July 16, 2003

Name of Travel Management Company Member
Title
Company Name
Address
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Name:

With all that's been written about the business travel management profession, its processes, and its trends during the last 25 years, it's hard to believe that some of the industry's finer points are still occasionally misunderstood. A report carried by a major business daily on June 26 gave the impression to many of our members that companies across the United States had given their travelers the green light to book outside the corporate travel agency.

In the Wall Street Journal article of June 25, 2003 titled “More Companies Let Workers Book Business Trips Online”, writer Ron Lieber opened with:

"Finally, business travel managers have permission to ignore their corporate travel agents."

The author stated that "renegade employees" had been secretly logging onto the web to book their trips -- against their corporate travel policies – to sidestep the sluggish service of the corporate travel office. Furthermore, the writer added that companies were concluding that it was a good idea to let employees book online "partly because it saves them a bundle of money."

The ambiguous lead suggested to many that business travelers could consistently find better savings on the internet -- outside of a corporate travel policy -- and that companies were encouraging their travelers to do so. As the president of this association, I subsequently advised the reporter that this simply isn't the case.

It is no secret that American companies are encouraging employees to book online to reduce costs, and that they are investing millions in self-booking tools to do so. It is also no secret that online booking works best within a managed travel program. Independent studies have long since put the internet savings issue into a proper perspective. While the occasional internet discount does occur, such discounts do not begin to match the savings nor the benefits of a managed travel program.

These points were mentioned but managed to get lost in the Wall Street Journal article.

I have no doubt that the circumstances described in the Wall Street Journal article are accurate -- for companies too small to sustain a travel department, or those without the volume nor clout to drive a travel program. These conclusions are self-evident to business travel managers, but less so to some of the people we report to, and who are undoubtedly Wall Street Journal readers.

It was my pleasure and privilege to try and set the record straight. My letter to Ron Lieber can be read at: www.acte.org

Sincerely,
Mark Williams
ACTE President