When deciding on the right travel management company (TMC) to partner with, companies usually begin by assessing their needs and hope to find a travel management company that will be able to address those areas. Better reporting, analytics, travel risk management and online booking capabilities are common requirements. Companies usually end up with a pool of TMCs that can fulfill those requirements, but when pricing is similar among TMCs, there’s a real challenge in deciding who would be the best fit for them. An effective way to differentiate TMCs is to look at their operating model and find out what type of client that operating model best services.
There are a couple of major operating models that serve the majority of corporate travel programs and those are the “Mega” TMC model and the “Consortium” TMC model. The Mega model is that of the largest TMCs that serve the world’s largest companies’ travel programs, such as those with a market capitalization of $100 million or more, or those found on the Fortune 100 list. The reporting, analytics and travel risk management offerings are robust and due to the massive scale of these travel programs, available resources are focused on strictly serving these clients.
The Consortium model, is that of a large TMC that has aligned themselves with other large TMCs, for the purpose of leveraging their combined sales and resources to service their respective clients. Generally, these clients are outside of the Fortune 100-type companies. This is the operating model utilized by Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited to service its clients. Due to the affiliation with the Travel Leaders Global Network, one of the largest TMC networks in the world, Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited is able to not only offer clients the latest in reporting, analytics and travel risk management technology, but also able to provide the proactive, white-glove personalized service that a travel program concerned with improving savings and service outcomes requires.
In travel management, the right partnership makes all the difference when it comes to a company’s travel program needs being addressed, as well as having happy travelers, so take the time to learn about the operating models of the TMCs you’re considering. For assistance with determining the type of TMC that might best service your organization, contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited.