Barry Mayo

Barry Mayo has been in the travel industry for 50 years during that time he has experienced significant changes. He says through his role of Chairman of House of Travel Australia, which owns TravelManagers Australia, he is watching with keen interest and enthusiasm the development of the personal travel manager market.

 “I do believe personal travel managers have a significant role to play in the travel industry and in a short space of time in Australia they are definitely making their presence felt. We are now seeing their numbers and options of companies for personal travel managers to align to grow; they are regularly winning awards, being quoted as industry experts and most significantly gaining market share.”

Mayo says given there is now a wide choice of specialist competitors in the personal travel manager category individuals need to be careful and do their homework before making a commitment to one company.

“Let’s face it all of them claim to offer the best solutions which makes it very confusing for what may be one of the most important decisions of an individual’s working life. You want to be confident as to whose claims are accurate and if you don’t meet with each company and ask them the right questions, how can you compare them with confidence?”

Mayo says all companies should be prepared to substantiate their claims as this is an essential element in an individual establishing what is best from their personal perspective.

“There is an old saying that if it’s too good to be true then it’s most likely too good to be true! So ask the questions and keep asking until you are satisfied with the answers. For example you need exact details on how you will be remunerated, also will you get access to all their back office systems and support outside of traditional working hours? Asking these questions and having a comprehensive understanding of the information you need to know up front is vital.”

Many people enter the personal travel manager market as it provides greater flexibility around working hours. Mayo says if this is a driver for you then back office systems and support outside of traditional working hours are vital and what they say and what you will actually get needs to be verified.

“I cannot emphasize enough the importance in having clarity around the differences in what appear to be a host of identical claims before you make a decision as opposed to discovering these after the event.”

Mayo says the temptation is to rush a decision without clearly understanding the subtle differences different models offer. He’s a strong advocate of spending extra time and doing the research.

“You need to find the business model that is going to work best for you and your aspirations for your life as a personal travel manager. Start by writing a prioritised list of why you want to be a personal travel manager.  Then use these questions below as a basis for the information, I believe you need, from each of the companies you wish to evaluate.”

Questions potential personal travel managers should be asking:

• Outline all of the technology your company uses from accounts and system interfaces through to customer relationship management and help desk support.
• Will I have 24/7 access to work on full client files at any time I choose?
• What human resource support is provided in the following areas and most importantly where is that support based:
• Operations for Leisure
• Operations for Corporate
• Training/Learning and Development
• Marketing
• Business development
• Online support
• Mid office accounting
• IT
• Please explain your company’s ticketing options for example:
• Is an option for self-ticketing available?
• Is there central ticketing?
• What happens if you need ticketing assistance after-hours for an urgent request that can’t wait?
• Please outline your remuneration offering.
• What conditions, if any, relate to remuneration payments?
• I am interested to learn more about your famil programme:
• How many famil trips are possible each year?
• How do you decide who attends?
• How many exclusive famil trips is your company offered? Please give examples.
• Meeting your colleagues and sharing information is an incredible learning experience, what does your company do in this area, for example:
• Does your company have a national conference?
• What is the format for this occasion?
• Do you conduct regional meetings?
• How often are these?
• What is the format for these occasions?
• Do you conduct other forms of meetings?
• How regular are these?
• What is the format for these occasions?
• What forums are available to share product knowledge, travel experiences and exchanging of ideas?
• What specific product training do you offer?
• What is the format for product training and how frequently does this occur?
• What learning and development opportunities do you offer?
• Apart from induction training support, how extensive is your ongoing learning and development program and what details can you provide on the format and frequency of the training?
• What marketing materials are available to support me as a personal travel manager if I was to join your company?
• What services are available to manage my client files while I am on leave or on a familiarization trip?