Comments on: Study suggests corporate travel managers are in total denial about economic downturn http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/study-suggests-corporate-travel-managers-are-in-total-denial-about-economic-downturn/ The last honest travel site Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:50:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Craig http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/study-suggests-corporate-travel-managers-are-in-total-denial-about-economic-downturn/comment-page-1/#comment-7647 Craig Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:06:13 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=5612#comment-7647 John m has it right. My company uses unrestricted airfares and we have all kinds of coporate perks built into our contracts. Those issues will not affect us. We have cut back in some travel with more teleconferencing, but other travel has increased where we have to meet face-to-face and new opportunities come up. In the long run, we are traveling about the same, but costs have been frozen in our current contracts. We do not operate travel like you do your family travels. John m has it right. My company uses unrestricted airfares and we have all kinds of coporate perks built into our contracts. Those issues will not affect us. We have cut back in some travel with more teleconferencing, but other travel has increased where we have to meet face-to-face and new opportunities come up. In the long run, we are traveling about the same, but costs have been frozen in our current contracts. We do not operate travel like you do your family travels.

]]> By: john m http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/study-suggests-corporate-travel-managers-are-in-total-denial-about-economic-downturn/comment-page-1/#comment-7605 john m Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:03:13 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=5612#comment-7605 Each day I review the number of transactions that the agents in my office do and they are only 5% higher this year when compared to last year. This doesn't sound like companies are cutting travel to me, if anything it indicates that they are doing more of it. Regretfully, I don't have time to address each issue you brought up in your article but let me point out a couple things that may have impacted the answers given. For example, the 20% of travel managers who say that the minimum stay requirements will barely increase their travel expenses may be the ones whose travel policy is to fly on unrestricted airfares or they may be traveling in markets that don't have minimum stays or they may have contracts in place with airlines that waive such things. As for feeling confident that they will meet their goals with their vendors, perhaps they set conservative goals and know that won't be an issue or perhaps they don't see that their company is planning on cutting back on travel. I know a number of my clients are planning on continuing to travel at least as much this year as last. In short, without an explanation of why they answered the way that they did, you are left to draw your own conclusions and you can spin them anyway you wish. Each day I review the number of transactions that the agents in my office do and they are only 5% higher this year when compared to last year. This doesn’t sound like companies are cutting travel to me, if anything it indicates that they are doing more of it.

Regretfully, I don’t have time to address each issue you brought up in your article but let me point out a couple things that may have impacted the answers given. For example, the 20% of travel managers who say that the minimum stay requirements will barely increase their travel expenses may be the ones whose travel policy is to fly on unrestricted airfares or they may be traveling in markets that don’t have minimum stays or they may have contracts in place with airlines that waive such things.

As for feeling confident that they will meet their goals with their vendors, perhaps they set conservative goals and know that won’t be an issue or perhaps they don’t see that their company is planning on cutting back on travel. I know a number of my clients are planning on continuing to travel at least as much this year as last.

In short, without an explanation of why they answered the way that they did, you are left to draw your own conclusions and you can spin them anyway you wish.

]]> By: cjm http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/study-suggests-corporate-travel-managers-are-in-total-denial-about-economic-downturn/comment-page-1/#comment-7577 cjm Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:04:28 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=5612#comment-7577 Chris I think you are being a little harsh here. Maybe the corp travel managers interviewed for this survey were simply reporting what they are seeing/observing at their companies. Many of these interviews were done months ago before the stock market crashed. And maybe, just maybe, things are not as bad as the media is portraying them to be. I mean, that BTC report out today says that only a quarter of travel managers report having to make emergency cuts in travel spending....based on the current hysteria, I would think that percentage would be much higher. Chris I think you are being a little harsh here. Maybe the corp travel managers interviewed for this survey were simply reporting what they are seeing/observing at their companies. Many of these interviews were done months ago before the stock market crashed. And maybe, just maybe, things are not as bad as the media is portraying them to be. I mean, that BTC report out today says that only a quarter of travel managers report having to make emergency cuts in travel spending….based on the current hysteria, I would think that percentage would be much higher.

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