Travel Management Canada August 2014

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Management canada August 2014

In partnership with

FIT to

travel Hal Johnson & Joanne McLeod

Also Inside: Big data & meetings Procurement for beginners GBTA Conference 2014 | Toronto

Special 2014 Travel Procurement Symposium Preview Issue!

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Publisher: Dorothy Jakovina, 416-510-6899, djakovina@bizinfogroup.ca

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EDITOR: Michael Power, 416-442-5600 ext 3259, mpower@bizinfogroup.ca Art Director: Sandy MacIsaac, 416-442-5600 ext 3242, smacisaac@bizinfogroup.ca Production Manager: Kimberly Collins, 416-510-6779, kcollins@bizinfogroup.ca Circulation Manager: Barbara Adelt, (416) 442-5600 x 3546, badelt@bizinfogroup.ca Executive Publisher, Industrial Group: Tim Dimopoulos Vice-President of Canadian Publishing, BIG Magazines LP: Alex Papanou President of Business Information Group, BIG Magazines LP: Bruce Creighton Travel Management Canada is published two times a year,

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Contents 04 Getting Along Tips for better travel buyer-supplier relationships.

August 2014 09

05 Big Data For Meetings & Events Using data to generate meetings ROI.

06 Buying the Friendly Skies Tips for Airline RFPs, negotiations and contracts.

09 Procurement 101 Dealing with procurement for the beginner, intermediate and advanced travel manager.

12 Take a Break Interview with Hal & Joanne of BodyBreak

15 Travel Procurement Symposium All you need to know about our first travel procurement event.

20 GBTA Conference 2014 | Toronto Printed in Canada

12

Highlights from this year’s GBTA conference in Toronto.

For business travel communication is king Travel is about communication. Whether for business or pleasure, travel isn’t going away any time soon—in fact it’s increasing. According to the Global Business Travel Association’s most recent business travel index (BTI), US-based corporate travel grew 3 three percent year-over-year, with company spending for business travellers increasing 7.6 percent to $71.2 billion during the first quarter of 2014.

GBTA chalked this rise up to increasing management confidence in an economic recovery.

Travel has become essential to how companies communicate and do business. We also like to think we play a role in that communication, whether it’s presenting the information you need do your job or bringing you together with your colleagues. In this issue, we’ve tried to give you that information, whether it’s tips for negotiating airline RFPs (see page 6) or best practices for understanding the travel procurement process (page 9), we hope that the articles we offer not only informs but helps make your day-to-day job run more smoothly.

Communication is also one of our main goals for our new event, the first-ever Travel Procurement Symposium.

We’ve designed this high-level event to pack in as much networking and peer-to-peer learning as possible. Check out our preview section for the symposium starting on page 15.

Speaking of communication, we thrive on staying in touch with our readers.

So check out this issue of Travel Management Canada and feel free to drop me an email at mpower@bizinfogroup.ca to let me know what you think.

August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 3

20

EDITORIAL | Publication Partner

Getting along The evolution of buyer-to-supplier relations We have seen a decade of evolution in the business travel industry impacting everything from technology, to enhanced product/service offerings, to complex and customized pricing strategies. One area that’s critical, yet rarely focused on compared to its more tangible cousins, is buyer-supplier relations. Relationships are central to managed business travel; without them, negotiations, communications and product knowledge wouldn’t exist. How these relations, communications and negotiations are managed have transformed dramatically over the years.

Buyers and suppliers alike have learned to do more with fewer resources and less time. We must pay attention to effective communication styles to have engaged and rewarding buyer-supplier relationships. The recent shift of managed travel into procurement or strategic sourcing has also given life to a more factual communication style, therefore viewing travel as a commodity, with greater emphasis on cost metrics versus relationships.

Travel suppliers still operate under the same principles, being managed and rated internally by activities like quantity of prospecting calls, office drop-ins, client entertainments and in-person review meetings. These activities were once successful—but as the world evolves so must our approach, understanding and expectations.

In speaking with many travel buyers, the preference is moving away from unqualified, time consuming activities towards a more productive, relevant and efficient communication to establish or develop relationships. When suppliers seek new or prospective client opportunities, those in buying capacities rarely have the time or inclination to respond to unqualified phone solicitation. Suppliers should look for unique ways to identify their business potential, do the research and utilize the resources of the suppliers’ brand/chain/network to understand the client’s program. Only once a business case is identified should suppliers start emailing—the beginnings of establishing a relationship with the travel buyer. The days of acquiring

a list and calling from A-to-Z are gone and won’t yield results—you likely won’t speak with a person, voicemail won’t be returned and you may even be viewed as an annoyance and jeopardize your opportunity to get a foot in the door. Be smart, do your research and present your case as efficiently and effectively as possible.

For existing client relationships, buyers say they can no longer afford the time for lengthy lunches, events or meetings out-of-office. In its place, suppliers are encouraged to look for ways to be effective while still communicating business intelligence. Many buyers recommend that suppliers consolidate in-person meetings to a minimum per year (based on the client’s needs) that take place in the buyer’s office. When combining with an entertainment, consolidate a meeting into a coffee break or lunch that is brought into the client. Otherwise, email, conference or video calls, are the more effective and productive methods to review status, issues/concerns or business decisions, while sticking to the topic and time limit.

It’s also wise to use conferences and symposiums as a common meeting ground for more business-casual, social interactions. This forms another critical tool for suppliers that not only offers a common focus, it allows for contact with multiple travel buyers in a neutral setting, encouraging the personal relationship element to flourish.

This communications shift extends to negotiations.

Travel buyer priorities are now more factual and savingsbased and suppliers must present data as such. Communication supporting a negotiation should reflect core competencies of the supplier’s offering, giving clear and concise relevancy to the program and savings. Recognizing that consolidation to optimize program adoption and savings is key. Suppliers should funnel, where possible, negotiations through their brand, affiliate or network to optimize positioning and leverage distribution.

This evolution is obvious, yet rarely considered for relationship-building tactics and communication. Focusing on what makes sense in the buyer’s world, being factual and relevant, time considerate and concise, informed and productive, will enhance buyer-to-supplier relations.

Nancy Tudorache, Director of Operations, Canada, Global Business Travel Association Canada

4 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

Feature | Meetings & Events

Big data big benefits Using big data to find “nuggets of gold” for meetings & events

By Michael Power

F

or Anthony Miller, vice-president of strategy for Lanyon, the importance of so-called “big data” to companies is clear. “Without big data, you’re blind and deaf in the middle of a freeway,” he said.

Miller made the comments at the GBTA Convention 2014 in Los Angeles, July 26-30, during an education panel entitled Big Data for Meetings and Events: Bridging the Gap Between Marketing, Corporate Hospitality and Procurement. Miller acted as moderator for the session.

Many organizations believe that they’re informed when, in fact, this is often not the case, he told the audience. At the same time, nine percent of an organization’s overall budget is spent on meetings, events and associated travel—a number too large to ignore, go unmanaged or unmeasured. Marketing departments also spend more on this area than any other, he noted, and face-to-face meetings are critical to success.

“We believe the capturing and use of data is going to be the key to that,” he said. “Data that can give you an opinion is important.”

Miller advocated bringing spend from across various parts of an organization together and consolidating the activity into a single platform. The benefits of doing so include the ability to manage programs of all sizes, a full view of customer and travel data, spend visibility and supplier relations management through better enterprise-wide information, he said.

“Data that can give you an opinion is important.”

