Self-Auditing.
It sounds like a cross between self-evaluations and a run-in with the IRS. And maybe it is kind of like that. No matter how sure you are about your data when you enter into the process, you can’t help but think, “Okay. Is there anything I missed?”
That’s why it’s important to self-audit. It keeps you in touch with reality…even the realities you may have missed.
In order to effectively self-audit, you’ve got to have data. Accurate data. And lots of it. (Which is why tools like WorldReports™ come in handy.)
You’ve also got to look at relevant data. Because although the most expensive item on your YTD Air/Rail report may be the one crazy LAX-JFK-DXB-PVG itin, it’ll skew your data. So hone in on those consistently-flown routes, the road-warrior commute that your travelers book in their sleep. Identify your key cities and make sure your savings is consistent. Aggregate the data you’ll need when you sit down at the table with your 2017 suppliers to negotiate rates and discounts. And, of course, call in the experts. Account Managers can pinpoint where you’re losing money (repeat offenders booking 1st class on the monthly BOS-LGA commuter?) or saving it (waivors and unused ticket redemptions and things you wouldn’t know existed if you booked through an OTA.)
At World Travel, Inc., of course, we help line up these items for you in your Quarterly Review (for no extra charge).
Calling In the Experts.
On our end? We’re keeping it real at World Travel, Inc., too. But we don't just conduct self-audits. We call in the experts.
Every year, we contract Topaz International, an independent third-party travel auditing company, to assess our money-saving performance. Topaz jumps in like a famous sportscaster at the travel-booking Olympics, as we go head-to-head with the other ways you can book travel. You know, Online Travel Agencies (think: Orbitz and Expedia) and airline-direct. The exact same flights are compared, both domestic and international, so that we get a very clear picture of how we measure up to the competition. We’re seeking to answer the question: even before waivers and favors, Consulting Services, unused ticket tracking, same-day+24-hour cancellations, and all the other stuff we give our clients for no extra charge, are we saving our clients money?
Spoiler alert: Our agents and our tool integrations are really good at what they do.
Let’s be honest. Do OTAs sometimes find a better price than we do? Yes. About 1.9% of the domestic itins we priced were cheaper when booked by the OTA. Do airlines offer cheaper prices than we source on the GDS? Yes, that happens too. A whopping 2.6% of the time for both domestic and international bookings. Please note, this doesn’t include the 127 itineraries that World Travel, Inc. booked that the airlines were unable to book, or the 1104 itins we booked that the OTAs were unable to book.
Allow us to toot our own horn a bit. Those numbers? Pretty darn good.
On average, we priced itins $70 cheaper than the airlines were able to, and $78 cheaper than Expedia and Orbitz. That adds up to a lot of savings for our clients, even before you get into the nitty gritty of negotiated programs, exchanges, refunds, fare auditing, waivers and favors….
This, to us, is the best news we could have been given by an independent third-party audit. We’re consistently delivering the best pricing to our clients. We’re consistently putting your money where our mouth is. We’re consistently achieving, and you get to benefit.
Excuse us while we pat ourselves on the back just a little bit more.
