Education Sessions

Sessions are offered in varied formats and give you the opportunity to interact with your peers and subject matter experts. Each session is designed with the travel buyer in mind and will provide real-world solutions and resources you can begin to use immediately.

This icon denotes education sessions presented by corporate buyer-led panels.

This icon reflects sessions that discuss topics new to the ACTE Canada Education Conference.

Several education sessions may apply and count towards the continuing education contact hours in your CMP application. Please visit http://www.conventionindustry.org for more details on CMP certification and recertification credits.

ACTE educational programs qualify for maintenance of certification requirements for CPSA Certified Sales Professional (CSP).

OIPMAC Certified Professional Purchaser (C.P.P.) members are eligible to receive 5 C.P.P. maintenance credits for attending the conference. Please contact your local provincial institute for more information.

Monday, 17 November (10:30 – 11:45)

M101 & M102 Buyer Round Table (M101) and Supplier Round Table (M102)
What makes the perfect buyer? The perfect supplier? In this meeting of the minds, buyers and suppliers will each join their peers with knowledgeable facilitators to guide small group discussions. What are the commonalities and where are the gaps from the perspectives of both buyers and suppliers? Results will be presented by the session facilitators at Tuesday’s General Session.

The buyer and supplier round table topics to be covered are:

  • RFP and Sourcing Best Practices
    The all-important RFP and sourcing process, regardless of the travel service in question, is far too often tedious and complex. Here is an opportunity to define expectations of RFP elements and processes, voice likes and dislikes, and share suggestions on improvements.
  • Buyer and Supplier Relationship Management
    Using a quantitative as well as a qualitative approach, group discussions will focus on the understanding of developing and maintaining your business relationships with your suppliers and buyers, as the case may be. How do you quantify and measure value in your relationships? Are there unspoken expectations? Clear communications? How can you be better served or serve better? Within your peer group, share your opinion, and find out the consolidated results on Tuesday!

Facilitators:
Buyer Round Table: James D. Lee, Executive Director, Travel Services Benchmarking Network
Supplier Round Table: Loren Christie, Travel Expert, Canada AM

Monday, 17 November (14:30 – 15:45)

M201 A Road Map to Consolidating Meetings Management and Corporate Travel

With an estimated 8-12% savings realized annually by consolidating meetings and corporate travel, more companies than ever have meetings consolidation on their radar. This workshop-style, interactive session explores the pitfalls, opportunities and best practices of bringing together your meetings and events with business travel. Industry leaders, currently going through various stages of consolidation, will facilitate various scenarios to allow buyers and suppliers to work on the situation most closely resembling their own. Scenarios may include:

  • You are a travel manager and need to build a business case to consolidate meetings and corporate travel
  • You are a travel supplier and have been asked to assist the travel manager in compiling data to support the business case to consolidate meetings and corporate travel
  • You are a travel manager and you are looking for a technology solutions provider to help identify and realize process improvements and cost efficiencies
  • You are a travel manager and need to roll out a communication plan that ensures buy in from all stakeholders

Moderator:
Michelle Gravelle, Director, Meetings & Travel Management, Canadian Medical Association

Facilitators:
Scott Allison, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Marriott-Canada
Diane Seguin, Head, Travel & Meeting Services, Schering-Plough Canada Inc.
Terry Sloan, Director, Business Development, CWT Meetings & Events

M202 The Channel Challenge
Both buyers and sellers of travel rely on cost effective, informative and easily accessible online channels for various business needs. What are the challenges and trends facing the distribution, tracking and control of data specific to the travel industry? Keynote speaker Louis Gialloreto will delve into issues surrounding the present and future management of data in the broader context of business. Who controls the data? Who owns the customer’s data? Begin by understanding the framework for how the industry operates now, then consider future distribution scenarios and their impact on both buyers and sellers of business travel. This session will allow ample opportunity for questions and answers and provide valuable insights into:

  • The key players and the driving forces behind the struggle for the control of data
  • The demand for cost effective management tools: travel security, scorekeeping, financials, and capacity availability
  • The potential for self-managed systems versus global distribution systems
  • The increasing role of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practices
  • The importance of marketing and communication

Presenter:
Louis Gialloreto, B.A., B.A. (Hon) Law, M.B.A., L.L.M., MRAeS, McGill University