~ Anthony Miller

In talking about what data companies should collect, panelist Mike Stiles, senior corporate events manager at Adobe, noted that he saw an increase in digital events such as Internet meetings. His organization looked at the value of such meetings, how to increase that value and what the organization was missing, among other areas. They also investigated adding surveys and looking at nonintrusive ways of gathering data while onsite for meetings, as well as an overall picture of what the event actually does. The way they get an ROI from meetings, he said, is to ensure the people get an experience from it. “If we’re not doing that, we’re not going to see any return ourselves,” he noted.

In terms of how to collect the data, he recommended starting with what you already have. Data exists for any organization that already holds meetings so collecting that information isn’t a huge

problem—it’s what you do with it that counts. It’s also important to understand what you’re looking to get from the data, then look for it within the information. If you don’t find what you want then start collecting more, he said.

Stiles noted that in marketing, there’s a tendency to spend a lot of money. Meanwhile, procurement is driven largely by efficiency.

After realizing how much procurement can help, his department has built a strong relationship with Adobe’s global procurement officer. As well, procurement didn’t realize the urgency in marketing to spend money. Stiles said that now, his department always lets procurement know if they plan to spend a lot. “Having that relationship is critical,” he said.

Fellow panelist Craig Banikowski, senior manager, travel, meetings and fleet at Amgen Inc. and former GBTA president, told the audience that there are two sets of customers at the GBTA Convention: attendees and vendors. These two groups have divergent needs and understanding those needs is critical, he said. After becoming a global organization, GBTA added features to the convention to fit what people were looking for from the experience. That means collecting data on what attendees want in terms of speakers, starting times and so forth. GBTA had been focused recently on collecting data from practices such as attendee surveys. “All that information helps craft what’s coming each year,” he said.

When it comes to crafting that data into a meeting designed to suit attendees, sometimes you hit the mark and sometimes you miss, Banikowski said. But the organization has been able to track trends, among them the movement of procurement into the field for instance, then utilize those trends in the convention’s program.

Hopefully, he said, the process of information collecting can lead to ending up with data with an opinion.

Technology has allowed for data collection to become automated, said panelist Mary Lake, senior manager, global meeting solutions at AbbVie. In fact, an automated data collection system is essential to the process. Trying to collect massive amounts of data on spreadsheets would be impossible, she told the audience. Automation allows for quality checks that can look at questionable data, and her organization can audit and monitor the information much quicker. In short, automation has taken much of the manual work out of data collection, she said.

In conclusion, the panel agreed that big data, while being comprised of a large amount of information, also contains “small nuggets of gold.” Through collecting it, organizations are able to distill that information down to a few bullet points that can yield benefits that would be impossible otherwise.

August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 5

FEATURE | Airline Sourcing

buying the friendly skies

Tips to address the challenges of airline sourcing

By Michael Power

B

usiness travel is expensive, and among the most costly categories of travel spend is airlines. Factors such as gathering data, keeping track of ancillary fees, compliance and soft-dollar costs make this a complex and challenging category. To shed some light on the topic, Travel Management Canada took a look at what’s needed to effectively source and negotiate for airline contracts.

When it comes to airline RFPs and negotiations, data is king. According to Sherry Marshall, senior manager, meeting, travel and corporate card at PwC, it’s important to have as much data about your spend as possible. This will give the airline you’re dealing with a good idea of what an appropriate offer would be. PwC uses a thirdparty company to gather that data and tries to look at their contracts from a global perspective as much as they can, she says. Where that global view isn’t possible, the organization looks at those contracts from a multi-national level, or specific regions of the world. “We try to break it up into buckets that might make it easier to work together for various territories within our firm,” she says.

The third-party organization reviews that data regularly and can offer a historical view during negotiations of the value of a potential contract, Marshall says. The data that’s collected and then given to the airline includes areas like where in the plane the company is spending, whether it’s business class rather than economy, what routes are used, and so forth. “We get pretty granular at looking at those kind of levels,” she says.

Marshall recommends that if soft dollar items—waivers, use of airport lounges, and so on—are important to a company, then those items should be included in the RFP, as well as any KPIs that are important to the organization. The countries that an organization’s employees travel to should also be included, Marshall says.

“I find these RFPs can be really lengthy, so we try to make it as concise as possible when we can,” she says, noting that she usually tries to divide them into two documents. One document gives an introduction to what the organization is looking for; the second document lays out what the company wants airlines to give concrete answers on.

“You really have to put everything you think you’d want in that document and ask them to respond on what their possibilities are,” she said.

While the RFP is the first stage of the process, an oral presentation by vendors is likely even more valuable, Marshall says. By the time a face-to-face meeting with the airline takes place, she notes,

6 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

the company has had an opportunity to go through the RFP. A meeting presents an opportunity to seek clarification, or even compare data with what the airline is offering.

The process, especially if it’s a joint venture with multiple airlines, is lengthy and can take anywhere from six months to a year, Marshall says. For those with a contract already in place that’s expiring shortly, start talking internally at least a year beforehand.

That’s because even after you come to an agreement, there are several other steps to complete, such as taking the document to the legal department. As well, a contract needs to be reviewed on an ongoing basis, so it pays to be ready if it’s up for renewal in six months or a year.

“It feels like you’re always in negotiations,” she says. “Airlines are kind of reluctant now, I find, to do more than a two-year deal. They don’t want that because there’s so much uncertainty.”

Ancillary fees have been a tough point to get airlines to budge on during negotiations, Marshall notes. That’s largely because buyers don’t have a lot of data around the topic so it’s tough to know how much revenue those fees bring to airlines. “Until we have better data around this it’s really tough for us to negotiate,” she says.

Since data is so powerful, she notes, those that have the information can use it to their advantage during negotiations. As well, it’s good to understand what’s driving things for airlines, such as which hubs or routes are important. That information can also help during negotiations, she says.

Enter procurement For Charles Melanson, North American hotel and air program manager at Sanofi Pasteur, several internal partners play a role in the airline RFP process, with the main one being procurement. Two years ago when the organization did their most recent airline RFP, that department managed the actual procurement process, while Melanson acted as the subject matter expert who identified whether an airline’s offer had value or not. “From that perspective, (mine) was very much an analytical role in understanding where in the aircraft we buy tickets, how long ahead of time we buy them, what type of tickets we support and whether those are refundable or not,” he says. “Understanding all of those components gave me the fundamentals I needed to go to procurement and say, you need to be focusing on getting us this type of a fare.”

For example, if procurement came up with a 70-percent discount in economy class, Melanson let them know that those tickets

“While the RFP is the first stage of the process, an oral presentation is likely even more valuable.” wouldn’t be used because the organization’s travellers flew business class. “So go back and ask for a 50-percent discount in the business class cabinet,” he says.

Sanofi Pasteur works with a consulting company to gather information needed in order to analyze an airline’s offer. That data includes market trending capability information that isn’t available otherwise. Having that information is key to their ability to play one carrier against the other to the company’s advantage, Melanson says. The company’s travel management company also provides information.

The process begins with a bidder’s conference, at which all the company’s potential partners came together. The meeting included the airline’s finance people, among others, and having constituents from both sides at the table allowed the airline to produce a more tailor-made offer.

The company also asks potential partners whether they’re willing to participate in a “living agreement,” which allows the parties to respond to changes in the marketplace rather than waiting until the expiration of the agreement to make adjustments.

Melanson stresses the importance of entering negotiations with the goal of looking for a deal that’s a success for both sides. While he looks for contract fulfillment that’s as close to 100 percent as possible, it’s also important to get an agreement that reasonably reflects the needs of both parties. “By having an open and continual dialogue, we’ve been able to instill a culture of win-win,” he said.

“That carries through to after the agreement is signed.”

