Business Travel News - February 9, 2009 - (Page 6)

NEWS Amex Q4 Losses Show Drop In Corporate Travel BY SETH HARRIS PROFILES IN TRAVEL MANAGEMENT Midwestern Energy Firm Amps Nascent Travel Program Newly formed energy and utility company In- supply chain organization. “People are used to tegrys Energy Group, created through the merg- booking online,” he said. “It was a matter of habit.” Until this month, employees were limited to er of several Midwestern firms, in a matter of months contracted with a travel management booking air, car and hotel reservations using the company, implemented an online booking tool, Rearden tool. “We were starting out with a brandformed a preferred supplier program and new program and we didn’t want to hit them launched various support technologies to form with everything. That would have really thrown them for a loop,” Seymour said. a comprehensive travel manThe company now has agement structure. opened such ancillary booking The Chicago-based compafeatures as dining reservations, ny has consolidated its travel and leverages Rearden’s relaexpenditures, which now total tionship with Rewards Network about $2 million, and expects for rebates and discounts at to save more than $200,000 in restaurants. the year following the March With support from Integrys’ 2008 launch of its program. IT team, the company is inteAlready the two-year-old grating the Rearden tool with company’s corporate card coits enterprise e-mail and calenordinator, travel buying respondar systems. sibilities fell on the shoulders Seymour also implemented of Rick Seymour, who realized INTEGRYS’ RICK SEYMOUR a series of preferred supplier the potential of an online programs, including a preferred Corporate card coordinator and booking component in the detravel buyer carrier deal with Northwest Airveloping program. “We came lines, and saved $45,000 on hofrom a program where there really was nothing,” said Seymour. “People were tel spending alone by aggressively paring propgoing to Orbitz or Travelocity and booking what- erties used in key cities and configuring the online ever they wanted to or going directly to the air- booking tool accordingly. In such key operating lines. There is no way of having a controlled spend cities as Chicago, Green Bay and Milwaukee, Integrys tries to have only two or three preferred when that happens.” After creating a travel task force to review bids, properties, Seymour said. Integrys holds accrued frequent flyer miles including operating unit and administrative assistant representation, the company consolidated its and redistributes them when applicable for further air program savings. The company saved $10,000 by using unused-ticket-tracking techCOMPANY: INTEGRYS ENERGY GROUP nology, with assistance from its travel manageHEADQUARTERS: CHICAGO ment company. 2008 T&E VOLUME: $2 MILLION Seymour also led the consolidation of a corporate card program, which he said is key for deagency services with what is now Minnesota- partments adapting to new travel budgets and rebased Travel Leaders and launched the Rearden porting. JPMorgan Chase issues MasterCards to Commerce Personal Assistant as its preferred on- about 2,000 Integrys cardholders. Seymour plans to obtain even stronger preline booking tool. With senior management support, Seymour ferred supplier programs using a full year’s comused messages in the company newspaper, hy- prehensive, accurate spending data in March. “We perlinks on departmental intranets, e-mails and can go to our preferred airlines,” he said, “and say, in-person training sessions to communicate with ‘We really know that we spent this much with you. administrative assistants, who ran seminars with We have it here in black and white. Before, we had a pretty good idea, but here is a report that shows travelers. Online booking adoption is at more than 70 you the marketshare your airline has with us. ’ ” percent, said Seymour, who reports through the —Seth Harris In American Express’ first reporting period as a Federal Reserve Board-regulated bank holding company, the largest corporate charge card supplier reflected the deepening economic slide during the fourth quarter of 2008 as charge card delinquencies increased, global corporate travel sales fell dramatically and the company incurred a $421 million pre-tax charge for reengineering costs, primarily from headcount reduction. In its quarterly investors call last month, the company reported that its global commercial services unit, which houses American Express Business Travel and the commercial card divisions, lost $18 million during the quarter compared with a net income of $110 million during the same period last year. Total global commercial services revenue decreased 7 percent to $1 billion, “reflecting lower level of spending by corporate card members as well as lower travel commissions and fees,” the company said in a statement. Global corporate travel sales decreased 22 percent to $4.3 billion compared with the fourth quarter of 2007. For Access the the full year, the 2008 Corporate Travel 100 company managed see btnonline.com/ct100 to increase global corporate travel sales 2 percent to $21 billion. Even with the 4 percent increase in commercial cards in force to 7.1 million, segment billed business decreased 11 percent to $28.7 billion. Delinquency rates for commercial cards 90 days past due rose to 2.7 percent compared with a 1.8 percent rate in the third quarter of 2008. Despite reductions in card spending, executives cited growth in new funding and liquidity lines, including a retail certificate of deposit program and $3.4 billion from the federal government’s Troubled Assets Relief Program. Amex’s fourth-quarter net income decreased 79 percent compared with the same period in 2007 to $172 million. Total revenues net of interest expense decreased 11 percent year-over-year during the quarter to $6.5 billion. “We remain cautious about the economic outlook through 2009, and expect card member spending to remain soft with past-due loans and write-offs rising from current levels,” chairman and CEO Kenneth Chenault said in a statement. “However, we believe the longer-term growth potential of the payments sector remains very attractive. The investments we are making in our business will help ensure that we can capitalize Continued on page 25 6 Monday, February 9, 2009 www.BTNonline.com Business Travel News http://www.btnonline.com/ct100 http://www.BTNonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Business Travel News - February 9, 2009

Business Travel News - February 9, 2009
Contents
Inside Track
Profiles In Travel Mgmt
Forum
Aviation
Lodging
Car & Ground Transportation
Travel Management
Destinations
Washington Wire

Business Travel News - February 9, 2009