

  • Do you have documentation showing you have met your ‘Duty of Care’ to your travelers?
  • Do you have the ability to report upstream to senior management?
  • Do you review past situations for opportunities to improve your program?

If you need help determining and fulfilling your duty of care responsibilities, please contact a Christopherson Business Travel Account Manager. We help companies of all sizes meet this key responsibility and have the tools and expertise to help you be successful.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Technology

How Christopherson’s tool AirSelect can help you on your next business trip

airselect
AirSelect is one of Christopherson’s proprietary technology tools, and is quite helpful in planning any business trip.

As a regular business traveler, I normally only book my trip only for the “necessary” duration. But on a recent trip to Denver, I had the opportunity to enjoy dinner in a quaint part of town that I had not been to previously, and the thought occurred to me that perhaps I should have extended my trip to include a “fun day” to explore the area.

Hindsight being 20/20, what I should have done was ask my Christopherson Business Travel agent for an AirSelect® email so I could’ve viewed all the flight options for various days. AirSelect is one of Christopherson’s proprietary technology tools and provides business travelers with a simple, straightforward grid of options showing the lowest fare based on scheduled departure and arrival times.

For more information on AirSelect and other proprietary tools Christopherson offers, please contact one of our executives.

 

 

Categories
Business Travel

Christopherson’s Newly Acquired All Seasons Travel Undergoes Rebranding

Christopherson Business Travel purchased All Seasons Travel in December of last year. As we continue to integrate our new Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama offices into our organization, we will be rebranding the Alabama operations into three separate divisions:

1. Christopherson Business Travel

CBT_SmallThe Alabama business travel team members will all operate under our Christopherson Business Travel brand, with Jeanine Eissler as the manager of the Southeast region. We have already won $20 Million in new business travel contracts in the Southeast, all of which is in the process of being implemented into our Alabama offices.

2. Andavo Travel

Andavo Logo_335x60The leisure travel agents and independent contractors will operate under our Andavo Travel brand (which specializes in luxury travel and hosted agent travel), with Meredith Price as the operations manager of the Southeast region. Our Alabama offices will also be part of Andavo’s world-class luxury travel consortium, Virtuoso.

3. All Seasons Sports Travel

AllSeasonsSportsTravel_Logo-v2All Seasons Sports Travel is a newly created division and will primarily focus on the fan-based collegiate sports travel that All Seasons has done so well for so many years. Ellen Ray has been named manager of this division. Click here to see the new website, AllSeasonsSportsTravel.com.

 

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Business Travel Travel Management

Why Clients Choose Christopherson as their travel management partner

Entering into a multi-year partnership with the right travel management company (TMC) enables travel management professionals to focus on spend analysis, budgeting, policy development and enforcement, and duty of care.  However, selecting the right TMC can be a daunting task.

Christopherson Business Travel as travel management leaders

Christopherson Business Travel continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. New clients are asked “Why did you choose Christopherson?” Here is what they say makes Christopherson stand out amongst other TMCs.

  • Christopherson offers AirPortal®, an integrated travel technology and management platform.  AirPortal not only provides travelers the ability to book within policy, but gives travel arrangers and managers the tools needed to manage the corporation’s entire travel program.
  • Christopherson’s pricing is simple.  Our clients like that all of the “extras” are included in our service fees.  Our clients learned that many of our competitors charge extra for reporting, account management, and duty of care tools.  At Christopherson, we only charge transaction fees.
  • Christopherson’s duty of care technology, SecurityLogic®, is superior to all other duty of care tools in the marketplace.  Our clients are not only able to quickly locate all of their travelers by name, date, and/or location, but they have the ability to push alerts directly to the traveler.
  • Our expertise with Concur Travel.  As a Concur Travel Preferred Partner (one of only ten agencies nationwide), Christopherson offers three experienced teams to support our customers using Concur Travel.

Please contact our sales team for additional information on why Christopherson is the best TMC for your company.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management

Three key strategies common to best-in-class travel management programs

With Christopherson Business Travel's strategic travel management services, companies can create best-in-class travel management programs.
With Christopherson Business Travel’s strategic travel management services, companies can enjoy best-in-class travel management programs.

According to Travel Market Report, “Travel accounts for a significant portion of total corporate expenses. But just how significant may be a surprise … Business travel accounts for anywhere between 8% and 12% of the overall enterprise expense budget. This is bad news for travel managers whose companies see travel as a cost center, but good news for those whose companies see travel as an investment in revenues.”

Market research firm, Aberdeen Group, identified three key strategies common to best-in-class travel management programs:

  1. Support travel management with analytics, integration and mobility
  2. Use mobile apps and portals to put expense management directly in the hands of travelers
  3. Leverage analytics and integration to drive transparency into travel processes and spending to improve corporate budgeting, planning, and forecasting

As a leader in the business travel industry and the 11th largest travel management company in the U.S., Christopherson Business Travel is committed to providing innovative and integrated travel management services that accomplish those three key strategies.

By developing proprietary technologies like AirPortal 360 and AirPortal 360 Mobile, Christopherson supports their more than 1,000 corporate clients’ travel programs with that much-needed analytics, integration, and mobility.

