As the return to travel begins to solidify around vaccines, testing and other strategies, it’s time to begin sketching out what your travel program will look like. I’m sketching in pencil though, with an eraser handy, as changes can happen rapidly these days. So as travel managers, what will we be returning to?
With airlines, many of the routes, schedules, cities served – and even some carriers – may not exist. That preferred hotel program you have, and the individual properties favored by your travelers, may not be the same either. A similar story with ground transportation: Who will survive and have the product you need, where you need it? Of course, your TMC’s service has probably already changed and will change more going forward.
How TMCs had to shift their service models was a big pill to swallow for large complicated programs. Right or wrong some of us depended on individuals who knew our company, the complexities of our policy and even our travelers personally. Many of us are now left with TMC personnel who have no operational knowledge of our business. And with little or no travel on the books, and no real idea of when or at what volume it will return, travel managers have little leverage to argue.
This is where to begin the search for ways to change your corporate travel processes, culture, and maybe even the tools you use, to adapt to the new normal. With fewer people to service those calls from the road, what technology solutions will fit your needs? When travel relaunches, travelers will need to be retrained on what to expect from your reimagined program. I hope they will be patient with your TMC’s “new” service levels.
Car rental is another sector that’s changing. Soon after travel stopped in February and March, the trips that reemerged first for me involved a lot of rental car from local, off-airport locations. Some travelers were unable or unwilling to fly, or air service was cancelled. Fast, super clean, touchless service, with a wide selection of vehicles may not have been the local rental spot’s strong suit, so off-airport rental locations are having to adapt quickly to meet travelers’ expectations.
Even booking via OBT or agent, it wasn’t especially easy to find the right location and confirm the rental. Another question for the near future: With diminished fleets, will rental companies have enough new cars and car types? I look for demand to increase, followed closely by costs.
The travel manager’s role has also expanded to include broader mobility plans, like commuting programs for employees returning to offices in urban areas. Examples include ride sharing to replace shuttles connecting workers to public transport, or carpooling or limited shuttling for smaller groups of co-workers.
Lodging is another tough one. Even if you rolled 2019/2020 rates into 2021, will the properties in your program still be there? We have already seen many hotels being reflagged. Do these new brands and services match your program needs? If you had a preferred hotel program before, can you afford to go to a percent off BAR structure? Not to mention individual properties making changes to address new cleanliness and safety standards.
On a positive note, without the means to travel and see what we were considering for our program, some properties in Mexico presented me with virtual tour of their hotels. It doesn’t replace the face to face experience, but it was better than what hotels closer to me offered.
I’ve worked in this industry over 25 years and love my career, but there is a little known secret I’ve shared with only a few people. Even though I have been around the world, I never really liked the act of traveling. I love being there and exploring new places, but getting there was always torturous to me. But after all this time being immobile, I can say with certainty that I can’t wait to be going through security and boarding my next flight!
Yes, I know that isn’t going to be the same either. When corporate travel returns, pricing and new criteria, especially on international trips, are probably going to concern me most. How will we verify vaccinations? What will entry requirements be for destination countries? Is a new profile field mandatory to fly anywhere? Will the losses incurred by carriers fall on corporate travel?
I’m short on answers, but hopeful that these thoughts spur possible solutions to help you prepare your program. Now is the time to enact change for whatever awaits us 2021 and beyond. And as you do, build in plenty of flexibility.
Who knows what’s around the corner?