T&E Plus

Greed: Supply and Demand in the Ticket Market

George Will raises interesting perspectives on greed in the entertainment ticket market.  http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/opinion/columnists/george-will-greed-is-punished-just-ask-a-ticket-scalper-121608.html.  Ticket scalpers turn up at every venue and almost all performances.

Let's ask our corporate leaders additional questions ...

*If you receive tickets from a sponsorship agreement, how do you track them at the corporate level?
*If you purchase annual suites or boxes at stadiums, do you know the different types of tax deductions? (for suites, boxes, for clients, for individual ticket purchases?)
*How do you know, globally, the distribution of tickets that have went to your top clients annually?
*How do you know, globally, if the suite or box you've chosen and the individual tickets you're purchasing are the right mix for your clients?
*How many seats (box, suite or individual tickets) were purchased, and not used?
*How many seats, globally, went to internal users?
*Do you know how much, globally, you're spending on entertainment tickets and the return on investment?

To George's point "...price gougers are at the mercy of a public armed with information..."  Guess what? "The public" buying tickets at premium prices are often corporate buyers.  Without laws in place to curtail the spending, corporate leadership owns accountability.

In my informal LinkedIn poll asking "Why aren't tickets strategically sourced?" http://polls.linkedin.com/p/36855/dpjrl, 28% (as of today) say that tickets cannot be managed through normal procurement methods because it is too political -- and that corporate leaders are managing them.  As we seek transparency in our corporate spending, I recommend a marketing entertainment ticket strategy, across the entire global organization, a ticket technology distribution method, adding strong policy language to your current T&E policy, monitoring compliance and using consequences when not followed.  In fact, few companies have this in place today.  Thus, corporations often take part in Ticket Scalping.

Without a global strategy, you're spending just as much on tickets as you are other travel, meetings and events...but you probably don't realize it.   A handful of ticket brokers offer a corporate methodology strategy.  Only a few have technology tools in place to manage distribution. An example of one tool on the market: http://www.ovationsmanagement.com/  Keep in mind, the supplier is not the place to start -- but rather, with a financial and procurement strategy and someone who knows the industry. Contact me if you want help.

Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation plus more...

Follow me on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/debi001 or at LinkedIN at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dscholar

CASH is KING: Decrease indirect expenses

A survey of 285 senior finance executives from the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Asia, and Australia reports that leaders are focused on shifting top-line growth to bottom-line profits. Translated:  CASH is KING. 

 

Finance executives are targeting non-core spending.  Highest on the list for cuts:  travel and entertainment with 85% of the respondents listing this category as the area they will spend less in the next 12 months, whereas only 37% said this was a focus in last year’s study.

 

Asked differently, of the ten options presented to sustain spending, 81% of the respondents listed travel as the least important to sustain with nine other categories more important.

 

When asked about changes in their workforce, 59% of the respondents anticipate a decrease in headcount.  Taking a deeper look at the United States responses, the number increases to 71% anticipate a headcount decrease. 

 

While internal meetings, professional development and conference travel will be reduced, 82% respondents indicate they will maintain or even increase travel for meetings with new clients or for business development. 

 

Important steps to take for the future…create new tools to measure performance progress to scrutinize costs and capture greater efficiencies.  More than half of the respondents have a renewed focus on metrics or measurements.  We all know the saying…you can't manage what you don't measure and you can’t measure what you can’t describe.

 

The April 2009 CFO survey, in collaboration with American Express, was distributed among senior finance executives at companies in the above-mentioned countries with annual revenue of $500 million to more than $20 billion.  They received 285 completed survey responses.

 

For more information on the story and the report, visit:

http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2009/pdf/Controlling_Cost_in_Crisis_Global_Survey_Report_2009.pdf

 

http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2009/bizmonitor.asp

 

Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

 

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation plus more...

