The onslaught of Covid-19 has been relentless. Air Travel has taken its mightiest blow ever in the history of post-war Civil Aviation. It created an almost complete lockdown for the Industry in terms of International Travel. The good news is that all of these effects will peak, and eventually when they find the vaccine, disappear. Post Covid-19 challenges will impact Travel Management Companies.
The Contact Centre for corporate travel is the engine around which the whole business revolves. If you don’t have a smoothly operating Contact Centre, you do not have a product. The Unit can be quite a beast when it comes to Technology. The secret of success in a Contact Centre lies in the manager’s skill and ability to harness the entire offering of the various technologies employed and make them work together, to deliver a best-in-class product.
The Contact Centre is the heart of the Corporate Travel service to clients. It is the engine; everything else will revolve around it. Without it, there can be no service. Where then, would be the ideal location for your all-important Corporate Travel Contact Centre? Many a diehard traditionalist would tell you that it should be located where the head office is. In other words, the Managing Director or CEO, would like it where he is located. Such a notion, I presume, would come from a desire to show off one’s empire to every visitor. Some others would argue for it to be located in their own building, wherever that may be. Their main argument would be that with such an arrangement, they will have no rental costs. My own views on the subject are very different.
A Request for Proposal RFP, is an integral part of a Multinational Company’s (MNC) process of choosing their Travel Management Company (TMC). Most MNCs will handle their choice through such a process. It may, however, be noted, from a Travel agent’s point of view, if you are not part of a major international TMC Network, you may never get to see the RFP of such an organisation. They are usually only sent out to the top three in the Business.
When I looked at what sort of Travel Blogs are out there on the Net, I came across hundreds. They are mostly Leisure Travel Blogs sharing information on destinations, or how to construct your trip. There are lots of tips. Many dos and don’ts. I have also seen some Business Travel Blogs that cater mainly to the corporations; not too many of those, however.
