TAMS is probably one of the most collaborative and grassroots initiatives that the corporate travel profession has seen in a long time. TAMS is comprised of over 180 buyers and suppliers who came together to solve a problem. Our industry needed to put forth a set of industry standards and guidelines that suppliers would adapt and that buyers could share within their corporations and most importantly with their travelers.
This group didn’t seek sponsorships or have a pay-to-play model. It brought together 71 buyers, 96 suppliers, 11 consultancy firms all striving for the betterment of the industry as we work our way through very troubling times. Some of the individuals who participated were furloughed and taking a role in this effort gave them hope. It enabled them to contribute and be focused on positive things during what undoubtedly seemed like dark days.
The work that was completed in eight short weeks was amazing.
Let’s consider for a moment what unselfish, unsponsored, grassroots work looks like. And then let’s see if this one initiative can bring back into focus what is important to all of us and our industry – building world class managed travel programs.
Different Journeys, Common Goal
The TAMS working groups created a set of standards in eight categories: Air, Lodging, Ground Transportation, Rail, Meetings, TMC/OBT/GDS, Data Management and Traveler Education. The overall work is entitled “S.O.S. – Standards of Safety in Business Travel,” and it is designed to help guide both suppliers and corporations in facilitating the return to travel.
Each team was filled with volunteers who took a deep dive into their respective categories and determined what would be the best practices to institute across multiple touchpoints.
For example, the Air Team designed their standards based on a journey map. This map identified each touchpoint that travelers may encounter between the time they left their respective homes until they returned. The focus was on multiple personas: The traveler, the above-the-wing employee, the below-the-wing employee and concessions / contractors. As within most teams, standards were identified that applied to all categories and then individual standards by persona.
Similar work was done in the hotel and ground categories. Hotel team focused on all traveler touchpoints throughout the property with the exception of meeting space; those standards fell to the meetings team to develop. The hotel standards were designed to go from hospitality clean to hospital clean.
The meetings and events team designed their standards to guide meeting planners on what they should expect for meetings during a global pandemic. Their focus was on seven different areas, such as food service, participant responsibilities, meeting planner responsibilities and the like. Depending on which phase of the pandemic we are in, the standards clearly delineate the expectations based on the current situation at the time.
Ground transportation took a unique approach as they created standards around the concept Me Drive or Drive Me. The focus was on how the standards would look when the traveler is driving themselves, versus utilizing ground transportation providers when the traveler becomes a passenger with someone else driving.
Rail, too, had its own set of challenges that required a different approach. The working group decided to concentrate on the Train Operating Companies (TOCs). As rail varies so much between countries and operators, the focus here was to highlight the common threads between all, then provide a detailed breakout based on country, operator or region.
One of the more challenging categories covers travel management companies, online booking tools and global distribution systems – known by the acronym string TMC/OBT/GDS. As an industry, we can put all the standards in place but somehow they have to be operationalized. The problem was to do that in a way that accounts for different companies using a variety of different TMCs, OBTs and GDSs.
As challenging as that sounds this group delivered an amazing set of unique codes that can be put in place at the point of sale to advise travel consultants on any unique standards that apply to a particular air, car or hotel vendor. See the inset on page 37 for an example of what some of those codes cover for airline providers.
These defined attribute codes can provide information back to the GDS, that both the OBT and the TMC can use to then advise the traveler.The next step in this process is developing ways to use this amazing work. That is where the Traveler Education and Data Management teams come in. Traveler Education group focused on the who, what and when – developing time frames and tools to deliver these standards and expectations, and to whom.
Whether the communication is to executive leadership within an organization to help guide them in their decision making as they determine when to return to travel, or to individual travelers, letting them know what they should expect when on the road, this team designed a publication, separate from the Standards of Safety, that is designed to guide corporations on a successful return to travel.
As always, my favorite topic is data management. Managing all the data that flows from travel is still a challenge and allowing the data to tell the stories in our industry is still paramount. So this TAMS team has tackled breaking down some of the barriers that prevent us from gaining all the insight and wisdom we can from the data that’s available – more critically important than ever as we wrestle with the global fallout from this pandemic. You can also check out the Phat Data series in Business Travel Executive too!
Come Together, Right Now
Each team’s standards may vary but what was unwavering was the dedication of each contributing individual, taking their time to work together when the industry is facing the most devastating crisis it has ever known. Truly amazing results were being created by so many volunteers.
No matter which team or teams you participated on, you learned one thing – we must demand more grassroots activities like this in the managed travel profession. We can no longer rely solely on associations to be the only avenue for collaboration such as this. There is no better time than now for us as buyers and suppliers to come together to deliver the changes our industry needs.
On a personal note, having dedicated a huge chunk of my life to the association world, to educating within the industry, and trying to drive change, I can say that this was the most collaborative, highly successful initiative I have been involved in during my entire career. Kudos and thanks to everyone who participated. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge Susan Lichtenstein, managing partner at DigiTravel Consulting, who came up with the idea and brought this initiative forward – Thank you!
The publications can be found on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/8942732
All buyers and suppliers are welcome to join, collaborate and be a voice for the corporate travel industry.
Jennifer Steinke is Global Head of Travel for PPD, Inc., and an industry thought leader with over 30 years experience managing corporate travel. She holds an MBA plus Certified Corporate Travel Executive (CCTE) and Global Travel Professional (GTP) certifications from GBTA. Jennifer strives to deliver innovative and thought provoking ideas to the corporate travel industry.
