Earlier this week, Marriott announced that their merger transaction received approval from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Since this was the last green light required to complete the merger, Marriott has now officially solidified its status as the world’s largest hotel company. In light of this news, many are wondering what the deal means for the corporate buyer.
In days of yore, you wrote down and stored client information on index cards (remember those?) and in Rolodexes, journals, etc. With the advent and current sophistication of technology to help you work faster and more efficiently, and with the Internet connecting people to social and digital media, you now have instant access to client profiles and information at your desk or on your mobile phone/tablet.
When planners are tasked to cut costs, eliminating a meeting should be the very last resort. In my years of experience, and now as a senior consultant for GoldSpring Consulting, which specializes in business travel and meetings, I’ve learned lots of ways to save money. Here are a dozen relatively simple strategies to make gatherings […]
A 25-year veteran of the travel industry, Mark founded GoldSpring Consulting in 2014. The former president of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), and longstanding member of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Mark brings a wealth of experience to clients. Former clients Mark has worked with include a wide variety of businesses, from small to medium-sized companies to Fortune 100 Clients.
Colleen has enjoyed over thirty years in the travel industry. She has served several organizations in different areas, giving her a breadth of experience in offerings to benefit clients. Her areas of expertise include events and meetings, travel management, global payment systems, and data analytics, among others.
Neil has 15 years experience in the travel industry. He joined GoldSpring Consulting in May 2014. Prior to joining GoldSpring Neil led a team of airline and hotel consultants at Advito, the consultancy division of BCD Travel. In that role Neil had responsibility for the coordination and delivery of many large and small consulting engagements. In addition to his role in the airline and hotel areas Neil led the Advito policy writing and benchmarking practice. Neil also has experience as a global corporate travel manager with Schlumberger, the diversified supplier of solutions to the oil and gas industry.
15 Years Experience in Travel Industry
Past Employers
Advito (subsidiary of BCD Travel) Consulting
Schlumberger Corporate Travel Manager
Areas of Expertise
Airlines
Hotels
Travel Policy
Travel Program Strategy
With more than 25 years of business process improvement experience in both financial accounting and travel management systems, Will provides clients with multi-faceted expertise. Will spent 15 years with Dresser Industries, capping them as Global Travel Manager. He has pioneered two separate measurement tools to quantify the effectiveness of travel management programs.
25 Years Experience in Business Process Improvement
After working in the sports industry in a variety of capacities, Katharine joined GoldSpring full time in 2015 to oversee all marketing and public relations efforts, as well as support client projects. Katharine has worked with professional and collegiate teams, as well as special events, bringing a wide range of experience to clients. She earned both her undergraduate degree (2009) and MBA (2015) from Wake Forest University.
Bill has over 20 years’ experience in the travel industry. He joined GoldSpring Consulting in May 2014. Prior to joining GoldSpring, Bill was the ground transportation consultant at Advito, the consultancy division of BCD Travel. In that role Bill had responsibility for all of the analysis and delivery of rental car, black car, limo, and other ground transportation engagements. This included benchmarking, policy, sourcing, implementation, and program maintenance. Bill also developed a proprietary costing model that reveals the real cost of car rental agreements including value added components.
20 Years Experience in Travel Industry
Past Employers
Advito (subsidiary of BCD Travel) Consulting
Budget Rent a Car/Cendant (parent of Avis) Sales and Marketing
Ford Motor Company
American Isuzu Motors Sales and Service
Margaret has 25 years of varied travel experience as a corporate travel manager, a travel consultant, and a travel supplier. Margaret joined GoldSpring in September 2014. In her previous positions she consulted with and supported small, mid-size, and large companies that varied in business type and industry.
Kevin has enjoyed over 35 years in the travel industry. He is considered one of the original founders of Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) and is acknowledged globally as a leading subject matter expert in the discipline. Kevin is a former President & CEO of the Board of Directors for the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), and is a sought after industry spokesperson representing business travel and meetings and event interests globally.
Ed has over 30 years of experience as a travel industry executive, bringing a unique aptitude to all aspects of corporate travel procurement. He drafted one of the very first transaction fee proposals, and helped design and create one of the first global travel management bid responses. On the payment side, Ed conducted one of the more extensive competitive studies on the Corporate Card; he also wrote one of the original research papers for the introduction of the Purchasing Card.
Julie’s introduction to the travel industry began as a tour guide at Walt Disney World over 40 years ago. After relocating to Washington, D.C. she joined Ask Mr. Foster Travel, which later became Carlson Wagonlit Travel. There she held positions of increasing responsibility in operations, customer service and sales. She left Carlson as Vice President of Government Services. After her time at Carlson, she spent five years with Professional Travel Corporation as a Regional Director. She joined Caldwell Associates, a leading travel management consulting firm, as a Senior Consultant in 1998. She and colleague Susan Stowe founded Managed Travel Consulting in 2011, which merged with GoldSpring in 2015.
30 Years Experience in Travel Industry
Past Employers
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Professional Travel Corporation
Caldwell Associates
Managed Travel Consulting
Areas of Expertise
Operational and Service Reviews
Proposal Evaluations
Benchmarking and Contract Negotiations
Global and U.S. RFPs for Travel Management Services
Susan began her career in 1980 as a travel counselor on Carlson’s newly formed 24/7 emergency desk. During her tenure, she was promoted nine times in 10 years, culminating in her appointment as Director of National Services. In 1990, Susan joined Caldwell Associates while attending law school at night and for the next 21 years consulted with numerous national and international corporations, managing TMC, technology and payment engagements for clients ranging from $10 million in T&E in a single location to over $1 billion in global T&E and operations in 75 countries. She and colleague Julie Simpson founded Managed Travel Consulting in 2011, which merged with GoldSpring in 2015.
30 Years Experience in Travel Industry
Past Employers
Carlson Wagonlit Travel Operations
Caldwell Associates TMC, Technology, Policy, Airline and Payment
Managed Travel Consulting TMC, Technology, Policy and Payment
Deb has over 25 years of experience in the travel industry. She has a variety of experience to benefit clients from strategic sourcing practices to travel business operations. Deb was with Amgen for 15 years in multiple roles including Travel Program Manager, Senior Category Manager and culminating as head of Global Travel.
