PRICE should not be the main consideration for business travel clients who are looking to appoint an agent to deal with their corporate travel needs.
P&OBusiness Travel senior business development manager Paul Walton told delegates that an agent’s risk management plan and the amount of time the agency is prepared to put into the business is paramount. “Look beyond the fee. Find out what measures are in place in case the agency’s communications fail and find out how much time the agency account manager will spend on your account,” he said.
“The account manager should be working on your behalf. Are you working well together? If not, then look at someone else. It soon wakes up your agent if they think that you are going to change to a rival.”
He said travel clients should set up a travel user group of people in the company who can give their opinions on how well the agent is dealing with business travel requirements.”