Top Reasons Travel Managers Hesitate on Completing an Airfare Audit

1.You don’t want to tarnish your relationship with your travel agency: Auditing your agency not only helps you review their performance, but helps them improve. In depth communication about the audit should be done post audit. Review the reports with your agency and help them ensure they are booking the lowest fares.

2.It’s not in your budget: We recommend having money put aside in your budget for an annual audit. Your travel agency’s performance should be reviewed at least once a year for a minimum of three months.

3. You have a lot of airline contracts and your policy is in depth: We take all of your contracts and your travel policy into account throughout the audit.

4.Your travel agency tells you it significantly increases the time it takes them to book a PNR because of the additional information asked for by the auditing company: This is simply not true. At Topaz we ask for very limited additional information with the PNR. We have even done a non-bias study which resulted in showing on average it only takes an additional 25 seconds per record when being audited by Topaz.

5.You don’t think the audit will result in enough savings to outweigh the cost: Auditing your agency or online tool is about savings, but just as much about peace of mind. As a responsible Travel Manager you should be reviewing the work of your agency annually whether they are performing well or not.






Photo Courtesy of mylot.com

What we can learn from the 2011 Red Sox

Now that some time has passed, I can finally talk about my beloved Red Sox and their down fall. After realizing it was bound to happen, it’s even more disappointing. Something happened to the team this year; the organization made me sad and disappointed. In the spirit of learning from my own mistakes and others here’s what I think we can learn from the 2011 Red Sox:

-Money doesn’t buy talent…or World Series: Yeah, I know, “What about the Yankees?” but that’s exactly it…it didn’t always work for them either. It’s pretty crazy to think two Red Sox players make more than the entire Tampa Bay Rays roster combined and they’re the ones in the play offs. The Red Sox have the 3rd highest pay roll in baseball: 161 million dollars, and what did that get us? Money may buy the potential of talent, but actual “Its go time,” clutch talent….clearly not this time. How about the Orioles? They’d get nothing out of beating the Sox and played their hearts out in front of an almost empty stadium and beat us. Pretty sad when a team who doesn’t even have a chance of making the play offs has more passion to win then we do.

-Passion is obvious in person, on TV, and shows in everything you do: The amount of passion and energy you have for something is obvious to those around you. They almost always know when you don’t care at all or as much as normal. I saw it all season and towards the end…the lack of energy and passion of this year’s team. Where’d the team I know, go?

-Sometimes idiots and cowboys do it better: I think this one is self explanatory.

-It starts from the top: I’m not blaming this season on just one party. I think it was Epstein’s, Francona’s and the player’s faults. However, influence starts from the top. Discipline begins here. I mean, according to Boston Herald’s John Tomase, the Red Sox pitchers could drink beers on their off days in the Club House. EXCUSE ME??? You’re getting paid HOW much to drink AND lose? According to ESPN’s Jeremy Lundblad, in the final month of the season starters had a combined 7.08 ERA, the worst month for Sox starters in team history. Reliever Alfredo Aceves finished second on the team in innings pitched in Sept (25 IP, 1.80 ERA). This is just pathetic. Meanwhile, there chugging an ice cold beer while they watch their teammates give up hit after hit and walk after walk.

-Preparation is key: It’s no secret the Red Sox were out of shape. Part of the reason they couldn’t finish games. So tell me you tried your best but the other team had a great night and hit all your strikes. Tell me you tried your best but you bobbled that ground ball. You can’t tell me why you couldn’t lift a weight or run some sprints. That’s just pure laziness.

Never take advantage of those who admire your organization: The Red Sox have obviously lost Francona and may lose Epstein. Francona has made it obvious he tried to have many team meetings about the problems going on during the season and none of them produced results. He almost alluded to a lack of respect and therefore a lack of influence. He can take losing, but a lack of respect and guys that don’t care...I’m sure that pushed him over the edge. And how about Red Sox nation? If anyone can take losses, we can. We’ve taken them year after year and stuck by. However, we stick around because of the passion, the effort, the energy. Suck that out of the organization and it will change Red Sox nation forever.

