So much has happened since my last post and after a long pause, I figured it was time to get back on the proverbial horse. So much to cover, so I will start with a few bullets:
1 – The industry is in a good place, but we need to do
better. Travel is back on an upward
swing and our partners are finally able to take a much needed breath. They survived the challenges of a pandemic,
have learned much, have changed much and are on the right path. Service and experience need to be their focus
as we move forward. Corporate travelers
want their service back and expectations will be high. No more excuses, let’s work together to move these
things forward.
2- Inventory is a struggle.
Remember the good old days when an airline would play with their inventory
to get better RASM? Remember when a
hotel would close out rooms because they could get more money from someone else? Now we have airports and municipalities stepping
in to govern inventory? We still have government
entities saying who can travel and enter countries. To my buyer friends, if you are NOT looking at
inventory and paying attention, it’s time to start doing that and I am happy to
help people understand how to do that!
3 – Distribution is a mess.
I would rarely quote another person on my blog, but I am going to quote
the Man, the Myth, the Legend, Jim Davidson of Farelogix. (Please don’t tell him I called him a Legend,
it will go to his head!) 15 Years ago,
he sat on stage at a GBTA conference and gave, what I lovingly call, the “Old
and Crabby Speech.” He talked about the
challenges of distribution and said, “We are still going to be having this
conversation in 15 years” to which people laughed, but sadly, he was right. (Again, don’t tell I said he was right!) This is a mess and absolutely NO one on the
supply side is fixing it. TMC’s are
slow, GDS’ are reluctant and OBT’s are making progress but not fast enough. If given the chance, I will gladly give the “Old
and Crabby Speech” next year at GBTA if needed.
4 – Speaking of GBTA….it is in good hands. Suzanne is an amazing person who is smart,
caring and gets it. She knows what the
industry needs and is working hard to make it happen for the buyers and
suppliers.
Now that I am back, I intend to cover all of these and so
much more in the weeks ahead. I will
share some personal stories as well as my thoughts and ideas. Not doing this because I think anyone cares
to hear from me, I am doing this because I care. I care about the industry, I care about my
program, I care about “my people” and I care about relationships. Plus, I think its time we all focus on the future
and keep going!