As well, the company was able to negotiate a value-add package, Melanson says. From the onset, Sanofi Pasteur asked about what value-adds the airline could offer to the relationship. Those value -adds get counted as savings, he notes, for example an airline might be able to provide complementary upgrades or free tickets to support company-sponsored events like Christmas draws. “We look at the entire relationship and the entire financial package,” he says. “We very well may find that the total cost of travel that airline A offers far exceeds the value of airline B, simply because of all the value-adds.”

But once a company has a airline contract in place, there are still things to be aware of. According to Shelly Lewchuk, manager, corporate travel, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, ancillary fees have added complexity to the airline sourcing process because it’s still not easy to capture data regarding those fees. For example, if a traveller purchases an upgrade at the airport it will come through on their expenses, but that information might not be broken down very well.

That means it can be difficult to get transparency into the cost of those trips. She notes that an expense management tool can help companies with that process. It’s up to organizations themselves to address ancillary fees, since it’s not that easy for airlines to address them, Lewchuk notes.

“Because some of those costs are not very transparent right now, we haven’t found a good way to capture them,” she notes. “I think technology will catch up eventually. It’s very difficult for a travel manager to evaluate the total cost.”

August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 7

FEATURE | Thought Leadership

procurement 101 Our panel of buyers with different experience levels offer their perspectives on travel procurement.

T

ravel has become an integral part of the procurement world, with procurement practitioners increasingly seeing the corporate travel portfolio included among their responsibilities. But travel can be a daunting and complex category for the uninitiated, as it comes with its own unique set of priorities, strategies and language.

To look at these and other issue, Travel Management Canada brought together three experts from the world of travel procurement for a panel discussion at the GBTA Conference 2014 | Toronto March 19-21, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The panel focused not only on tips for those new to travel buying, but also investigated best practices for each level of managing a corporation’s travel

Panel participants (l-r): Jim Moore, Rogers Communications; Faranza Kanji, BDO Canada; Rhonda Jones, Royal Bank of Canada and Michael Power, Travel Management Canada Magazine.

spend, whether beginning, intermediate or advanced.

Topics discussed included dealing with travel management companies, airline sourcing, hotel booking, duty of care and more.

On the panel were: Faranza Kanji, procurement manager, internal accounting for BDO Canada; Rhonda Jones, manager, travel, RBC procurement at Royal Bank of Canada; and Jim Moore, manager, administration and travel, strategic procurement services at Rogers Communications. Travel Management Canada editor Michael Power moderated the discussion.

To begin the discussion, the group discussed what procurement practitioners should know to work effectively with travel professionals, and vice versa. From a procurement standpoint, travel is a commodity like others, albeit an important one, said Moore. For those supporting travel—as opposed to running a program themselves—it’s critical to know what the travel manager needs, he noted. That can include what the pain points for that manager are, as well as what their success looks like before trying to find vendors to support them.

On the other side, it’s important for travel managers to understand that in many cases, procurement reports through finance. “So yes, there’s that almighty dollar that procurement has to be concerned with, but there’s also the total cost of ownership that procurement works with so it’s not just the dollars and cents—it’s what else goes with it,” Moore said.

Procurement is able to bring the skill set of data analytics, which contributes to setting strategy, he added.

That can include areas like the number of carriers, the routes to take, how many hotels in each city and so on.

For her part, Jones recommended that procurement develop an understanding of the data and spend in order to be able to recommend certain contractual obligations and terms. For travel managers, she noted the importance of understanding the procurement role.

“Make sure that there’s a lot of dialogue back and forth—I think communication is key in that regard,” she said. “Help them understand the complexity of the category. I find that you touch one little thing over here, you think you’re going to make a change, and it affects your entire program.”

Procurement can help travel in terms of contracts, August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 9

FEATURE | Thought Leadership

“We bring to them knowledge of procurement, processes, the financial and analytical aspects. It’s key that we work hand-in-hand with our travel management department.” ~ Faranza Kanji

Jones noted, for example helping travel understand what can and can’t be given up so that everyone involved knows the key pieces once the contract is signed.

For her part, Kanji stressed the importance of procurement working with the travel management department. They’re the subject matter experts and bring a skill set procurement might lack, she said. Procurement must understand not only their needs but also the information that they can share for their requirements and knowledge of the travel industry. For its part, procurement can work alongside travel to analyze spend and make that spend more efficient, streamline processes and cut costs. “We bring to them knowledge of procurement, processes, the financial and analytical aspects,” Kanji said. “It’s key that we work hand-in-hand with our travel management department.”

First steps The panel discussed the first steps that procurement practitioners new to the travel area should take. Kanji noted that the first thing she does is requirements gathering. She works with travel to find out what they’re looking for, as well as to do an analysis of current spend. She recommended looking at the participants that travel wants to invite to the procurement process. “Are they looking for a small agency or large one? Who do they feel comfortable with?

That requirements gathering is really important because that’s going to help you not only draft your service level agreement, (but also) your master services agreement,” she said. “It’s going to help you put together your pricing matrix.”

For procurement practitioners with more experience, said Jones, the process remains the same but it’s important to work consistently to understand what’s working and what isn’t, what the travel manager is looking for, what travellers want and other factors. With a mature program, it becomes increasingly difficult to find cost savings, noted Jones. “The biggest challenge is to understand, have the best practices changed? What are the best practices? And how do you evolve your travel program to benefit from those additional cost savings?”

To deal with some of the challenges, Jones recommended reaching out to colleagues at conferences and forums. “A lot of times, we’ll just send out an email to our colleagues to say, ‘this is what we’re dealing with,’” she said.

Moore agreed that the industry is a fast-moving one. And while suppliers are a great resource, organizations like GBTA Canada can help practitioners stay abreast of what’s going on. “The wealth of white papers, of templates, of webinars available to members is

10 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

just incredible,” he said. “It will help bring you up-to-speed very quickly.”

Kanji noted that since procurement is so new to BDO, a challenge they are currently facing is to ensure buy-in from employees to use a booking tool or a travel management company. Employees sometimes prefer to use a booking site or travel agency of their own choice, she said. Or, some prefer to use their credit card to earn frequent flyer points. “That’s a real challenge that we’re finding right now, to try to find a solution for that. And we’re still working on it,” she said.

A personal portfolio Jones also stressed the importance of buy-in from travel arrangers and travellers alike. Although buy-in from 100 percent of participants was likely impossible, she noted the importance of communication to ensure they understood goals and objectives, why they might be out of policy in certain areas, and other aspects of a travel program.

Moore noted that allowing exceptions regarding what travellers want can escalate, so that a strong policy can end up losing its bite.

Still, he noted, there will be times that exceptions are necessary and practitioners must learn to accept that and work with them.

“As much as carriers are doing everything they can to make the trip great, hotels are wonderful, but somebody’s still upset from the life they normally lead by going on the road, so you try to keep that in mind,” he said.

Kanji stressed the importance of knowing travellers’ needs in order to accommodate as closely to the policy as possible. “I think what’s really important is they should find the whole process as easy as possible to follow,” she told the audience. “I think you’ll get more chance of success that way.”

The panel spent time talking about sourcing a travel management company, with Jones noting procurement’s role in that is key.

Jones said she wears both a procurement hat as well as that of travel manager.

“So I want to make sure I get it right the first time,” she said. “I think that’s the key—understanding what it is you want to accomplish out of that particular program or service.”

In working closely with the travel management department, once again Kanji noted the importance of understanding what their needs are. From a procurement perspective, she’s able to provide guidance on drafting contracts, the RFP process, what kind of criteria should be included or on the evaluation process. “But the help I’m given by the travel will help me score correctly,” she said. “Again,

“There’s that almighty dollar that procurement has to be concerned with, but there’s also the total cost of ownership that procurement works with.” ~ Jim Moore

it’s work that you have to do hand-in-hand with the travel management department.”

