For this veteran travel manager, success is built on relationships found across the spectrum of corporate travel
BTE: You’ve been all over the business travel industry. How did you first get involved?
STEINKE: My first experience ever at a travel agency was back in 1986. I was moving out to Utah at the age of 18 all by myself. I had saved all my money, and the cheapest ticket I could get was on People Express. I bought it in a travel agency, and I remember walking in and thinking, What a cool job that is! And then two days later, People Express went bankrupt. The travel agent called me and said, “Jennifer, they went bankrupt but you’re in luck. I can get you your money back.” And that guy saved me.I spent nine months in Utah and then came home. What do I do now? So I literally opened the Yellow Pages to the word School, and it said Travel School. And I thought, That’s it! That travel agency – that would be a cool job. So I went to travel school 33 years ago.
BTE: How did you make the transition to corporate travel?
STEINKE: For the first 13 years, I was in the agency world; I started out hand writing and delivering airline tickets. I was a corporate travel agent, worked in accounting, did the ARC report, did marketing and training. Then I got onto the corporate side managing an in-house corporate travel department. But I had done a lot of different agency work, and when you come into the CTD world, all of those things are very valuable. And that’s when I got involved with GBTA and started becoming active in the industry.
BTE: Tell us how your involvement in industry organizations has grown.
STEINKE: I was doing some local BTA work. And then I decided to get involved in the national level on the technology committee. I think my first GBTA convention was in Orlando, maybe ’98, and I became an actual member in 2000. By 2009 I was on the tech committee, then the government relations committee. I was on the Global Travel Professional task force. In 2016, I was a Masters Honors recipient. And I’ve done a lot of chapter work – North Carolina BTA, Arizona BTA, South Florida BTA, Central North Florida. I have spoken at 22 local chapters over the years.And I got an MBA while doing all of this. I got my bachelors and my masters both while working full time, while volunteering and raising a family.
BTE: With all that going on, most people would have let the industry association work go. Why do you think it’s important to stay active in these organizations?
STEINKE: I feel like the more involved I get, the more valuable I become to my role. I’ve always been a really big idea person, and able to say, ‘Why can’t we do this?’ Or, ‘Why aren’t we doing that?’ The same-old-same-old wasn’t good enough for me, it never has been. I’ve spoken at multiple industry events around the globe, participated on numerous panels and webinars wanting all the time to give back to an industry that has been so rewarding for me. It was an honor in 2017 to be named one of BTN’s Best Practitioners. And of course, there’s my monthly Phat Data column in Business Travel Executive and my involvement in the BTE Think Tank. I think being involved at a national level has given me a bigger voice to drive change where it’s needed, create accountability, accessibility, and action within the industry.
BTE: How does your company’s management react to all your involvement?
STEINKE: I was talking with my current manager and he said, “Obviously you are very active and involved in the industry. I would never diminish that because I know that’s where you get all your insider information. And it represents the company well,” to be – as he put it – “such an esteemed industry person.” And he touts that fact.I think that engagement has always enabled me to deliver, and part of that is GBTA and these other platforms.
BTE: How can buyers use involvement in industry groups like GBTA to better prepare for the future?
STEINKE: I think that it’s probably two parts: One is the networking opportunities and the communications buyer-to-buyer. And the second piece is education to open up the minds of buyers to things that they have never seen before. Sitting on the board of GBTA, I’ve been actively engaged as a chairperson for their blue-ribbon education panels. We’ve accomplished huge things in the last few years. So no matter what organization or association you choose to belong to, that’s where people seek industry experts who can help them elevate their knowledge and careers.
BTE: As travel buyers build their experience and knowledge, what’s the biggest challenge they face in the industry today?
STEINKE: The challenge right now is the change in expectations from the travelers. Travelers have more content available to them than ever before. So they have the ability to challenge the managed travel program and ask more “why’s.” But while the travelers have access to more content, so do the travel buyers. These days on the Internet you can find out all the stuff you want to know, and stuff you might not want to know. The curtain’s been pulled back on what used to be a veil of secrecy around rates and traveler satisfaction and information. So in this environment, collaboration is the only way to make successful partnerships. And that becomes a bigger win when we truly understand the value of the partnership between the buyers and suppliers.
BTE: Why do you believe it’s important for people to be engaged and involved?
STEINKE: I think no matter where you are in your career, there’s a place for you. The more engaged you get, the more valuable it is to you. Being involved, even in the smallest of ways – maybe it isn’t even in the travel space, maybe it’s somewhere else that you have something to give back. But wherever you can give back, whether it’s to your association, or your family, or your life, or the world, you will find your niche. And then once you do, that just makes you a better person for the world. I know that sounds so corny, but I really mean it.