M203 Business Agreements – Before (During and After) You Sign on the Dotted Line
Do you find it takes longer and longer for business agreements to be finalized? Are the clauses becoming more and more complicated? Do you understand the risks? With the recent blended travel management and procurement approach to T&E, the onus has fallen on the buyer and the seller to fully understand the contract terms and conditions. This session, led by a legal expert, will unlock some of the mysteries by explaining key terms and clauses with plenty of time for Q&As. Included are:

  • Specific terms and conditions in travel services agreements
  • Consideration of where risks exist; and how to mitigate them
  • Working through changes after an agreement is signed

Presenter:
Sandy Chalkoun, B.A., B.C.L., L.L.B., Altura Legal Strategies Inc.

Monday, 17 November (16:00 – 17:15)

M301 Closing the Loop with Automation – Creating a Best Class Travel and Expense Management Program
End to End Travel and Expense Management (E2E) continues to evolve rapidly, creating new choices and opportunities for private & public sector entities. The E2E value proposition, which promises increased control, efficiency and savings, comes at an opportune time given the heightened pressure on T&E expenses (typically the 2nd or 3rd largest controllable expense). This session will leverage expert panellists to gain a pragmatic view on how and where they have leveraged technology to optimize their travel programs with a view to helping you with the decisions & opportunities that lie ahead.

The workshop is designed to:

  • Help you determine if E2E is right for you?
  • Share successes and pitfalls to following this path
  • Understand how investments of this nature are rationalised
  • Discover how the E2E space is evolving

Moderator:
Michael Bingham, Partner, BottomLine Group

Panelists:
Jim Moore C.P.P. Manager, Administration Procurement, Business Services, Rogers Communications Inc
Robert Ridpath, Director, Global Travel, Nortel
Joanne Walsh, Supervisor, Travel Services, Export Development Canada

M302 Building Better Business Relationships
What is the single most important quality you need to build long-term business relationships in a savvy world? Is it the development of your toolbox – product knowledge, area management, questioning techniques, marketing strategies and so on? According to David Newby, professional trainer and coach, the leading difference is not your skill-set but your mindset. If you want to develop a credible, trust-based relationship with a prospective high-value business partner, and you use your skill-set without having the right mindset, you are doomed to failure. Attend this practical session and discover the key values to a winning mindset. Learn how to:

  • Establish trust in the first 30 seconds of a meeting or phone call
  • Understand your business partner's real needs and desired future – without interrogating them
  • Conduct meetings in a way which maintains credibility and trust
  • Foster the reputation you want for yourself and your organization

Presenter:
David Newby, CEO, Cabot Business Training Ltd.

M303 Shades of Green
Incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable business initiatives and practices is becoming a very real yet daunting project within the business travel industry. In the absence of international standards, where does one go for direction? What components does one measure and how? This highly practical session will provide clarity and direction by delving into a case study from the Royal Bank of Canada, named one of the 2008 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, as well as share the best practices of other industry stakeholders. Discover what works for them, and how you can get it to work for your company. Elements to be explored include:

  • What and how to incorporate CSR questions and information into your RFP process
  • Viable options for reducing carbon footprints (besides reducing business travel)
  • What measurement tools are available and their efficacy
  • Best practices specifically for the travel industry

Moderator:
Jacqueline Kuehnel, JK Consulting Enterprises

Panelists:
John Barrows, VP Communication and Public Affairs, Avis Budget Group Inc.
Rhonda Jones, Manager, Travel, RBC Procurement, RBC Financial Group
Tony Pollard, President, Hotel Association of Canada

Tuesday, 18 November (12:30 – 14:30)

Post Conference Optional Carbon Workshop
This workshop provides the opportunity to dig more deeply into the area of carbon footprints and carbon reductions, and delivers advice on achieving carbon neutrality. In addition to learning from two experts in this field and having the opportunity to ask questions along the way, attendees will also receive a worksheet questionnaire, exclusively designed for ACTE. Key areas of focus include:

  • Step by step process on how to do a carbon footprint
  • How to set targets for carbon reductions. What is an environmental audit? How do you manage the travel footprint?
  • Key points on going carbon neutral – offsets, communication, reporting
  • Customized worksheet template for attendees

Presenters:
Jacqueline Kuehnel, JK Consulting Enterprises
Patrick Fancott, M.Sc., P.Eng., Pinchin Environmental Ltd.