Writing the requirements for the first RFP is critical, Moore said, since if the relationship doesn’t work an organization must change companies quickly. “It’s worth taking the time to do it, to make sure you get it right,” he said. “Chances are you may not change TMCs that often. If things are working well, you don’t change it.”

Jones noted the advantages of remaining long-term with a travel management company. With a long-term relationship, the travel company understands the client’s culture, and also knows the travellers and travel arrangers.

The RFP process The panel also looked at the RFP process when sourcing from categories such as air, hotel or ground transportation such as car. For Kanji, the biggest challenge is to know whether you’re getting the best rates possible. People can end up booking at the last minute, even though booking a month or two ahead of time can save some money.

“I think that’s really a challenge—both the airfare and the last-minute booking.”

Jones noted that the challenges one can face in terms of RFPs depends largely on the complexity of the program. For those dealing with multiple travel management companies, Jones recommended deciding whether you’re going to do a global RFP or to regionalize.

“So just building those strategies to determine what approach you’re going to take, I find that’s one of our biggest challenges.”

Sourcing those areas can also involve risk, the panel agreed. Financial stability and operational risks both come into play, Jones said. Her organization has a policy whereby only so many people can travel on the same plane, and once you reach that threshold they have to find an alternate flight depending on where they’re travelling to, she told the audience. Moore noted several risks involved in hotel RFPs. Considerations like hard-wired smoke detectors, sprinklers and self-closing doors can present a challenge, he said, especially for buildings constructed before recent changes in property codes.

“All of a sudden, you don’t have sprinklers in every room,” he said. “You get into things like the physically-challenged. Are there audible alarms? Are there visual alarms? IT security, I mentioned credit card information earlier. Neighbourhoods that hotels are in— we’ve seen some that on one side of the street is actually not such a bad neighbourhood, and the back side of the street is not quite the same. We have to keep things like that in mind because the duty-

of-care has got to be first and foremost when you’re sending a traveller somewhere.”

Panelists were keen to give advice to those in the audience looking to know more about procurement’s role within the travel space. When asked what they know now that they wish they had known at the time they started in the area, Jones said that she had some procurement—but no travel—background and wished she had had both. It also took her a while to understand that forums such as GBTA Conference 2014 | Toronto existed to help build networks and gather advice on specific challenges.

“We’re all dealing with similar issues, so I would have liked to have learned that a little more quickly,” she said.

For Moore, realizing how much he could push back on areas like flight times was something he wished he had known. “We’ve started pushing back on things like that with our travellers and actually cancelling and telling them, ‘no, make the booking on the other airline—that type of thing,” he said. “I didn’t realize we could do it as much in the past.”

As the session wrapped up, panelists were invited to offer closing comments. Kanji reminded the audience that communication was key and that it was important for procurement to work with travel managers and do research in terms of requirements gathering. It’s important to explain to peers that everyone must work as a team, and that their requests and needs matter. “And education and knowledge is important,” she added. “So try to keep yourself up-todate with all the current developments. Especially in this industry, which is moving so fast.”

Moore agreed on the importance of proper communication and recommended speaking directly with the travel supplier. Also, get to know what the travel manager or procurement practitioner wants and needs. “Just as much as it’s important for us to know what our people want, it’s important for you to know what we want,” he said.

“So when you come to us with solutions, proposals, pricing— whatever—it makes sense to use and we don’t look at it and just say, ‘yeah, OK.’” Jones noted the importance of drilling down into spend in order to fully understand it, especially during the RFP process. “You need to make sure you spend the time to do that analytic piece, as well as nailing down the requirements,” she told the audience.

Overall, the themes of data, spend and communication ranked high during the discussion, which offered advice for procurement professionals and travel managers alike. Attendees left with a broad range of best practices to take action during their daily routines after the conference.

August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 11

FEATURE | BodyBreak

Road to Health It’s been 26 years since Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod began telling Canadians about the importance of nutrition, fitness and a healthy lifestyle. For Travel Management Canada publisher Dorothy Jakovina, the opportunity to sit down and chat with the fitness duo was also an opportunity to reconnect. Dorothy worked at ParticipACTION in a media communications role when Hal & Joanne approached the national organization about partnering to produce BodyBreak public service ads. That kicked off the relationship between ParticipACTION and BodyBreak, with Dorothy visiting media across Canada to promote the ads. After 68 spots Hal & Joanne produced their own ads and have greatly expanded the BodyBreak brand. Their upbeat and informative message has had a impact on Canadians and their well-being over the years.

Dorothy Jakovina: Thank you for speaking with us. When you think about one of the most recognizable couples in Canada, you two certainly are it. I think it’s a testimony to the incredible work that you’ve done over the last 26 years.

Hal Johnson: We’ve been lucky, that would be the biggest thing. We’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity and we hit it at a specific time that was very fortunate for us. A lot of things fell into place. Trying to replicate BodyBreak now, on the one hand, would be very difficult to do.

But on the other hand, there’s more opportunity to get your voice heard.

All we wanted to do is have our little voice and try to motivate Canadians to eat properly and be active. Today, people have more venues through social media—it’s a lot easier, but there’s a lot more noise out there.

Joanne McLeod: It wasn’t until social media that we were getting the feedback that we’ve been getting and realizing that kids have grown up with us and are now having kids and saw us during The Amazing Race. We’ve now touched so many generations—it’s so rewarding to know that you’ve had an impact on seniors to the little tikes.

Do you have a story about how you’ve touched someone’s life and made a difference?

JM: The biggest thing is the response we get when we’re out in public. We bring people back to when they were growing up. Or we bring them back to a time when they were sitting on the couch watching the show and realized they felt guilty they were eating something they shouldn’t or that they should get out and exercise.

We bring them back to a time when, say, they were a student and had no responsibilities. It’s like going into your mom’s house and there are cookies baking and the smell reminds you of home. We constantly get those comments and that’s what touches you.

HJ: It’s still hard to believe when somebody says ‘I grew up with you guys. You guys came in the Saturday morning cartoons.’ Then they start reciting the exercises or tips we gave them. It’s hard for us to fathom that. And then you think, I guess we’re like The Friendly Giant or Mr. Dress Up to them. It’s really hard for me to get a real handle on that we affected people. We did our job and we enjoyed it and we hope we helped people. But it’s hard to imagine we did in any significant way.

12 | Travel Management Canada – August

2014

You speak about touching the lives of people who have grown up with BodyBreak, but you also mentioned that a lot of them are parents now. Is it having an influence on their kids lives as well?

HJ: I hope so, if we’ve had a small impact on them—it’s paying it forward. The unfortunate thing is that more people are obese today than ever. We try to get the message out to eat properly and get out and move.

JM: We’ve always felt that it’s important in Canada to have role models. We have hockey players and basketball players, but the most important role model, especially if you’re a parent, is yourself.

What you do on a daily basis is what’s going to have the biggest impact on your children.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenge facing business travellers in terms of health? Is it healthy eating, maintaining an exercising program or lack of sleep?

HJ: All of the above. I think the biggest thing is that if you have a healthy routine you get out of that healthy routine and it’s unfortunate. You have to adapt a travel routine for eating and for exercise.

And you have to plan—that’s the biggest thing when you travel.

JM: There will be pitfalls along the way. You’ll be travelling and you’ll want to grab something to eat and you’ve got to make those healthy choices. You always have to be aware of what you’re doing and not just say, ‘oh, I’ll just grab this. It’s high fat but it doesn’t matter.’ Well, it will matter to how much you sleep and how much energy you have.