As a lifelong Red Sox fan I truly hope this team pulls itself together and realizes what has happened this season and how damaging it could be if it keeps happening. One Red Sox I’d like to give a shout out: Dustin Pedroia. Why can’t they all just be more like him? When’s the last time anyone but Pedroia slid head first into first base? We’re lucky if anyone else even runs out their “hits!”

According to USA today:

"We went into September nine games ahead and look where we are right now," Ortiz said. "It can't get no worse than that. The way we were playing this month -- that's not a playoff team. Not without changes. Not how we played."

Afterward in the Red Sox locker room, designated hitter David Ortiz said "I can guarantee you that everyone in this room will learn from this."
I hope so Ortiz, I really hope so.


Is it me or were the Bruins meant to win the Stanley Cup this year? Without Red Sox play off baseball tonight I am more than amped to watch the opening game for the Bruins. In fact, if I was Theo Epstein I’d spend some money in the right place: Rent out a movie theater, put the Bruins game on and have your team watch what passion really is. Maybe they’ll remember. Maybe.

The Psych of Social

I recently attended a seminar in Boston at the Future M conference titled, “The Psych of Social.” Basically, this session explored the psychology behind social media. This session was interesting to me because it combined a physiological study with a panel of “social media experts.” I don’t put those quotations there to sound sarcastic. The truth is the panel was a group of extremely knowledgeable people who have studied social media for a long time. However, one thing I’ve learned about social media over time is that it is constantly changing. This constant flux makes anyone’s ‘knowledge’ seem timely to the moment they share their advice. Even members of the panel had different opinions about social media. In fact, I think everyone has their own ‘opinion’ about social media and these ‘opinions’ have been deemed, ‘knowledge.’ Who is kidding who, if someone asked me if I was a social media expert, I’d say, “sure.”
I mean, I studied it a few summers ago, wrote an e-book about it, and am in charge of social media strategy at my company… so I guess I’m an ‘expert’ too?

Anyways, I think that’s why I find the psychological aspect of social media so interesting. This seminar got down to the nitty gritty about why people make the decisions they do and act the way they do via social media. For example: That person that ‘friends’ you on Facebook that you haven’t spoken to in 10 years…what makes you ‘accept’ them and someone else ‘deny’ them? Do you get a certain ‘self worth’ out of your friend count increasing? Do you think you have something to gain from connecting with this person? Do you feel it is ‘pointless’ to accept them? Do you feel too good for them? Does someone ‘friending’ you that you wouldn’t speak to in real life if you saw them somewhere seem creepy or pointless to you? Why does someone update their status a million times, while someone else never does? How is the shyest person you ever knew up-dating their status 50 times a day? Would people say what they say behind a computer in front of someone’s face?

One of the members on the panel even described herself as, “Having a love affair with Twitter.” She said nothing could ever break her away from Twitter but she was scared because she noticed, “Google + may have a chance and be the first thing that could end her love affair with Twitter.” Which brings up another question: What makes someone so engulfed in social media they have a “love affair with it?”

All I know is technology of the future, more specifically the capability of the iphone 5, was discussed and what’s to come is pretty crazy! I can’t even decide how I feel about it. I think I feel like it’s a mix of creepy and awesome. Does that even make sense? The technology is clearly “stalkerish” but so advanced you almost don’t care because A-you want to be a part of something so innovative and B-you wonder if the word ‘stalker’ will really have any significance anymore because everyone will be stalking everyone.

All I have to say is I swore I’d never use Facebooks ‘locations’ app. That lasted about a month and once I saw other ‘normal’ people doing it…I was in! Obviously, I use it all the time now. The psych of social…so much to be discovered.

