May 2010
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CWT keeps you informed
CWT Traveler Trendbarometer: Safe travel more
Volcanic ash whips up a whirlwind of confusion more
G-20 Summit coming to Toronto more
CWT Listens gathers traveler feedback on booking experiences more
CWT Traveler Trendbarometer: Safe travel
Imagine: you are standing
on line at airport security and when it’s finally your turn you reach
for your laptop bag – and it’s not there. Stolen. Complete with
the presentation you’re supposed to give in four hours and all the confidential
company data stored therein. A nightmare – one that 78.2 percent of CWT
Traveler readers have fortunately never had to face, as shown by the results
of our last CWT Traveler Trendbarometer. We wanted to know if you have ever
been the victim of a theft during a business trip. 21.8 percent of respondents
reported that they had once had this harrowing experience.The most important security recommendation, especially as regards laptops: only take the most important data with you, make regular backups, and make sure your luggage is safe on the plane as well, for example by boarding as early as possible so you can stow your things in an overhead bin nearby your seat – ideally not right over your seat, but across the aisle. You will then be able to keep an eye on everything.
In the new CWT Traveler Trendbarometer we turn our gaze in the direction of Iceland and what happened a few weeks ago: the eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajoekull brought air traffic over Europe to a grinding halt. What do you think of the decision made by air-traffic control to close the airspace due to volcanic ash?
Volcanic ash whips up a whirlwind of confusion
When on 20 March
2010 the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajoekull erupted for the first time since
1823, no one could have guessed that one month later the airborne ash would
cause all European air traffic to come to a standstill. The airspace was empty,
the aircraft stranded on the ground – and CWT staff members were all awhirl
trying to cope. On the weekend of 17/18 April 2010, over 900 CWT employees in
Europe worked as volunteers on behalf of you, our clients, to deal with the
huge influx of inquiries and booking changes. On those two days alone, we handled
over 90’000 client phone calls. In comparison: on a normal weekend a maximum
of 900 calls come in.However, because client inquiries were much more complex than usual due to the closing of the airspace, phone calls took longer than normal – making waiting times longer too, despite increased staffing. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all of you, in the name of the entire CWT staff, for your patience, your helpful cooperation and for the trust you showed us in this trying situation. Many clients gave us positive feedback, which motivated our employees even more to give their all. The knowledge that we can depend not only on you, our valued clients, but also – as at other times of crisis – on our extremely flexible and dedicated employees, means a great deal to us.
G-20 Summit coming to Toronto
The Group of 20 (G-20) Summit will be held in Toronto, June 26-27, 2010, at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. Local governments expect an influx of visitors to the city during the summit dates.
Organizations and their travelers should prepare accordingly to reduce the impact the summit will have on their daily business operations. Travelers should anticipate hotel rooms and flights into and out of Toronto may be in high demand during the summit.
Founded in the late 1990s, G-20 brings together important industrial and emerging-market countries from all regions of the world. The G-20 is a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors to meet and further the discussion of international economic issues. With a theme of “ Recovery and New Beginnings,” the Toronto Summit will focus heavily on the global economic and financial crisis, recovery, and future responsible growth.
After Toronto, the next G-20 summit is scheduled to take place in the Republic of Korea in November, 2010.
CWT Listens gathers traveler feedback on booking experiences
Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s global traveler survey, CWT Listens, recently won an Achievement in Customer Excellence (ACE) award from CustomerSat, the company it partners with to collect, analyze, and take action on the feedback it receives from travelers regarding their online and offline booking experiences with CWT.
Thousands of CWT clients in 57 countries already offer their travelers the ability to share feedback via CWT Listens, but it is up to travelers to participate. All CWT clients benefit when even more travelers take the 90 seconds required to provide their input, as CWT uses the traveler feedback from CWT Listens to drive product and process improvements as needed.
Travelers interested in participating should watch for the survey to arrive in their email inboxes shortly after making travel reservations with their company’s online booking tool or by speaking to a CWT travel counselor.
For five years, CustomerSat’s ACE awards have recognized organizations for “demonstrating excellence in the application of customer feedback processes that result in outstanding customer satisfaction and improved business results.”