What challenges do you face on the road?

HJ: For myself, the biggest thing is sleep and adjusting to time.

Food isn’t really the issue; I’ve got a pretty good handle on what I should eat. It’s trying to get proper sleep. You’re in a different bed, you’re in a different time zone and you’re waking up at different hours. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep the night before and I’m travelling the next day, it’s much harder. The flight seems that much longer and it really seems to drag. But if you get a really good night’s sleep and you’re prepared before you leave, it makes travel a lot easier.

JM: Also, schedule your flights to be more accommodating for your sleep or your routine. The later in the day, the more difficult it is to unwind. I definitely have difficulty sleeping in hotels, so I’ve started to take earplugs. It takes out the very high pitches. You’re still able to hear you’re alarm—but the elevator doors closing and opening, the people that are walking through the hallway—you just don’t hear the noises the same and you’re more apt to stay asleep. From an exercise perspective, you’re off your schedule and trying to fit it in. You have to force yourself to realize that going for a 30-minute walk or going down to the fitness room will make you feel better— I’ll feel better if I do something active.

HJ: I have a bunch of flights that I have to schedule and I said to Joanne, ‘when do you want to leave?’ We’re going to Calgary and we have an event we have to do the next morning. We don’t want to fly too late, even though we can get into Calgary at 10 or 11 o’clock.

By the time we sleep it will be one o’clock Toronto time. It’s better to travel during the day, so we’re going to leave at 6pm and arrive at 8. We’ll still be able to get into our rhythm.

From a stress perspective—especially when we do speaking engagements around the country—we never take the last flight.

Once, I left my wallet on the car and I had to rush back. I thought I left it at the house. The woman at the gate said ‘can I see your ID, please.’ But I didn’t have it, so I raced back to the car and I told Joanne, ‘you get on the plane.’ It was actually on the roof of the car.

I raced back and the plane was on the tarmac so I couldn’t get on.

I had to take the last flight. I had to wait another four hours. So when you travel, you try to reduce the stress. Another thing to do to reduce stress is get your Nexus card. People say, ‘I don’t travel to the States a lot.’ But you go to the airport and we know we don’t have wait in security. There’s a Nexus line just for going through regular security in Canada.

Do you have any tips on how to stay healthy and active while on a plane or waiting in the airport?

JM: I bring a BackJoy. I sit on it and it helps to alleviate back pain, stiffness or soreness. When you’re in an airport, you’re sitting.

When you’re in a car, you’re sitting. When you’re on the plane, you’re sitting. You go to your meeting and you’re sitting. We tend to sit too much and that’s been the one thing that’s helped me be able to stay active. We’ve been on the tarmac for four hours waiting, another four-hour flight and then a two-hour drive. I’m still able to get up the next day and go for a short run and feel physically well.

HJ: Whether it’s on a plane or sitting at your computer terminal, we’re sitting much more now than ever before. The BackJoy rotates your pelvis so that you’re sitting properly. You’re shoulders go back, you’re pelvis goes forward, and you don’t even know that you’re on it.

Can you share the benefits of staying healthy and active while travelling for work?

HJ: We were coming home one late night through Pearson Airport.

We had to walk about 15 minutes before we got to the car, and

“You have to adapt a travel routine for eating and for exercise. And you have to plan – that’s the biggest thing when you travel.”

Photos: Dorothy Jakovina August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 13

FEATURE | BodyBreak Joanne says to me ‘you know, you have to be fit to travel.’ We’d been doing a lot of movement and moving around through airports.

You have to be proactive and try to strengthen your body so that you’re able to do what you’re able to do right now. And our true wealth is our health.

big agers. When you see somebody who’s gotten old, it’s often because they’ve gained weight.

JM: You sleep better, you’re more productive, you’re less stressed— you just feel better. As a traveller, the worst thing is to get on an airplane and have a headache. Or, you have a sore back. Or you’re just not feeling well. You need to be physically fit to travel and deal with everything that’s thrown at you.

Tell us something about yourselves that our readers might not know.

JM: We’re married. It’s the number one question we get asked. We haven’t hidden it. It just seems there are still some people who are unaware of it.

Are you still producing BodyBreak segments and are you planning anything travel related?

HJ: We are. We produced new BodyBreak segments and we’re in Yellowknife. We were there to do three talks for the Canadian Diabetes Association; one in Fort Smith, one in Hay River and one in Yellowknife. We flew into Edmonton and caught a little twin prop to Fort Smith and then caught another little twin prop to Hay River. We then flew from Hay River to Yellowknife on a 1935 Douglas DC 3 operated by Buffalo Airways (featured on the TV show Ice Pilots).

JM: I looked forward to it—but you get used to the bigger aircraft, you get used to getting a drink served to you. But it was exciting.

Having watched the two of you on Amazing Race I think you guys are up for any type of travel excitement.

JM: I’ve always been kind of an adventurer. I’ve always said, ‘my bag is already packed, I just like going to the airport and travelling.’

What The Amazing Race did was heighten that. You can’t get comfortable—you’ve got to always extend yourself, because that’s what gives you that spark, that life.

That’s probably why the two of you still look so young. I don’t think you guys have aged at all.

HJ: Unfortunately, we get to look back at ourselves 25 years ago.

Most people don’t. Most people don’t have pictures pop up, like, ‘oh yeah, here’s what you looked like back in high school’. Or people come up to us and say, ‘oh, yeah, you’ve changed’. They may have seen a BodyBreak 15 years ago. A key element that you see in people is that as they age they gain weight, and weight is one of the

JM: You gain weight because you haven’t been eating properly, you haven’t been hydrating properly and you haven’t been exercising.

Is there anything you’d like to add to our conversation?

JM: We have the same issues as everyone else in terms of staying motivated to be active and eat healthy. There are so many temptations and things that will stop you from, let’s say, getting your workout in. You just make it a priority. That goes for anyone who fits activity into their day.

For example, if you’re going to the grocery store, park further away from the entrance. Take the stairs when you can. You’re constantly thinking of other things during your day—what you can do to put in a bit more activity, more steps into your day.

HJ: Over the years, Joanne and I have heard every excuse in the book for why people don’t do things. For example, you say you’ve got kids. I’ve got two kids and they’re nine and seven. Well, the kids have to move, you move with the kids. Our daughter goes to hockey and Irish dancing. I took her to an Irish dancing feis (traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival) in Syracuse. I ran and walked about 7.5 miles outside of the facility while she did a bunch of her things and waited around. I got my workout in, but I could have been just like all the other parents and just sat there at the snack bar and had chicken fingers and fries. I came back and watched her compete.

She got her workout in, she competed, and I got my workout in.

JM: It’s like with parents who take their kids to soccer—they could walk around the soccer field and still watch their child. And you don’t have to sit to give support or watch. The more you do the better parent you’re going to be in terms of how you feel about yourself, how much energy you have to give to your children. It really isn’t a selfish thing at all to make sure you get up and move.

Hal and Joanne’s special giveaways for delegates of the Travel Procurement Symposium!

Don’t miss Hal and Joanne’s lunch keynote presentation, The Adventures of BodyBreak!

Friday, September 19: 12:45pm-2:00pm Delegates will receive a FREE, 130-page cookbook - valued at $24.95 AND a 54-page book, FREE to download, containing tips and strategies to live a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Both these books will be available at the end of their address.

PLUS: Delegates will also have a chance to WIN one of three BackJoy Posture+ - valued at $39.99!