GBTA 2011-Denver, CO

Topaz attended the annual GBTA conference in Denver, CO August 21st-24th. We set up a booth where current and potential clients could visit us to learn more about what we do and how we can help them. My favorite part about GBTA is getting to meet some of the clients I’ve been e-mailing with for months. It’s so nice to put a name to a face and connect in person. It really reminds me of the value of personal communication face to face and reminds me why I love visiting clients for client reviews.

One of the challenges we face at GBTA is that we are a very small fish in a very big pond. Our booth is much smaller than many of the other participants, mostly very large companies in the travel industry. This year we tried to fly blue balloons with our logo high above our booth to help people find us, but I think even those may have gotten lost in the mix.

Some of you know our CEO Brad Seitz; he is known for being outgoing and always being himself. He walked around the convention floor for much of the time we exhibited in a Loud Mouth Golf Sport coat. (See photos) This is probably the thing that attracted the most attention to our booth. Even the people who thought it was crazy still seemed to like it.

As we looked back and reflected on GBTA this past week we are thinking of some new ideas for next year. The convention is in Boston. Brad lives in Maine and I live in NH, so it’s kind of our “home turf.” We may not even do a booth next year. We love walking around and meeting people and thinking, “outside the box.” We hate to confine ourselves to a tiny space where you have to find us. We may just walk around as suppliers next year or maybe host a unique event. We’d love to hear from all of you and hear your opinions on where you’d like to see us or what you’d like to see us do.

I’d like to thank all of the clients who visited our booth. It was a great meeting with you and learning more about what you do and letting you know where Topaz fits in. I’d also like to thank our friends (Especially those at T&T) for all of your hospitality. Thank you everyone for your time and energy.

So, here’s to new opportunities, new beginnings and Bean town; where we hope you can find a place to Pawhk your renta Cawh and we show you a wicked good time.

PS: This is ahr yeahr, Red Sawx aull the wahy.

Cheers,

MySUPERMe

For those of you reading this 20 years old or older you remember the days of flashlight tag, red light/green light, pickup basketball games, wiffle ball, freeze tag, chalk, hula hooping, skate boarding, sledding, running through sprinklers, hide and seek, and capture the flag. You remember coming home from school and changing out of your “school clothes” as fast as possible so you could put on the clothes you didn’t mind getting “grass stained.” On Friday night all the neighborhood kids gathered to play one of the above mentioned games. We all begged our parents to stay out later and later. When it was time to come home our parents yelled our names or rang a cowbell. We walked back through the woods to where we all lived only to wake up to next morning to go swimming in someone’s pool.

So what’s happened? Ask someone 10 years old about the games above or what they do for fun nowadays and you’ll hear a much different synopsis. It’s 3pm and you’ve just gotten home from school. Your fingers hurt from texting all day, but you run right to the computer to sign onto Facebook. After an hour of browsing people’s statuses you decide to head to your room to play Xbox 360. That lasts a few hours before you decide you’ve had enough and you pick up your cell phone to chat with your friend who tells you she just tweeted something hysterical that you have to see. You log into Twitter and begin reading the latest tweet from Charlie Sheen. You look up, it’s dark out, and you head to bed; but not without bringing you computer and cell phone with you into bed; after all, you haven’t played Words With Friends yet today.

As many of you know, I am actually a big proponent of social media and technology, especially for business. I’m part of all of the social media sites I just mentioned. However, what most of you may not know is that I also see the negative affect it is having on young children all over the world. For all the good it brings, we can’t forget the bad. Children are no longer being active and staying healthy, they’re barely seeing sunlight! The affect this can have on them is disastrous.

Take for example, an article I read this week; “Playing Video Games Without a Break Can Kill You.” Chris Staniforth died this may after staying up all night playing Xbox 360.

"A coroner has discovered that Chris — who had studied to become a game designer — suffered from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). That is, a blood clot formed in his left calf and then moved to his lungs, which caused a pulmonary embolism. He was on his way to an IT job interview when he collapsed and died.
DVT is the same condition they warn you about when you're going to be stuck on a long-haul flight.
The man's father — David Staniforth — told BBC News that his son was an avid "Halo" fan who would often spend up to 12 hours straight playing games on Xbox Live.
"Sitting still is literally the danger zone," David Staniforth said. "Chris loved to play and would stay up all night. Millions of people worldwide are playing these games for hours, and there is a risk."

