Travel Management Canada December 2014

travel

Management canada DECEMBER 2014

A special report from

NIAGARA FALLS

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTIONS As editor of both Travel Management Canada and PurchasingB2B, I’m especially pleased to bring you this issue.

This year, we organized our own event, in partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the 2014 Travel Procurement Symposium, held at the Fallsview Casino resort in Niagara Falls, September 18-19.

For this issue of Travel Management Canada, each of the following articles covers one of the sessions we held during the event. A few were even written by our speakers. Without tooting our own horn to excess, my own feeling was that the event was a great success. We saw a large number of delegates attend, and the speakers and panelists provided excellent content for those who made the trip to attend.

Our welcome reception, Jetsetting The Globe, sponsored by Best Western, featured the opportunity for delegates to mingle and network, which many took advantage of. I’m no foodie, but the Fallsview Casino Resort provided some of the tastiest and most attractive food I’ve had in a while. So thank you to our event sponsors,

our speakers and to all those who attended for helping to make the event a success.

For both PurchasingB2B and Travel Management Canada, I travel across the country, and usually get south of the border a few times each year, and generally enjoy meeting and mingling with our readers and contributors. While I’m also in touch with many of you by email and phone, I’m struck each time by how valuable connecting face-to-face remains. As much as anyone, I use technology both in my job and on the road, but nothing beats live interaction. Attendees capitalized on the symposium to network, mingle and make connections.

We look forward to hosting the 2015 Travel Management Symposium next year. To learn more, and to see more photos from our 2014 symposium, visit us at www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com.

Editor, PurchasingB2B and Travel Management Canada

MOBILE VALUE The importance of a managed travel program Business travel plays a significant role in the Canadian economy. Corporate policies help to harness travel spending and maximize supplier negotiations. It increases company accountability by reinforcing duty of care, productivity and safety. The formula for a managed travel program is: policy, preferred suppliers, duty of care and compliance. Travel lets companies connect with clients, expand partnerships, deliver services or products and enrich the bottom line.

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) expects global business travel spending to hit $1.31 trillion in 2014, a 6.9-percent growth over last year. Escalating traveller traffic means more need for control over corporate travel. With company-supported policies, business travel needs are identified, and negotiated volume-usage discounts with preferred suppliers implemented for savings and controls. Consolidating to preferred suppliers across air, hotel, car, corporate card, travel management company and expense reporting tools maximizes savings and ensures traveller safety, productivity and efficiency.

Duty of care is also critical to a managed travel policy.

It’s the company’s responsibility to have policies and procedures protecting travellers, knowing their itineraries and destinations. It’s especially important to be as preemptive as possible as risk can turn into an emergency, leaving the company liable for their travellers’ safety.

Compliance is the final element—unfortunately not all travellers comply with corporate policy. A recent GBTA Foundation study shows out-of-policy travel decisions are common among Canadian business travellers; 52 percent deviated from their company’s stated policies.

The increased cost Canadian business travellers who go out-of-policy on at least one major travel expense, equals 19 percent of the hotel, air/train and rental car spend.

This illustrates that compliance is key to maximizing savings, but it also supports an successful managed travel program.

Nancy Tudorache, Director of Operations, Canada, Global Business Travel Association Canada

December 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 3

Travel Procurement Symposium 2014

HOTEL TRENDS

Sponsored by

By Michael Power

“S

teady as she goes” summed up the hotel industry in 2014 and heading into 2015, according to Philippe Gadbois, senior vice-president of operations at Atlific Hotels and chairman of the Hotel Association of Canada. Gadbois gave that assessment during his keynote address opening the inaugural Travel Procurement Symposium, held in Niagara Falls, September 18-19.

During his speech, Gadbois addressed some trends and challenges hotels face, and where the industry is headed as a supply group. He stressed that costs for hotels tend to rise rather than fall. So when Philippe Gadbois prices for rooms increase, it’s to cover those expenses.

“Costs do not go down in our industry, they actually go up,” he told the audience. “When we want a little more money every year it’s because we’re just trying to keep an even keel.”

