LIVE INTERACTION IS OUR BUSINESS

Be Prepared: ABC’s Travelers Emergency Service System (TESS) HAS YOUR BACK

Web conferencing, video conferencing and email marketing are cost-effective technologies that help us meet business goals. These technologies are part of our day-today business arsenal and have their place assisting sales, product management and operations, but will never replace important “in person meetings.” The very essence of business is live interaction between people and building relationships, especially in travel.

Professionals getting out and meeting people in person will always be essential when developing long-term partnerships borne of trust and likeability—intangible variables that are key to business success. This is poignantly highlighted in results from a study by the global research firm Oxford Economics, in concert with the US Travel Association: “for every dollar (USD) invested in business travel, companies realize $12.50 in incremental revenue and $3.80 in profits.” The same study also surveyed business travelers across all industries “who reported that 25% of their existing customers and 28% of their revenue could be lost to competitors if customers were not met in-person,”—powerful justification for the need for live meetings.

Business Travelers are Hitting the Road. A recent NY Times article reported that business travel is in a recovery mode, yet on a shoestring budget and that there isn’t a substitute for hitting the road, even technology. Corporate leaders continue to scrutinize the purpose of travel, but they ARE authorizing travel and that is GOOD NEWS. Business travelers ARE hitting the road.

When Hitting the Road, Be Prepared. Members of our industry—in all sectors—from travel agents to airlines to hoteliers and ground transportation leaders—can easily recall the European ash crisis of 2010. Beyond the immediacy of the situation at the time, what did it highlight? Obviously on a large scale, it put focus on the need for national and local governments as well as commercial airlines to have disaster recovery plans; to be prepared for such disasters should they strike again (and we know they will). Closer to home, for travel agents and corporations, it shed light on the importance of having a quality emergency service to support travelers who are stranded, and on the front lines of such situations—our customers have TESS - ABC’s Travelers Emergency Service System (TESS).

TESS Had Your Back. All hands were on deck and called into action throughout the Icelandic ash crisis in April. For nine days TESS handled more than six times our normal call volume. Our overarching goal was to make sure every single stranded client was safe and offered options to meet his/her needs, be it a convenient hotel or ground transportation to an operational airport. While it certainly was a trying and exhausting experience for everyone, I am proud of our highly skilled team of TESS agents, all who stepped up to the plate, working tirelessly and with endless enthusiasm to meet our customers’ needs under very challenging conditions.

Natural and man-made disasters WILL occur in the future, yet we can take steps to prepare as best we can. We ought to use technologies when they fit business objectives and travel when deemed appropriate and necessary for business success. And like our technology arsenals, ABC’s Travelers Emergency Service System (TESS) should be in your toolbox as well…to ensure your back is covered in an emergency!

To all of our customers, we thank you for your business. If you are not presently a TESS customer, I encourage you to take a look at the Travelers Emergency Service System (TESS), where “we have your back.”

Best Regards for a warm and happy summer,

Beverlee S. Patterson
President & COO