Author Archive
ITA gets fresh with us.
by Mike
We’ve previously mentioned our fondness for ITA Software on Carrying On. When Google acquired this gem a few months back, you might have been a bit confused. Perhaps you took a look at its old website and were expecting a whiz-bang Web 2.0 interface.
As an ITA customer, I can assure you that we didn’t judge this book by its cover (and as Dennis Schaal writes, Google didn’t either). Our decision to incorporate the ITA technology was based on its ability to deliver accurate and comprehensive flight options much faster than the other player out there. The speed is a key selling point that our customers and partners continue to tout.
Having said that, however, I was pleased to see that ITA unveiled a shiny, brand new shiny website yesterday. Sure the design looks great, but more importantly I was ecstatic to see Rearden Commerce, and TD himself, on the site. Be sure to check out www.itasoftware.com when you get a chance (the images are below and here is a link to a slightly dated, yet still extremely relevant case study they did on us).
Speaking of ITA, we’ll be participating in a webinar with them on August 24, at 11 a.m. PT. Tony will be there with his usual jokes and one of our customers, Steven Mandelbaum, will be sharing how ITA made a significant impact on his travel program. Click here to learn more and sign up.
Daly’s essential guide to packing for NBTA: Advil, PNCS, and much more…
by Mike
Words cannot express the excitement that begins to overtake me every July. A surge in adrenaline starts pulsing through my veins. There is a noticeable skip in my step and a persistent grin on my face. Friends and family detect a glimmer in my eye that is reminiscent of a child visiting a candy store. Much like the kid in the Disney commercial, “I’m too excited to sleep.”
No, it’s not because of the MLB All Star Game. It’s certainly not because of the 95% humidity that I am forced to endure in Augusta.
The spark for my fire is that when July hits, I know that the annual NBTA convention is only a month away. You think I’m being sarcastic? Just check out the paper chain calendar I create each year – one link gets cut off every day. So, with NBTA fast approaching, I thought it would be useful for me to present you with the Mike Daly Guide to Packing for NBTA.
If you follow the list below, you are certain to have a more fruitful NBTA experience. In reality I could produce a 20-page manual, but in the interest of time, here are my top 5 tips.
- PARTY SCHEDULE | NBTA will provide you with a guide to all the exciting exhibitor locations (Rearden Commerce | booth 1673, where you can win an iPad) and riveting panels (TD’s is Monday at 10:25), but the key to success is mapping out your party schedule well before you arrive. If you don’t get the invites directly, start asking friends now for access to the best ones. For example, last year, Empire threw an awesome bash atop the Hard Rock Café. If you need some tips on where to go and be seen, shoot me an email.
- PNCS | Not all NBTAs are created equal. Since the powers that be decided to reward us with such a tropical location for this year’s event, you’d be a fool to leave your PNCS (personal neck cooling system) at home.
- BATHING SUIT | After a long day at the conference, parties and after parties, your PNCS might need a break. Make sure you bring a bathing suit to enjoy the pool at your hotel. I learned that one the hard way when I was forced to skinny dip in 2003.
- WHITE DINNER JACKET | If you are like me, you don’t like to blend into the crowd. May I suggest a white dinner jacket? You’ll be the life of the party and it’s a great conversation starter.
- ADVIL | With all the adult beverages you’ll enjoy, I strongly recommend a significant supply of Advil. Of course they sell this in Houston, but mark my words, if you don’t come prepared, you’ll feel the pain. Dr. Daly suggests that you ingest 3 Advils and a bottle of Orange Gatorade every night before you go to bed.
If you need any more tips and tricks, be sure to follow us on twitter 
, shoot me an email, or seek me out at NBTA. I’ll be the one in the white dinner jacket.
NBTA 2010 | Green M&M’s and panels you must see
By Mike
NBTA must be partial to New York accents. Somehow they decided to let TD take the stage again this year – they must have a large shipment of green M&M’s already on its way to Houston. This time around, he’ll be engaging an all-star panel of travel professionals from MetLife, David’s Bridal and Move that will share their playbooks for achieving stellar adoption rates. The session is titled “Stop Mandating and Become Traveler-Centric” and all of the panelists have driven higher adoption to make their lives easier and deliver significant cost savings.
And, for those that don’t know, my boss is actually a pretty funny guy. Although his jokes are repeats these classics still make us laugh. Plus he pulls off a great McLaughlin Report impersonation – jowls and all. Definitely plan to stop by and watch as Tony shakes up the travel industry. I work with the guy, but I’ll still be there to learn some new tricks from the old dog and the great panel he’s assembled.