Online travel agencies—or OTAs—are part of the industry’s envi-

ronment and an additional challenge today, Gadbois said. This puts cost pressure on hotels. He described OTAs as “the elephant in the room,” noting that there’s no collective strategy within the hotel industry to deal with OTAs. Airbnb, which lets travellers rent spare rooms in houses, is another challenge, he said, noting the company’s high capital value. “They own nothing, they don’t even have a system,” he said. “They certainly have no standards—it’s just a phenomenon that’s growing.”

Gadbois conceded that if the hotel industry had always remained “incredibly responsive” to what consumers wanted, perhaps Airbnb would never have been created. “So I think we need to share part of the blame but as that phenomenon grows it takes away customers from our industry, putting more pressure on the economic model.”

Regarding sustainability, Gadbois said that while the industry tries to “stay down the middle,” it evolves based on what customers want. For example, the practice of not changing bed sheets every day—but rather every second or third day—came from lobbying from environmentally conscious guests. “That’s one little example of how the industry has evolved to meet what customers have requested,” he said.

Technology is a big trend, said Gadbois, one that he wasn’t entirely sure where it was headed. For example, when looking at an amenity like televisions, is screen size most important or is whether the device is “smart”—where television can accommodate various devices such as tablets and smartphones—a bigger issue to customers?

KEEPING FIT AND HAVING FUN

Photos: Stephen King Photography

Sponsored by

Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod

T

he lunchtime keynote helped to get delegates moving, with BodyBreak’s Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod taking the stage. The health and fitness duo, known for the BodyBreak commercials and as a competing couple on season one of The Amazing Race Canada, discussed not only their adventures over the past 26 years but also offered tips for healthy and active travel.

4 | Travel Management Canada – December 2014

McLeod and Johnson highlighted areas that formed the “foundation” of good health, with physical activity high on the list. Many claim to be too busy to exercise, but she encouraged delegates to work to fit activity into their routines.

“We want people to move,” she told the audience. “It’s really about moving your body, getting in as many steps a day as you can. I don’t know why escalators were ever invented. If you’re unable to use the stairs then use the elevator. If you’ve been travelling on an airplane— especially for two, three or four hours—the worst thing you can do is use a moving sidewalk.”

While activity is important, nutrition is another major key to healthy living both while travelling and at home, said Johnson. Watch for “landmines” when making food choices, such as foods typically thought of as healthy that actually have high calorie counts. Sugar is inflammatory, Johnson noted, recommending that men eat 12tsp or less a day of sugar and women shouldn’t consume more than 10tsp.

“We used to think that it’s 50/50—activity and eating—but we’ve come to the realization that it’s probably 60/40. Nutrition is key and critical,” he said.

www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com

TRAVEL’S HIDDEN COSTS

Sponsored by

Influencing traveller behavior is key to unlocking additional savings

By Ben Scott

C

decision is from their company’s perspective. onsumer trends are driving change in Gamification educates them about what options the expectations and buying behaviors are most valuable and rewards them for selectof business travellers. Armed with ing those options. Perhaps it’s most beneficial smartphones and tablets, travellers to book air travel 14 days in advance, or maybe have access to a wealth of information and now it’s more important to book on a specific airline rely on these devices to stay connected and proregardless of how far in advance the ticket is ductive on the road. Connectivity and access to purchased? The answer varies by company, but relevant, personalized content is table stakes. it’s imperative travellers understand what’s Personalization is everywhere—from Starmost important to their travel policy. bucks writing your name on your cup to retailers Naysayers may think they shouldn’t reward like Amazon offering personalized recommentravellers for expected behaviors. After all, they dations based on search and past purchase hisBen Scott, VP of marketing in the Americas for are travelling on business, and should book tory. Retailers know who you are, understand Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). within their company’s preferred program. your buying habits and can showcase the prodGamification isn’t about rewarding travellers for expected behavior, but ucts and services they believe are most relevant to you. This makes it rather, recognizing travellers who display exceptional behavior, or who are easy to find what you want, fast. It’s no surprise that business travelsupercompliant. Supercompliance means the traveller makes the most lers expect the same easy, customized experience. desirable choice for the organization when faced with two or more deciResearch conducted in 2013 by the CWT Travel Management Instisions that are all considered to be in compliance with the travel program. tute (Where now for managed travel?) found business travellers are twice as likely to book outside of their company’s travel policy for more Does Travel Gamification work? convenient options. This poses risk for your travel program in terms of CWT uses Gamification internally to motivate travellers to make the safety and security and savings—likely top priority. most appropriate travel decisions, and it’s created a culture of compeHow do you combat the influence of consumerization and convetition, especially at the executive level where team results are reported. nience to deliver the best possible travel program—one that not only Internal competition is motivating, but gamification also delivers botdrives savings for your company, but also supports travellers’ needs? tom-line results.