Additionally, clients of Christopherson enjoy the added benefit of a consultative Account Manager whose job it is to help leverage that analytics, drive transparency in travel processes and spending, and improve corporate travel budgeting, planning, and forecasting.

Key strategies for best-in-class travel management programs 1, 2, and 3: Check, check, and check.

To learn more about how Christopherson can help your company implement these three key strategies into your travel program, please contact one of our business executives.

Categories
Travel Industry Travel Management

Adding Data, Technology & Service–Evolution of the TMC: a guest post on Concur.com/blog

Christopherson Business Travel’s CEO, Mike Cameron, is guest posting on Concur’s blog today.

Mike Cameron, CEO, Christopherson Business Travel
Mike Cameron, CEO, Christopherson Business Travel

Adding Data, Technology & Service–Evolution of the TMC

By: Mike Cameron, Christopherson Business Travel

There’s no doubt the role of the travel management company has changed significantly in the last twenty years. With online booking tools, commission caps and more, travel management companies have been challenged to stay valuable to travelers.

As an industry, we have to evolve in how we manage travel in order to stay relevant. Here’s what Christopherson Business Travel is doing differently and our take on new ways to service travelers.

To continue reading, click here for the original post.

 

Categories
Business Travel Travel News

Christopherson’s CEO Shares His Notes from Jim Collins’ GBTA Keynote Address

Camerons with Jim Collins
Mike and Matt Cameron with author, Jim Collins

I recently attended the Global Business Travel Association’s Masters Program with my brother Matt, our COO. While there, we had the privilege of hearing the Concur-sponsored keynote speaker, Jim Collins. Jim is the author of the book Good to Great, which, in my opinion, is one of the all-time great business books on how to build successful, enduring companies.

If you haven’t read his book, you should. If you haven’t attended the Masters Program, you should.

Jim’s remarks summarized some of his famous principles and I took notes as follows:

If you want your company to go from “Good to Great” you must identify how you are doing with regards to the following 12 questions:

 

1. Do I have the will to become a level 5 leader?

Leadership is the art of getting people to “want” to do what needs to be done

    • Level 5 Executive – Inspires people to follow a cause
    • Level 4 Effective Leader – Inspires people to follow them
    • Level 3 Competent manager
    • Level 2 Contributing team member
    • Level 1 Highly capable individual

2. Are you humble?

Humility is a most important leadership trait.

3. Do you have the right people on the bus?

This is the single most critical executive decision you need to make with your leaders. Do your leaders have the necessary:

    1. Values
    2. Will
    3. Skills

Great leadership isn’t worth much without exceptional unit leadership.
Great unit leaders are really good at building pockets of greatness.

4. What are the brutal facts?

Pick up the “rocks” and look at them underneath to see what needs to be fixed.

5. What do we understand about our hedgehog?

Click here for an explanation of Jim’s hedgehog concept.

Foxes love complexity.
Hedgehogs understand one big thing.
Simplify things, reduce concepts down to a simple concept.
Three things that play into your hedgehog strategy:

    1. What are you passionate about?
    2. What are you the best in the world at?
    3. What drives your economic engine?

6. How can you accelerate your flywheel by committing to a 20-mile march?

Two teams set out to get to the South Pole in 1911. They both left for the South Pole at the same time. Only one team made it there and back by committing to a 20-mile march EVERY day.

    • Fanatical discipline
    • Productive paranoia
    • Empirical creativity

Once you get the flywheel moving, fine-tuned and growing, it can’t be stopped.

7. Where should you place your big bets?

How do you blend creativity and discipline?
Creativity is natural.
Discipline is not natural, it must be learned.
There is a difference between how the winners did innovation.
Those who didn’t win didn’t fire enough bullets.
First fire bullets, then cannon balls.
Keep trying things until you find something that works, then fire cannonballs.

8. What is your BHAG–your big hairy audacious goal?

The “goal” will stimulate progress.
Preserve the core while stimulating progress.
Change practices without changing core values.

9. What is the right 20% that you need to change and why?

10. How can we maximize our return on luck?

Level 5 leaders credited good luck for their success
Are the big winners luckier? No.
The winners got a higher return on their luck.

11. Do you show any stages of the five stages of decline:

    1. Hubris born of success
    2. Undisciplined pursuit of more
    3. Denial of risk and peril
    4. Grasping for salvation
    5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death

12. What should be on your “stop doing” list?

True discipline lies not in what we do, but to know what to stop doing.
What can we do to seek not to attain a good life, but instead a great life?

Categories
Travel News

Christopherson Agent’s Son Wins Olympic Gold

Joss Christensen wins gold!
Joss Christensen wins gold! (image via)

Christopherson Business Travel would like to send a hearty congratulations to one of our agents, Debbie Christensen and her son Joss.

This morning, while most of us in the United States were sleeping, Debbie was in Sochi, Russia cheering for her son as he became an Olympic gold medalist in slope style skiing.

According to CBS News, “Joss Christensen soared to gold in the sport’s Olympic debut, posting a score of 95.80 on Thursday to beat teammates Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper.”

Click here to read a Washington Post article detailing Joss’ journey to his Olympic gold.

Again, congratulations Joss and Debbie!

