GRASS ISN'T ALWAYS GREENER WITH A REGULAR TRAVEL AGENCY
Travel management for the production industry isn't for just any old travel company. Special needs - like last-minute changes, VIP travel, group bookings, excess luggage, live cargo, special car hire and 24/7 assistance - demand a specialist service. Regular agencies might say they can do it all for less. But the grass is no longer green when inexperienced travel management impacts your production schedule and budget.
It takes a high and very particular level of expertise to understand the nuances of travel management for production. The cost of booking with a regular travel agency or travel management company (TMC) may be appealing at face value. But partnering with a travel manager that doesn't understand the tricks of the production trade may end up costing your business significantly more in the long run.
Only a TMC that operates in your unique world has the goods to properly manage your travel. Hassle-free travel that keeps your travellers productive and saves time and money can only be driven by a TMC that is well rehearsed in the needs of the production industry and offers the following attributes.
1. Experience and understanding
Having the right experience and understanding the unique requirements and challenges of travel for production companies is crucial. Partnering with a TMC that normally manages leisure or business travel can result in a range of issues and unnecessary costs.
For example, have you paid exorbitant excess luggage fees because your TMC has failed to organise an excess baggage allowance exemption? Have you been allocated a standard hire car when you really needed a 4WD with safety equipment and a tow bar? Has your TMC organised the correct permits for your star animal performers? Was the right room upgrade and door-to-door limo organised for your lead performer?
To hit the nail on the head with these types of needs, your TMC must have a complete understanding of your business and the nature of production.
2. Specialist rate negotiation
Only a TMC that knows production has the clout to negotiate business rates specifically for your industry. Stage and Screen negotiates entertainment rates on hotels that can save you up to 30% on standard rates. We deal one-on-one with dedicated hotel representatives to the entertainment industry, who understand how your needs differ from those of the broader corporate sector.
Our specially negotiated rates also extend to car hire, which often includes exclusive car insurance allowances whereby no name is needed for the booking. This gives our clients more freedom in who can drive the vehicle.
3. Flexibility
Flexibility in your dynamic industry is an absolute must. Being able to provide options are key service attributes for entertainment travel specialists. Travel for your industry requires experienced teams that can cope quickly, calmly and effectively with a myriad of last minute changes including cancellations, re-bookings, re-ticketing and refunds. High volume bookings require attention to detail and technology platforms that will support this style of travel.
4. Security
An entertainment travel specialist like Stage and Screen provides a single, secure source for all of your travel data and traveller profiles. Our inhouse After Dark Team, which provides 24/7 emergency service, uses special security log-ins to quickly access your company's travel information from our secure online data 'warehouse'. You can be completely confident the names and travel details of your VIP travellers will always be kept safe and sound and that travel managers will provide discreet service.
5. Certainty
You and your people need complete confidence that when a problem arises, they can rely on their travel manager for round-the-clock global emergency assistance. If bad weather halts the production process, stage equipment is lost in transit or one of your cast members needs an emergency visa, your people need to know they can call someone at the drop of a hat to help with travel arrangements.
6. Out of the ordinary
When it comes to production travel, TMCs need to be able to think outside the square to ensure your production can maintain schedule. Your needs are specific, whether it is to arrange travel and logistics for remote locations, overnight filming schedules or separate check-in and entertainment suites for VIP hotel guests. Our teams at Stage and Screen also understand that VIPs can't be inconvenienced and that VIP service has to meet the highest standards. Confirm that your TMC will go above and beyond for VIP travellers by double checking all travel arrangements, phoning ahead to alert a hotel when a VIP will arrive and securing a room upgrade where possible.
Travel management without the drama
Stage and Screen lives and breathes production and entertainment travel. We know your travel needs extend well beyond the norm and we provide more tailored services and broader capabilities than any regular agency or corporate TMC. Our niched industry experience ensures every aspect of your travel is managed by people who fully understand your business and the industry in which you operate. This, combined with our supplier relationships, ability to negotiate production-specific rates, and technology platforms, provides a level of specialisation that other travel agencies simply cannot match.
Stage and Screen shines in giving you travel management without the drama, so you can focus on keeping your productions on schedule and budget. Savings, security, flexibility and experience will ensure the grass is always greener with an entertainment-focused TMC.