For companies with mature travel programs in place with preferred A number of our clients have embraced simple gamification tactics supplier agreements and negotiated contracts, the answer lies in inthrough a traveller scorecard, and collectively have realized increased creasing compliance to the program without instituting mandates. You savings of four percent across their travel programs. Select clients have can do this by influencing your travellers to make the right travel deciundertaken a more dynamic approach, using Travel Gamification by sions on your company’s behalf.

CWT Solutions Group, and have seen significant results in a short time.

A major online retailer who has engaged Travel Gamification realized Travel Gamification incremental improvements in buying behaviors that generated additional Travel Gamification is one tactic that can be employed to achieve this air savings of two to three percent, and an increase from 90 to 96.5 goal. The concept of gamification—using game mechanics and repercent in booking through the company’s online tool. This program inwards for non-game applications to increase engagement and loyalcorporates badges, points, leader boards and daily data uploads. ty—has been in use in multiple industries for some time.

Compliance is critical to driving savings, and can be achieved not by The healthcare industry uses gamification to encourage people to mandating a travel policy, but by influencing traveller behavior. In fact, engage in healthy eating habits and behaviors to save money on health influencing traveller behavior offers the greatest opportunity to drive insurance premiums, for example. Some individuals have taken that a additional savings in a mature travel program. By engaging and rewardstep further with the use of wearable technology, like Fitbit, allowing ing supercompliant travellers for making good decisions on behalf of the them to track their health and fitness progress against their personal company, you can achieve incremental savings of up to four percent. goals and friends and family. Airlines have used traveller loyalty programs for decades to incentivize travellers to book with them repeatedly in order to gain mileage points and status.

Ben Scott is vice-president of marketing in the Americas for Carlson Wagonlit In managed travel, we look at gamification to get travellers to seek Travel (CWT), a global leader specialized in managing business travel and meetthe options that best fit their company travel policy. Business travellers ings and events. CWT serves companies, government institutions and nonwant to make the right decisions, but often don’t know what the ‘best’ governmental organizations of all sizes in more than 150 countries and territories.

December 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 5

Travel Procurement Symposium 2014

MANAGING THE COST OF TRAVEL Tips for implementing an expense management solution

Sponsored by

By Michael Power

W

ith the cost of business travel continuing to rise in Canada, the need has also increased for companies to control those expenses. Steps that organizations can take, along with how procurement can get involved in the process, was the topic of a panel discussion at the Travel Procurement Symposium called Expense Management for Procurement, moderated by Christina Woronchak, VP of business development at American Express Global Business Travel, which sponsored the discussion.

Panelists noted changes they had seen with regards to expense management systems, with panelist Yvonne Kerns, senior category manager, corporate sourcing, corporate services, CIBC, saying that one important development had been speed. The process is now entirely electronic with a drop down list of expenses available. There’s no concern with what the general ledger number is, Kerns noted, since there’s a description of what the charge should be allocated to. “You’ve got better data for senior management to work with,” she told the audience.

Since the process is now electronic, approval can be obtained in seconds depending on how many people it needs to go through, Kerns noted. Payment can then be done the day after approval is received.

“It’s the speed, and the data is clean,” she stressed. “You can do a lot more with it and then the right business decisions can be made.”

Jim Moore, manager, administration and travel, strategic procurement services at Rogers Communications, noted that employees are able to scan and attach receipts, which makes the transaction completely electronic. This also saves on document retention, since the paper trail is immediately visible and no hard copies are needed. Approvals travel through the same hierarchy as Oracle, and information can be requested in the same fashion if travellers haven’t input all the necessary data. “Again, it’s speed for the user and for payment as well,” Moore noted.

