What should you be looking at when you’re managing your travel suppliers? Contract eligibility and fulfillment, supplier policy and operational changes, as well as ongoing analysis to determine your optimal supplier base are just a few of the considerations to keep in mind.
As your airline spend grows, you want to be aware of your airline suppliers’ different minimum spend thresholds for contracting and take action when the opportunity arises. Even if you already have a contract in place with your top carrier, think about your secondary carrier and so on. Also, contract options vary at different spend thresholds, so be sure to find the option that works best for your situation. Of course, for those contracts already in place, you’ll want to keep an eye your spend level throughout the year to ensure that you stay on track to meet your volume commitments.
General awareness of changes in the travel industry and the individual suppliers is important, as well. Could a new travel supplier entering the corporate travel space negatively or positively affect your travel program? Will one of your key suppliers be making a change to their cancellation policy, for example, that needs to be communicated to your travelers to avoid unnecessary charges?
Keeping your supplier base optimized requires proactive monitoring and communication with those vendors, which can be time consuming, but the rewards are worth it: significant cost-savings and traveler satisfaction. For assistance with supplier management, contact Travel Leaders / Destinations Unlimited.