Further, companies participating in the survey reported that declines in travel spending will wind up being more dramatic this year -- due to aggressive budget cuts, tightened policies and greater use of virtual travel technologies. I was struck by the magnitude of some of the information in BTN's report: of 94 corporate participants, 48 showed a decrease in U.S. booked air spend in 2008. A few reported declines of 70%, and many put the fall-off in the 25%-30% range.
Bad as that news may seem, the report unearthed some positive indicators for business travel and strategic meetings management. For example, many put new restrictions on their travel policies -- some of them even mandating rules. More than a dozen respondents have stepped up use of remote conferencing options, including high-definition telepresence systems, BTN reported.
As I’ve said publicly many times over, I don't believe we'll see a return to the old free-spending days of business travel -- even if we climb out of this recession faster than anticipated. But that's not necessarily a negative. Increasingly, we are seeing evidence, as BTN's report shows, that companies are recognizing the value of solid and careful spending rules. Heck, even TARP recipients have been mandated to make their spending policies public.
But travel and meeting spend policies don't just ensure that employees and meeting planners follow the rules to save companies money. Good policy also supports good relationships with preferred suppliers. When planners book at preferred hotels or re-use cancelled space, they support suppliers who depend on corporate business. Strong, well-communicated policies, supported by senior-executives and, yes, sometimes mandated, are a win-win.
Here is more guidance on how to build strong meetings policies and other best practices for an SMMP.
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