Would it not be horrible if the industry ends up with just four or five mega airlines, four or five global hotel chains, and four or five global corporate travel management companies?

That will be the mega-death of personalised and individualised products and services, a sad day indeed. Consolidation in the various sectors of the travel industry is nothing new. Just look at the hotel sector, with its Starwoods, InterContinentals and Marriotts, each offering different brands to suit different budgets. You can therefore talk to Starwood, and it can cater for everyone in the corporation, from your Mr President/CEO to the peddling sales manager, in most countries you do business in.

You find this kind of “one-stop” deal efficient and cutting(edge), although at the altar of tailormade needs. And that big word, economies-of-scale, is all rather unsettling - deep down, you know it may or may not benefit you. In the corporate travel world, it is starting to look and feel the same with the latest move by American Express to buy out Rosenbluth International. One can only expect even more consolidation. We have just gone through the SARS crisis, but the Jakarta August 5 bombing reminds us of the spectre of terrorism. Business is on a yo-yo, with companies big and small learning not to be thrown off-balance easily.

The giants may be seen as having a broader beam, thanks to their deep pockets and networks, but then again, small players, please remember: it is not a question of how broad the beam is, but how nimble you are. The single biggest disadvantage of mega players probably is that people do not trust them all too easily when they say “everything is done to your benefit”. That weakness is the small player's strength, which it should hold on to, along with values such as nimbleness, agility, flexibility, creativity and affordability, among others.

If they do, there will always be room for them.

Raini Hamdi
Editor