Sales & Marketing Management - November/December 2007 - (Page 33)

EASING AND ENHANCING THE GRIND OF TRAVEL Travel > ROAD WARRIOR FEELING THE SQUEEZE Get ready for more airfare and hotel rate hikes Published airfares will increase between 2% and 4% while corporate airfares will have a marginal increase of less than 2% in 2008, according to BCD Travel’s 2008 Industry Forecast, released last week. Along with airfare increases, the forecast projects at least 5% increases in hotels’ average daily room rates and average daily car rental fares. The new projected airfare increases are lower than the 6% to 10% published fare hike and 5% to 7% corporate fare hike predicted by executives from BCD’s consulting subsidiary Advito in July. Advito Vice President for the Americas Bob Brindley cited a projected softening in demand as a reason for the deviation from Advito’s previous predictions, as well as an increase in corporate discounts and the March 2008 launch of the E.U.-U.S. Open Skies agreement, which will increase international competition. “You have the potential if demand softens, and we are seeing it soften, that carriers will start discounting aggressively again,” Brindley said. Airline capacity limitations are going to fuel higher fare increases than Advito’s current projections, according to Dale Eastlund, director of air solutions for Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s CWT Solutions Group consultancy. “Based on the fact that capacity has continued to be constrained on the domestic side, and carriers are not looking at adding capacity, and we are probably looking at a 4% to 7% increase for published fares domestically,” he said. “In the international sector, there is some capacity growth out there. However, demand for a lot of the business class travel continues to grow. Based on what we’ve looked at in 2006 and 2007, published business class airfare went up between 15% and 20%, and we are probably looking at somewhere in the double- digits again.” Meanwhile, BCD Travel’s forecast is less optimistic about hotel costs, as daily room rates are expected to climb by 6% to 9% on average with double-digit increases in some markets. “The demand is probably growing as fast as capacity, so while the occupancy rates aren’t necessarily moving up dramatically, we have seen hotels be very successful in raising their average daily rates through better inventory control and moving people from standard rooms to premium rooms,” Brindley said. Accompanying the increases in the hotel market is an 8% to 10% rise in meeting costs, according to the forecast, which attributes some of the increases to a supply shortage for meeting space and hotel rooms, as well as rising fuel and food costs. Further constraining buyers in the hotel market is the continued trend of some hotels turning down group business in favor of elevated rates from transient business. Despite new supply, hotel and meetings demand is not expected to lighten until at least 2009, according to Advito general manager Mary Ellen George. “There will be a little more of a surplus in supply,” she said. “For short-term bookings, they are going to pay a premium.” —Seth Harris corbis > TEST DRIVE $89.99 FORAY MOBILE WORKMATE Business travel needn’t be a hair-tearing experience … but it sure seems like one when you’re trying to schlep along copious files and office supplies on a plane. Make life a whole lot easier for yourself with the new Foray Mobile WorkMate. Perfect for the sales professional who lives out of rental cars and airports, the Mobile Workmate is something akin to a briefcase on steroids. For starters, there’s the 15.4-inch, fully padded laptop sleeve, complete with zippered enclosure and carrying handle. Then there’s the double-stack accessory pouch, which comes with two padded storage compartments and its own carrying handle. If that weren’t enough, there’s also a removable hanging file bin. And best of all, the whole unit comes with wheels and a telescoping handle, allowing you to transport it anywhere with ease. The Foray Mobile WorkMate is available at Office Depot stores nationwide, as well as online at officedepot.com. —Jeremy Cohen www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 SALES&MARKETING MANAGEMENT 33 http://www.officedepot.com http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sales & Marketing Management - November/December 2007

Sales & Marketing Management - November/December 2007 Contents Editor’s Letter Management Strategies What “Tell Me More,” Really Means Sales Strategy Marketing Management Motivation/Incentives Training Technology The Brains Behind the Brawn Are You a Bad Manager? Pipeline = Lifeline Feeling the Squeeze; The Foray Mobile Workmate; Seeking the Sights of Pittsburgh; Testing the Social Media Waters. Gadgets & Gear Books That Improve Strategic Thinking, People Skills and Sales Work/Life Take-Aways

Sales & Marketing Management - November/December 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.