Case Study: Professional Travel Service

Company: Professional Travel Service HQ: Minneapolis, MN

Market: Small to Mid / 34 years in the travel management business

THE CHALLENGE

Following the economic recession in 2008, Minneapolis-based TMC Professional Travel Service found themselves with the rest of the travel industry in an extremely challenging landscape. “The recession shook everything up, but the most significant factor in the small to mid-market travel space was the emergence of an integrated travel & expense solution from Concur," said Steven Lee, Manager at professional Travel Service.
At the time, none of Professional Travel Service’s clients utilized a travel  and expense integrated online solution. With over 30 years in the industry and their future on the line, they began their search for an integrated travel and expense solution for their customers. They were determined to find a solution that was user friendly, technologically robust, and met the needs and expectations of both the end user and the decision maker.

“We understood that in order for us to grow, and maintain our current client base, we needed a solution that had the ability to complete; we needed a solution that would create a new standard in online travel and expense space,” said Lee.

THE SOLUTION

The travel market in Minneapolis is saturated, so the team knew they had to choose a solution that would sell itself. “Deem was the only product that had a roadmap to create a viable and robust integrated travel and expense solution for organizations of all sizes,” said Lee.

“Deem’s focus was on the user experience, and built for the traveler, unlike other tools out there that were built primarily to satisfy the CFO and Procurement Manager.

While compliance and policy management are important, we feel that empowering employees through a best-in-class user experience will ultimately drive adoption rates, which in turn will determine the success of your travel and expense program,” said Lee.

In 2009, the company implemented the Deem platform as their lead Travel & Expense solution. “We established a company goal to transition all of our corporate accounts onto the Deem platform. That goal was realized in just two short years,” said Lee.

THE RESULTS

Lee says that 90% of new business has chosen the Deem Travel and Expense booking tool, “Deem balances the objectives of a company and what the traveler needs and wants,” said Lee. Another benefit for customers who choose Deem’s technology has been Deem’s Services and Support Teams. “Deem’s service is a huge selling point. Customer service and the implementation process are very important to potential clients,” said Lee. “Clients can see how easy it is to get in touch with the right person at Deem whether it’s joint calls, implementations, or customizations.”

Deemhas features that may seem small but are huge to Professional Travel Service’s customers, such as calendar integration. The Deem solution’s user experience improved efficiencies and streamlined processes which helped drive down costs for their clients along with their own cost due to Deem’s 24/7 “auto agent” which Lee estimates as saving the company $350k annually in operating expenses.

“The product is the best out there but there's also a human element to the partnership that has also contributed to our success,” says Lee. “When we think about Deem,  we think of them as a partner that cares about our success, responds thoughtfully to our feedback, and innovates. Their product flexibility and continuous innovation allows us to be relevant in a constantly evolving industry.”

“We went with Deem as it was easy to use, reasonable pricing, and overall did the best job for our company. We love the delegate access feature, easy profile management, and ability to add special pricing for hotels.”

-Professional Travel Service Customer