Nick Easen helps you take the hassle out of business travel with new baggage management, airport transfer and car hire services
With this year’s Heathrow Terminal 5 fiasco, growing airport queues and backed-up traffic heading to the airports – business travellers are looking into services that help make their work trips less stressful.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to access airports,” said Peter Rosenfeld, managing director of Chester-based airport transfer company BusyBus. “High parking charges, increases in fuel costs and badly trained security staff all make the experience a nightmare and it is genuinely offputting to passengers.”
These days, there’s more at stake when executives head overseas, with environmental and legal compliance issues now influencing companies’ choices. “It is essential to be able to select companies that meet the latest health and safety requirements, as well as offer the most environmentally friendly options,” said Hogg Robinson Group director of products Brian Merry.
Here are some ways business travel bookers and travel management companies can help their clients:
Baggage
Travelling light doesn’t have to be heavy going. Business travellers have found a way of sending their luggage to a destination separately.
Carry My Luggage, the Excess Baggage Company and First Luggage all offer this service. Travel management companies can claim 10% commission for each booking.
“The recent revelation that British Airways loses on average the luggage of nine people for each jumbo jet means many business travellers are reluctant to risk important documentation going astray in hold baggage,” said First Luggage managing director Gideon Kasfiner.
Clients receive a tracking number to follow the progress of the luggage in real time on the companies’ websites. Bookings can be made online or over the phone and a text message lets customers know when luggage has arrived safely.
The service is particularly popular with banks and law firms that need to take vast quantities of important, confidential documents overseas.
Getting to the airport
In terms of transport, there are countless chauffeur and limousine services available across the UK, offering a range of services and varying levels of commission.
London-based Brunel Carriage offers 10% commission and is hoping more TMCs will offer the service as a way to upsell, especially with the drop in commission on air tickets.
“It’s all about training agents from the beginning. They should always offer a chauffeur pick-up. This is what US business agents do as a matter of course,” said Brunel Carriage head of sales Frank Barnett.
Meanwhile, car hire is becoming more agent friendly, especially in the online arena. Many firms have dedicated websites for agents.
Dollar Rent a Car has recently launched an agent microsite. Budget has upgraded its site and offers agents up to 20% commission.
With the Sixt Express Card you can pick up a car at a number of European destinations by inserting your card into a safe to release the keys, so there is no need to queue.
Then there’s the Avis Three-Minute Promise for members: Avis guarantees to process your pick-up or drop-off within three minutes, or you receive a £20 retail voucher.
Car hire tips
Car hire is down year on year by 5%, according to a recent survey by the Guild of Travel Management Companies. Here are some tips on making it work for you:
- Cars hired for business are still treated as a status symbol. Be aware of the type of meeting your client is attending.
- Car hire is ideal for out-of-town meetings at a venue or factory not served well by public transport.
- Some business travellers want flexibility in terms of when they arrive or depart. Others may want to combine their trip with a holiday.
- Vehicle selection should be made based on the type of journey, the number of people travelling, space needed and the distance to travel.
- Think green, think economical: “Business travellers who rent a car are driving fewer miles than they were a couple of years ago and we are seeing some businesses moving employees into smaller vehicle groups as part of their travel policy,” said Europcar fleet director Tim Bailey.
