In this article we have taken a look back at some industry awards we have been involved in.

Our HQ is in Surrey and has been since we launched the business, so we are always pleased to be recognised in the Toast of Surrey Awards, which, organised by the Surrey Advertiser, celebrated its eighth year in 2016.

We were nominated in three categories in 2016: International Trade, sponsored by Surrey Chambers of Commerce, the Director of the Year, sponsored by the Institute of Directors) and the award for the best Companies with a Turnover of More Than £5million, sponsored by Surrey County Council. In fact, we are very proud to say we were the only business to have achieved a nomination in all three of those categories.

Our fellow nominees for the International Trade Award were Perfect Pitch, Conjoint and the winners, Vocality International.   We were also in great company in the category of Director of the Year. Our own Scott Pawley was nominated along with James Gubbins of Pelling Marketing by Design and the winner, Creative Nature’s Julianne Ponan.

For us, however, the main category in the Toast of Surrey Awards is the one reserved for the larger businesses in Surrey. Each year an award is presented to the best company with a turnover of more than £5million. In 2016, we were nominated alongside Johnston Sweepers and Wick Hill, for whom GTM handles business travel. We were very grateful to be nominated and it was an even bigger privilege when it was announced that GTM was the winner.

We have also been recognised – again – by the travel industry body Advantage.

In 2016 Advantage presented 17 awards to members and business partners. We have had a great deal of success in the Advantage awards: in 2015 we were named Corporate Member of the Year in the Advantage Travel Partnership and GTM’s Kelly Packington was named Focus Champion of the Year in the Advantage Focus Partnership.

But in 2016 we were nominated in the most important category for a travel management company, Business Travel Agent of the Year. We were honoured by being awarded the title. And, having won the award the previous year, we became the only company ever to win it one year and retain it the next.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is preparing for the weather expected this weekend. “We have plans in place to address inclement weather and we are monitoring approaching weather systems closely,” according to Hartsfield-Jackson spokesman Reese McCranie.

Both Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines are warning that flights to Atlanta and other cities in the Southeast may be impacted by the weather.

Atlanta-based Delta is waiving certain change fees for those with flights booked Jan. 6-7 to, from or through Atlanta, Asheville; Birmingham; Charlotte; Chattanooga; Columbia; Fayetteville; Greensboro; Greenville/Spartanburg; Huntsville; Jacksonville; Knoxville; Nashville; New Bern, N.C.; Newport News; Norfolk; Raleigh-Durham; Tri-Cities, Tenn.; and Wilmington, N.C.

Those whose flights are cancelled or significantly delayed are entitled to a refund. Delta said its teams are preparing for de-icing and snow preparations.

Dallas-based Southwest warned that its flights Jan. 6-7 to or from Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Greenville/Spartanburg, Nashville, Norfolk and Raleigh/Durham may be delayed, diverted or cancelled. Passengers with flights booked for those dates can rebook or travel standby without paying any additional charge, according to Southwest.

Travellers still planning to fly over the weekend should check their flight status frequently for updates.

Commuters should prepare for another Tube strike as rail union RMT confirmed its upcoming walk out will go ahead.

The strikes will take place at all London Underground stations.

In 1997, Frank Pawley and a business partner set up Global Travel Management, a travel management company, based in Surrey, England.  The plan was to create and build a company that could fix the three issues which face any traditional travel management company.

• First, with declining – and disappearing – commissions paid by travel suppliers, travel management companies needed to find a pricing structure that meets the needs of all clients.
• Second, the service level offered by travel management companies was typically compromised by a high level of staff turnover.
• And third, travel management companies were typically either too small to be able to offer a full range of travel products; or too large to offer a fully personal service.

Frank hired his son, Scott and Scott’s wife Natalie to run the business. And to solve the first issue, Scott and Natalie devised a totally flexible pricing structure, based on eight different pricing models.  In this way, any business can take advantage of the most relevant and most cost-effective price plan.  And, if none of the eight plans fit, GTM simply creates a bespoke one.  “One size fits all” no longer works for businesses that need their corporate travel to be managed.  So GTM’s flexible approach means that every company can have their travel arrangements managed within a cost-effective, transparent price structure.

For the first couple of years, Scott and Natalie ran the business, “twenty-four seven” from mobile phones. This sometimes meant taking calls from passengers in the middle of the night.  Although, these days, GTM customers are provided with a full, professional, round-the-clock “out of hours” service.

While Scott had extensive experience in business travel and Natalie had an equally thorough grounding in all aspects of leisure travel, GTM was the first travel management company they had run.  Scott and Natalie were able to provide the highest level of customer service to every client because they had vast experience of dealing with reservations on a day-to-day basis.  But, as they expanded the business, it was clear that any staff they recruited must have a full understanding of the basic principles of travel management, specifically undertaking complex reservations on behalf of clients.  So the decision was made that vacant positions would be filled by staff with travel reservations experience.  In this way, every department within the company is staffed by individuals who know about business travel, understand the issues clients might face and can provide knowledgeable support.

Now, when family circumstances mean that staff members have to leave the business temporarily, they are welcomed back in the role that best suits their changing circumstances.  That is why you will find experienced reservations staff in every part of the business, providing knowledgeable, relevant and expert customer service from every department.   And that’s one of the reasons GTM has an enviably low level of staff turnover.

GTM has now grown from a staff numbers and revenues of zero to more than 35 employees and over £26 million annual turnover, with offices in Woking, Surrey and, following a recent acquisition, in Watford, Hertfordshire.  The growth is not stopping there, however, as GTM intends to grow both organically and by acquisition into the future.  But the size of any travel management company is vital.  And Scott and Natalie – as well as their growing management team – have taken steps to ensure they offer a level of service that demonstrates all the personal service level of a smaller company, but with the critical mass of a large, multinational company.

By ensuring that each client is always dealt with by experienced reservations staff that take into account every aspect of the client’s requirements, GTM is able to offer a personal level of service that matches the best of any smaller travel management company.  But, by retaining influential membership of the Advantage Focus Partnership – where Scott was Chairman of the Technology Panel for four years and GTM’s Paul Baker continues membership of the Air Panel – GTM is provided with enviable access to airlines and other travel suppliers and able to negotiate preferential opportunities.

In this way, GTM, an independent, medium-sized travel management company is able to react to clients’ changing needs and circumstances.  And, through being superbly tech-savvy and commercially influential, GTM is able to offer its clients an unrivalled range and level of service.