While this may seem like a far fetch the risk is there!! This is what not moving can do to our bodies!!

So what can we do about it? How can we encourage children to get away from technology and get active?

One thing we can do is what my friend and entrepreneur Caitlin Fenn has put her energy into! “Fenn” has decided enough is enough when it comes to children not being active. She is the founder and president of the startup company “My SUPER Me.” My SUPER Me is the next generation movement based video game that can be played anywhere. My SUPER Me is the first platform built for kids 6-10 years old which encourages, verifies, and rewards real world play! Caitlin has found a way to reach out to children in the technologically savvy environment they’re used to, while encouraging them to leave that environment, try something fun and active and get rewarded for it!

My SUPER Me is just getting underway so if you have kids or know kids who would benefit from trying it (which is like…umm…every kid) ask them to visit the website and give their parents e-mail address to sign up!

You can also visit the MySuperMe Facebook page and read all of the favorite childhood games and outdoor activities fans are posting. You may even be able to give your own kids some ideas of what they could do tonight!

Caitlin is making a difference and is contributing to making our next generation of children become active again. There’s nothing more important than our health. What can you do to help?

St. Jude's/ Fitness for a Cure Part 2....

A little over 6 months ago I wrote a post about the upcoming St. Jude's fundraiser I was attending in Massachusetts. The fundraiser turned out to be just as amazing as I expected it to be. That night the Fitness for a Cure Gala raised $300,000 and became the biggest fundraiser in New England. It’s no secret as to why when you consider Sherri Sarrouf and the people who are part of Fitness for a Cure. The thing that is really special about the group is that they don’t just organize a fundraiser a few months out of the year, they are involved with St. Jude’s year round and are always working to help make each child’s life a little better. One of the events Fitness for a Cure participates in is traveling from New England to St. Jude’s in Memphis, TN and performing dance routines for the patients and families. While they are there they interact with many of the families and learn about many of the children’s’ battles with their illnesses and their stories. One of the best parts about this group is that they take these stories home with them and not only share them with others (such as myself) but make an effort to stay in contact with many of the children they meet. Yesterday I received an e-mail about one of the patients they met while at St. Jude’s a few weeks ago and the story about their interaction. I’d like to share this story with you. While the Fitness for a Cure group was at St. Jude’s they met a 10 year old boy named Evan who is currently fighting stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma. One day while they were there, the members of the Fitness for a Cure dance team were able to show off some of their dance moves to Evan and his mom. Later on in the day his mom confessed it was the first time she’d seen Evan laugh and smile in weeks. They were able to attend the Fitness for a Cure performance the next day and spent the whole day with the team. As Sherri said, “It was one of those times where the family just wanted to stay with our team.” Eventually the Fitness for a Cure team had to leave Memphis but was committed to staying in touch with Evan. When they got back they heard he wasn’t doing well so they sent him a video. Evan responded and sent this video back. (If that doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will.) Last night the Fitness for a Cure team sent Evan a video back, a bad dancing competition for him to judge.(You know he’ll have fun with that!) Sherri and her team are the perfect example of what I was trying to convey in my previous post; what is truly means to build relationships with people. That is why Fitness for a Cure is so special. The relationships they build with children at St. Jude’s and the lives they touch are invaluable. I think that as business professionals, but more importantly as people we can only hope to build relationships as simple and special as the ones Fitness for a Cure does. If you want to follow Evan on his journey please visit his Caring Bridge site and say a prayer for him. The Thomason family greatly appreciates all of the prayer and support they receive.

Creating Content That Builds; Not Sells

One of the things I’ve always tried to focus on when putting together marketing materials for Topaz is not wasting anyone’s time. We send one e-mail a week, always on the same day (Tuesday) to our database. My goal is always to make it something relevant, something that could be potentially useful to the receiver and something I believe in. Being in a sales and marketing role sometimes you’re perceived as someone who will spew any information and hope someone grabs a hold of it and you can create a sale out of it.

