A SELECTION OF BUSINESS TRAVEL CONSULTANCIES

The London-based consultancy has been working in the sector since 2009 specialising in areas such as travel programme

optimisation, outsourced travel management, supplier sourcing and

payment/expense solutions.

Created in 2010, Areka is now managed by five partners and has offices in the UK, France, Germany, Australia and the US.

Specialising in business travel, meetings and

events, Black Box is led by managing partners Leigh Cowlishaw and Raj Sachdave,

both formerly of Capita Travel and Events.

Headed up by managing partners

Paul Tilstone and Caroline Strachan, Festive Road now has consultants based around the globe including France, Germany, Sweden,

Australia and the US.

travel procurement and management, and can help clients to fundamentally “rethink” the strategy and sourcing within their programmes.

Paul Tilstone, Managing Partner at global consultancy Festive Road, says: “We focus on supporting customers with rethinking the “why” and the “what”, and only then do we take them through the “how” of the future of their travel programme.”

Who should use them

So are consultants just for large companies and organisations who need help with complex travel management issues? Most leading consultants say this is not always the case and that SMES are also able to benefit from their services.

Raj Sachdave, Managing Partner at Black Box Partnerships, says: “We have small businesses that are realising they need to get their house in order as they punch up the scale in expenditure, behaviours and processes.

“There is a place around the table for all shapes and sizes, with the right infrastructure, support and aspirations. We’re here to support them, offering a sound voice in business decision-making and commercial positioning.”

Nina & Pinta’s Jo Lloyd agrees. “Our clients are of all sizes, depending on their needs and the services we provide. For airline and hotel programme management, clients tend to be larger – just by the nature of their spend,” she says.

“But smaller companies can also benefit from the independent data we have through using our dashboard for managing air contracts. For projects related to strategy, policy and expense management, we find that companies of all sizes reach out to us for support.”

Value for money

Another obvious consideration is cost. There are myriad different payment models including fees per project, hourly or daily rates, ongoing retainers and ‘success’ fees based on meeting specific objectives. Often it will depend on the nature of the work or project that the consultants are being asked to help with.

Travel technology specialist consultant Guy Snelgar, from Barndello Consulting, says: “For very clear, well-defined projects, it can make sense to agree a specific project fee. The advantage for the client is obviously the certainty. On the downside, it may not allow the flexibility for the scope of a project to change as it evolves.

“Complex or longer-term projects are usually more suited to paying an ongoing daily rate, especially if the specific solution or outcome is not known at the start.”

Measuring return on investment can be tricky, although Areka’s Pascal Jungfer estimates a consultant usually returns “three to 20 times the cost” for the client. Most would agree that is money well spent.

There are myriad different payment models including fees per project, hourly or daily rates, ongoing retainers and ‘success’ fees based on meeting specific objectives”