When addressing some of the key benefits that organizations can expect from implementing expense management, Kerns said that cost reduction, such as processing costs, ranked high. These days, travellers are asked to do tasks—booking their own travel, for instance—that Heather Groetsch

Photos: Stephen King Photography

Yvonne Kerns

6 | Travel Management Canada – December 2014

another employee would have handled in the past. That means compliance is key. “I provide a list of who the approved suppliers are, and if you don’t select an approved supplier from the list that’s in the system, you need to provide an explanation of why you haven’t used that particular supplier,” she said. “We report on that and it goes right to the top to senior management. Most people don’t want to be on that report.”

Moore lauded the advantages offered by the reporting function.

Rogers uses both a pre-trip approval and online booking tools, which provide the organization with valuable pre-travel data. The expense tool then shows post-trip information, which can then be “sliced and diced” in various ways. “It’s about as close to real time as you’re going to get, as opposed to waiting weeks or months for expense reports to be filed in the paper form,” he said.

Fellow panelist Heather Groetsch, regional sales executive at Concur Technologies, also noted that compliance offered one of the key advantages of automating the expense management process. Integration to various card providers, better data visibility and process streamlining were also benefits, she said. “It’s about an easy end-user experience and increased user satisfaction,” Groetsch said. “It’s driving those costs down from an IT perspective in a lot of cases.”

She cited three main best practices for implementing an expense management solution, with the first being executive buy in. No program will be successful without sponsorship and support from the top, she stressed. Second, she recommended having specific roles for those involved in the implementation. Identify employees committed to the process and ensure the project is a priority for the organization.

She also advised the audience to keep the configuration as simple as possible to increase scalability while ensuring standardization.

For implementation, Kerns recommended factoring in change management—including communication and training. Moore agreed that communication and training were critical for an effective launch of an expense management solution. “You can never over-communicate,” he said. “If a person chooses not to read it that’s their business. But if you don’t put it out there for them, they don’t have that opportunity.”

Christina Woronchak

Jim Moore

Photo courtesy of Sandy MacIsaac

Photo courtesy of Michael Power

Photo courtesy of Sandy MacIsaac

www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com

Attendees mingled and networked, enjoyed the magic of Sam Pearce (canadianillusionist.com), kept fit and had fun with Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, exchanged best practices and even walked away with a prize or two during the 2014 Travel Procurement Symposium.

For images from the event or for information about the 2015 Travel Procurement Symposium, visit www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com.

December 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 7

Travel Procurement Symposium 2014

WRANGLING MAVERICK TRAVELLERS Unmanaged spend and the rise of open booking

Sponsored by

By Michael Power

I

n a managed travel environment, boundaries and controls exist not only at the time of purchase but also at the time of travel. While all are important, they must be connected in order to succeed. But how much of that is really under control? Ian Race, senior VP of sales and account management, Vision Travel Solutions Group, asked this question during a panel discussion entitled Wrangling Maverick Travellers. Travel buyers must deal with issues such as leakage, blind spend and no spend visibility. “Most people that do book outside of your corporate policies and the approved channels aren’t doing so with mal intent,” Race told the audience.

Still, 55 percent of travel booked in the US is unmanaged, Race said.

As well, for 40 to 50 percent of air bookings with an associated overnight stay, the hotel isn’t booked through the travel management company. Studies also show that it’s not “Generation Y” or “Millenial” travellers, but seasoned road warriors who think they’re doing what’s best for their companies, Race noted.

Central to the conversation was open booking, and Race began the discussion by asking what’s driving the move towards open bookings.

Panelist Carol McDowell, manager of corporate travel services, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), answered that most travellers want to do right by their companies but don’t know what that is.

Simply telling travellers to “do the right thing” is insufficient since the definition of what that is can differ among employees, she said, so giving people guidelines helps build compliance. Travel can be personal and few people like to be told what to do, especially if it’s something they’re not comfortable with or used to. “For me, this evolution to what’s called open booking is because things have evolved in the buying field because of technology,” she said. “Information is accessible to everyone via the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Unmanaged spend isn’t simply an issue within travel, but throughout indirect procurement, said fellow panelist Phil Hammer, director of travel services at Runzheimer International. The question remains how to enable savvy road warriors to use the tools they’re going to use anyway, and he referenced the virtual online booking tool his company Carol McDowell

Photos: Stephen King Photography

Ian Race

8 | Travel Management Canada – December 2014

produces, called Flex. The tool takes negotiated discounts and enables travellers to use them directly with suppliers. The tool provides data and reporting, as well as a direct feed to a duty of care provider.