 

Follow me on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/debi001

Industry leaders speak to the Senate Subcommittee on Tourism

THANK YOU to Travelocity, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Las Vegas Conventions and Visitors Authority, Carlson Hotels and other industry leaders for meeting with the Senate Subcommittee on Tourism on Wednesday, May 13. Sam Gilliland, CEO of Travelocity said, ""Meetings, conventions and incentive travel are proven business tools that allow companies to establish valuable relationships, solicit feedback and reward employees," according to the Associated Press.  Thankfully, the Subcommittee's Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., agreed. The Associated Press reports that Ms. Klobuchar said "Most business travel is essential to doing business, and succeeding at business, ... There are ways for businesses to conduct meetings and events in a way that is responsible and productive."

To see the whole story, please visit the AP story here: http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8600/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ouBJJifs

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation plus more...

Follow me on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/debi001

Corporate rate or best available rate? Always ask...

When staying at hotels or using rental cars, sometimes the best available rate may be less than your corporate rate.  Even if it seems counter-intuitive, sometimes calling the supplier may result in lower rates.    However, if you make a call to your travel management company, additional costs may be incurred for the "high-touch" of speaking with that agent. 

As this article mentions, "book early" and "shop around" for better pricing.  However, I encourage corporate buyers to "shop" within their preferred suppliers so that marketshare increases. Some companies are adding content to their T&E policies that state "if the savings are greater than $X by using a non-preferred supplier, then please use the lower cost supplier."

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8600/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=aFEQNJVG

Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

 

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation plus more...

Follow me on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/debi001

A virtual meeting we all appreciate: Bed Bugs 101

Every so often the perfect story comes across my Blackberry that must be shared.  Today, this one brings together four subjects so important to me:  1) virtual meetings, 2) hotels 3) training and development (T&D) and 4) dogs.  After being in T&D for numerous years, I know the importance of just-in-time learning. 

We should all be grateful that a virtual meeting was conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association to educate hoteliers on how to identify Bed Bugs.  One of the ways, they suggest, is to use a bed bug-sniffing dog.  The webinar, titled "Bed Bugs 101,"  provided knowledge to the hoteliers as they are the "eyes and ears when the pest professional is not around."   They also suggested that "hotels should work in partnership with pest control companies..."

At the end of the day, especially this Monday, I'm truly thankful for...bed bug:

a) sniffing dogs;
b) virtual meetings/webinars;
c) training; and
d) interested hoteliers that participated.

Have a great evening!

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx?ArticleId=1170&ArticleType=1&PageType=Todays

Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

 

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation plus more...

Free Baseball Tickets May Lack Integrity

Once again, sports tickets are in the news.  This time, a candidate for mayor was hoping to influence voters by giving them free baseball tickets to the city's suite at Tropicana Field. 

http://blogs.tampabay.com/baybuzz/2009/05/schorsch-trashes-jamie-bennett.html

Ethical behavior plays an important role in ticket distribution -- for businesses, politics, universities and associations.  Transparency reduces costs and poor perception.  Best-in-class organizations purchase and manage tickets centrally, using standard policies and tools.  Contact me if you want help managing your tickets.

Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

 

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation plus more...

Do you have T&E internal audits in place?

One of the missions of an internal audit team is to review the expense compliance compared to policies and procedures approved by an organization. A T&E audit is especially important due to the complexity of the spend, the number of suppliers and the meeting/event contracts that may be at risk.  Even appropriate spend could tarnish an image...as reported in this article published today:

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8560/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=NKZa0d1Y

If you want help with your T&E spend, in any category, please contact me.

Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT

Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation plus more...

Newsweek - State of the Industry - Business Travel

Looking forward to the next issue of Newsweek carrying a story: Business Travel-State of the Industry

Generational Differences in Buying Travel - Take the Survey and Win a 2-night stay at any Omni Hotel!

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and the Wharton Aresty Institute of Executive Education are conducting a study on how different age groups buy travel using technology. The results of the survey will be presented at the NBTA annual convention in August. If you would like a copy of the results, please provide your email at the end of the survey. Participate before May 30 and you have the chance to win one of five 2-night stays at any Omni hotel; terms and conditions apply. Thank you for your support! TAKE the SURVEY NOW!

http://budurl.com/NBTAglp