CASE STUDY TEAM ENGLAND
ABOUT THE CLIENT Our client, Commonwealth Games England, leads and manages the participation of the English team, Team England, at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games. Team England are one of only six nations to have competed at every single Commonwealth Games since their inception in 1930. The clients’ core purpose is to lead and manage the participation of Team England at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games and to ensure their athletes have all the tools needed so they can fulfil the very best
performance. Our client must at all times represent England effectively within the Commonwealth Games Federation, and raise the profile of the confederation, reinforce the value, reputation and future of what we believe is a great sporting event. Our client required a travel partner who had the capacity, expertise and dedication to manage the requirements for three Games, including the Samoa 2015 Youth Games, Bahamas 2018 Youth Games and the senior Games on the Gold Coast, Australia in 2018 for all 18 sports.
CLIENT REQUIREMENTS The first key objective of our client was the organisation of the team. This included all 18 sports and their supporting staff. The client required all team members, staff and baggage to be safely delivered to their destination in the best mental health and physical shape so that they could deliver the best performance. We worked closely with our client to ensure that all pre-arrangements of special and complex travel requirements that we accounted for were factored into travel. These obscurities included additional luggage requirements for sporting equipment such
as pole vaults and bike boxes. Additional seating, seating for taller athletes and specific dietary requirements for certain sports. We provided our client with a full management service, which included negotiation for high deviation and late ticketing requirements. Day to day communication with Team England, their suppliers’, senior executives, commercial managers and media teams was essential to ensuring a seamless service for everyone including VIP’s, friends and family.
GLOBAL REACH LOCAL SERVICE STA Travel have hundreds of stores worldwide, operating in sixty markets, with services that span from corporate travel to group travel. The global power of STA Travel means all our clients receive a localised service, whilst receiving the advantage rates only a global company can leverage.
IMPLEMENTED SOLUTIONS STA Travel works closely with clients to ensure that their needs and expectations are met every step of the way. Solutions include an online integrated booking tool, comprehensive account management, bespoke reporting, traveller tracking and accurate carbon footprint tracking. As with every account, implemented solutions are completely tailored to the needs, requirements and the demand of the client.
KEY OUTPUTS Performance Results: Our client believed that the travel arrangements were seamless and put all of their athletes in the best place mentally and physically. A team of 390 athletes arrived in Australia in what was England’s largest ever team, to represent the nation in an overseas sporting event. The team competed in 18 sports, including 38 para medal events, and placed second on the medal table with a total of 136 medals, including 45 golds. Cost Saving: Our experience within the sports travel industry enabled us to secure an exclusive contract with Etihad. We were further able to
negotiate great rates, accommodate for oversized luggage and allow deviations on contract. Exclusive quick check-in at the airport was agreed specifically for Team England at both UK departures and departure from Australia. Strategy: Specific tailored systems and processes for each of the 18 sports were put in place and an Exclusive Global Travel Help Team was set up to manage any specific requirements during the games, such as injuries and last-minute return flights.
Paul Blanchard, Commonwealth Games England CEO said: “Our requirements for Samoa, the Bahamas and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games were extremely complicated. We had a complex matrix of flights for our 650-member team, which STA Travel dealt with well, reacting and adapting quickly to various requests and changes. Over the past few years, we have built up a great relationship with the STA Travel team that was incredibly vital to our successful Gold Coast operation.”
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