The popular idiom “like kids in a candy store” refers to the inability of children to restrain themselves from practicing prudent purchase behavior when surrounded by gummy bears, milk chocolate, or sugary confections of any kind. The idiom also describes the travails of today’s business travel marketplace with unconstrained travelers, frustrated corporate travel managers…
The popular idiom “like kids in a candy store” refers to the inability of children to restrain themselves from practicing prudent purchase behavior when surrounded by gummy bears, milk chocolate, or sugary confections of any kind. The idiom also describes the travails of today’s business travel marketplace with unconstrained travelers, frustrated corporate travel managers, and revenue-eager airlines. Corporate travel managers and CFOs want to know the complete cost of trips when comparing vendors. Many airlines today are happy to tempt any unmanaged traveler with sugary-sweet perks such as priority boarding, exit row seating, and airport lounge access.
The travel managers referenced in the headline are members of the National Business Travel Association. In their testimony to a Congressional committee, the group pleaded for “transparency and consistency” in the regulation of airline fees and taxes. The conflict with corporate travel occurs when the question is asked, “Who pays for these extras?” Mayhem apparently occurs when the traveler hits the road and begins to rack up expenses for services the company might like to exclude… if it had the chance. Results from a survey on the topic of corporate travel reveal 91 percent of companies will reimburse the expense of checking a bag . . . but reimbursement drops to 12 percent for extra legroom seating, and 8 percent for priority boarding.
Corporate travel managers are upset by control they’ve lost as a la carte fees have become prevalent in the airline industry. Carriers are by no means unique in tempting consumers with a la carte comforts and convenience. From the perspective of travel managers, this path to pricing perdition has already been well trod by hotels and car rental companies. A magic wand will not suddenly appear to fix reporting and control issues during 2012 or in the foreseeable future. But help is on the way as the ancillary revenue revolution becomes more predictable. In this report, IdeaWorksCompany offers predictions on how the actors in this story will someday benefit from the flexibility and frugality promised by a la carte pricing.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
