TTG Asia asked 20 travel experts which of these hotel marketing representation companies they worked with most closely and why. Top concerns were brand awareness, product variety, ease of booking, commission structure and service standards

Destinations used
Asia – Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Europe – Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Middle East – Dubai, Africa – South Africa, Americas – US, South America, Canada, Oceania

Strengths
Strong network of luxury choices. Product variety is great, as it has a versatile range of old architectural hotels. – Eliza Ma, director and general manager, TLX Travel Hong Kong

Provides a lot of support, and informs us about latest hotel news. Site visits also inspire us to try different ideas. – Faye Handley, director, Red Events Singapore

Particularly good with commissions. – Suthipong Pheunphiphop, managing director, Glory Travel Thailand

Weaknesses
Deals mainly with big players and offers less commission to mid-size firms. Has limited staff and there is no strong communication channel between travel consultants and the company. – Ashwani Gupta, managing director, Dove Travel

Quality of services varies between locations. I would like to see more standardised service across different countries. – Suthipong Pheunphiphop, managing director, Glory Travel Thailand

Viewpoint
The brand is well-established in Asia-Pacific and positively received by clients. It meets the rapidly changing customer preferences and requirements in terms of its depth and breadth of properties. However, it has a flat commission structure, and should look at tiered commission scheme to incentivise travel consultants who can prove themselves. – John Chan, senior manager, sales, distribution and global support, PYO Travel Malaysia

Destinations used
Asia – Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Pacific – Australia, New Zealand, Middle East – UAE

Strengths
Wide selection of five-star properties and rates are good. – Chris Ng, managing director, MP Travel & Tours Malaysia

Channels for instant bookings and special deals offered. – Budiman Sumardi, Asia leisure manager, Smailing Tour Indonesia

Attractive commissions, which are given out on a timely basis, as well as exclusive deals and promotions. Helpful in providing VIP services and assisting in MICE deals. – Deepak Narula, managing director, Aman Travels India

Weaknesses
Needs to create stronger brand awareness as people still mistake it for a hotel chain, rather than its primary role as a marketing company. – Deepak Narula, managing director, Aman Travels India

Viewpoint

Our customers prefer known names, and its hotels are easier to sell to customers. Worldhotels has a good range of products and rates offered are competitive, allowing us to make better profits. However, travel consultants are not educated on all available products. We have to discover them ourselves. There should be workshops for frontline staff. – Guldeep Singh Sahni, managing director, Weldon Tours & Travels India

Destinations used
Asia – Indonesia, China, Europe, Middle East – UAE

Strengths
Meets the needs of very rich clients who like to be pampered when they are on holiday. – Chris Ng, managing director, MP Travel & Tours Malaysia

One of the few companies that shows interest in MICE business. It also offers detailed and personalised service, as well as special accommodation options. – Rosanna Leung, head of project and business development, MICE World Hong Kong

Weaknesses
Rates are high and commissions are not attractive enough. It should consider extending value-added offers such as welcome drinks and late check-outs. There is also a need for more fam tours and trade fair participation to raise its profile. – Rosanna Leung, head of project and business development, MICE World Hong Kong

Viewpoint
We sell its properties in the largest numbers as it has the pick of the bunch for boutique properties we favour. Having said that, we don’t tend to use marketing and representation companies that much as they offer a particular type of property in each instance, whereas everything we do is bespoke. While they may be fabulous at improving our knowledge, we don’t necessarily book through them. – Lucy Jackson, director, Lightfoot Travel Hong Kong

Destinations used
Asia – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Europe – France, Italy, Spain, Portugal

Strengths
Business travel-friendly due to good response time when providing quotations. Also accepts a wider range of credit cards for payment, and is well-prepared for meeting and event bookings. – Carlson Wagonlit Travel Indonesia president director Royanto Handaya

A good variety of hotels and also has special deals occasionally such as a free night’s stay for a two-night booking. – Unnamed Philippine travel consultant

Weaknesses
Value-added services such as airport transfer arrangements could be provided. – Carlson Wagonlit Travel Indonesia president director Royanto Handaya

Viewpoint
It has lots of hotels, and channels for booking are easier and faster. Commissions are also good, and big discounts are offered when you’re booking for a leisure group or incentive. Some of their hotels were recommended to me by tour operators in those destinations. – Alexander Divinagracia, general manager, Globalwings Travel & Tours Philippines

Destinations used
Asia – Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Europe – France, Italy

Strengths
Good selection of properties that meets the varying needs of our clients who span the mid- to upper-luxury tiers. Highly active when it comes to offering deals and promotions, as well as provides good reservation support and aftercare. – Javiny Lim, managing director, Quotient TravelPlanner Singapore

Its strength is product variety, which means better client satisfaction. – Chamnong Intarot, managing director, Sawasdee Holidays Thailand