Categories
Travel Management Travel Technology

AirPortal 360™ Mobile Provides Travel Management And More

AirPortal-360-Mobile-blackWhen Christopherson Business Travel developed AirPortal 360™ Mobile, our objective was to create the first mobile app designed exclusively for the corporate travel manager. We succeeded!

With AirPortal 360 Mobile, you can do your job wherever you are, whenever you need to.

The app is now available in IOS and Andriod versions and includes the following functions:

SecurityLogic®: Provides a map to see who is traveling and where, plus the ability to alert travelers of delays and dangers

Airtinerary®: All your travelers’ itineraries—past, present, and future are accessible

ProfileLogic®: Access and edit your travelers’ profiles, deactivate/activate users, and reset passwords

PolicyLogic®: Summary view of your company’s travel policy plus access to your vendor contracts

Contacts: All the numbers you need, stored in one place

But as it turns out, AirPortal 360 Mobile does so much more.

Now that our corporate clients have been using it for four to five months, we have learned that the app is helpful in so many additional ways. For example:

  • One of our travel managers recently told us, “Every time I’m in a meeting, someone will ask me where so-and-so is, assuming that I have every traveler’s itinerary memorized. Now I do!”
  • When a group of travelers are attending a meeting or event together, there are always questions about who is arriving and departing when, who has a rental car booked, and how you will coordinate transportation. With AirPortal 360 Mobile, it’s done! Logistics are easy to coordinate because all that information is at your fingertips.
  • When traveling with others you often need to know who is staying at which hotels to schedule logistics and events. Again, done!
  • When traveling for business it is often necessary to find a coworker’s itinerary, should you be interested in booking others on the same fight. Done.

We are pleased with the adoption of AirPortal 360 Mobile and the way in which it has enhanced not only travel management, but also day-to-day travel coordination and the logistics of business travel.

If  you have questions about how AirPortal 360 Mobile can benefit your company’s travel program, please contact one of our executives.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry

Christopherson and Concur Partnership Continues to Grow

cbt_logoConcur_logoChristopherson Business Travel has been a preferred partner with Concur Travel and Expense for nearly 10 years. We appreciate our relationship with Concur and are excited about recent commitments we have made to enhance our mutually beneficial partnership.

Christopherson is one of the first travel management companies in the nation to develop advanced travel technology which integrates with Concur’s TripLink. TripLink gives corporations the ability to capture business travel reservations made outside of the designated booking model. Christopherson immediately accepts the reservations from TripLink and integrates them into our proprietary travel management technology, AirPortal 360, which provides our customers with a complete view of their travel program.

In addition to being a market leader with TripLink, Christopherson is pleased to be a premium sponsor of the Concur Fusion Exchange events that will be happening throughout the United States in 2014.  For details on locations and dates, please visit Concur.com. And if you happen to be at one of these events, we invite you to stop by the Christopherson booth.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry

2013: A Big Year of Change, Investments, and Growth for Christopherson Business Travel

Christopherson experienced a big year of investment, growth, and change.
Christopherson experienced a big year of investment, growth, and change.

As we look back on 2013, Christopherson Business Travel had a great year with lots of change, major investments, and lots of growth.

We Made Big Changes:

  • We implemented the Agresso ERP accounting & business information system.
  • We updated and implemented our travel management technology platform, AirPortal®.
  • We moved, expanded, or remodeled our offices in Marin County, Salt Lake City, and Denver.

We Made Big Investments:

We Experienced Big Growth:

  • We implemented 96 new corporate clients, plus we added 170 new clients in Alabama.
  • We added 75 new team members (27 new employees/agents and 48 new employees in Alabama).
  • We added about $50 Million in sales.

Twenty-thirteen was a year filled with change, investment, and growth. And as we look forward to 2014, we have set the stage for even more growth. We are looking forward to another amazing year.

Mike Cameron, CEO
Christopherson Business Travel

Categories
Travel Industry Travel News

Christopherson Business Travel Acquires All Seasons Travel

cbt_logoFor Immediate Release
December 9, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY – Christopherson Business Travel announces today the acquisition of All Seasons Travel, forming one of the largest travel management firms in the country, expanding Christopherson’s footprint beyond the western United States, where it currently ranks as the largest travel agency in the Rocky Mountain region.

Salt Lake City-based Christopherson Business Travel and All Seasons Travel, headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., will conduct business under the Christopherson brand name. The combined $380 million company will employ more than 300 travel professionals across the country, with Mike Cameron continuing as CEO.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the timing of such a key merger,” said Cameron. “The joined company immediately captures a stronger market position that will allow for greater business efficiencies, enhanced travel technology and formidable buying power.”

The acquisition will provide jobs for all current employees of each company.

“Joining the strengths of these powerful travel firms, that already share the same vision, will allow us to serve the needs of business and leisure travelers even more effectively,” said All Season’s CEO Borden Burr. “It is a major advantage for each of our companies, as well as for our customers.”

Bucking national economic trends, Christopherson booked $341 million in travel in 2012 and is on schedule to grow to $500 million by 2015. Christopherson’s vision for the future is to continue growing by finding new ways to add value to its client’s travel management program. Christopherson continues to invest heavily in keeping its proprietary technology platform unique and relevant.

