Overview

The client is an automobile auction company with 122 locations worldwide and 14 within the UK.

With spend on UK travel reaching £500,000 the client approached CTM for a three-month trial of travel management services and later implemented them as their official TMC.

Objectives

The main objective was to improve the efficiency of their travel booking through the implementation of an intuitive online booking solution.

The key objectives were to:

• Improve the ease of booking
• Speed up the booking process through a streamlined approach
• Increase variety of hotels/flights/fares/rates
• Ensure accessibility

Challenges

Having never used a travel management company (TMC) previously, the client had little MI and were unclear on their responsibilities under the corporate manslaughter act. A shift in booking behaviour and training in compliance was essential to ensure staff satisfaction.

Solutions

Travel Policy – After sitting down with the client’s travel and procurement managers, and looking at the limited MI available, we were able to make a number of recommendations with regards to travel policy. CTM delivered flexibility when it came to the configuration, with the ability to set different policies across their internal hierarchy for different departments and cost centres.

Training – Initial face to face training was delivered at the client’s head office, covering an overview of the contract and travel policy, a demonstration of the Lightning booking tool and how to contact CTM for assistance. Today, bi-annual booker engagement workshops are held which serve as “refresher” training sessions for existing bookers, and allow us a platform to discuss new developments to our system, industry updates, and special supplier deals that are currently on offer.

VIP Service – A VIP solution was implemented for booking complex, multi-destination flights/itineraries for their Board and Director level employees. This service includes organising airport meet and greets, chauffeur services, and additional baggage requirements. This service allows the client to maximise their time by delegating complex requests to our concierge service, instead of spending time researching,
sourcing and booking them.

Hotel Analysis and Benchmarking – After analysis of their accommodation requirements, and with their desire for a “package rate”, we negotiated a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast rate with the client’s key hotel supplier.

Supplier Booking Profiles – As a special request, CTM created a facility to book properties for the client’s key suppliers who then pay on departure. A separate cost code was entered against “supplier booker profiles” ensuring booking data / MI was not compromised. We then implemented a separate process within our GDS to ensure payment on departure could be facilitated.

Results

The client achieved almost 90% online adoption across the board.

Online adoption for Rail bookings hit 97% in the first 6 months | Reduced spend by £1500

Online adoption for Hotel bookings hit 98% in the first 6 months | ARR reduced by £15 per night

Online adoption for Air bookings hit 72% in the first 6 months | Savings achieved of £12,500