To learn more about what Hal and Joanne are up to, please visit: www.bodybreak.com, on Facebook at BodyBreak or on Twitter @bodyBreak

14 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

Register Today!

www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com Brought to you by:

In Partnership with

The Next Level!

Presenting the inaugural Travel Procurement Symposium Welcome to the 2014 Travel Procurement Symposium! This new Canadian educational networking event has been created to help you take your travel program to The Next Level! In partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), we at PurchasingB2B are happy to present this event that not only serves to provide learning opportunities, but also to bring together corporate buyers and suppliers.

No matter what level you’re at in your travel procurement career, this event has something for you. In consultation with GBTA as our education partner, we’ve chosen the comprehensive content in order to give you the information you need to help you do your job, whether you’ve just stepped into the role or have been at it for decades.

We’re excited about our lineup of speakers, seasoned industry experts who not only talk the talk, but have experience in the field and can guide you in improving your performance.

Learning from peers is important. We’ve therefore kept the format as interactive as possible to allow you to mingle not only with our speakers but also with other attendees—other industry leaders and senior-level practitioners like you.

Among the highlights for this event are keynote speakers that

we’re sure will both educate and inspire you. Philippe Gadbois will offer his insights into this dynamic spend category. And Gadbois should know. He is senior vice-president of operations at Atlific Hotels and chairperson of the Hotel Association of Canada. He has over 40 years of experience in the hotel industry, which is the second largest spend category in any corporate travel program.

Our other keynote speakers, Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, will be familiar to most Canadians as the fitness duo from the BodyBreak public service ads. We’re sure the couple will inspire you to “keep fit and have fun” while offering tips for staying active and healthy while on the road.

Constant learning and development is vital to career success in any field, and travel procurement is no exception. With Travel Procurement Symposium, we hope to provide an important tool to help you to enhance your professional development in this fascinating and dynamic area. We encourage you to take advantage of all that the symposium has to offer and we look forward to seeing you at this year’s must-attend travel procurement event!

Michael Power, Editor, PurchasingB2B & Travel Management Canada

Taking your program to The Next Level!

On behalf of GBTA Canada, I am exceptionally pleased to partner with PurchasingB2B in bringing to Canada’s business travel community an inaugural symposium dedicated to purchasing and procurement in the travel space. This is a topic that GBTA knows is of tremendous value, as the growing trend of the travel management shift to strategic sourcing is wide-spread and gaining momentum. Through GBTA’s research and industry engagement globally, we have seen the impacts of this shift and have placed several resources behind understanding the effect of procurement in business travel. As the voice of Canada’s business travel community, GBTA unites buyers and suppliers to better understand this evolution; how can suppliers better navigate through the procurement process and effectively communicate with purchasers, how can purchasers begin to embrace travel when it’s new to one’s portfolio, or how can buyers bring their travel program to the Next Level in a mature procurement space. These are

all questions that are relevant in today’s Canadian business travel sector – answers to which, we as an industry voice will bring to the educational content of the Travel Procurement Symposium, Niagara Falls, 2014. GBTA Canada has assembled an impressive group of respected industry experts to deliver topics that will bridge the gap between travel suppliers and strategic sourcing, will enlighten delegates on best-practices for new to mature programs, and bring insights into industry trends and happenings. GBTA Canada, as the educational provider to the Travel Procurement Symposium, is truly excited to deliver topical, relevant information to bring YOUR program to the Next Level!

Nancy Tudorache, Director of Operations, Canada, Global Business Travel Association Canada

August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 15

Agenda Thursday, September 18

Grand Hall AB Foyer

5:00pm – 7:00pm

Registration

6:00pm – 9:00pm

Welcome Reception & Gala - Jet Setting The Globe!

Sponsored by

In travel procurement, networking is key. This gala event, to be held at the elegant Fallsview Casino resort, will provide ample opportunity to mingle with colleagues and industry experts in a relaxed atmosphere. The theme is Jet Setting The Globe!, so grab your passport and pack your suitcase because you won’t want to miss this evening filled with fun, networking, prizing and more! For updates please visit www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com.

Friday, September 19

All sessions will be held in Grand Hall A Registration and Coffee Breaks in Grand Hall AB Foyer 7:30am – 8:45am

Registration and Breakfast

8:45am – 9:00am

Opening Remarks

9:00am – 9:45am

Opening Keynote: Hotel Industry Trends

Sponsored by

The hotel industry is the second largest spend category in any corporate travel program—it’s also the most dynamic. Factors vary from destination to destination, from hotel to hotel and from brand to brand.

Attend this session and learn where the hotel industry is now and where it’s heading beyond 2014.

Listen to industry experts and get better prepared to deal with the RFPs and negotiations that lie ahead.

Philippe Gadbois

Speaker: Philippe Gadbois, Senior Vice President, Operations, Atlific Hotels; Chairperson, Hotel Association of Canada

9:45am – 10:30am 10:30am – 11:15am

Travel Industry Expo and Coffee Break The Hidden Cost of Business Travel

Sponsored by

Hear from industry insiders on new ways to harness additional savings within your travel program. Consumer trends continue to impact business travel, and often times lead to leakage within the program, leading to missed savings. This session will discuss what new strategies you can employ to ensure you are getting the biggest bang for your buck and keeping your travellers engaged along the way!

Joel Wartgow

Speaker: Joel Wartgow, Senior Director, CWT Solutions Group, Carlson Wagonlit Travel Americas

11:15am – 12:00pm

Expense Management for Procurement

Sponsored by

The cost of business travel in Canada continues to rise and the need for companies to control expenses is increasing dramatically. What can your organization do to better understand and control these business travel expenses, and how can procurement practitioners become more engaged? Join us for an educational and interactive session on the expense management cycle, featuring experts representing buyers and vendors. These experts will share their experiences and expertise relating to the available systems, process providers, software and billing vehicles available in Canada. From corporate card systems to expense reporting and reconciliation systems, this session is a MUST for any organization looking to gain insights on how to improve overall program visibility and travel management.

Moderator: Christina Woronchak, American Express Global Business Travel

Christina Woronchak

Jim Moore

Yvonne Kerns

Heather Groetsch

16 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

Panelists: Jim Moore, C.P.P. GTP Manager, Administration and Travel, Strategic Procurement Services, Rogers Communications Yvonne Kerns, Senior Category Manager, Corporate Sourcing,Corporate Services, CIBC Heather Groetsch, Regional Sales Executive, Concur Technologies

www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com 12:00pm – 12:45pm

Networking Lunch

12:45pm – 2pm Lunch Keynote:

Hal Johnson and Joanne MacLeod of BodyBreak The Adventures of BodyBreak

Sponsored by

For 26 years, Hal and Joanne have travelled extensively filming their BodyBreak programs encouraging Canadians to “Keep Fit & Have Fun”. From Peggy’s Cove to Lake Louise to San Diego to the Mojave Desert to the Caribbean, their journey has been unpredictable and not always smooth sailing. In the summer of 2013, Hal and Joanne appeared as Team BodyBreak in Season 1 of The Amazing Race Canada, a show known for its challenges at spectacular locations.

Join Hal and Joanne as they talk about their BodyBreak adventures and how you can get the most out of your adventures. The couple will provide tips for making business travel a healthier experience, as well as insights into how wellbeing on the road can boost productivity.

2:00pm – 2:45pm

Wrangling Maverick Travellers

Sponsored by

Many companies face the challenges of having employees of all ages and company status that have been identified as renegades under their current corporate travel policy. Despite having travel managed by a travel management company and a mandated program, there are a number of travellers (ranging from infrequent travellers to road warriors) that feel they’re far better off making their own bookings. These individuals travel the way they like, book their own way and use their own favorite airlines, car rentals and hotels based on their preferences, available discounts and member/loyalty benefits. Hear from industry experts on how best to harness this maverick traveller and discover how to manage travel in this type of environment. Understand technology solutions that can integrate with travel policies to allow maverick travellers to maintain their flexibility, yet provide companies control with data from these bookings and maximize future negotiations with vendors.