Georgia-based Innovative Travel Acquisitions Inc. represented the seller.

About Christopherson Business Travel
Christopherson Business Travel is the independently owned leader in intelligent business travel management, online travel tools and business travel resources. As the 11th largest business travel agency in the United States, Christopherson operates from three full-service locations (Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; San Francisco, California) as well as 35-client dedicated on-site locations, maintains a successful leisure travel division (Andavo Travel), employs more than 250 travel professionals, and manages travel for more than 900 companies and organizations across the country. For more information, please visit CBTravel.com.

About All Seasons Travel
All Seasons Travel, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a complete travel management company specializing in corporate, leisure, group, business incentive, and sports travel. The company employs more than fifty employees and manages travel for more than 100 companies and organizations, with a specialty in team and fan travel for universities. All Seasons Travel is the official agency for Travelin’ with the Tide, Traveling Vols, and the University of Kentucky Alumni Association. For more information, please visit AllSeasonsTravel.com.

Media Contact: Krista Maurer, Krista.Maurer@CBTravel.com, 801-327-7615

Categories
Business Travel Travel Technology

AirPortal 360™ is a Travel Management Nerve Center

Effective travel management must meet and balance the needs of two key groups:

  1. Travel managers, who need to save their company money on travel and who also have duty of care responsibilities
  2. Travelers, who want service, safety, and convenience.

AirPortal 360 is a travel management nerve center.
AirPortal 360 is a travel management nerve center.

Our objective at Christopherson Business Travel, when we developed AirPortal 360, was to meet the requirements of both groups. While our key stakeholders are the companies for whom we manage travel because they pay for our services, we must also take good care of the travelers, in order to be successful.

AirPortal 360 is the solution that provides companies:

  1. One platform integrating full-service and online travel management.
  2. A 360° real-time view of their entire travel program providing high-level “situational awareness and increased visibility.
  3. Actionable intelligence allowing travel managers, our account managers, and our agents to respond to our clients’ needs.

The key components of our proprietary AirPortal 360 platform are:


AirPortal 360™ Dashboard

  • Provides SecurityLogic heat map on the homepage, plus customizable widgets to provide awareness and actionable intelligence

PolicyLogic™

  • Create a travel management policy to monitor and manage your travel program
  • Manage preferred vendor relationships and ensure compliance to help save money

ProfileLogic®

  • Set up a company and their travelers’ profiles and optionally organize them by division, department, and team

Airtinerary®

  • Access past, present, and future traveler itineraries

SecurityLogic®

  • Handle duty of care by identifying who, when, and where travelers are, and respond appropriately when there is an incident that requires action

AirBank®

  • Increase savings through recovery and management of unused airline tickets

DataLogic®

  • Provide real-time access and on-demand reporting of travel program data

My Travel™ Dashboard

  • Provide travelers with the information they need before, during, and after their trips

To learn more about how Christopherson’s AirPortal 360 platform can benefit your company’s travel program and save you time and money on business travel, please contact one of our executives.

 

 

Categories
Business Travel Travel Technology

AirPortal 360™ Mobile – All signs point to Yes!

AirPortal 360™ Mobile helps travel planners do their jobs more quickly, more thoroughly, and from anywhere.
AirPortal 360™ Mobile helps travel managers and travel planners do their jobs more quickly, more thoroughly, and from anywhere.

With the recent release of Christopherson Business Travel’s new AirPortal 360™ mobile app, we have literally put the power of AirPortal 360 into the hands of travel managers, travel planners, and key executives. With just one or two clicks, you can now answer a variety of questions, such as:

  • Who is traveling today?
  • Where will our travelers be tomorrow or next week?
  • When does “so-and-so” return?
  • What hotel is he/she staying in?
  • What is our contract rate at the Hyatt in San Francisco?
  • What is the CD number for our Delta contract?
  • I forgot my password. Help?
  • A new hire started today. Can you get her set up to book travel?
  • I deleted my itinerary. Can I get another copy for my expense report?
  • One of our travelers was let go today. Will you please make sure he can no longer book travel?

You can also execute a number of important tasks, even when you’re not at your desk, including:

  • Locating all your company’s travelers
  • Viewing all your travelers’ itinerary details
  • Emailing an itinerary
  • Accessing vendor contracts
  • Enrolling new travelers
  • Resetting passwords
  • Deactivating ex-employees
  • Contacting your Account Manager
  • Contacting your Agents
  • Immediately assisting travelers if flights are delayed/cancelled
  • Notifying travelers of weather, disaster, safety, or delay information

Here is some recent feedback from current AirPortal 360 Mobile users:

“Everyone expects me to know all of the details of every traveler. Now I do!“

“I use this app every day, it is so convenient and simple to use.“

“With three clicks I can get the data I need. Wow!“

So, can AirPortal 360 Mobile make your life easier? All signs point to YES.

AirPortal 360 Mobile is available in the Apple app store. Simply download the app and login with your AirPortal® credentials.

Not an iPhone user? Watch for our Android version coming soon.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry

The Science of Maintaining a Unique Competitive Advantage

competition_advantageWhen in business, whether you own the company or are an employee of it, it is important to understand the difference between “unique competitive advantages” and “business strengths.” Many companies will tout their “advantages,” but what they’re really presenting are just their basic strengths and most cases, are likely are only spouting clichés. An example of a common and overused business cliché is: “we will exceed your expectations.”

