Corporate travel management company, BCD Travel, says aggressive pricing in 2009 due to the GFC will not last into 2010.
BCD Travel National Sales Manager, Stephen Finlay, said 2009 was the year of the buyer in corporate travel with a GFC-induced 15-20% reduction in business travel causing suppliers to drop their prices.
“However, we are now seeing an increase in business travel and we believe the window for companies to negotiate highly competitive corporate travel pricing with hotels, car rental companies and airlines is closing,” Mr Finlay said.
Companies seeking to cut costs or maintain lower costs in 2010 should seek some guidance from a travel management company on how to drive savings through demand management, he said.
“This will make the greatest difference to their bottom line and savings will be much greater than what they’re achieving now by handling their corporate travel in-house.”
Mr Finlay said online booking engines were becoming increasingly popular, delivering improved efficiency and reporting, lowering business travel costs and ensuring adherence to in-house corporate travel policies.
“Sectors that have been traditionally focused on service through consultant teams for their domestic and Trans-Tasman corporate travel will no longer be able to ignore the efficiencies and ROI that self-booking travel tools bring to their business travel programs,” he said.