When online agencies came into the industry, the view was they would never emulate traditional travel management companies. Rob Greyber, the new president of Egencia, tells ABTN why this idea is no longer valid
The arrival of online agencies about a decade ago into the managed business travel industry was greeted by the traditional agencies, the grand travel management companies (TMCs) with a mix of fear and aloofness.
The battle - glibly described in some quarters as brick versus click - was seen as a contest between agencies which offered full service (the TMCs) and those that did not (the OTAs). Even the OTAs themselves, some of which had a leisure pedigree, admitted breaking into business travel was a far tougher task than they thought. It looked like a battle that was over before it had begun.
Companies like Travelocity, Orbitz and Egencia (formerly the business travel arm of Expedia) would be no match for the likes of American Express or Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Besides, said the TMCs, they already provided clients with an online service - if they wanted it.
That dismissive view, said Rob Greyber, who took over as president of Egencia from Jean-Pierre Remy in May, was no longer valid. The difference between the two styles of agency was now blurred. The name of the real game had moved on to "service levels".
"We don't see ourselves as an online or an offline TMC. Is there a TMC in the world that could deliver for a client without some sort of self booking tool or full service? It is not about whether you can deliver off or online but whether you can deliver seamlessly. I think the difference has blurred."
While technology was playing a growing role in travel management, it was also about more than just providing IT. "It is about delivery now. You are judged by the degree to which you can deliver and clients are asking ‘To what degree is it seamless?' and ‘How nimble can you be?' Mr Greyber said.
If a client wanted to change suppliers from A to B, how long would this take.
He said it could take a traditional TMC week to change its various processes to accommodate the new suppliers while it took Egencia "ten minutes, often less than five - and in today's day and age, that is unacceptable".
While Mr Greyber said he had not found that the recession had pushed more companies towards using self booking tools, a big change in the industry was the march of technology and the need for tools to help travelers while they are on the road.
Companies want a solution that is more mobile, more service oriented and more results oriented. Our corporate are moving in that direction. All are making significant investments in technology on how they can better target the goals the travel manager has decided on," he said.
For Egencia, now the fifth largest TMC in the world Mr Greyber said, it meant focusing on the fundamentals so that the client got the most "out of every euro, pound and dollar it spent".
"We are advising them to really focus on fundamentals. The most opportunities we have found are through a fundamental appraisal of the company travel policy, energising compliance, focusing on preferred supplier relationship, not only on cost but also on value, to take better care of your traveller on the road and finally on really evolving travel policy," he said.
It is here that Mr Greyber felt that Egencia was ahead as it could drive any changes more quickly than a traditional TMC. This ability to be "nimble" - a word he used several times - had helped the agency secure better results than competitors. "In H1, Egencia performed notably better than competitors like American Express," he said.
Like other agencies, Egencia is also launching new products and services to its clients. This year, this has included "Egencia on the Go" a service which enables travellers on the road to access travel itineraries, flight schedules and local weather. It also announced in the summer an expansion of its Preferred Hotel Programme to about 4,000 properties for business travellers in Europe.
But Mr Greyber also sees the company which has regularly expanded in Europe growing even more. "We are certainly focused on growing our business in terms of clients we serve and the markets we serve," he said.
"We are also focused on innovation - not just innovation for its own sake but that which focuses on the travellers and which relates to their needs rather than just the latest fad.
"And that all goes back to the ability of the company to serve both channels for the business traveller."