“Business unusual” instead of “one size fits all” – that’s what corporate travel programs need. BCD Travel talks about its approach at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) Global Summit in Amsterdam, Oct. 23 – 25. Attendees can meet BCD Travel’s experts at the InterACTE exhibition space and attend the following sessions:
Buyer Only Workshop – The Life of the Corporate Travel Buyer: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1:30 p.m.
This buyer only session with Mark O’Brien,Vice President, Global Business Development at BCD Travel, is designed to acknowledge the frustration felt amongst corporate travel buyers and productively channel that frustration into an exercise that can help illuminate pain points as well as identify commonalities across regions and travel programme scope, size and spend. A concurrent supplier only session is scheduled for supplier attendees to participate in the same exercise. Participants will have the opportunity to identify how they are willing to partner with travel suppliers to work towards moving the industry forward. A summary document will be created and a select group of buyers will present the overarching themes to the entire summit audience during the plenary session the following day.
Pulling Back the Covers – Finding the Best Lodging Strategy for Your Program
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 3:45 p.m.
Keeping up with travelers’ access to lodging content and the multiple suppliers competing to offer it is enough to keep any travel manager awake at night. In the plenary session, Laura Kusto, Senior Director, Hotel Solutions at BCD Travel, will join other industry experts in pulling back the covers on some key players in the hotel space. The panelists will weigh the merits of various sourcing, booking and cost-savings options
Build Your Store – Power up your Program Experience with Merchandising and Traveler Engagement
Thursday, Oct. 24, 3 p.m.
Shelley Fletcher-Bryant, Managing Consultant, Advito, explores how merchandising can drive program adoption and influence how travelers buy. He helps travel managers to understand how to build a store that will be their first choice for travel. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the data and insights that power a merchandising strategy and see first-hand how these strategies drive hotel and air program success.
Special Report! Results from the Buyer/Supplier Only Workshops: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities
Thursday, Oct. 24, 4:15 p.m.
In order for the industry to truly innovate, buyers and suppliers can’t just pay lip service to changes that need to be made but instead, need to actually collaborate. Join us for a report out from the Monday afternoon buyer workshop where attendees can share their challenges and productively channel that frustration into an exercise intended to illuminate their pain points as well as identify commonalities. Additionally, they have the opportunity to identify how they are willing to partner with others to help move the industry forward. Supplier representatives will have an opportunity to respond to this industry “playbook” and ideally, publicly commit to addressing the pain points identified in a meaningful way.
Measuring the Quality of Your Travel Program
Friday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m.
Ryan Covey, Senior Director CSS Consulting, BCD Travel, will highlight the most interesting facts from Quality Management in Business Travel, a research project from BCD and ACTE . Travel managers believe that learning more about the travel experience is crucial. Yet, there is little agreement on how to define and measure concepts like traveler satisfaction, engagement, travel friction, and trip success rate. This session will identify how other travel managers define these indicators of traveler experience. Participants will find ways to accurately measure key quality metrics and to engage key partners and stakeholders to improve travel program quality at your organization.
