For Immediate Release!
January 31, 2003
ACTE Plays Key Role In Board Recommendations To GSA
Alexandria, VA Jan. 31 -- The Association of Corporate Travel Executives
was prominently named among 13 private companies, industry authorities and
government agencies credited with helping the General Services Administration
evaluate processes and procedures to improve government travel management.
Under the direction of former association president Cheryl Hutchinson, ACTE
served as a sounding board for the Government Per Diem Advisory Board. The
board concluded its eight-month study with 45 recommendations, including:
- Using lodging industry data sources to establish lodging rates
- Clearly defining per diem areas by using standard Postal Service zip code
names
- Relying on the private sector for the outsourcing of a government hotel
contracting program
- Providing expanded feedback tools for the federal traveler to alert GSA to
any per diem problems
Speaking of ACTE's effort and the combined contribution of the other 12
members, GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry said, "This board has been
instrumental in in GSA's continuing process to streamline and improve federal
travel management."
Hutchinson pledged the association's support to the process last July, and
initiated a program of broader interaction with the government.
"Government travel policy can greatly benefit from the private sector's
research and experience," said Hutchinson. "GSA was looking to
streamline
federal travel management, and ACTE was pleased to expedite that process."
At the same time that ACTE was working with the GSA, it was providing the
General Accounting Office (GAO) with research to peg a dollar figure on
business traveler time lost in airport security lines, as part of the
association's Registered Traveler Initiative.
"ACTE will continue to place its research resources, communications venues,
and sounding board capabilities at the convenience of the federal
government," said current ACTE President Mark A. Williams. "So many
issues touch on security, infrastructure, and recovery, that we believe the best
representation for our profession is mutual cooperation."
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Related Headlines: ACTE Supports Reintroduction of Air Cargo Bill
1/16/03 www.acte.org
For more information, contact:
Jack Riepe, ACTE Communications
1-610-256-0124 or [email protected]
Founded in 1988, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is a member-driven organization wholly dedicated to the science of business travel management with an international constituency. ACTE membership totals more than 2,400, including business travel executives in Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the United States. The organization is headquartered in Alexandria, Va., with regional offices located in Brussels, and Singapore. ACTE's web site is www.acte.org.