One of the best ways I’ve learned about how useless “sales pieces” can come off is by receiving many of them in my own e-mail in-box and telephone voice mail. Every day I receive at least one sales e-mail or call from a representative at a company asking me to buy something or tell me more about it. These are a few of the things I notice from these calls and e-mails and a few mistakes I try not to make when marketing to our clients.

•Don’t e-mail or call me if I’m not part of the cliental that would ever do business with you. You have to at least do a little research to have a target audience. Don’t call me and ask me to buy a pool float when I audit corporate travel. I never fully blind e-mail or call anyone. I only contact those who are in our database from doing business with us, those who have contacted us or those who have a large corporate travel volume and who I think will genuinely benefit from our services. I also never call anyone before I’ve researched what they do and their previous business history with us. If you are going to blind call me, know something about me that is relevent to the call. I’m telling you, this extra quick research can make all the difference.

•Please make the subject line and at least the first couple sentences of your e-mail or phone call interesting. “Dir sir/madam,” “To whom this may concern” “Are you looking for any of the following….” DELETE. Use my name, ask me a relevant question specific to me, have a top 10 list….just something that at least makes me read the first paragraph of what you have to say! I try to focus on engaging our clients from the moment they see the subject line of the e-mail. There are many people that delete e-mails without opening them, so at least give yourself a chance by making the subject line worth opening.

•Don’t always ask me or tell me something, GIVE me something. I love getting free content, white papers, research, survey answers…..anything that I can use and learn from is clutch. I don’t have free content to send in every e-mail, but I at least send something of high value to my clients for free every couple of weeks. The weeks in between I try to at least ask them important questions, and communicate items of interest to them that they may not have known before.

•Let me unsubscribe! Don’t make me e-mail you and ask you to stop e-mailing me. Don’t waste your time e-mailing people every week that just delete your e-mails. Have an unsubscribe button so those not interested can do so in a quick and easy manner!

•Always have a call to action and multiple ways to reach you! If someone is interested in what you have to say they want to know what to do next. I always try to direct our clients of what to do next if they like what they see. I also list every possible way to reach us including e-mail, phone number, website, and all of our social media sites. The easier you make it for people to reach you, the quicker they will.


•Believability: If I think you believe in something and are sincere about it, I’m much more likely to believe in it also! It’s the language you use, the way you write, the way you format your e-mail…it all affects believability. Focus on this, even if it takes a little extra time!

I always want my clients to know that I am sending them something because I believe they may be truly interested in it, I’ve retrieved their contact information from a reliable source and think they are a good target for what I am sending. I want to grab their attention from the moment they see it and hope to creatively ask them the right questions. I genuinely enjoy giving them free content they can use because that is how you build relationships. Not by selling, but by gaining trust from those in your target market that what you do is valuable, the service you provide is superior, and that you genuinely believe your product or service can help them. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. If they don’t want to read our content, I will not be offended if they unsubscribe. It saves us both time and money! I actually appreciate it. The one thing I would add to an unsubscribe button is a “reason box” which asks why the client unsubscribed. I’m all for learning from your own clients! Listening to the negative to create positive change! I want all of our clients to find contacting us extremely simple. I want them to know I will always pick up a phone, return a voicemail, respond to an e-mail, respond to a question on Facebook or our website…whatever it is; I always try to respond as promptly and as informatively as possible. I believe in what Topaz does. I believe what we do genuinely helps our clients and is something that no one else can do as well as us. I hope that comes across in every piece of “marketing material” I send out. In the end, most importantly, I want to build relationships with our clients, not just sell. I think building those relationships eventually creates sales, as opposed to trying to sell someone and then have a surface level relationship to complete the transaction. I look forward to meeting new people, working with them, gaining their trust, and allowing them to see what I see in Topaz.