August 4, 2020

Can Anyone Really Capture the SME Travel Market?

Tweet It was 1996 and I had just launched my consulting practice the prior September. On the agenda that day were consecutive calls with two startups, The Trip.com (not associated with the current iteration of the former C-Trip OTA) and BizTravel.com. Their mission was clear; to bring digitized travel management to the small/medium enterprise (SME) segment. And of course, the […]
July 24, 2020

Who Pays for the Needed Upgrade to Travel Distribution?

Tweet As we are in the midst of one of the most devastating events in the history of the travel industry, the Covid-19 pandemic, you might find it odd time for me to write a blog article about the need to upgrade technology infrastructure for travel distribution.  No one has any money, not the airlines, the GDS, the OTAs or […]
April 30, 2012

How Can Regional TMCs Adapt to New Financial Models?

Tweet The corporate travel market has always been a bit of a paradox. Non-travel industry observers might assume that the big four Travel Management Firms (TMCs) – American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, BCD Travel and HRG – own 80% of the corporate market (the Pareto principle). Though these four TMCs do dominate the Fortune 500, overall they represent less than 50% of […]
January 19, 2009

TMC as Consultants – Are We There Yet?

Tweet For years a familiar theme heard throughout the business travel industry concerns the evolution of TMCs from order takers to true consultants for their corporate clients. I often classify TMCs into three groups- mega (Amex, CWT, BCD & HRG), 2nd tier and third tier. This is based on size of the company and their regional or global reach. Late […]