Business Travel News - June 8, 2009 - (Page 3)

BTNonline.com EDITOR’S NOTE Year Of Change Ushers In Uncertainty Last year, our assessment in this space was, “Dire circum- mium travel products. They also have deployed technolostances have created an environment that demands change.” gy, such as pre-trip authorization tools, to help implement We had no idea at that time of the extent of the changes that those policies. Many companies severely reduced or eliminated internal travel and directed employees instead to lay ahead. make use of remote conferencing technology. The year 2008 started out as a good but Some implemented networks of advanced challenging one for most travel suppliers, unvideoconferencing tools as a means of mantil the bottom fell out. It began with industryaging demand for internal travel. Even compawide concern about the impact of soaring fuel nies without mandate cultures or technology prices on business travel and buyers grappling budgets adopted travel cost controls in the past with a long-term hotel seller’s market. As the several months. housing and financial services industries beWhile few companies are talking about exgan to implode and recession set in, the astropanding their travel spending, there has been nomical fuel prices and the hotel seller’s marno indication that companies are expecting to ket both came crashing down. make further cuts at this time. This has left the While relief from fuel prices was welcomed industry trying to discern whether it is still just by airlines and chauffeured car providers, it a time to hang onto the roller coaster or if we came with a terrible tradeoff. For airlines, the David Meyer have truly hit bottom and can begin to work capacity that they had cut in view of untenEditor-in-Chief at climbing back up. able fuel costs helped offset more than a 20 Business Travel News thanks all the travel percent drop in demand, but they also suffered supplier representatives from the six major busia deep drop in premium class customers as a result not only of corporate cost control, but also of percep- ness travel service segments who contributed information tion. Perception in a time of massive layoffs and publicized to this 25th annual Business Travel Survey, including the concern about misuse of U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Pro- 43 travel management company chief executives and the gram funds also helped drive steep drops in demand for Airlines Reporting Corp., who released U.S. point-of-sale transaction and sales data from ARC’s Compass data warechauffeured car providers and luxury hotels. More than just perception and slashed budgets are at house for business travel buyers’ benefit. We appreciate their help in examining supplier performwork in restricting travel spending and guiding travelers to trade down in service, however, as companies have tight- ance during the previous year to understand how changes ened travel management policies to further limit use of pre- then were prologue to current market conditions. DAVID MEYER Editor-in-Chief (646) 654-4431 (dmeyer@btnonline.com) CHRIS DAVIS Executive Managing Editor (646) 654-4437 (cdavis@btnonline.com) JAY BOEHMER Airline Editor (646) 654-4434 (jboehmer@btnonline.com) MICHAEL B. BAKER Hotel, Expense/Payment Editor (646) 654-4433 (mbaker@btnonline.com) SETH HARRIS Travel Management Editor (646) 654-5716 (sharris@btnonline.com) ERIC WONG Art Director (646) 654-4439 (ewong@btnonline.com) • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR AMON COHEN +44 (0) 1963-351-219 We welcome your letters, comments and feedback. Please contact the editor at dmeyer@btnonline.com. For breaking news and original research, and to search articles since 1996, visit BTNonline.com. NANCY LAZARUS Research Director • SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Tel: 847-559-7533 800-697-8859 Toll Free Fax: (847) 291-4816 Business Travel News PO Box 3601 Northbrook, IL 60065-3601 (nbtn@omeda.com) LIST RENTAL/POSTAL INFORMATION JULIUS SINGLE (845) 731-2731 E-MAIL INFORMATION WAYNE NAGROWSKI (845) 731-3854 CUSTOM REPRINTS OF 500 PIECES OR MORE: KRISTI FULKERSON, The YGS Group (800) 290-5460, ext. 144 (BTN@TheYGSgroup.com) BTN EDITORIAL & SALES OFFICES 770 Broadway New York, NY 10003-9595 Editorial Fax: (646) 654-4455 All Rights Reserved • CONTENTS ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ June 8, 2009 Issue 676 Vol. 26 No.8 Agencies, Corporate-Owned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Airlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Car Rental Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Chauffeured Transportation Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Corporate Payment Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Hotel Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 FIND DAILY NEWS UPDATES AND MORE AT WWW.BTNONLINE.COM BTN (USPS 0728-870, ISSN 8750-3670) is published semi-monthly, except monthly in January, February, May, July and December, by Nielsen Business Media Inc., 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, tel. 646-654-5000, and is distributed free of charge to qualified corporate travel buyers and travel agents specializing in business travel in the United States and Canada.The cost of a subscription to non-qualified subscribers is $119 in the U.S.; $135 in Canada; $135 in Mexico and Central America; $200 in South America and Europe; and $200 in Asia,Africa and Australia; payable in advance in U.S.dollars.Registered for GST as Nielsen Business Media Inc.USA GST No.124513185.Periodicals postage paid at New York,NY,and additional mailing offices. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Business Travel News - June 8, 2009

Business Travel News - June 8, 2009
Contents
Agencies, Corporate-Owned
Airlines
Car Rental Companies
Chauffeured Transportation Companies
Corporate Payment Systems
Hotel Companies

Business Travel News - June 8, 2009