The SME market must consolidate its travel spend to get the best deal, Gerard Tempest, director of marketing for Marriott UK and Ireland, told a business travel forum in London.
The forum was organised by Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) for SMEs seeking to manage their travel spend.
Mr Tempest said that SMEs needed to know how much they spent on travel, how that compared with other purchases like paperclips or cars and what MI they received.
“T&E can be a huge cost and how companies manage it may not be as efficient as it could be,” he told the 30 delegates.
He advised them to consolidate their spend using a few key suppliers that fitted with their geography, service and price requirements and to make use of a TMC's purchasing power, expertise, centralised booking processes and ability to provide detailed MI.
This would enable them to leverage their spend to get the best deals.
Earlier, Simone Buckley, CWT's director of sales, said the travel industry had become far more complex over the past 15 years. Then tickets were handwritten but now it was to do with dynamic pricing. Security has also become a huge issue.
“Our role as a travel agent has moved from simple schedule finder to finding the best options for our clients on various ands different channels,” she said.
Aer Lingus to be sold by next year
Dermot Mannion, ceo of Aer Lingus, has said that he expects the state-owned carrier to be sold in 2006.
Mr Mannion, who joined Aer Lingus in August, said the government which has an 85% stake in the airline wanted it sold as soon as possible.
Government-appointed advisers UBS and AIB are due to report by the end of the year and Mr Mannion said the sale would go ahead after that.