Returning to the fold with deeper understanding
NEW in her role as md
of BCD Travel South
Africa, Monique
Hilton has plans to use
her knowledge of what
clients want from her former
position as a travel manager
for Barclays. In her new
role she has two goals: to
introduce technology as an
enabler for the company’s
clients rather than something
that should scare its staff,
and to re-teach client and
colleague engagement.
“We need to make each
client and traveller feel
recognised and important,
and as we reshuffle things
and introduce some
changes, I want us to
make sure we keep them
top of mind and at the
heart of every decision we
make. When we engage
travellers as consumers, we
protect and boost savings,
compliance, satisfaction and
client retention,” she says.
First on Monique’s to-do
list is to see BCD embark
on a mission to provide
technology to travellers
and ensure that they are
independent. “Travel is no
longer about just issuing
tickets – it’s much more than
that, and everyone has the
opportunity to contribute by
changing their perception.”
She told TNW that
travellers in their early
20s to mid-30s generally
travel more frequently than
those aged 35 and above.
“And these millennial
travellers are so tech-savvy
that they do not want to
phone a consultant or wait
for an email to be returned,”
she says. “They want
answers, now!”
TMCs need to embrace
technology to keep the
bulk of their travellers – i.e.
millennials – happy, and
BCD is doing just that by
providing them with the
correct type of technology
to ensure that they feel that
the TMC is involved in the
travelling process from the
time the ticket has been
issued until the traveller has
returned from their trip.
“Our BCD TripSource
mobile app keeps travellers
up to speed with one-tap
access to information that
may affect their trip, such as
check-in reminders, real-time
flight alerts, trip sharing,
maps and directions. They
are all sent through to the
traveller as notifications
on their mobile phones,
ensuring the traveller has a
smooth journey.”
Ultimately, Monique
says travellers want to be
recognised by the TMC and
want the TMC to personalise
its services as much as it
can. “It’s about knowing
what travellers’ preferences
are and ensuring that the
communication we send
them is in line with those
preferences,” she says,
adding that it is something
that is going to become
increasingly important in the
future.
Emotional consulting
The integration of technology
into travel management
will not be the only change
the travel industry will
see in the coming years,
Monique believes. “I think
travel consulting in general
will change, to incorporate
that emotional aspect of
consulting, placing a greater
emphasis on consultanttraveller
relationships.”
Consultants should
possess emotional
intelligence in order to read
their clients’ signals and
react appropriately to them.
“We need to focus on our
staff and anyone coming
into the industry and ensure
they have the emotional
intelligence to enable them
to engage with each other as
colleagues and to deliver the
kind of personalised service
and solutions our clients
need from us,” she says.
What’s more, consulting
will no longer be seen in
isolation, only affecting the
consultant, says Monique.
“We focus so much on the
consultant that we forget
there is an entire finance
and support office that
is just as involved in the
process as the consultants
themselves.”
The consultant should
be communicating with
the finance department,
which should be
communicating with account
management, who should
be communicating with the
sales department, says
Monique. “When we manage
travel we must consider
the repercussions and the
ripple effect of an element
in the end-to-end process
not being performed well, or
partially performed. We must
pay attention to all touch
points, as each ultimately
drives the data that we will
use to discuss a client’s
programme.”
Getting to know Monique
1. Monique first entered
the travel industry in the
hope of becoming an
air hostess. “I applied
and never heard back,”
she says. “My mom
then found an ad in the
paper to do an internship
at Rennies Travel and
I went on to fill various
positions at Rennies for
over 11 years.”
2. Monique spent three
years in the UK working
as a business manager
for BTI (now HRG).
“My husband and I
then decided to return
to South Africa and I
rejoined Rennies as
head of strategic account
management.
3. She then left Rennies,
this time to take up the
regional travel manager
vacancy at Barclays – a
position she held for 11
years before making the
move to BCD Travel late
last year.
4. The highlight of
Monique’s career so far
occurred when she was
at Barclays and its global
team won the Travel
Team of the Year award
at the UK ITM Buyer
Achievement Awards
2015.
5. Monique’s favourite
leisure destination is
Thailand. “I spent three
weeks there in December
exploring with some
close friends and enjoyed
every minute of it.”
