Let’s talk about the business traveler.
The one sitting in the airport stranded on Friday night.
What could frustrate them more than the fact that they won’t be making it home as planned?
Having no one to call for assistance because their agency only answers calls during standard business hours.
Or finding out that, had there been someone available to help, they could have rebooked on another flight that would have put them on the same rescheduled connecting flight except it didn’t leave until early the next morning so they could have stayed at their hotel, enjoyed a good dinner, got some work done, and slept in a real bed instead of the airport lounge chair they’re currently trying to get comfortable in without looking like a sprawled college kid home for vacation.
Or maybe, it’s finding out that there was a direct flight with a different airline that they could have booked instead that would have still gotten them home in time to catch their kid’s last soccer game of the season.
And that’s when there’s a simple reschedule on the way home.
When disruptions strike on the outbound trip, it can mean no-showing that big meeting, giving a lackluster presentation, or even having to offer a full refund to the customer they just stood up.
Companies are under increased pressure to monitor and prove the value of every penny of their travel spend.
Combine that with the standard shortlist of things a travel management company does to support a program (such as booking fulfillment, vendor discounts, and cost-savings analysis), and it’s too easy to start thinking that spend control is the only thing that makes or breaks a travel program.
Travel programs are made up of travelers.
It’s easy to forget that behind every reservation is a friend or a co-worker and to start thinking of your travel program as nothing more than a pile of spreadsheets and receipts that need recorded and analyzed.
The term “travel program” is really just a jargon-y umbrella term for the time and money spent to give your team an in-person opportunity to close deals, promote your company, and fulfill other work-related obligations and promises.
At least, that’s what it is for your company.
For your travelers, it’s made up of the time they’re spending away from home.
Bad booking experiences.
Stranded travelers.
Burnt out road warriors.
They can all bring down a travel program almost as quickly as a mismanaged budget (and generally will lead to one).
Business travel, even at its smoothest, is stressful.
When your company, or TMC, isn’t focused in on the traveler experience, it shows.
IT SHOWS…
as refusal to book in-policy or even in-platform.
IT SHOWS…
as consistent and constant employee turnover.
IT SHOWS…
in the lack of deals closed at meetings and sales pitches.
IT SHOWS…
in ways that end up costing your company money in the long run.
That’s why, as we work to help our clients improve their program efficiencies and meet budgetary goals, we’re also making sure we don’t lose sight of the experience their travelers have when working with our agents and systems.
Happy travelers make for happy programs.
And vice versa.
The proof is in the numbers.
$74 below industry average for airfare, $26 below industry average for hotel stays, and $2 below average for car rentals.
Gant and Industry averages through March 2020. Industry averages are sourced from the Topaz Report (air) and Business Travel News (hotel and car). We use the YTD average when available and average have been rounded to the nearest dollar.
In addition to the Gant-negotiated and Consortia rates available to all of our clients from their first booking, we help our clients negotiate and renegotiate individualized rates at properties they use most frequently. The combination of offering better rates at better hotels, providing expert assistance as you develop and tweak your corporate travel policy, and allowing consistent analysis and benchmarking of your spend, means your travelers are able to easily make cost-saving choices while still enjoying a higher level of comfort while on the road.
But, how do we do it?
BETTER FARES & RATES
One of the biggest steps toward getting your travelers to book cost-saving fares and rates is to display them prominently (and first) within the booking platform – so that’s what we do.
By leveraging our large traveler base and industry connections, we have the buying power to negotiate deals with many leading suppliers. Through our discounts and account-level negotiating assistance, we offer added savings – and often extra amenities – without putting the time-consuming contracting process on you or your team.
Full integration of all our systems and platforms ensures that your travelers are getting the best available rate while recognizing your preferred vendors and company travel policy, regardless of whether they book by phone, email, our Gant Gateway portal, or directly through our booking platform.
Plus, when your travelers book through us, they still get any frequent traveler or rewards program points for vendors with which they’ve entered their personal program numbers.
BETTER SUPPORT
Because disruptions can happen anytime, our agent team is available to your travelers all day, every day. Plus, for those with existing reservations, there is no additional surcharge for questions or modifications and our agent team is even trained to assist your travelers with questions concerning service features, navigating our platforms, and your company’s travel policy.
Our average hold times are generally around one minute (and stayed around six minutes during March 2020 as others in the industry experienced waits of up to six hours), and our automation offers traveler’s with a longer-than-usual wait the ability to hang-up and recieve a live-agent callback without losing their place in line.
Our agents still take the time to understand the traveler’s needs and book or solution trips accordingly. On average, our agents spend over seven minutes on the phone with each traveler.
BETTER NOTIFICATIONS
Things can change quickly in travel, and knowing where you’re headed and when to be there is extra important when you’re on the road for work. As an opt-in service, Gant provides timely travel notification and alerts to all travelers to keep them informed about their upcoming flight(s). Travelers can choose to receive messages through text or email (or both).
Alerts and notifications include:
A check-in reminder 24 hours prior to departure
Flight status notification 2 hours prior to departure
Notifications of delays greater than 30 minutes
Gate changes
Connection Message – Sent 10 minutes prior to the scheduled arrival of the inbound flight. Provides connection time and gate information if available.
Connection Gate Change
Connection Delay – Sent if connection time changes by +/- 15 minutes.
Notification of flight cancellations
Flight Reinstatement – Sent if a cancelled flight returns to a “scheduled” status.
BETTER TRAINING
There is a proven and undeniable link between your travelers’ understanding of the tools we offer and the quality of the experience they have when using them. So we make sure they understand them.
We host a monthly training webinar for travelers on booking with us and using available mobile applications. They’ll also be able to gain business travel insights through various tips-and-tricks from our own Road Warriors.
We provide your team with ongoing help and reference materials through our Gant Gateway with an interactive training guide, accessible 24/7, that includes quick-guides, how-to videos, and answers to many of the questions we get asked the most.