And it doesn’t stop there. Later during the week, on Wednesday, our VP of Customer Services and Product Support, Bev Heinritz, is opening for Lance Armstrong! She will be taking the stage with Mike Malinchok of S2K Consulting to share her experience with helping companies “change from the inside out.” Bev will drop some details on how to shake up traditional management practices so organizations can effect positive change.
Check out all the details below. If you aren’t going to make it to NBTA this year, have no fear, we’ll do our best to keep you in the loop on all the excitement with regular twitter updates and blog postings.
Stop Mandating and Become Traveler-Centric
Monday, August 9
10:25 – 11:25 am
Panelists
Tom Molesky, CCTE, Director, MetLife
Heather Haley, Director, Travel & Meeting Planning, David’s Bridal Inc.
Cyndy Hayes, CTC, CCTE, Travel Coordinator & Executive Asst., Move, Inc
Moderator
Tony D’Astolfo, Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Rearden Commerce
Synopsis
Adopting a “traveler-centric” approach has a positive rippling effect – with a high level of employee satisfaction and willingness to use technology, adoption increases and cost savings are maximized. Hear from travel managers who have embraced the concept of the traveler-centric future and are enjoying huge success—without mandates.
—–
Coaching Your Organization through Change – from the Inside Out!
Wednesday, August 11
11:30 – 12:45
Presenters
Mike Malinchok, President, S2K Consulting, LLC
Bev Heinritz, Vice President, Customer Services and Product Support, Rearden Commerce
Synopsis
The key to successful change management is for leaders to connect the desired change to individual employee internal desires – but how does that occur? This session will turn traditional change management theories upside down and shake out what works, what’s missing, and what needs updating for the situations we are faced with today in corporate travel & meetings management.
OpenTravel and Open AXIS. The new Betamax and VHS?
by Mike
While channel surfing the other night I landed on the 1988 classic, Twins, starring Arnold (aka The Governator) Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. For those who don’t remember this one, the twins were separated at birth – Arnold (Julius) grew up on an isolated island paradise and was raised by philosophers while DeVito (Vincent) fended for himself on the rough-and-tumble streets, with all the temptations of society. The result – a naïve and incredibly intellectual Adonis vs. a jaded, quick witted, small time crook.
Imagine, for a moment, that you are Julius, emerging from your protective cocoon and landing in your new career as a travel professional. Thirsty for knowledge, you check out Tnooz, and are confronted by this complex statement from a recent posting about the latest developments around a common standard for airline merchandising. “The group [Open AXIS] believes that OpenTravel has been too slow in developing its schema — a charge that OpenTravel rejects — although Open AXIS hopes to work in some fashion with OpenTravel, IATA, ATPCO and ATA.”
Wha, wha ,wha, what? Or, how about this from a recent posting in The Beat.
“Young [executive director of Open AXIS Group] suggested Open AXIS and OpenTravel might work together. OpenTravel executive director Valyn Perini said Open AXIS would be welcome to submit schema to OpenTravel. ‘If they want to do that in a formal way, we would take their submission and take it the same way we do for anyone,’ said Perini. ‘Sometimes we take it and sometimes we don’t; we have a review process and we would treat it the same way.’”
Oh Julius, this one might just be too complex to solve. Don’t blame the messengers, however, Dennis Schaal and Jay Campbell they are simply reporting the facts. In fact, I completely agree with Dennis’s initial thoughts from his posting before the Open AXIS news even launched. As he so eloquently stated, “The two groups could figure out a way to work together — but two sets of rival standards for airlines make the entire concept of a standard very problematic.”
How will this all play out? Does Betamax vs. VHS ring a bell?
Personally one area I hope to see more discussions on is how these “schemas” will apply to mobile merchandizing and transactions. After all, I can’t predict what sort of martini mood I’ll be in two weeks before my flight. Will it be a double Ketel One with a twist if I’m sitting next to a nice, cuddly gentleman who himself had to use the mobile to purchase a seatbelt extender, or an extra dirty martini if I have a more attractive seatmate.
“The Eruption,” an Icelandic volcano and a boon to travel alternatives
by Mike
I may not be “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” but there is a good chance I’m “The Most Nicknamed Man in the World.” From “Chainsaw” to “The Explosion,” a legendary story is associated with each of these monikers. It’s only day two of the ACTE Global Education Conference, and I’ve already been dubbed “The Eruption.” If you want to know why, you’ll have to track me down to hear the story in person. For now, it’s up to your imagination.
One hint. You can cross Eyjafjallajokull, the Icelandic volcano, off your list of guesses. However, that ash cloud madness has thrown the travel industry in a discombobulatory state for months, and the end may not be near. Its last eruption in 1821 lasted off-and-on for 13 months.
