Corporate Travel Agencies Restructure to Gain Edge for Recovery
Photo Credit: The focus over the past several months has been how best to instil confidence in travelers, but company travel managers also need reassurance. Unsplash / Briana Tozour
Skift Take
Agencies are getting back on their feet, but can they prove to corporate customers they’ve still got what it takes to reboot their travel programs?
Image counts for everything in the current climate, as travel agencies look to reassure their customers they can handle their bookings as economies start to recover.
And company travel managers will be seeking guarantees from them that they can cope with a surge in activity as travel restrictions lift, particularly as governments wind down their financial support packages and labor shortages threaten a wider industry recovery.
The “time of truth” is approaching, according to one global travel buyer working in the retail sector. "It’s especially difficult to read how privately owned companies are doing. It’s up to them to provide the transparency," he said, preferring to withhold his name.
Several large agencies now appear to be ramping up their messaging, and in some cases restructuring and refinancing.
Credit Concerns?
CWT is reportedly in restructuring talks, and looking to credit firms including Caspian Capital and Oaktree Capital Management for new financing.
