Spotlight: Kelly Spencer on travel content & distribution trends
Travel content is an important part of any travel programme. There’s more tactics than ever to lure travellers to book direct, which means travel programmes must work harder to deliver inventory that’s not just wide ranging, but relevant too.
At FCM Travel, we have a global team that build strong and unique partnerships with travel suppliers, stay on top of distribution trends and support negotiations. They are known as our Corporate Supply team, headed up by Kelly Spencer.
Learn more about their role in business travel programmes, and the corporate supply management trends driving their focus.
Powering travel inventory and capability
Kelly and her team have decades of travel experience spanning not just business travel, but leisure too. That experience is key when talking to various suppliers. This is the team that powers the travel inventory available for customers to buy and use. It includes content procured by the team, publicly available options, and content that clients have negotiated themselves.
Kelly explains: “Our mission is to generate savings to our customers through extensive content offerings and content capabilities, maximising choice, value, and control. It’s balanced with increasing profitability to FCM and Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) other corporate brands.”
Tackling direct booking challenges
The travel industry is upping its tactics to encourage direct bookings, which threaten managed travel programmes. Kelly and the team are taking this challenge head on by not only contracting more content, but staying focused on client needs and end-to-end travel solutions that air and hotel-only offerings cannot provide.
An example - in the hotel space, alongside large multi-national hotel programmes, the team have launched a hotel programme solely focused on those with smaller, less managed travel programmes. Additionally, they are always adding more properties to the Global Hotel Programme and Breakfast Plus programme.
As hotels focus increasingly on company-wide loyalty programmes targeted at businesses, the team are working with hotel suppliers to leverage more savings through exclusive rates and campaigns.
“Trends in both the hotel and air sectors are significantly benefiting customers by enhancing choice and cost-efficiency. Expanded content offerings allow access to better hotel rates and increased availability of flights and fares, driving savings on travel budgets,” says Kelly. “In the air travel sector, our ability to source competitive rates, NDC fares and flexible booking options allows for optimised budgeting and planning.”
Expanding choice and ease of access
Another big trend is the sheer scale of travel options out there. And it never seems to stop.
Rail and air suppliers continue to expand their ancillary offerings and charge separately for these items. In the hotel industry, the growing number of lifestyle brands is changing the types of properties that travellers expect; perhaps with lively communal spaces, shared work zones and varied food and drink options.
There are also on-going developments with new distribution capability (NDC). A transition to offers and orders will eliminate filed fares and Passenger name record (PNRs).
And let’s not forget sustainability, where companies want more sustainable options to provide to travellers, and better visibility on what’s being booked.
While having all these options available is essential, it causes information overload on travel bookers and travellers. So together with other teams at FCM, Kelly and her team are helping clients pick and choose the content they want to display.
They’re also collaborating to make sure our modern retailing solutions are ready for future developments. "Together, these improvements ensure that travel programmes are not only efficient, but also provide better experiences, aligned with evolving market expectations,” Kelly says.
Delivering benefits to travel programmes
As well as providing rich and relevant travel content, Kelly and her team ensure this inventory is enhanced for the corporate environment. This means:
“Our partners frequently single out FCM and our parent company for our innovative approach and flexibility, which drives deeper long-term partnerships,” said Kelly. “With more than 30 years’ history, global reach, and decades of team experience, we pride ourselves of fostering deep, authentic, and enduring partnerships with our suppliers.”
A team focused on experiences, choice and control
Kelly and the team’s efforts are not only optimising travel programmes, but use corporate supply management to drive a better experience, greater choice and enhanced control. Through innovative strategies and strong supplier partnerships, they continue to drive efficiency, value and savings where they matter.
Learn more about FCM’s teams with these insights