While business strengths are important, they are not differentiators. You need strengths just to stay in business. You need unique competitive advantages to grow and prosper, faster than your competition.

At Christopherson Business Travel we have approached the development of our unique competitive advantages as a science. This is the only way you’re able to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace.

In order for something to be defined as a “unique competitive advantage” we require that it pass a four-part test:
1.    It must be objective.
2.    It must be quantifiable.
3.    It can’t be a cliché.
4.    It can’t be claimed by our competitors.

An example of one of our unique competitive advantages is the recent introduction of AirPortal 360™ Mobile, the first comprehensive mobile app to provide corporate travel managers the ability to manage their company’s travel program from the palm of their hand. Read about it here.

The introduction of this newest unique competitive advantage garnered a great deal of media attention (see here), which is objective and quantifiable.

Can we objectively say that our unique competitive advantages have helped us grow faster than our competition? During the last five years we have more than doubled in size, growing from a $160 million company in 2007, to a $341 million company in 2012. Christopherson was recently ranked #11 in size, in the U.S., by Business Travel News (BTN). We were also the fastest growing of all the top 20 Travel Management Companies in the U.S., in terms of percentage growth. Read more here.

The BTN ranking and applicable growth rate are objective, quantifiable, not a cliché, and can’t be claimed by our competitors. Thus, Christopherson Business Travel can present our technology to be a “unique competitive advantage.”

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry Travel Tips

Stash Hotel Rewards: The Rewards Program for Independent Business Travelers

Stash Hotel RewardsDo you ever resist booking the hotel you really want and instead book a hotel simply because you have a rewards program with that particular chain? If so, then Stash Hotel Rewards might be the rewards program for you.

Stash rewards you for staying where you really want to stay. The program works by awarding you points for every dollar you spend on eligible hotel room rates at participating hotels. These points can then be redeemed for free stays. You can even earn points on rooms you book for other guests as long as you are the one settling the charges.  Blackout dates do not exist and points never expire which will make it much easier for you to redeem your points.

Visit StashRewards.com to learn more, sign up, and begin earning points with the hotels you really want to enjoy!

 

Categories
Business Travel

Christopherson Business Travel is Named One of the 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Utah

 

Christopherson's CEO Mike Cameron accepts the Utah Business Fast 50 award.
Christopherson’s CEO Mike Cameron accepts the Utah Business Fast 50 award.

Christopherson Business Travel was recognized today by Utah Business Magazine as one of Utah’s fifty fastest growing companies, determined by a combination of compound annual growth and revenue. This is the fifth year Christopherson has been named a Fast 50 company and was ranked at #38.

Christopherson’s CEO, Mike Cameron, accepted the award at a luncheon held in honor of all fifty recipients at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. He was also recently interviewed by Utah Business and shared more about Christopherson’s growth and formula for success.

Utah Business (UB): What do you attribute your strong growth to?

Mike Cameron (MC): Christopherson focuses intently on creating and maintaining a unique competitive advantage that isn’t claimed by the competition. Our in-house software engineering team has created a powerful suite of corporate travel management software and online business travel tools that can generate considerable cost savings for our clients through managing their business travel spending, their travelers’ security, unused airline tickets, and monitoring travel policy compliance.

Our company culture also plays a strong role in Christopherson’s growth.  The culture we have created is built upon a simple formula: hire the right people + create the right value proposition + a willingness to share the wealth with those who generate it. This equals growth. As we have been consistent in the application of this formula, we have grown the company from $1 million to $341 million in 23 years.

UB: What challenges have come alongside strong growth for your company and how have you overcome those?

MC: Four things come to mind. First, by 2000, Christopherson had expanded to four offices, and we decided to merge the offices into a newly-built 42,000 square foot building in Murray, Utah. We moved in the week of September 11, 2001. At the same time, as we all know, the entire travel industry came to a halt. However, Christopherson still grew 17% in 2001 and had another great year.

Second, when the airlines eliminated travel agency commissions in 2001, Christopherson’s competitors began to cut back on their employees’ compensation to stay afloat. But we, on the other hand, gave everyone a raise that year. We announced that while others would become defensive, Christopherson would take advantage of the opportunity and expand. Optimism and morale stayed high, and it worked – more growth!

Third, when people began to more fully embrace the practice of booking their own travel on the internet, this began to cut into Christopherson’s bookings. So we responded by offering customized internet booking tools to our clients. We embraced the new environment and Christopherson’s clients now book millions of dollars online using Christopherson’s tools. We have an entire team of professionals who manage all of the online technology and online bookings for our corporate clients.

And finally, as the economy began to decline rapidly in late 2008, we presented a strategy to our management team. We looked at all of the various economic downturn scenarios and presented a plan to respond to every possibility. It took all of the fear out of the process. We followed the playbook and Christopherson was able to get through a 20% economic downturn with minimal layoffs.

UB: Are there any major initiatives or goals in the near future?