It’s no surprise that this has resulted in a significant boost in business for companies like Cisco. Rather than leave their employees stranded in airports like Tom Hanks in “The Terminal,” companies are leveraging technologies like telepresence or web conferencing as viable travel alternatives. It may surprise outsiders that Rearden Commerce has actually been offering web and audio conferencing solutions for 5 years. They’re not only a valuable replacement during times of natural disasters or other travel disturbances, but frankly, there are often times when the ROI of an in-person meeting doesn’t justify the cost of the trip.
Tony recently hosted a panel that covered this topic. Click here to check out the recording and hear some practical advice from Mary Ann McNulty (Promedia.travel), Susan Steinbrink (PhoCusWright) and Lehi Mills (Travizon). Whether you are a TMC, a corporate travel manager or involved at all in finance or procurement, this is a topic that you should not be ignoring.
I’m happy to discuss this more with you. Track me down at ACTE or shoot me a message anytime. I may even share the story of how I was recently christened “The Eruption.”
Justin Bieber (a.k.a. Mike D) discusses the “Art and Science of Travel”
by Mike
If Tony is our Lady Gaga, you can consider me Justin Bieber. I’m much younger, and I don’t yet have the same level of demand that TD does to be on the speaking circuit. Plus, I’m not a prima donna that requests green M&Ms and other luxuries.
Last week, I had the opportunity to present at CI Travel’s “Art and Science of Travel,” an event for corporate travel managers. Art represented the service side of the equation (CI Travel), and Science was the technology (Rearden Commerce & ExpenseWire) piece.
The event allowed for a dynamic conversation, leading to great insights on what we can expect for the rest of 2010. The key takeaway is that there has never been a more important need to get ahead of the curve and be prepared for even more transformation in our ever-changing industry. Here are some other highlights I took away from the discussions:
- A top car rental company warned travel managers that car manufacturers made fewer cars this year, tipping the supply and demand scale, and not in the travel manager’s favor. Expect higher car rental rates due to a smaller supply of cars.
- We discussed potential airline mergers, which have now come to fruition. If you think the whole ancillary fee issue is complicated now, just wait. It’s going to get worse. Your best bet is to start figuring out ways to aggregate all your data feeds now. Standards may take a while to penetrate the market.
- Another panelist considers the iPhone one of the travel industry’s most important game changers. Even a technology stalwart like TD can’t deny it is becoming just as transformational as the BlackBerry in the corporate travel space. Mobile technology has only caused some ripples in water, compared to the cannonball-like explosion it’s about to create in the near term. If you don’t establish and manage your own mobile program, you’ll lose control of your travelers who will find solutions on their own.
- Our esteemed host, CI Travel stated that 50% of their agency personnel work virtually by leveraging technology. They expect that number can grow to 90% within two years, thus driving down costs for everyone. More web and teleconferencing, anyone?
2010 is turning out to be quite an interesting year. I’d suggest that you let others in the industry stress over the minutia such as whether or not airlines can charge for a carry-on bag. You on the other hand, should take a step back; find ways to manage areas of spend that are already in front of you. Leverage data from your expense solution, work with your travel technology tools, and engage your TMC for assistance and expertise. You might have to pool data from several sources, but at least it is available to you now. And by the time all the airlines work through these ancillary fees, we’ll have found new ways to save in other areas, so some of the fees may not even be as consequential to you.
Green M&M’s and a ton of industry events
by Mike
“As to the Green Room, I would ask that the temperature be set to 69.5 degree. I would like the room to have a floral decoration that features the White Lilly, and I would ask that a recording of Bach’s First as performed by the Austrian Symphony being playing softly in the background. I would like a case of Fiji water (I will drink 1 bottle to prep my vocal chords, and would like the rest shipped to the local homeless shelter as a donation in my name), and would ask for a plate of hot Mrs. Fields’ Oatmeal/Raisin cookies, and a large bowl of Green Peanut M&M’s be made available as well (I find any other color distracting so please ensure Green only). And please advise the staff not to make direct eye contact with me at any time unless I ask them to do so.”
— Email from Tony D. to the conference organizers at PhoCusWright 11.21.2009
Perhaps that sounds like a Mariah Carey contract negotiation as she’s getting booked to perform in front of thousands of adoring fans. Nope, that’s just an excerpt of an email from our own diva, TD, when he’s asked to speak on a panel. It’s all a joke of, course, except those green M&Ms. He’s really into those.
