NTM Onsite Forum Participants Go to Oz
Customers find heart, brains and courage from fellow travel wizards

Yes that's Dorothy, alias Sarah Dressel of the Marriott Southwest, Minnetonka. Left is Cristi Elder, regional sales manager of Hertz. Right is Fiona LaPoint, senior sales manager of Marriott. Hertz and Marriott were forum sponsors

On Thursday April 26, 2001, Northwestern Travel Management hosted an information exchange on the benefits and challenges of onsite travel offices. "NTM" participants met "Auntie Em" for the half-day day workshop with a Wizard of Oz theme. Northwestern Travel Management corporate account services analyst Jeff Brand, with a gift for Hollywood flair, orchestrated the day's activities.

Over 20 travel managers from corporations with on-premises travel offices exchanged insights on a number of topics:

• Benefits and Challenges
• Impact of corporate culture
• How onsites are justified with management
• Handling leisure travel requests
• Agents policing policy enforcement
• Corporate phones interacting with agency phones
• Staffing
• Agent back-up plans
• Group travel
• Recruiting and retaining agents
• Telecommuting

  "Jeff Brand, NTM explains exactly how the day's agenda will work. Jeff was the Wizard of Oz theme coordinator."

• Communications
• Traveler and arranger surveys
• Technology links: the Internet, office Intranet, emails, voice mails
• Online booking

Forum participants, in keeping with the Oz theme used their brains, listened to their hearts, and roared with courage. Where did they get all that brainpower, heart and courage? From Dorothy? From the Wizard? Well, actually, from each other. Guests told NTM that it is precisely that opportunity for sharing with each other they value. Travel Managers heard how peers react to the challenges facing them, often similar to what's going on in other corporations.