FCm's Executive General Manager, Anthony Grigson.

With the pressure on most of us to curb costs at this time, it’s easy to fall victim to the aesthetic appeal of last-minute, low-cost bookings. These are the bookings that are available online and offer “amazing” rates on flights, hotel accommodation and car hire.

Before you dive into any of these brightly enamelled websites, please consider the more realistic and longer-term cost implications of these bookings. Often they are fully prepaid and non-refundable purchases that give you no flexibility to change your plans, and no refund if a curve ball is thrown at your itinerary. Your only options are to use it, or lose it.

This may be tenable for corporates with plans that never change. But in the real world where change is a constant, these bookings can cost companies thousands of dollars in lost fares and room nights. And the value that can never be realised, is the value delivered by strategic travel management.

A travel management consultancy drives savings at all levels. Best fares of the day, consolidation of your travel as a whole, and traveller tracking in an emergency, are all examples of the true value online bookings just can't deliver.

We make every booking under a policy that achieves long-term savings, and target every opportunity to streamline your travel activity, processes and suppliers, for enhanced efficiency and cost control.

It comes down to working with people who know your travel patterns, who know the industry, and who know your business. Because rest assured, we will be the ones who take the best care of you and your travel budget.

Regards,
Anthony