“We’ve created a virtual online booking tool,” he said. “If you think of what that is, it’s discounts, data, and reporting. We’ve got all those boxes checked off.”

Several years ago, her company began hearing from travellers of client companies saying that they had found a flight online, but their organization insisted they book with the travel management company, said panelist Kristi Lamont, production innovation director at Short’s Travel Management, a travel management company. Those employees would then ask her company to book the flight. But it’s inefficient for travellers to shop online for flights themselves them asking the TMC to book it, Lamont said, prompting her organization to create a tool called FindIt, which allows travellers to shop at consumer sites while still booking within policy and through their TMC. “It’s travellers that have demanded this—it’s just natural traveller behavior with the tools they have available for them,” she said.

Asking travellers what they want can also solve problems, McDowell said. For example, her organization surveyed employees and discovered that they wanted per diems because they didn’t like attaching receipts. The issue disappeared when employees were allowed to take pictures of their receipts. Challenges arise when a company doesn’t understand travellers’ needs and can’t address them. In terms of whether a company’s travel policy should allow employees to book absolutely anywhere, McDowell said no, and that travel needs to be managed. Open booking is simply another way to book.

Panelists agreed that duty of care remained important regardless of booking policy. Organizations must know where their employees are, Lamont said. For here part, McDowell listed duty of care as the “number one” priority, noting policy must include the need to know where travellers are. Meanwhile, Hammer stressed the importance of ensuring duty of care for employees not booking through proper channels.

Phil Hammer

Kristi Lamont

www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com

THE CONNECTED TRAVELLER Integrating mobile technology into business travel

Sponsored by

By Michael Power

M

obile technology has rounded out today’s information loop from business traveller to vendor to company. One symposium panel discussed the integration of information across all technology platforms and how that has made business travel more agile, personalized and strategic.

Tristan Rees, manager of software development at Egencia, led the discussion. Rees began by stressing how exciting the current climate was for travellers and consumers alike, given the technological innovations available in recent years. Those innovations were driven largely by the “consumerization” of business travel, whereby consumer-style technology permeates business space. “You couldn’t find a better time to build or consume software—we’re in an incredible age right now,” he said.

The panel discussed the trends surrounding mobile technology and the push towards consumerization. Dr. Norman Shaw, an assistant professor at Ryerson University, noted that Apple’s introduction of the iPhone in 2007 changed the technology game—this is no less true in the travel arena than any other. The generation he teaches at Ryerson is completely at home with this technology, he said, noting that in the travel realm the compound growth of bookings on mobile phones is at 32 percent, he noted. “Whether your travel, procurement, it doesn’t matter, your consumer is going to be busy busy busy with a smartphone,” he said.

Consumers are used to taking for granted what’s available now, but smartphones five years ago were capable of far less. Shaw encouraged the audience to imagine what smartphones will be capable of in five years from now. “There are tremendous opportunities out there as far as business apps are concerned for you to get your message and product out in front of the consumer.”

Corporate software can feel old or dated, Rees said. But because of the rise of consumer-based software and mobile use, business travellers are coming to expect the ability to use the latest and greatest software. From the perspective of a travel management company, if the software isn’t good enough, business travellers will book directly with suppliers, he noted. “We’re literally competing not only against Tristan Rees

Laura Larcher

ourselves in the corporate software space but against all the other software that people use on a regular basis.”

The panel moved to another trend, the lessening of human interaction on trips due to the rise of technology, what Rees called the silent traveller.

These travellers will use their smartphones to book air and hotel, or solve problems on the road traditionally solved by speaking with someone.

Rosemary Maloney, manager of corporate services at IAC, discussed how self-service and consumer technology have impacted the travel program at her company. IAC encourages travellers to download their online booking tool app, but also apps from preferred providers.

For example, travellers can use apps from airlines to track their flight or get flight status updates. “People don’t want to sit on the phone with someone,” she said. “They want to do it themselves and using these apps helps them.”