Ian Race

Phil Hammer

Kristi Lamont

Carol McDowell

Moderator: Ian Race, Senior Vice President, Sales & Account Management, Vision Travel Solutions Group Panelists: Phil Hammer, Director of Travel Services, Runzheimer International Kristi Lamont, Production Innovation Director, Short’s Travel Management Carol McDowell, Manager of Corporate Travel Services, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)

2:45pm – 3:30pm

Travel Industry Expo and Coffee Break

3:30pm – 4:15pm

Travel Risk Management

Duty of care and risk management are critical elements of any travel management policy. Having a travel policy that addresses risk-related items, can locate or track travellers, evaluate each trip for risk, discloses known risks to travellers, puts in place risk mitigation, monitors world events for changes to threat levels and provides a way for travellers to report problems and get assistance. In this session, you will learn the benefits of incorporating risk management and duty of care into your travel policy. If you already use such policies, learn how to enhance what you’re doing to make the risk management component of your travel policy as robust and protective as possible.

Moderator & Panelists: Check website for updates 4:15pm – 5:00pm Today’s Connected Traveller A discussion on the integration of mobile technology in the travel space

Sponsored by

Mobile technology has rounded out today’s information loop from business traveller to vendor to company. Learn how the integration of information across all technology platforms has made business travel more agile, personalized, strategic and mobile.

Laura Larcher

Moderator & Panelists: Panelist: Laura Larcher, Travel Manager, Shopify Check website for updates

5:00pm – 5:15pm Closing Remarks

* Please note: Agenda is subject to change. Visit our website for regular updates

August 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 17

Register Today!

www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com

Experience Niagara Falls!

We’re confident you’ll enjoy the Travel Procurement Symposium—not only the symposium itself but your experience in Niagara Falls and the Fallsview Casino Resort. It’s an ideal destination not only for this business event but to use your free time to take in the attractions and excitement of the Niagara Falls region itself.

In addition to the fun networking reception we’re planning for the evening of September 18, at this location (visit www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com for further information), we’re sure you’ll love the spectacular view of the Falls when stepping outside the beautiful meeting rooms.

If you are looking to extend your time in Niagara Falls, or you are planning to bring your family or partner so everyone can enjoy what this city and the Niagara region offers, below is some information that might help you plan your visit.

Let’s start with the Fallsview Casino Resort. Along with having one of the world’s largest casino gaming floors, the resort features shopping, restaurants, a spa and entertainment.

The resort is hosting Le Grand Cirque “Adrenaline” as the featured entertainment from September 18 to October 5. For more information visit: www.fallsviewcasinoresort.com.

Other websites you may wish to visit: For attractions, shopping, restaurants, golf, nightlife, spas, theme parks, events and more: www.niagarafallstourism.com www.niagaraparks.com For wineries: www.winecountryontario.ca www.wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com For shopping: www.canadaoneoutlets.com www.outletcollectionatniagara.com We look forward to seeing you soon!

For information on hotel accomodation at the Hilton Hotel and Suites Fallsview, travel, directions and parking, be sure to visit www.TravelProcurementSymposium.com

Register by September 5th for your chance to win an iPad!

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support!

PLATINUM

SILVER

BRONZE

18 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

LANYARD

GOLD

HOST HOTEL

MEETING NEEDS. EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS. Just 30 minutes from Buffalo and 90 minutes from Toronto, it’s easily accessible. Together, we offer 47,000 sqft of combined meeting space with versatile venues that can accommodate small meetings, as well as large conferences. There are more than 1,300 guest rooms between the two hotels. Enjoy one of the largest gaming floors in the world at Fallsview Casino Resort which is directly connected to the Hilton Hotel and Suites Niagara Falls/Fallsview by a glass enclosed walkway.

MARY ANN QUAIT, Director of Corporate Sales 905.353.7124 or 1.888.370.0325 mary.ann.quait@niagarafallshilton.com Annette Bennitz, Director, Resort Sales 905.371.7740 or 1.888.325.5788 abennitz@fallsviewcasinoresort.com

Feature | GBTA Conference

Toronto Shows no boundaries Over 400 delegates, 16 education sessions and 50 exhibitors at GBTA Toronto conference

By Michael Power

T

he Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Canada’s annual conference is known as the largest travel purchasing and management event in Canada. Dubbed GBTA Conference 2014 | Toronto, the event this year didn’t disappoint. The theme of “no boundaries” was reflected throughout the conference, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, March 19-21. The event was the 10th-annual conference that GBTA has held in Canada and featured over 400 delegates who participated in 16 education sessions, could mingle with over 50 booth exhibitors and attend the first-ever Big Night Out, billed as an evening of industry camaraderie and celebration. The following is an overview of several of the conference’s education sessions.

Nothing stays the same Whether it’s covering the 2004 tsunami’s devastating effects on Indonesia or dealing with tornadoes on US President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign trail, Mark Kelley is no stranger to international travel. The CBC investigative journalist shared a few tales of mixing his profession with life on the road.

Those situations are often far from secure—during his opening keynote address for the conference on March 19, Kelley described visiting the Indonesian province of Banda Ache during the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of that country. During the trip, he recalled, he and his crew were able to secure a helicopter ride to an affected area in exchange for unloading relief supplies. However, the team was unable to secure a flight out of the area and also could not travel much while there—those were details they needed to secure while on the ground.

“This is the kind of travel that we get involved in and this is really where we rely on backup,” he told the audience.

During a separate trip to Egypt to cover the Arab Spring (protests and demonstrations that took place across parts of the Arab world starting in late 2010) Kelley described driving again with his crew from Cairo International Airport to the hotel that had been reserved for them. The cab driver told Kelley and his crew the trip was too dangerous due to fighting and protests in the streets. Instead, the driver dropped them off in the middle of the protesting crowds. Although surrounded by potential danger they walked to the hotel, filming scenes and events along the way.

“Despite best laid plans, we always have to be prepared for

20 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

change and adapt to change,” he told the audience.

In keeping with the theme of “no boundaries,” Kelley described how well-worn media norms—for example, journalists covering events through a single medium like TV or radio—have fractured.

When he started at the CBC during the 1990s, the public broadcaster kept coverage in silos. But the Internet has toppled those silos and changed how the industry worked, Kelley noted. Not that long ago, “Google” wasn’t even a word, he noted.

While online coverage means that traditional media is “under siege,” the added connection that the Internet offers has brought new opportunity, Kelley remarked. Now, a single journalist provides TV, radio and online content for a single event.

That means there is plenty of potential for where the industry can go in the future and nothing will remain the same. How can organizations leverage that change? In the news business, you need to ensure that people trust you, Kelley said. “The boundaries that were there are gone,” he said. “Opportunities like this are ours to embrace. We have to figure out how to use it the best.”

State of the industry Similar to previous conferences, this year’s event again featured a panel discussion among travel industry experts moderated by GBTA executive director and COO, Mike McCormick. Panelists included Dorothy Dowling, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Best Western International; Sherry Saunders, senior vice-president and general manager, CWT Canada & North American Leisure; Don McPhail, area vice-president, strategic sales, Enterprise Holdings Inc.; and Bryan Wolfenden, director of agency sales, WestJet. When asked the level of stability they saw in their industries, Wolfenden answered that his company was in “growth mode” and had momentum on its side. WestJet was getting new planes into its fleet and was working to broaden its appeal to corporate travellers.

