Summit Travel
Size of the U.S. Travel Market
In the history of corporate summit travel, there has never been a more pivotal and competitive two years than 2004and 2005... well, until 2006 and 2007.Against a backdrop of deregulation and airfare reform, crippling fuel costs, airline financial instability and intense market competition, there is evidence of sustained business travel recovery. The corporate travel industry has been characterized more by pre-emptive strikes rather than strategic moves that provide the end-user (corporation) with real value. In the early stages of online corporate travel, distribution impact was unilaterally measured by a company’s rate of adoption, or the proportion of total transactions that were completed online through a corporate booking tool. Air dominated these transactions because of its proportionately higher percentage of budget spend, relative simplicity in booking (domestic, roundtrip) and broad GDS availability. Travel managers dominated the decision to use the tools, corporate policy dictated what specific fares travelers purchased, and supplier discounts were a measure of program success .Meanwhile, the market was undergoing a migration of legacy systems to the .NET platform to support new Web-based technology for online bookings and business process re-engineering through automation GDS deregulation and procurement oversight of travel. However, as online adoption approaches mainstream status in both the leisure and corporate travel marketplaces, and travelers and suppliers are leveraging both online and offline methods for shopping and purchasing travel, the online marketplace has evolved to a channel of distribution rather than a separate and distinct market.
Summit Travel
Distribution has become more complex because: multiple types of summit travel components and services are purchased online, web-savvy leisure travelers are pulling corporate booking tool usage throughout an organization, content aggregation, system integration and data consolidation require a global approach for revenue growth and to normalize fluctuating profits, and technological innovation and integration is essential for competitive differentiation and to respond to market changes in demand and costs.
As a result, distribution will encompass three critical components: the ability to create and satisfy demand for its products and services, the ability to move products through traveler “consumption” in an efficient and cost-effective manner, and the ability to create and maintain customer loyalty. to include these components and rising above the industry noise, a critical chasm was revealed that has not been evident for more than 20 years. The market dynamics are ripe for a real shift in channel power among distributors, suppliers, intermediaries and other players. This has the potential to upset the current roles, business models and positions of each.
Technology will continue to be the major enabling force that will transform corporate travel commerce online and affect supply chains (or the distribution channel), business models, work styles and open up new global markets for expansion. As a result, corporate summit travel will need to become more efficient in providing a highly monetized customer service experience.