Her company often sends employees between offices, said Laura Larcher, and she’ll sometimes not even hear about the travel issues they experience. But through Twitter, Larcher noted, those employees can resolve issues with airlines, for example. That’s because airlines and other travel services now monitor social media for posts related to their companies. “We’ve got a lot of people who take to social media to get a resolution faster because they feel the response ends up being quicker.”

A further point the panel touched on was the blending of business and leisure, or “bleisure”. Larcher noted that Shopify had seen a large increase in bleisure, with employees requesting to extend travel by a few days, something her company was open to allowing. But that comes with a few challenges, for example, because of the company’s central billing system, the company won’t extend the trip if the flight is very expensive, even if the employee pays the difference.

IAC also permits the practice, said Maloney. If price difference between when an employee’s business trip ends and the amount they want to extend their time is significant, then that employee must pay the difference—beyond a threshold of $50 that IAC covers—, she said.

“Additionally, everything has to be approved before the trip,” she noted.

Rosemary Maloney

Dr. Norman Shaw

Photos: Stephen King Photography

December 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 9

Travel Procurement Symposium 2014

TRAVEL RISK MANGEMENT Steps for ensuring duty of care in an increasingly risky environment

By Robin Ingle and David Hyde

Photos: Stephen King Photography

A

tion or your travelling clients. s employees and clients Pre-trip due diligence: contravel for business with sider scenarios like natural ever-increasing range, disasters, crime or civil unfrequency and duration, rest, workplace safety hazexposure to risks rises steadily. ards, medical emergencies Accidents, violence, theft and and so on. natural disasters are among the risks that travellers face. ExpeRisk management action items rience shows that even previously “safe” locations such as • Appoint an executive sponsor North America and Europe are and form a steering committee. now environments where risk • Assess travel-related risks avoidance training and a corpoacross the organization. rate crisis response plan are es• Identify and apply the Ocsential. Proper assessment and cupational Health & Safety education are imperative.

(OHS) compliance and duty Duty of care is a legal stanof care benchmarks appliDavid Hyde and Robin Ingle dard placed on organizations, recable in your area. quiring that they exercise due diligence by taking all reasonable steps • Develop a safe travel program and foster a culture of compliance to to protect travelling employees from foreseeable harm. An employer ensure safe travel guidelines are followed at all levels. needs to inform, prepare and protect staff from reasonably foreseeable • Obtain an appropriate blend of insurance coverage for your company. risks.

• Train employees and run mock response tests. Emphasize the imporDuty of care in business travel is entrenched in the Criminal Code tance of employee education and foster a culture of awareness. (through Bill C-45), as well as the federal Labour Code and provincial • Regularly review and update the safe travel program.

Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) laws. There is also a social and ethical obligation for an employer to provide this standard of care to Corporate Safe Travel Program Components employees. There are also important financial considerations. With a • Travel risk assessment: Assess location- and traveller-based risks. duty-of-care plan, companies minimize risk, boost staff morale and Revisit/expand this assessment as risks evolve and new destinations increase the ability to operate globally. are added.

What does this mean for the procurement, HR, or risk • Corporate travel risk management plan: Policy, procedures, and manager? And how does this affect travel management companies? guidelines.

• P re-trip risk control measures: Conduct destination risk assessments.

Procurement, HR and risk managers Provide location/risk-based training and guidance to business travellers.

Conduct an assessment on evolving risks. Think of daily encounters •D uring-trip risk control measures: Real-time traveller tracking; travellers will have and ensure they’re informed and prepared to deal two-way communication protocols; and continuously open comwith issues. This includes not only high-level information on the host munication channels with travellers, home base and assistance country, but details like their hotel location, where and what they’ll eat, coordinators. whom they will interact with, sites they will visit and the transportion • Crisis management support: Timely emergency response, medical/ they will use. Ensure travellers have two-way communication and consecurity evacuation and crisis communications. tact number for assistance. Consider tracking options to ensure em• Post-incident support: Debrief after event; provide employee assisployees can be located in emergencies. If your company lacks a travel tance and counselling. risk management program, mobilize a team or engage a provider.