The company was also expanding its network to Europe.

“We’re seeing good growth, good demand,” he told the audience.

“Maybe the market isn’t growing, but we’re certainly open to growing our share.”

For Enterprise Holdings, McPhail said that his company had experienced “modest growth” in Canada. That’s especially true, he noted, regarding trucks in resource-rich regions like Alberta and the Atlantic provinces. Meanwhile, the lodging sector is relatively flat

Left: Nancy Tudorache, GBTA Canada Director of Operations.

Cutline

with inbound business seeing some growth, said Best Western’s Dowling. For her part, Saunders of CWT added that Canada would remain sound this year although the country had weakened a bit.

There has been a softening with the falling Loonie, Saunders noted, although organizations with parent companies in the US had experienced a bit of help.

The conversation also touched on the importance of mobile technology, with Saunders noting the area was critical to CWT. The company has made investments in order to be owners and developers of mobile technology, she said. Corporate travellers are consumers and so-called “consumerization” is gaining importance in the travel space, she said. “We believe we have to be on the leading edge on that,” she said. While mobile is critical, it’s simply another channel to communicate. As well, service remains paramount, she said.

Her organization has become “mobile first,” Dowling told the audience, as mobile has a large impact on their business and that influence is escalating. Meanwhile, McPhail noted that although mobile technology has been on the scene for a while, it’s taken car companies a while to fully utilize it.

For WestJet, said Wolfenden, roughly 30 percent of bookings come through mobile devices and the company therefore has a team dedicated to supporting that activity. The next generation of corporate travellers will focus heavily on the use of the Internet and social media, he noted. For them, that connectivity represents a lifestyle that they want to be able to use while on the road as well.

Dowling said that the Millenial generation still hadn’t fully developed their consumption patterns yet. “I don’t think they’ve got that full traction,” she said, adding how important it was that companies keeping an eye on this “transformational generation.”

Right: Michael McCormick, Executive Director and COO of GBTA, moderated the Canadian Travel Executive Industry Panel.

When the conversation shifted its focus to “big data,” Dowling noted that it was important to remain relevant, make sense of that data and respond to the consumer. While Best Western was investing more in the technology space to do that, the organization still planned to focus on service, she said.

“We’re in the age of the customer,” Wolfenden said. Those consumers are empowered and have lots of information at their fingertips. As providers, it’s important to work hard to keep up with their expectations, he said. Over the next three-to-five years, the focus will remain on the traveller, Saunders predicted, and the traveller will continue to have control at the point of sale. There will also continue to be a focus on how to make travellers comply while at the same time ensuring they don’t feel as if they’re being controlled, she said.

Out-of-policy travellers During the second day of the conference, Joe Bates, vice-president of research for the GBTA Foundation, addressed out-of-policy business travellers and their impact on the bottom line of their organizations. To investigate the topic, the foundation performed a study of Canadian business travellers and travel managers between January and February, 2013. A total of 2,415 business travellers and 342 travel managers were surveyed for the study.

What do out-of-policy travellers cost their organizations? The study found that amount to be an average of $7,114 extra per year.

“This is a big number,” he told the audience. “If you have 100 employees that are travelling regularly–you do the math.”

Bates noted that, according to the survey, 52 percent—or about half—of Canadian business travellers went out of policy on at least one major trip expense. He said that 90 percent of those out-ofAugust 2014 — Travel Management Canada | 21

Feature | GBTA Conference

“Despite best laid plans, we always have to be prepared for change and adapt to change.” ~ Mark Kelley

Right: Keynote speaker, CBC investigative journalist Mark Kelley. policy travellers made a choice that went against specific policies set out by their organizations, buying a business class plane ticket rather than economy or staying an extra night in a hotel. As well, 43 percent used a non-preferred booking channel.

About half of travellers went out of policy with respect to lodging, which increases the cost by about $500, Bates said. As well, 20 percent broke policy with respect to air travel (for an impact of $100) while three percent did so with car rental for an impact of $34.

Often, these travellers think that they are acting as responsible corporate citizens by shopping around and looking for better deals, Bates said. In fact, according to the survey, 20 percent of Canadian travel managers think their travellers are regularly shopping for better deals and about half of them think that they’re getting them. In reality, he noted, the costs tend to be higher and they spend excessive amounts of time looking for those deals.

What specific ways are travellers breaking with the policy of their organizations? With respect to lodging, ordering room service is the number-one breach, with 21 percent reporting doing so. As well, 15 percent also order in-room entertainment such as movies. Most travel managers don’t look at the detailed folio of hotel stays, which partially accounts for why lodging has so much extra spend, Bates said. “It’s really difficult to focus on that as a travel manager.”

When it comes to air travel, 19 percent of respondents choose a more expensive or better ticket, while seven percent chose airlines that are not on their employer’s preferred list. Travellers who are out of policy usually go rogue when booking travel at the last minute.

The industry needs to make it easier to arrange last-minute bookings for unexpected travel. Since these employees tend to be less experienced business travellers, organizations must also educate them on the benefits of in-policy decisions, Bates said.

The art of business travel Although a necessary part of business, corporate travel isn’t without its stresses. During her presentation, Carol Margolis, author of Business Travel Success…How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive

22 | Travel Management Canada – August 2014

and Travel With Confidence!, offered tips to travellers and managers alike to cut the hassle and make corporate travel easier.

Margolis began with tips for prior to setting out on a trip. Packing, for example, can cause stress for many road warriors, she said. She recommended that travellers have a checklist of items to pack for a business journey, and travel managers can provide such a list for their travellers. To help employees travel with confidence, she recommended that managers tell travellers to include relevant place names, itineraries and phone numbers inside their travel bags, as well as a photo of their bags in their mobile phone. Tying a twist tie or using a small key chain to fasten luggage can reduce worry that those bags will open during transit.

Margolis also discussed ways to make both flying and driving easier. To reduce stress, plan to leave early and keep airline phone numbers handy in case a flight is delayed. Airline lounges are useful when waiting for a flight, she noted, as they can help boost productivity by giving travelling employees an area to work. Using apps for making notes can also help boost productivity while travelling by air.

The process of travelling by car—whether rented or a taxi—can also be safer and more productive, she told the audience. Margolis recommended keeping car doors locked even when getting gas, and suggested taking a picture (or using a GPS) of where a car is parked in order to find the vehicle later. It’s best to use vetted taxi and car services, she noted. “They’re worth their weight in gold,” she said.

She recommended creating a “hotel routine,” which includes keeping keycard, car keys, wallet and other important items in the same place. Carrying a hotel’s business card at all times means a traveller always has the establishment’s phone number available and can help them quickly let taxi drivers know the address. In fact, Margolis recommended, travellers should place something on their belongings to make them easy to identify. Label electronics by putting a business card on laptops and other equipment, for example.

And if electronic equipment is left in a taxi, getting the driver’s permit, registration number or business card at the outset of the ride helps retrieve them easily. “You’re really at their mercy if you don’t know who they are,” she said.

The GBTA Conference 2014 | Toronto, offered a well-rounded agenda in which topic areas such as technology, recent industry trends and travellers themselves took the centre stage. The event truly lived up to its slogan of setting “No Boundaries” for this exciting industry.

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Opening reception provides a valuable opportunity to network with peers; Offers practical solutions and strategies that you can incorporate into your business practice, TODAY. Produced in partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) - Canada’s premier association for business travel professionals, with a global network of over 17,000 professionals and representing a total spend of over 350 billion dollars in business travel and meetings spend annually.

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