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Cendant research reveals SME opportunity

Business Home Internet Cendant Travel Distribution Services has announced the results of research undertaken in Asia Pacific, to determine the travel buying behavior of small to medium-sized companies (SMEs).

sized enterprises (SMEs) do not have a business plan, according to new research. A study carried out by business advisors PKF reveals that 46 per cent of owners of small firms have a strategy for growth but no written business plan. An additional nine per cent admit to not having any plan at all, the survey indicates. However, the figures show that 65 per cent of SME managers are predicting growth for their companies this year.

Business Mlm Opportunity The research, titled Corporate Travel: The Next Frontier, explores the Asia-Pacific SME corporate market, providing insight on this sector and outlining the opportunities and challenges for Travel Agents of this largely untapped market, with particular reference to the potential of online booking tools.

Gordon Brown has renamed the DTI the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) to reflect its focus on the reduction of red tape and a commitment to entrepreneurship. 2006 SMEs 'not exploiting' sized enterprises (SME) are not fully taking advantage of the benefits of networking, research suggests. According to new research by Lloyds TSB Business, in partnership with SERTeam of Open University, around 40 per cent of SMEs are not convinced of the benefits of networking, reports bCentral.

Based Business Home Income Cendant TDS commissioned Hong Kong-based research firm MarketShare in late 2005 to conduct telephone interviews with 100 travel buyers from small to medium-sized companies in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

The majority of British business travellers who must commute across the UK said that they prefer driving over taking public transport, research published today has shown.

Based Business Home Internet The small to medium-sized corporation represents an important opportunity for agents in the Asia Pacific region. The Cendant TDS research provides a snapshot of the SME market to provide them with a better understanding of the travel buyer and where the opportunity lies for developing service levels and introducing new systems for booking, said Mr. Anthony Venus, Executive Director, MarketShare.

Gordon Brown has renamed the DTI the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) to reflect its focus on the reduction of red tape and a commitment to entrepreneurship. businesses are offered worse rates of interest compared with larger small to medium size enterprises (SMEs), research reveals. A survey conducted by the Small Business Research Trust (SBRT) has found that while SMEs will be offered a repayment rate of around 5.25 per cent, businesses can usually only obtain a less competitive rate of around 6.2 per cent, reports bCentral.

Business Homebased Opportunity Results of the study indicate that there is no single model that applies to SMEs across Asia Pacific, with country-to-country differences in spending patterns, priority of travel agent services and attitudes to online travel all driving the need for a tailored approach.

Prior to joining Gaia Interactive, the world's largest virtual world for teens as CEO, residence at Benchmark Capital. Prior to Benchmark, Craig was COO of MyFamily.com, where he helped grow the company from $23 Million to $150 Million in sales. Prior to MyFamily.com, President of American International Group (AIG), Craig ran AIG' business efforts in Japan and Korea resulting in over six billion dollars in annual revenues. Prior to his work at AIG, Craig was President and CEO of Cendant Japan where he launched the joint venture company, grew it to 500, 000 paying customers and achieved operating profits ahead of schedule. Craig held various positions at Cendant including Vice President of Cendant's International Division and General Manager for a number of Cendant's US product lines. Craig graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University.

Based Business Home Mlm Some general observations can be made however.

Business New Opportunity For Asia Pacific SMEs, the research reveals that the majority of travel buying is decentralized with the function often sitting with a senior executives personal assistant or sometimes in the human resources department.

Business Home Online There are few full-time travel managers in SMEs, unlike the larger corporations.

Best Business Home Opportunity Other research results reveal that:

Business Investment - In the SME category, the typical spend on corporate travel is up to US$ 500,000 for small businesses (Hong Kong and Singapore) and up to US$5 million for medium-sized business (Australia).

Business Home Making Money - Across all markets, SMEs still heavily rely on their travel agents for flights (Australia 89%; Singapore 60%; Hong Kong 56%) and to a lesser degree, hotels (Australia 27%; Singapore 33%; Hong Kong 30%).

Based Business Free Home - In terms of how travel is managed, there was greater consistency in all three markets. The majority of travel was controlled from a national head office location (Australia 65%; Singapore 90%; Hong Kong 70%).

Business Internet Online - There is no clear trend across Asia Pacific on price competitiveness of corporate travel agents with Hong Kong and Singapore comparatively similar in that 33% and 36% of companies respectively believe they get cheaper prices from their corporate travel agent than other sources. This is also the case in Australia, where 26% of companies believe they get the same pricing; however 58% believe they get cheaper prices from a corporate travel agent.

Best Business Opportunity - In terms of cheaper alternative pricing, the Internet emerges as the clear leader across all three markets.

Business Computer Home Beyond pricing there are a number of key benefits that travel buyers list as most important for the corporate travel agents to possess.

Business Idea Opportunity From these results, personal service, fast supply of air tickets and flexibility rank as the most important elements of service.

Based Business Home Online Also from the survey responses, it is evident there is a lack of understanding in how online tools might benefit the travel buyer.

Business Federal Opportunity A clear opportunity exists for the travel agent to communicate to the buyers that online applications can provide improved productivity and more flexibility.

Based Business Home Legitimate Mr. George Harb, Marketing Director, Asia, Cendant TDS said, Contrary to the perception among the buying community that an online application may create additional work for employees and management alike, online tools actually do the research for the buyer and work within the parameters of the corporate policy.

Business Home Mlm Opportunity Harb added, Online tools also allow business travelers more control over their bookings and online tools always find the right lowest price, rather than the lowest price which may not fit the travelers needs. This is a fundamental difference that needs to be communicated to travel buyers, whose existing knowledge of online tools believes it merely replicates the leisure travel experience, which is focused on price, self-searching for the right deal and little flexibility.

Business Home Idea Internet Based on the survey results, the positive news for travel agents is that the corporations do not consider travel expense a significant issue nor do they believe that their IT systems are a barrier. This represents an opportunity for the corporate travel agent to migrate companies to an online platform through education of benefits and the guaranteed maintenance of service levels when required, Harb said.

Based Business From Home Also, with the rise in the use of the Internet as a research and booking tool for travel, there appears to be an obvious opportunity for travel agents to deploy online booking platforms to be used within the corporate environment, while it must be noted that there is not one single online strategy to apply to all corporations.

Business Make Money Online There are some clear benefits in online tools in both companies and agencies and these tools represent a significant opportunity for the agency. In educating the corporate SME about the benefits of online booking tools, the travel agent is able to add increased value to their customers at the same time as driving greater efficiencies, added Harb.

Base Business Home Opportunity Mr. Kurt Knackstedt, Senior Director, Corporate Channel International Markets, Cendant TDS said, There are some clear benefits for both corporations and agencies that embrace this online technology. The travel agent is able to add greater value to the service it provides to its customer, the corporation is able to get more efficient control over its travel management, and both benefit from cost efficiencies.

Business Magazine Opportunity The travel agent can identify the individual service needs of its clients and use this research to define its own offering. How travel agents address the online and service level opportunity will be important for gaining market share and loyalty as well as emerging as a travel agent that harnesses the future for competitive gain, concluded Knackstedt.