The Waterfall  

There’s a great expression about a boss who gives their subordinate a command that by definition cannot be done: “Go stand under that waterfall but don’t get wet”

The Convention vs. the Conference

A convention has the stigma as a multi-day set of parties with very little work being done, but lots of socializing and free time to explore a city.

A conference, especially for corporate travel is 1 to 2.5 day event on average, and is focused on education, networking and providing a forum for new-entrants to showcase their technology and service solutions.

Why Conferences Are Imperative for Travel Buyers 

Prior to COVID-19’s impact on our ability to meet in-person, a travel buyer had a fair amount of time in the office where they could schedule appointments with qualified travel company salespeople to learn first-hand about those solutions.

Today, we find that most travel buyers are not in the office five days a week. This fact limits their in-person meetings with potential travel services providers, relegating these conversations to Teams meetings and chat rooms, which limits their ability to learn first-hand about competitive solutions to their incumbent suppliers. That simply doesn’t work and is counter-productive to their job description.

How Many Conferences Should a Buyer Attend Each Year?

I recently spoke with a friend of mine who is a travel buyer at a very large company. My reason for calling was to ask if he would be at GBTA or BTSA this year; and if not, did he want to attend PTC’s annual conference.  He was embarrassed to say, “I am only allowed to attend one (1) conference every two (2) years!”

The above is the waterfall example. There are several types of conferences in our industry, and I try to attend as many as my calendar permits during the year. The options are ones hosted by a trade association, by an industry publication, organized by a supplier (non-TMC), and unique events by invitation only.

The best way for a travel buyer to attend the most logical programs is to build it into his/her budget for the year. In some cases, the program host enables buyers to attend at no cost, if they commit to schedule (and attend) X number of in-person meetings at that event. Even with zero-cost including airfare, I’ve heard directly from travel buyers: “Even if it’s free, I can’t go.”

What’s the Cost of NOT Attending?

It’s an opportunity cost.

You might save a thousand dollars or so by not attending; but you can cost your company millions if you maintain the status quo with your “managed travel program” and not be aware of alternatives to your existing technology and processes.

This becomes a dramatic challenge when the new CFO (or outside consulting firm) with little practical knowledge of our industry, dictates a challenge (demand) to the travel buyer: “Cut our travel program by 25 percent this year; but don’t suggest demand management.”

How Much Can You Learn Attending the Right Number of Programs?  

It’s a function of what you don’t know.

I was just on a call with a client who recently assigned global travel to an internal procurement person. During our conversation where I was explaining the differences between TMCs, OBTs, NDC, etc., the client asked me, “Andy what’s a PNR?” I said, “It’s similar to a cabernet but uses primarily pinot grapes.” Because I thought he was kidding.

He wasn’t.

Our industry offers a variety of educational and networking opportunities for the travel buyer (and our supplier friends). The choice of programs depends on the depth of knowledge the travel buyer ‘has’ versus ‘needs to have’ to achieve internal goals and challenges. The best way to find out is to look online at the various programs and pay close attention to the content. 

If a session title starts with “How To….” don’t go unless you don’t know the difference between a PNR and pinot noir.

So What’s Next?

Plan your 2027 budget to include the investment (not the cost) of attending events that will improve your industry knowledge and enable you to bring enhancements to your travel program, either by challenging the incumbents or replacing them.

You cannot possibly drive savings, technology, service and productivity without a travel budget for the travel buyer that includes a minimum of one event per quarter. 

Andrew W. Menkes, CTC, is the Founder and CEO of Partnership Travel Consulting, a global corporate travel sourcing and strategy company. A business travel pioneer, Andrew has led technology innovation in the industry, including the first internet-based electronic ticket purchase. He was the first travel manager to be accredited by ARC to operate a Corporate Travel Department. He has been named Travel Manager of the Year, listed twice in the Top 25 Most Influential Business Travel Executives, and was the first travel buyer to be inducted into the Business Travel Hall of Fame. In January of 2025, Andrew also took over as President of Fare Audit, Inc. a corporate travel audit firm for airfares and hotel rates