On behalf of Gray Dawes Group I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to present our travel management solution to Lookers. On the back of recent discussions, I believe we can drive innovation to your travel programme delivering savings alongside a safe and user friendly traveller experience.
We site the below areas as key opportunities to deliver a best-in-class global travel and expense programme to Lookers:
Consolidated payment solution – one invoice per month, eradicating the need for your employees to personally pay for their own travel and saving time with no expense reclaims
Service delivered by experts – our team based locally in Manchester will develop a true partnership with you. Beth Williams has supported Amanda in the past and has 22 years of travel experience. Our team are available 24*7, 365.
Best-in-class technology – We will provide Lookers with a simple booking platform, custom build around your travel policy requirements. Our belief is that Atriis is the only technology platform that provides the breadth of content our customers require – this includes Expedia, Booking.com and all ancillary products. We will scour the entire marketplace to provide the very best pricing to you.
Gray Dawes are the largest independent TMC in the UK and being independently owned plays a huge role in the strategy of our business. The Inchcape family are integral to our success, they ensure that client centricity drives every operational decision we make. Our owner’s long-term vision and practices ensures that we are not having to employ opportunistic business practices in the hope of creating short term profits.
We would provide the right level of expertise at each stage of your on-boarding journey and beyond, driving hard line savings and service excellence to you. Our investment in systems and more importantly people will accelerate the already considerable pace of change in our business. Our teams are encouraged to be agile and put customer experience at the heart of what they do. Partnership and service delivery is everything.
With Covid-19 rapidly changing the global landscape, now is the time to find a trusted partner with over 100 years’ experience in the industry and of sound financial backing to drive your global travel and expense programme. We relish the opportunity to introduce Lookers to your proposed dedicated team and would be delighted to bring our proposal to life at a presentation stage.
There is no denying that booking travel online helps with cost, control and duty of care. So it should come as no surprise that online bookings are now the main way to book business travel. But not all online transactions are the same.
Many believe that by booking directly with the likes of Skyscanner, Expedia and on suppliers websites they are achieving the lowest cost. The truth is that business travellers and bookers may be missing the real value of booking through a Travel Management Company (TMC).
Do-it-yourself rather than using a professional service provider presents some challenges like home DIY. The allure of doing it yourself can appear attractive to the enthusiastic amateur, offering a lower cost option and the feeling of accomplishment. However, the amateur’s lack of knowledge or expertise might result in the exact opposite.
This helpful guide explains why using a TMC is the difference between doing it yourself and doing it right.
More Choices
An online TMC can deliver the content your company wants and needs. A bespoke Online Booking Tool from a TMC can include or exclude suppliers based on commercial partnerships or duty of care criteria. Content from recognised travel retailing sites such as Booking.com and Expedia alongside direct airline content provides confidence to the end user that they’re securing the best price.
Payment Consolidation
A consolidated payment solution can offer significant time savings for your finance team. Whether you opt for credit card payments, or an invoiced solution with up to 45 day credit terms it takes the hassle out of long outdated processes.
A Helping Hand
Things don’t always go to plan, we get that. Plans can change, you miss a flight or travel disruptions out of your control can occur meaning you need to rebook at a moments notice. Over the past quarter, 50% of bookings made with us have either changed or need a refund. As we unfold out of COVID-19, this will be a continuous theme. a TMC can help deal directly with suppliers to alleviate these issues.
Compliance
Compliance to your travel policy leads to cost savings. By providing a system to your bookers that only includes options within your policy, you ensure adherence at all times. This is nearly impossible if bookers are using different channels continuously and can create additional admin work.
Duty of Care
Knowing your travellers are safe at all times is crucial and can be difficult with self booking. TMC’s can make this a reality by combining robust human procedures with innovative technology. In times of crisis they can swiftly locate anyone affected and get them home quickly and safely.
Rates
While travellers experience and satisfaction is important you need to ensure that you maximise value from your travel spend. a TMC gets to know your travel programme through data which then allows them to leverage your total spend volume to get you better rates directly with suppliers.
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Data is the basis of better business travel. What better way to tackle that data than by having your own dedicated team to help you make sense of it all?
A TMC will provide you with an Account Manager who will become an extension of your own organisation and are there to enhance your travel programme.
Your dedicated Account Manager will deliver you a live management information platform using an online reporting system. They will share reports with you that can either be accessed online or via monthly PDF reports that are sent to each of the budget holders across the company.
This level of detail and visiblity is not something which can be easily replicated when booking travel on various channels by yourself.
Better Process
By using a TMC and one online booking tool you can book your business travel at your own convenience; from your smartphone on the go, or on your laptop in the office. It also cuts down on paperwork and process for your finance team too.
Time is Money
While you can find a flight or hotel room at a good price using a metasearch engine or online travel agency you may not be finding the best options and rates and can take the booker a lot more time. This time could be spent fulfilling their role within the business and the booking comes with no guarantee that it is within your travel policy creating the possiblity of a refund or change.
Policy Support
Your travel policy should be an ever evolving document, a TMC will guide, steer and manage for you. All while managing your travel programme to drive enhancements across value, safety, sustainability and service.
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?
OUR FEES
| AIRLINE | Online | Offline |
|---|---|---|
| UK DOMESTIC | £8.00 | £15.00 |
| EUROPEAN | £8.00 | £20.00 |
| WORLDWIDE | £8.00 | £35.00 |
| WEB AIR (low cost) | £8.00 | £15.00 |
| TRAIN & FERRY | Online | Offline |
|---|---|---|
| UK RAIL TICKET | £3.00 | £10.00 |
| EUROSTAR | £10.00 | £20.00 |
| INTERNATIONAL RAIL TICKET | £10.00 | £20.00 |
| FERRY – private vehicle | – | £15.00 |
| HOTEL | Online | Offline |
|---|---|---|
| HOTEL BOOKING | £3.00 | £9.00 |
| HOTEL BOOKING – bill back | £5.00 | £15.00 |
| HOTEL BOOKING – prepaid | £3.00 | £9.00 |
| Additional Services | |
|---|---|
| Parking | £5.00 |
| Transfer | £20.00 |
| Airport Meet & Greet UK | £50.00 |
| Passport & Visas | £10.00 Plus handling charge and any associated charges raised by the issuing body, agency or delivery costs |
| Next Day Delivery | £7.50 |
| Courier Delivery | At Cost |
| Air Ancillaries | £7.50 |
| Merchant Fee | 2% of the total value of each invoice charged to your company credit card by Gray Dawes. This charge will generally only apply to fees, negotiated air fares and non air transactions |
| Out of Hours | £25.00 In addition to any associated transaction fee |
| Account Management | Included |
| Hotel Rate Review | POA |
| Implementation (Online) | Included |
| Travel Booking Training | Included |
| Management Information | £50 per licence |
| Travel Policy Consultancy | Included |
| Travel Alerts | Included |
| Conference, Events & Group | POA |
| Expense Management | POA |
| Alternative Management Fee | POA |
| Refunds (once tickets have been issued) | |
|---|---|
| Air | £10.00 Charged in addition to supplier admin charge |
| Rail / Car Hire / Ferry | £10.00 Charged in addition to supplier admin charge |
| Change / Reissue | £5.00 Charged in addition to supplier admin charge |
Notes
Service fees are charged once transactions are completed and are non-refundable once a transaction is completed.
All fees quoted are exclusive of VAT, which will be added at the prevailing rate. Gray Dawes reserves the right to review fees on a regular basis.
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