MC: Christopherson booked $341 million in travel in 2012. We plan to grow to $500 million by 2015. Christopherson’s vision for the future is simply to continue growing by finding new ways to add value to our client’s travel management program. We will continue to invest heavily in keeping our proprietary technology platform unique and relevant, which has become the “secret sauce” in our success.

UB: What excites you most about your company’s future?

MC: Creating a strategy that will adapt to the rapid changes in the travel industry and provide a solid future for our employees and other stakeholders.

UB: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about your company?

MC: This month, we released the first comprehensive IOS mobile app designed exclusively for corporate travel managers, executives, and team leaders. (Read the press release here.)

Click here to view this video on Christopherson’s YouTube channel.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Technology

AirPortal 360™ Mobile Garners Media Attention

AirPortal 360 Mobile NewsChristopherson Business Travel’s new mobile app for corporate travel managers, AirPortal 360™ Mobile, released this week at the annual GBTA convention in San Diego, California.

In the days leading up to, and following the event, Christopherson received much media attention regarding the new technology.

We are thrilled to see so many stories popping up and want to thank the news outlets for their coverage. Check out the latest of Christopherson’s news appearances:

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry Travel Management Travel Technology

Christopherson Business Travel Releases AirPortal 360™ Mobile: The First Comprehensive Mobile App for Corporate Travel Managers

AirPortal 360 Mobile is the first mobile app that allows corporate travel managers the ability to manage their program wherever, whenever.
AirPortal 360 Mobile is the first mobile app that provides corporate travel managers the ability to manage their company’s travel program–wherever, whenever.

Christopherson Business Travel will soon be launching AirPortal 360™ Mobile, the first comprehensive mobile app to provide corporate travel managers the ability to manage their company’s travel program from the palm of their hand—wherever, whenever. (Read the full press release here.)

As the mobile version of Christopherson’s intelligent travel manager dashboard, AirPortal 360 Mobile delivers a collection of essential management tools that allow travel managers, and other key players in a company’s travel program, to maintain and manage their duty of care responsibilities, ensure better policy compliance, keep track of travelers and their itineraries, and more.

In the recent Business Travel News (BTN) article, “Assessing Mobile Travel Services and Strategies,” BTN stated that, “However nimble a corporate travel program might be, changes in its culture inevitably occur more slowly than did the rapid, massive embrace by business travelers of mobile technology.”

At Christopherson, we have noticed that while mobile technology innovation has progressed rapidly for travelers, there has not been much innovation when it comes to mobile technology for travel managers. The mobile apps that do exist for that market only provide a third-party software developer’s niche service, and until now, there have been no comprehensive mobile apps to help travel managers oversee their entire travel program. AirPortal 360 Mobile is the solution to that void.

Christopherson has long been a leader in adopting mobile business travel technology, as evidenced by the fact that we were the first travel management company to fully integrate TripIt’s interactive trip management services for all Christopherson business travelers. This occured three years ago, prior to Concur buying TripIt. (Read TripIt’s full press release here.)

Christopherson will be unveiling AirPortal 360 Mobile at the 2013 Global Business Travel Association convention, in San Diego, CA, August 4-7. The app is first available to iPhone users, and the Android version will be released in September 2013.

We invite you to stop by our booth (#3625) to take a look and demo the app for yourself.
GBTA Signature

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry

Christopherson Ranked #26 on Travel Weekly’s 2013 Power List

 

Christopherson Business Travel was ranked #26 on Travel Weekly's 2013 Power List.

Christopherson Business Travel has been ranked #26 on Travel Weekly’s 2013 Power List.

In both 2011 and 2012, Christopherson was ranked #32 on this same list. The article accompanying the rankings also highlights Christopherson’s tremendous 2012 growth independent of acquisitions.

See Travel Weekly’s Power List here.

In 2012, Christopherson booked $341 million in travel, an increase of nearly 20% over 2011, and was also recently ranked the 11th largest business travel agency in the country by Business Travel News.

Click here to read Christopherson Business Travel’s CEO, Mike Cameron’s, “formula for growth.”

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management Travel Technology

3 Key Strategies of Best-in-Class Business Travel Management Programs

Travel Market Report’s business travel editor, Fred Gebhart, recently wrote about a report published by the market research firm Aberdeen Groupon called “Travel and Expense Management.”  The report concluded that business travel expenses account for 8% to 12% of an organization’s overall expense budget.

The report also emphasized the need for organizations to focus more on strategic management of travel and not just cost efficiency, and identified three key strategies common to best-in-class travel management programs:

  1. Support travel management with analytics, integration, and mobility
  2. Use mobile apps and portals to put expense management directly in the hands of travelers
  3. Leverage analytics and integration to drive transparency into travel processes and spend to improve corporate budgeting, planning, and forecasting

As a travel management company, Christopherson Business Travel works hard to help you meet those objectives. In fact, Christopherson has already helped countless organizations across the country save money by reducing their travel spend and more efficiently managing their travel programs. The redesign of AirPortal®, our integrated business travel technology platform, and the creation of AirPortal 360™, our travel manager dashboard, allows us to respond to your corporate travel needs.

For additional details about how we can support your travel programs with analytics, integration, and mobility, contact one of our Christopherson Business Travel’s development executives or account managers.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry Travel Management Travel News

Christopherson is Ranked #11 by Business Travel News

Christopherson Business Travel is now the 11th largest business travel agency in the country.

