Corporate Travel

Corporate travel management has grown increasingly complex in recent years. Travel managers are tasked with cutting travel budgets without sacrificing service quality, while economic strains are forcing carriers and other suppliers to simultaneously cut services and increase fees. Carrier bankruptcies, changes in carrier service, the imposition of surcharges and fees, carrier alliances, alternate distribution channels, and confidentiality and data protection issues all pose risks to companies whose employees travel for business.

Wolff & Samson’s Corporate Travel Group understands these risks and works closely with clients on all facets of their managed travel program. Our attorneys are highly regarded for their thorough, methodical and diligent review of all details in travel agreements. As one of the few law firms with a group dedicated to corporate travel, we understand that agreements and policies not reviewed thoroughly or with sufficient foresight and industry knowledge can expose clients to unnecessary risks.

We regularly advise our clients on policy drafting, travel management company agreements, preferred carrier agreements, corporate card negotiations, meetings and events management contracts, RFP development and negotiation, data and privacy issues, and technology agreements. Some of the specific services we provide in these areas include:

Travel Policies

Assist in establishing complete corporate travel policy guidelines
Assist in developing protocol for increasing adoption rate of online booking tools
Recommend procedures to enforce corporate travel policy
Help enlist support of senior management in achieving goals

Travel Management Company Agreements

Establish roster of essential services
Assist in negotiating financial terms
Help ensure adequate reporting and accountability
Encourage use of budgets as means of cost containment
Establish service level agreements
Introduce performance-based financial incentives
Advocate use of technology to control costs and enhance service

Preferred Carrier Agreements

Advise in selection of preferred carriers
Work with client in establishing achievable goals
Limit recourse against client if goals are not achieved
Coordinate reporting requirements with data consolidators and travel agencies
Incorporate internal travel policies into agreement
Minimize risk to client in the event of carrier's bankruptcy
Negotiate "soft dollar" benefits
Ensure prompt loading of negotiated discounts and fixed fares
Address data and privacy issues

Corporate Card Agreements

Limit liability for certain categories of expenditures
Negotiate back-end rebates and “soft dollar” benefits
Assess features of card products relative to intended use
Advise on data collection and reporting services

Meetings and Events Management Agreements

Evaluate financial models, including full-service and menu pricing
Negotiate corporate card spend benefits, supplier rebates and overrides
Negotiate limitations of liability resulting from attrition and event cancellation
Draft license and IP provisions for event management software
Draft service level agreements to ensure timely provision of back-up data and post-event reconciliation

RFP Development

Review client needs and goals
Prepare legal RFP document for dissemination
Participate in RFP negotiations
Review RFP returned comments
Negotiate cost-protective extensions when required
Draft form agreements for use in RFP

Data and Privacy Issues

Align airline reporting requirements with data protection laws
Negotiate agreements for data consolidation, pre- and post-trip reporting
Develop internal policies and consent forms to ensure compliance with relevant privacy laws
Ensure retention of data ownership by client
Establish operational and contractual safeguards against improper use of data
Negotiate technology agreements governing data collection, processing and dissemination

Technology Agreements

We negotiate the full range of technology agreements, including:

Software for pre- and post-trip reporting
Online booking tools
Agreements for e-fulfillment of tickets
Software for monitoring compliance with preferred carrier agreements
Tools for tracking unused electronic tickets
Software used to achieve connectivity with global distribution systems
Fee allocation software

Corporate Travel

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