In all seriousness though, from the upcoming Wisconsin BTA meeting to the London Business Travel Market, we love to speak at these events. In fact, at next month’s ACTE Global Education Conference, TD will be engaging in some Pecha Kucha – a definite must see. No, the old man hasn’t taken up a new form of martial arts, it’s a presentation format during which he’ll cover the need for a mobile strategy in 6 minutes and 40 seconds, or more specifically, 20 slides at 20 seconds per slide. His jokes usually have that long a setup, so this will surely be a feat in itself.
If you’re attending next month’s OpenTravel 2010 Advisory Forum, I suggest you check out the panel with Dan Pritchett, our Chief Platform Architect. He’ll be joining a session about how advancements in semantic search will change the face of online travel forever. It’s a special occasion when we let the brains behind the operation out to see the light of day, so if you are in Seattle, don’t miss this one.
The best part of presenting at these various events is that it affords us the opportunity to interact with folks from all aspects of the travel industry. We learn a ton from these fortuitous, impromptu meetings. With that in mind, check out our events calendar and let us know if we’ll be crossing your path. We’d love to meet in person – we’ll supply the M&Ms.
To regulate, or deregulate, that is the question
It’s funny, this industry we’re all involved in. Years ago there was a movement to deregulate the airline industry. Now, with Spirit Airlines and Ryanair charging for carrying on bags and a piece of toilet paper (that’s probably not even double quilted), the DOT’s got its panties in a bunch. Readers, we ask you your opinion in this quick little poll.
The ROI of “comfortable” business travel. Just ask Dan Quayle.
by Mike
So, here we are at the end of Q1 2010, and by all accounts, business travel is on the uptick. With improving budgets and two great ROI studies in your back pocket, you are rearing to go. But, can you boost that ROI even further by providing your employees with “comfortable” business travel? Ask any road warrior this question and I’m confident they’ll all say “yes.” Increased comfort and reduced stress leads to sharper, happier and more productive employees. This is something that your finance guy sitting comfortably back in HQ may not quite comprehend.
To outsiders, life on the road appears exciting and adventuresome. To those who live the lifestyle, it’s a different story. Long security lines, flight delay after flight delay, and Thrombophilia inducing cabin configurations (just ask Dan Quayle). That’s all before you even take off. Then, once you reach the final destination, it’s not uncommon to feel like you are on a bad episode of The Amazing Race, forced to navigate an unfamiliar city and long stretches disconnected from family and friends.
Plus, with increased government restrictions and limited airline capacity, the situation is only getting worse. I It’s your job to champion the cause for these hard working employees and get the green light to throw them a bone.
Paul Metselaar, CEO and Chairman of Ovation Travel Group, outlines two options (paraphrased below) in a recent Op-Ed piece for BTN entitled, “Keeping your eye on travel ROI,” This should help you make your case to the finance team back in HQ:
Cramp them in coach:
Economy class + a long flight cooped up next to a large sick man = an employee with a raging headache, a neck cramp, and the sniffles.
Result: The business meeting is a flop, the deal is lost, and the ROI of the trip is zero
Treat them to premium economy (or more):
Business class + a long comfortable flight with some room to work = an employee that is rested, well prepared and unstressed.
Result: The meeting is a success, the deal is closed, and the trip has a terrific ROI
Obviously these are two very simplified scenarios, but you get the point. And, it’s important to note, that the additional expense doesn’t have to be as expensive as a business class ticket. Here are some inexpensive perks that will make your travelers more comfortable and less stressed so they in turn are more productive:
- Mobile access and updates – being in the dark is perhaps the most stressful aspect of being a traveler. Access to itineraries, real-time flight updates and other information drastically improves the life of a traveler.
- Status and upgrades – if your travelers don’t have the status to qualify for an upgrade, your TMC might be able to help. Seating with extra legroom or a bigger hotel room makes a big difference.
- Lounge access – with the hourly rates the company pays your travelers, does it really make sense to have them wandering the airport looking for internet access, a power source or even a comfortable seat? The $300-600 annual investment for lounge access is a no brainer.
- Work with LCCs (low cost carriers) that offer more – it’s amazing how watching some “Jersey Shore” will speed up a cross-country flight, and the entertainment center doesn’t necessarily mean a more expensive fare.
- Mobile broadband subscription – why force your people to hop scotch from Starbucks to Starbucks to suck down too many mochas and free Internet access when they can be connected all the time?
- GPS with every rental car – a lost employee is an unproductive and stressed employee. Consider working with your car supplier to include a GPS device, or develop an internal loaner program.
These are just a few suggestions, but I pose the question to my fellow road warriors: what makes you more comfortable when traveling?
Facebook