We are pleased to announce that Christopherson Business Travel was recently ranked the 11th largest business travel agency in the United States by Business Travel News.

Rankings are based upon audited results of annual transaction and sales volume data provided by the Airline Reporting Corporation. Results were announced in the 2013 Business Travel Survey issue of Business Travel News’ monthly magazine.

Christopherson has a long legacy of growth, innovation, and client retention which has guided the agency from its #14 spot in 2011 to its current position, #11, in the 2013 report.

Particularly notable is Christopherson’s growth over the last six years. Since 2007, the company has more than doubled in size, having grown from a $160 million company in 2007 to a $341 million company in 2012.

Currently, Christopherson operates from three full-service locations (Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; San Francisco, California) as well as 35-client dedicated on-site locations, maintains a successful leisure travel division (Andavo Travel), employs more than 250 travel professionals and, as previously stated, booked $341 million in travel in 2012 for more than 900 companies and organizations across the country.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management

How to get the lowest airfare–Understanding the fluctuation of flight prices

how to get the lowest airfare

As an Account Manager for Christopherson Business Travel, I’m often asked by our clients’ travel managers: “Why is it, when looking for a flight, that the price can change within minutes of purchasing the fare?”

Cost of airfare has the potential to impact both the traveler and the company. At the point of purchase, the traveler is trying to juggle getting both a reasonable fare and their schedule to align before the ticket price changes. And quite often, it’s the cost of airfare that pushes travel expenses over budget, thus impacting a company’s bottom line.

I like to compare purchasing airfare to buying stocks. The price of stocks and the price of airfare is not fixed and can change in less than a minute. Airlines rely on computer modelling to track sales and adjust fares accordingly as often as they want, just like the price of stock is adjusted depending on demand and the current economic and political climate. These variables, in addition to the following factors, can all influence the price of airfare:

  • Passenger load
  • Competitor pricing
  • Peak travel dates, holidays, and seasons
  • Fluctuating fuel costs
  • How much a traveler is willing to pay for a seat

Airlines will also often raise the prices on flights that have a higher percentage of business travelers vs. vacation travelers. They base this on the comparison of:

  • Flights with a high rate of last minute bookings, which tends to be an indicator of business travel clients vs. flights booked well in advance, which tends to be an indicator of vacationers who have been planning for months
  • Short-haul flights that business travelers can make in one day vs. vacation travelers who would more likely drive, instead of fly, that same distance
  • Travel dates during the work week vs. travel dates over a weekend

How can a Travel Management Company help businesses and their travelers when airfare is so unpredictable?

Travel Management Companies have the ability to leverage all of those price-driving factors to keep costs down and help the traveler make well-informed trip-driven choices. Here are some of the ways we, at Christopherson Business Travel, accomplish this:

  • Supplier negotiations
  • Analyze program leakage
  • Create and manage travel policy
  • Facilitate the duty of care for a company’s travelers
  • Assist in educating the traveler
  • Ability to track that the lowest fare was indeed offered to the traveler and the reasons why/if it was refused

To learn more about how Christopherson Business Travel can help your company find the most cost-effective airfares for your business travel needs, please contact one of our executives.

 

Categories
Business Travel Travel Technology

How to Search for Flights with Concur Travel’s Online Booking Tool

Most people don’t have time to sort through the myriad of options that populate when searching for a business travel flight. It can certainly be an overwhelming task. We all have parameters and certain restraints that require us to arrive at, or depart from, our destinations at specific times. Ultimately there are only a handful of itineraries that will fit our needs.

But Concur has the ability to sort through the hundreds of options and filter out most of those that do not meet your criteria. Here are a few simple tips to help you more efficiently search for business travel flights using the Concur booking tool.

concur booking tool
Image A (click image to enlarge)

When filling out the search parameters in Concur, it is usually best to search by “Schedule” as, more often than not, you generally know the flights you want or you have time restrictions.  Remember–any information you put into the search parameters will directly influence the search results.

If you want a specific flight, be sure that whatever time you enter into your search includes the flight time of the flight you would like to book. The field highlighted in green (Image A) indicates the amount of time prior to, and after, the time you selected. This is what the travel engine will use to populate your search options. In this instance, the tool will search for departing flights from 4:00AM until 10:00AM.

Once the flight results are displayed, you can further filter your results by clicking the icon at the top of the page for the carrier with whom you’d prefer to fly. For example, if you know you want to travel on a non-stop United flight, you can search for only those flights by clicking the row and column where United, Non-Stop results intersect–as indicated by the green highlighted field in Image B.

Please note that clicking on an airline icon, or on search options within the matrix, will filter both departing and returning flight searches. So if you are looking for a United outbound flight, but want Delta for your return, make sure you select the Delta icon after you chose your United outbound flight.

Also, if your search doesn’t display the necessary information, you can always adjust your search parameters by changing the fields found to the right of the search results as indicated by the pink arrow (Image B).

concur booking tool
Image B (click image to enlarge)

By following these simple steps, you can save yourself a lot of time and efficiently find flights that meet your travel needs.