Weaknesses
A major weakness is that many of its properties do not have enough staff to take care of all customers. For example, we have found that some huge hotels have only one receptionist.– Chamnong Intarot, managing director, Sawasdee Holidays Thailand

Viewpoint
It offers a tasteful collection of one-of-a-kind properties that is perfect for sophisticated and discerning clients. In addition, a host of gourmet programmes are available. Its portfolio fits our vision of offering customers unique, bespoke experiences. Lodges, bungalows and accommodation that provides in-room butler services in exotic destinations are popular with our clients. – David Song, digital media & marketing, e-commerce manager, Country Holidays Singapore

This article was first published in TTG Asia, July 27 – August 9, 2012 on page 12. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Additional reporting from Prudence Lui, Linda Haden, Mimi Hudoyo, Rosa Ocampo, Divya Kaul and Timothy France

Stuck in the waiting lounge rather than cleared to take off – that’s the prognosis of the business travel market in the coming months

Cloudy economic growth prospects are forming a frost on the corporate travel market.

IATA’s latest air traffic results, for May, already indicated a general downward trend in demand.

A global survey of 541 CFOs by American Express/CFO Research Services released that same month suggested that the pool of travel resources was not likely to increase this year. The majority of respondents (42 per cent) said their companies were likely to spend less on travel. More than a quarter (29 per cent) said their firms were likely to spend the same amount on travel. Only 29 per cent said their organisations were likely to spend more.

Corporate travel will never completely disappear as companies still need to direct their travel resources to the form of travel that is most likely to support revenue growth, as the AMEX/CFO monitor pointed out. Several CFOs interviewed said conference calls were rarely an adequate substitute for in-person meetings when it came to developing business.

The research quoted Jeral D’Souza, vice president and regional controller of Cargill Asia Pacific, Singapore subsidiary of the US-based supplier of food and agricultural products, as saying: “We definitely didn’t see any reduction in the last two quarters of 2011. As people try to retain or grow the business, they have to travel. In Asia, the culture of doing business is not by phone; a lot of it is by meeting face-to-face.”

But, rather than stellar growth, all reports indicate a business travel market that is in holding pattern in the coming months.

Whether in Singapore or the US, domestic or international, a slowdown in business travel is imminent. CFOs in Singapore, cautious about the economic outlook as the country’s external-oriented sectors still face challenging times due to persistently uncertain global growth indicators, are holding the line on travel spending, according to the AMEX/CFO monitor.

Over in the US, Michael McCormick, Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) executive director and COO, said: “Earlier this year, we created a number of shock scenarios modelling the potential impact of the European debt crisis on business travel here in the US.

“In our Moderate Shock Scenario we predicted that a prolonged recession in Europe would result in a flattening of business travel spending in the US. Unfortunately, it now seems that this shock scenario is becoming a reality.”

GBTA is now expecting only a 0.4 per cent growth in total international outbound business trips from the US this year to 6.8 million and has scaled back on the volume for next year, when it expects just 3.7 per cent growth to seven million – or a full percentage drop from its earlier projection.

“Business travel to the Far East, particularly China, has been a boon for international outbound travel from the US for the last few years. However, falling economic growth rates in China will likely lead to less trade and hence, fewer trips from the US. The projected slowdown in China and the economic challenges in Europe will lead to lower levels of international growth in the near term,” said GBTA in its latest forecasts released last month.

McCormick’s concern, shared by TMCs interviewed, is that organisations may overreact in the challenging economy, slash their travel budgets and end up weakening their competitive position, particularly when the economy improves.

“That is the exact opposite of what they should be doing,” McCormick said.

“Beginning in December 2007, we saw companies make difficult decisions with their business travel budgets to the tune of 13 per cent from the US$271 billion peak in 2007 – a peak-to-trough decline of US$34.7 billion. Companies cannot afford to overreact just because there may be clouds on the horizon. Benching road warriors will only impact sales exactly when companies need to focus on growth. The return on investment for business travel is too good to pass up.”

TMCs interviewed believe now is the time for firms to put in place the best possible travel management programme and invest in technology to ensure compliance.

Nick Vournakis, senior vice president and general manager for Carlson Wagonlit Travel Canada, said: “Companies must perceive the current turbulence as a key opportunity to negotiate better travel rates as prices are expected to soften.

“Negotiate and secure preferential rates – and then lock them in. Understand purchasing patterns of corporate travellers, use online travel management tools to secure savings and use data to draw insights on where best to negotiate savings with suppliers.”

American Express Business Travel’s director of advisory services-Japan, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Carl Jones, agreed. “Demand-side factors still look good for the (Asian) corporate travel market overall. But it has become more crucial than ever for firms to establish the systems and processes in place to track and manage expenses, including travel, to secure long-term growth in the midst of uncertainty,” he said.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, July 27 – August 9, 2012 on page 9. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Additional reporting from Linda Haden