Challenge
A Midwest-based chemical production plant became concerned with travel risk management after a group of their senior executives traveling abroad to meet with a contractor partner found themselves stuck in an unfamiliar airport in a desolate area of a city after having missed their connecting flight. Due to the remoteness of the city, flights in and out of the airport were few and limited to questionable air carriers. They were informed at the airport that they would not be able to fly out for another three days. This company managed their travel “in-house” with booking being done by their administrative assistants on leisure travel websites. Assistance with canceled flights, missed connections and weather related issues were handled by the administrative assistants, often times from home, after regular business hours. In this particular situation, the executives called the assistant at home for help, but no earlier flights were located. The following morning, the assistant reached out to Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited. Working with the Travel Leaders Global Network, our corporate agent team was able to secure a flight out for the executives that same day.
Solution
That episode was the factor that compelled this company to partner with Travel leaders / Destinations Unlimited to manage their travel. With an average international agent tenure of over 20 years, the corporate agent team is well versed in piecing together complex international itineraries in a cost effective way with the most sensible routing. Teaming up their travelers with a designated group of our corporate agents to assist them with their travel bookings was the first step we took with this client’s travel program. In addition, we educated them on what duty of care consists of and the options available to them regarding traveler tracking, risk mitigation through intelligence briefings and evacuation services.
Furthermore, the ability to access our Tier-2 after-hours service was another reason this company chose to move forward with managed travel. No longer did their administrative assistants have to field calls from home at night or head back into the office outside of work hours to search for a lost itinerary. With access to reporting stating the whereabouts of their travelers to help them fulfill their duty of care obligation to their travelers, the decision to manage their travel was an easy one.
Results
Now, with travel booked through Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited, this company has visibility into their travelers’ whereabouts and are able to assist them 24/7 if the need arises.