Carlson Wagonlit Travel unveils CWT Agency+Card Reporting

Data from new tool helps in negotiations

By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 4/23/2008 8:39:00 AM

Carlson Wagonlit Travel today introduced CWT Agency+Card Reporting, a new tool that matches and compares data from client bookings with CWT to credit card expenditures for air, rail, hotel and rental car services.

CWT developed the new tool to help clients better manage compliance to travel policy, said Dawn Raasch, director, CWT global product management. Data generated by the tool also helps in negotiations with suppliers. “Improving compliance can help clients save 20% on travel, which is especially important as costs continue to rise,” she explained, citing the figure from pilot testing the Minneapolis-based travel management company conducted with clients.

CWT can process data feeds from all major credit card providers. It is working with TRX, a travel technology and data consolidation company. 

The tool consists of several metrics, interactive dashboards and reports:

• Four metrics track percentage of air and hotel transactions made through CWT, as well as those made with the mandated corporate credit card. These metrics are compared to goals travel managers set for their companies’ travel programs. The tool also provides trend charts and graphs, as well as reports identifying non-compliant travelers. 

• Two interactive dashboards for air and hotel spend drill down further to show percentage of matched transactions (i.e., transactions that are booked through CWT and paid for with the mandated corporate credit card). They also indicate percentage of unmatched transactions and identify travelers responsible for them. 

• Transaction-level data reports that include an agency compliance summary for air/rail, hotel and car rental transactions, as well as two agency non-compliance reports that identify travelers booking outside of CWT. This information provides travel managers with explanations for non-compliance.

• Three additional spend reports for air/rail, hotel and rental car which consolidate all bookings to capture total travel spend. By indicating actual rates versus negotiated rates, these reports also help travel managers address discrepancies with suppliers. 

• A final report is a hotel supplier summary showing all matched and unmatched spend for key properties and chains. 

CWT offers the tool to customers as part of its CWT Program Management Center, a web-based information and metrics portal. Reports are available in multiple languages  and travel managers can switch from one language to another while online. Choice of currency also is left up to the user.