Corporate Traveller Case Studies
Hawthorn Football Club
Corporate Traveller has been managing travel for Hawthorn Football Club since 2008. The partnership has provided the club with a range of tailored cost saving travel strategies as well as opportunities for collaborative marketing and networking. In addition to providing recommendations for best practice travel management, Corporate Traveller has implemented a dedicated leisure and corporate travel solution for Hawthorn members to leverage the expertise and global buying power of the Flight Centre Limited group.
About Hawthorn Football Club
Founded in 1902, Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. Statistically, Hawthorn is the most successful club over the past 50 years, having won a premiership in each of the last five decades, for a total of 10 premierships, including the 2008 premiership. Hawthorn played in seven consecutive AFL grand finals between 1983 and 1989, a VFL/AFL record. Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett is President of Hawthorn Football Club.
Travel program priorities
Hawthorn Football Club sought a travel manager that could assist with travel spend reduction and provide expert advice on best practice travel management to achieve long term cost savings. The club wanted travel solutions that generated value for its members, executive and support staff and leveraged their accommodation volumes in cities where its team plays regularly.
Our strategies
In 2010, Corporate Traveller implemented a tailored approach to managing Hawthorn Football Club's travel for both its members (that require extensive leisure travel services) and its executive and support staff (that mainly travel for business). As part of this, a dedicated leisure solution has been put in place for Hawthorn members to leverage the strength and buying power of the Flight Centre Limited group. This approach has produced a number of member initiatives for the club including:
- A new travel section on the hawthornfc.com.au website where club members can tap into exclusive travel deals including specially negotiated retail rates for accommodation.
- In collaboration with Tourism Tasmania, the organisation and facilitation of family travel packages to support Hawthorn member events.
- With support from Tourism Tasmania, Hawks members also receive dedicated leisure and corporate online newsletters featuring news, deals and up-to-date contact details.
Corporate Traveller has also recently made a number of recommendations for the club to save on its business travel including:
- Increasing the club's marketshare across carriers to include more fares from low-cost airlines. Increased use of best fare of day.
- Using more discounted fare types for all domestic travel.
- Best practice around advance purchase of fares, encouraging support staff to purchase fares at a minimum of 10 days before departure. Corporate Traveller forecasts that during 2011, the club has the potential to generate further savings of almost 14.2 per cent of their travel spend through best practice on advance purchase of airfares.
Results
During the last quarter of 2010, Hawthorn Football Club achieved significant airfare savings through best fare of day policy. A total of 83.1 per cent of its domestic fares purchased during this period were discounted fare types. Data also shows the club is performing well with its adoption of advance purchase airfares with only 22 per cent of domestic fares purchased five days or less before departure. A further 14 per cent of domestic fares were booked six to 10 days prior to departure.
Hawthorn Football Club's response
At Hawthorn, we strive to achieve the best as a team on the field, which means we must be the best off the field. Implementing a best practice business model is critical to the success of the club and we pride ourselves with partnering with companies with similar principles. Our partnership with Corporate Traveller supports our business model as they have implemented a corporate travel solution which is flexible in meeting the travel requirements of players and staff, whilst conscious of the need to maintain a prudent approach to costs.
Stuart Fox - Chief Executive Officer, Hawthorn Football Club.
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