Christopherson Business Travel provides fulfillment expertise for Concur Expense and Travel. We welcome the opportunity to partner with you to customize and implement your travel and expense process. Please contact one of our executives to learn more.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Tips Vacation Travel

Car Rental Hidden Costs – Are they DRIVING you Crazy?

We’ve talked about this before, but I find that it’s always helpful to review the hidden costs of renting a car.
To begin, let’s say you’ve found a great rental deal for $20/day. Unfortunately that “great” rate doesn’t guarantee you a low-cost rental. Instead, upon returning your car, you find the price has skyrocketed and the bill now includes sales taxes, airport surcharges, insurance, and licensing fees. By the time all the extra charges are added on, the guaranteed result is a severe case of sticker shock … and a final cost double the initial alluring base rate.
So how can you avoid the shock of pricing overload? Here is a summary of car rental surcharges and a few tips for how to cut costs on your next rental.

Taxes and Airport Surcharges

Sales tax and airport charges vary considerably from state to state, and you won’t be able to avoid state and local sales taxes. Many local governments also charge fees to fund their own development projects, such as convention centers or sports stadiums, and some car rental companies also include a daily surcharge for economy recovery fees.
But avoiding airport charges is simple and something to always consider. You can eliminate airport concession recovery fees and customer facility charges by picking up and dropping off your car at an off-airport location. Weighing the possible inconveniences and the price of additional transportation to and from the airport against the concession fees charged by the airport location is, however, a must as doing so could save you more than 15% of your total price.

Insurance

This is usually referred to by rental companies as “collision damage” or “Loss Damage Waiver (LDW).” For an extra $25 – $30 a day, you can avoid liability for any damage to the vehicle, provided you’re not found guilty of gross negligence. Insurance is optional, although in a few states it is compulsory and built into the basic car rental cost.
So, before you purchase the extra insurance, check to see if your regular car insurance covers you in a rental car. Some policies do. Most credit cards also provide insurance if you pay for your rental with that card. Larger companies also include car rental addendums in their company insurance which also covers office equipment and the like. Keep in mind that limitations may apply to all types of coverage. If you’re not comfortable with the risk, consult with your insurance administrator or travel manager.

Gasoline Charges

Returning a car with an empty tank will create an extra charges to your bottom line.  In most cases you’ll want to fill up before you return your vehicle. However, car rental companies now offer the option of purchasing a full tank of gas when you first take the car, enabling you to return the car with as much or as little fuel as you wish.
Keep in mind that there is no refund for unused fuel, so you’d be paying a little extra for the convenience of skipping the trip to the gas station. Also, you may be able to find a better per-gallon price by shopping around on your own.

Drop-Off Charges

An extra fee is usually charged if a car is returned to a different location than where it was picked up. This fee varies by location. In some instances there is no charge, however you could pay more than $1,000 for picking a car up at LAX and dropping it of at JFK plus around $0.35 per mile.
If your corporation has a car rental contract make sure it notes a “one way” rate. The rates will be higher than your normal corporate rate but will save money in the long run.

The 24-Hour Clock

If you rent your car on Wednesday and return it on Thursday, most companies charge you one day only if you return it within 24 hours. Some companies will give you a 29-minute grace period before hourly charges kick in and after 90 – 120 minutes you may be charged for the full extra day. Some rental car companies are also now charging a late return fee of $10 per day.
Make sure you check the terms and conditions in your rental documents.

One Day Surcharges

Picking a car up only for one day will cost you more if those days are Monday through Thursday.  Because of the yield management process, it is more expensive for the car rental company if you pick your car up in the morning on Monday through Thursday and return it the same day. It eliminates the possibilities of another traveler needing that car for two or more days at a time. The one day surcharges are $5 to $7 over the normal daily rate and are “hidden” in the rate so you will not recognize you are being charged extra. Corporations can sometimes get this fee reduced or waived when negotiating a car rental contract.

Age Penalties

Renters under the age of 25 may have to pay additional fees of about $25 – $30 per day. Those companies who rent to drivers under 21 often charge much steeper surcharges. Those over 70 may also have to pay extra (if they’re able to rent at all).  Age restrictions vary by country and franchise, so be sure to check ahead.

Frequent Flier Fees

Car rental companies often charge a small fee when you request frequent flier miles for your rental. The fee varies by airline and can range anywhere from a few cents to $2 a day. Another choice would be to opt for the free day program instead of earning miles. There is not a charge for earning free rental days and are usually earned for every 15 days rented.

Categories
Travel Management

Duty of Care and Travel Risk Management

Companies with multi-national operations and those with employees who travel across borders are increasingly concerned about managing risk to their travelers, expatriates and assignees. When employers fail to comply with their duty of care obligations, the following situations can occur:

  • While working overseas, an employee gets sick and does not have access to adequate medical treatment 
  • During a natural disaster, a company realizes that it does not have sustainable business continuity plans, and/or employees cannot be evacuated easily and face unnecessary hardship
  • An employee travels to a country where malaria is endemic. She is not given prophylaxis or education on malaria by her employer. She contracts the disease and gets very sick.

These incidences are all avoidable. Unfortunately, the employers were not prepared and faced needless litigation, damaged reputation and interruptions to their operations.
To learn more about Duty of Care and Travel Risk Management please click on this white paper link by International SOS.