Looking Back on 2022

Looking Back on 2022

Julie Cope, Managing Director of Eton Travel takes a look back at the many issues around travel management during 2022 and looks forward to continuing to offer our highly personalised service throughout 2023.

As travel rebounded during 2022, meeting the service needs of major corporates made it a challenging year for the Travel Management Company (TMC) sector. Staff shortages, constrained capacity and disrupted schedules created a new set of complexities for the business trip. This was combined with increased demand for security, safety, and sustainability throughout corporate travel.

Service Inconsistency

Customers demanded a much more high-touch service last year, as they tried to navigate their way around a badly disrupted eco-system. Paradoxically, many TMCs were not in a good position to meet their customers’ needs, with staff shortages impacting service levels, as well as increased prices and reduced choice.

Recent surveys reported that the time it takes to make a booking is now taking 3 times longer, exacerbated by changes in policy, extra levels of approval, schedule changes, and content fragment

Customised and personalised service solutions were a major priority for most travel managers. This is expected to continue throughout 2023 as travel managers’ demands continue to evolve.

The corporate world has changed and the emphasis on controlling travel frequency, increasing virtual alternatives, and traveling more sustainably will continue. Clients are searching for a fresher approach to travel management, rather than a return to old ways and legacy systems.

Friction and Fragmentation

Legacy systems are holding many less agile TMCs back as they create fragmentation and friction in the booking process. A good example of this is the reliance on the PNR (Passenger Name Record). Originally introduced to facilitate the exchange of booking information between airlines, PNRs have become an important component in booking a trip. They are not only a booking confirmation but also a repository of valuable commercial information.

The file size varies greatly from system to system creating as many as 999 data elements if you create a PNR in a GDS (Global Distribution System). This is what creates tension and friction for TMCs before, during, and after a business trip.

Eton’s technology suite offers a more agnostic approach to the booking tools available and is working hard to provide an unprecedented consumer-style interface, which will also benefit from frictionless workflows that reduce tensions throughout the entire cycle.

Looking forward to 2023…

The talent shortage which occurred throughout 2022 in many of the mega TMC agencies meant that travel buyers (and travellers) experienced long wait times, disparate service levels, and staff who didn’t know them or their business needs. Customers found themselves trying to establish new relationships, to replicate the knowledge and understanding gathered over many years of collaborative working.

Eton Travel Management is led by a very experienced senior team, most of whom are shareholders with over 20 years standing. For over 50 years we have been recognised as a company that produces a high level of personalised service, specialising in the more complicated itinerary, the short-notice trip, and even shorter-notice changes to those itineraries. Our travel specialists revel in making sure our clients can focus on realising their objectives whilst we take care of the logistics. Some tasks cannot be handled by bots – they are great to have working hard in the background – but our people are at the forefront to provide the best possible booking experience, online or offline 365 days a year.