David Hyde is the owner and principal consultant at David Hyde & AsTravel management companies (TMCs) sociates. For more information, see: www.davidhyde.ca/ourteam_1.php A TMC should have a duty-of-care plan or risk management provider for their clients. This isn’t only a value-add but also your point of difRobin Ingle is chairman and CEO of the Ingle Group of Companies. ferentiation and increases revenue while enhancing your professional Visit: http://intrepid247.com/aboutus/our-team or reputation. Below are the steps to manage travel risk for your organizawww.ingleinternational.com

10 | Travel Management Canada – December 2014

Thank ThankYou You to to our our Sponsors!

Sponsors!

Platinum Sponsors Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving more than 180 destinations on five continents. Canada’s flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2013 served more than 35 million customers. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,316 airports in 192 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2014 for the fifth consecutive year. www.aircanada.com @aircanada National Car Rental is favored by frequent renters at airports for speed and vehicle choice.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the first choice for business travelers who need to rent near their home or office while providing their company savings. With these two brands, we provide the most comprehensive business rental solution in the marketplace. www.enterpriseholdings.com/business @Enterprise @NationalPro

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), with locations in nearly 140 countries worldwide, offers its customers a comprehensive network, service dependability, and deep insight to help move people and businesses forward. GBT provides leading travel solutions, integrated consulting services, proprietary research, and end-to-end meetings and events capabilities. These innovative offerings enable clients to optimize the return on their travel and meetings investments. www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com CWT is a global leader specialized in managing business travel and meetings and events, serving companies, government institutions and non-governmental organizations of all sizes in more than 150 countries and territories.

By leveraging the expertise of its people and leading-edge technology, CWT helps clients derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of savings, service, security and sustainability. www.carlsonwagonlit.com @CarlsonWagonlit Egencia is a leading fullservice travel management company delivering innovative corporate travel solutions and expert local service to more than 10,000 clients in more than 60 countries worldwide. As part of Expedia, Inc., the world’s largest travel company, Egencia provides forward-looking companies with the ability to drive compliance and cost savings, while meeting the needs of the modern business traveler. www.egencia.ca @Egencia Vision Travel is the largest Canadian-owned and operated travel management company, employing over 650 travel professionals. The company has been providing a full range of corporate, meetings & incentives and leisure travel services from coast to coast to a wide spectrum of Canadian travellers and companies since 1953. We are a company committed to a more personalized and responsive approach to the business of travel. www.visiontravel.ca @visiontraveller

Best Western International, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., is a privately held hotel brand made up of

more than 4,000* BEST WESTERN®, BEST WESTERN PLUS®, BEST WESTERN PREMIER®hotels in more than 100* countries and

territories worldwide. Now celebrating 68 years of hospitality, Best Western welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests nightly. www.BestWestern.com @TheBestWestern

Lanyard Sponsor

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) is one of the world’s leading hotel companies with over 4,800 hotels and more than 688,000 guest rooms.

IHG owns a portfolio of well recognized hotel brands including InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Hotel Indigo®, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels. www.ihg.com @ihgrewardsclub

Bronze Sponsors

Concur is a leading provider of integrated travel and expense management solutions.

Concur’s Web-based and mobile solutions help companies control costs, save time and protect employees. Concur’s open platform enables the entire travel and expense ecosystem to access and extend its T&E cloud. www.concur.ca Cvent (NYSE: CVT) helps organizations gain control of meeting spend with a comprehensive solution that allows them to implement enterprise-wide Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) programs. The Cvent SMM software solution streamlines the corporate meetings and event process from the planning and sourcing phases through registration and travel booking. www.cvent.com @cvent When it comes to corporate travel, everything you need to comprehensively manage your program is here with Sabre® Corporate Solutions.

Sabre Corporate Solutions helps you maximize the value of your travel spend so you can turn business travel into business performance. www.sabretravelnetwork.com @SabreTN

www.travelprocurementsymposium.com/sponsors December 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 11

YOUR ESCAPE BEGINS WHEN YOU BOARD, NOT WHEN YOU LAND.

Air Canada has been voted the Best Airline in North America five years in a row by Skytrax and for good reason. Fly our International Business Class and enjoy our fully lie-flat beds, over 600 hours of in-flight entertainment and access to our award-winning Maple Leaf™ Lounges and concierge services.

For more information contact your travel agent or visit aircanada.com.

International Business Class is available on overseas flights on all Air Canada-operated wide-body aircraft. ™Maple Leaf is a trademark of Air Canada.