There are two situations regarding major TMCs at the moment that might need your attention.
You have to book through a TMC to properly manage your business travel. If you don’t, you have no data, no compliance, no risk management, no KPIs and no access to discounted fares and rates.
The quality of TMC systems and services varies significantly. Without a well-managed and good arrangement, you risk high airfares, high hotel rates, high risk, high carbon and unsettled travellers.
If something big is happening to your TMC, you should know about it. If you are a client of Amex GBT, Carlson Wagonlit (CWT) or Corporate Travel Management (CTM), please read on.
The two situations are very different but both potentially disruptive. One is definitely happening and might cause difficulties. The other might happen and would cause problems for clients if it does.
Amex GBT and CWT
Amex GBT has taken over CWT. The largest global TMC has bought the third largest. How and why is now old news. The thing now is for clients of both TMCs to guard against possible short-to-medium term service disruptions. The biggest takeover in the history of the industry must be a chance to cause indigestion.
Amex GBT has a history of large competitor acquisitions, having consumed Rosenbluth, HRG, Ovation Travel, KDS and Egencia over the years. Assimilating new people, culture, structures and systems should be Amex BAU. However, this is by far their biggest acquisition, and the integration of Rosenbluth and HRG – the most similar purchases – weren’t without client issues.
The purpose of this article is to help you prepare in case any action is required.
If you are a CWT client, you should soon be asked into a meeting with Amex GBT to talk about your change in TMC. If no such invitation occurs before Christmas, you should initiate it yourself.
You don’t want the terms of your TMC arrangement, especially the pricing, to be changed without your control. You don’t want things to drift or maybe flip during the summer months. In this situation, you have the option to change your TMC completely and you should use your power of choice just as you would in a tender. Don’t just accept new terms as presented without assessment.
If you are an Amex GBT client, you will probably not receive any invitation to meet to discuss this. After all, if nothing changes in your contract and relationship, there is no ostensible need. However, because a large takeover might have internal ripple effects on staffing structure, service delivery and management attention, I would ask to meet them to shore up your terms and KPIs, and perhaps add a protective clause or two to the contract. It’s worth the small effort.
To help you in this undertaking, either as a CWT or an Amex GBT client, the following is a checklist to use in the discussions.
CTM
And now to the second situation. If you are a client of CTM, you have probably seen that they are under a self-initiated trading suspension on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) due to an irregularity in their 2024/25 accounts. What they have been able to say so far has been pretty innocuous.
A “European-based” accounting correction will push some revenue attributed to the latest financial year into earlier periods. This is not so dramatic, but the length of the suspension – which was extended indefinitely from September – is unusual for an accounting fix. So, too, is the fact that three of the “Big Four” accounting firms have been involved.
There is a lot that could be said about the possible causes and consequences, but it is speculative at this point and so should remain out of print. CTM must, by law, present the explanation to the ASX first.
Hopefully the problem will be resolved without any lasting impact on operations or funding. I wish them well, but it’s a good idea to be prepared in case it isn’t. The following emergency checklist is good to have in your pocket.
About the author
Tony O’Connor has run Butler Caroye, the independent corporate travel procurement consultancy, since 1997. He specialises in TMC, travel IT and accommodation tenders, analysis, benchmarking, auditing, strategy and advice.
