PAs, executive secretaries and executive assistants are the unsung heroes of the travel-buying world, and many have a serious budget and juggle managing travel with the rest of their job. Of the six we talk to here, all but one use a travel management company (TMC), two are working with procurement and, between them, they are making travel arrangements for numbers that range from two to 50 people.
Developing strong relationships with hotels is key, and it’s clear that while the scope and scale of their travel management operations varies widely, they share skill-sets that are vital in a high-pressure environment: from excellent organisational expertise and ability to prioritise, to – as one eloquently puts it – patience, tenacity, determination... and grace.
Michelle Parkes
PA to Cormac Tobin, UK managing director, Celesio UK
Our TMC provides us with a booking tool but we tend to ask the TMC to research long-haul flights. We have around 500 people travelling. There are a number of travel bookers in the business, including two dedicated travel bookers. An in-house travel team is quite rare these days, but we need it – they are very busy.
Claire Hicks, from the procurement team, and I maintain relationships with representatives from each hotel. We do an annual review and usually can secure quite competitive rates by showing them the amount of business we can push their way.
Booking private jets is a new thing for us, because we are now owned by an American business and they have their own fleet. Recently, the management board came in from Stuttgart for a budget review and then they flew on an executive jet with my boss to Dublin to do the Ireland review meeting. We could see the benefit because we could cover two meetings in different countries easily in one day.
First and foremost, I need to be resourceful and forward thinking. I’m always scanning the diary and planning ahead. Everything is subject to change and I have to be prepared for that. I need to think like my boss and make sure choices I make are the choices he would want me to make for him. And I have regular meetings with secretarial teams, bookers and people looking after directors, so that we can share best practice and discuss what is going on around the business.
Cheery Salvesen
PA to the directors, Cullum Detuners
I book travel for about 50 people, including five, soon to be six, directors and the senior management team. We have got a very good TMC, Reed and Mackay. They have set us up with an arrangement that allows us to pre-pay for hotel accommodation, so that if someone is on a job for six-to-eight weeks, they only have to pay for food and extras on their credit card.
I have built up a good relationship with some local hotels – for our Christmas event, I think I’ve paid the same price for the last three years. But our TMC negotiates with the majority of hotels worldwide – they have got the buying power to get good rates. And I sometimes get the chance to travel. It is very useful to be able to see the amount of legroom and which seats have extra room on an aircraft.
I also handle marketing and do photography for the company – images for our newsletter or of product. I never know what each day’s going to bring. In fact, right now, I’m surrounded by Tesco bags because we’re doing a buffet lunch for our accountant, who is retiring.
Overall, I need a lot of common sense, and people- and time-management skills – I have to be able to juggle things. I have built up a portfolio of what people want and how they want it. The main challenge is time management and I make sure that, if I can’t meet deadlines, I am honest about it.
Gail Parkinson
PA to directors, Pennine Telecom
I work for four directors two of whom travel overseas – but all four travel around the UK. If conferences, meetings or incentive trips involve several staff on one trip – for example, our field sales team – then I also book travel arrangements for them. I book all modes of transport: air, trains, hotels, meetings and executive cars.
I have arranged a business account with Premier Inn, where our sales and engineering team stay. I tend to book major hotel chains, such as Hilton, on a requirement basis. Most of the travel arrangements that I make are booked directly with the supplier and online.
I concluded our relationship with Statesman Travel more than two years ago. I only used them for specific Emirates flights to Hong Kong and, although I still regularly book travel to China and the Far East via Emirates, I make the reservations myself. It was advantageous to have Statesman to hold tickets and get directors on closed flights, but now they are Gold travel partners with Emirates and I get more notice of the need to travel, I felt it was quicker and easier to manage the bookings myself.
Good organisational skills, patience and understanding, and attention to detail are key to a successful trip – and a good sense of humour. What makes the demands of the job manageable for me is that I can escape at lunchtime to go and see my dog. I feel it is important to get away from my desk and the office environment.
Maria Fuller
Executive assistant to CEO, Teleperformance UK
I provide executive-assistant support to two board members, including our UK chief executive officer. Both travel extensively and I co-ordinate all their travel requirements. We have 19 sites across the UK, and frequently it’s about getting the exec from A to B to C to A within 48 hours. Accommodation is handpicked and this can be time-consuming, but with experience it becomes easier to manage. If I minimise travel time and disruption, I’ve maximised my executive’s time – and that’s got to be good for business.
When I joined Teleperformance, we did not have preferred hotel suppliers across the UK estate. I drew up a shortlist of three hotels per site, contacted each one and asked them for their best room rate and package. I negotiated added benefits for our travellers, such as free wifi and discounts on food. The rate is negotiated annually.
We do have a TMC but we have also introduced an in-house travel booker. Before, travellers were using our TMC for all their requirements. But now they have an internal resource they can use, which has decreased the amount of traffic to our TMC and reduced booking fees.
Prioritisation is key to my job, followed by organisational skills and the ability to remain calm and level-headed. Having many deadlines imposed, which are all important and all urgent, is one of my biggest challenges. However, looking after business travellers is also about forethought.
Terri Stubbings
Director, My Virtual PA International
The problems and logistics of the job as a virtual PA are exactly the same as in a company office in many respects, but without the office politics. Everything can be done online, so I need access to diaries for appointments and to make sure that travel is in alignment with requirements. And I have access to some of my clients’ inboxes to keep them updated when travelling.
With occasional face-to-face meetings and attendance at board/committee meetings, Skype and mobiles, not being in a company office isn’t a problem for ongoing communication. The advantages are work-life balance, flexibility, variety of clients and no commute.
I work for a major corporate institution, a large blue chip company and a limited number of entrepreneurs, and I book air, hotel, meetings, cabs and rail. I have to be exceptionally organised, as I’m juggling a variety of requirements every day for clients with differing deadlines/priorities. At times, the days are long and sometimes I am needed at the weekend, so flexibility is paramount.
The 24/7 accessibility is a challenge, as is finding the discipline to avoid interruptions and non-work related distractions. One aspect of making it manageable is to prioritise and have an understanding of my clients’ needs and pressures, which is why I not only communicate with them regularly but also find thorough initial meetings and occasional catch-up meetings invaluable.
Theresa Mabbutt
PA to two board directors of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)
I was booking travel for the entire international team that changed recently, but it will still be for up to 50 people. I book everything from private hire taxis to business class to Australia.
We have a new TMC that we have to use. We are using a new self-booking tool, but information they claim is on their website is not always there. This is frustrating, as I haven’t got time to keep ringing them and they don’t want to hear my voice all the time.
When I know a hotel is coming on-stream, I meet the business development manager; I let them know that CIPD is a fairly big buyer, and build up a relationship with them.
A venue finder supplies all our conference and meeting needs. However, when I want something specific that they cannot supply, I book it myself and because we need all management information in one place, I send the venue finder the invoice. Through the relationships we have developed, venues give us an exceptional day rate because we are not paying a commission.
I have developed a lot of skills over the 50 years I have been working: patience, tenacity, determination, humility, sense of humour and grace. The challenges are people who expect things to be done immediately when I have to prioritise, and getting used to a new TMC and the way they are working.