GBTA Sports Conference Focuses on Risk Management and Service
What a great event! The GBTA conference in Indianapolis was the first ever GBTA event based solely on sports teams and athletic organizations and it was quite impressive. For a first time event, the turnout was outstanding and the attendees were an energetic group who were very excited to get the sessions started. What I thought was interesting….and refreshing, was that the topic of pure service fees wasn’t a topic at all; these organizations are more than happy to pay agency/provider fees as long as their athletes and coaching staff are well accommodated and, above all, safe. Of course, ancillary fees were a big topic and it was amazing to me how many organizations utilize express shipping/cargo and ground transportation to move large amounts of equipment, dodging ancillary airline fees altogether. Most everyone I spoke to was eager to get to the GBTA Annual Conference in Denver to see how the whole ancillary fee issue will shake out.
In my opinion, the most significant topic was safety and this is especially important to sports teams. High profile players and coaches attract individuals who pose several types of threats and it was fascinating to see how these teams position themselves for any eventuality. For a guy who’s been selling corporate based travel management for over 25 years, it was an eye opening session and I think corporate America could learn a good lesson from these teams when procuring travel management; if the service, safety and cost avoidance strategies are in place, transaction fees mean nothing. These teams know that a managed program works to their advantage and they’re happy to pay a fair price, so that they can concentrate on the business at hand; winning games, championships and Gold Medals. Must be nice!
