What is your company doing to go green/sustainability?

• Reduce office landscaping
• Recycle programs paper/plastic
• Promote carpool, light rail and busses
• Energy efficiency - light bulbs and equipment
• Becoming more automated - EX AZBTA webpage for registration
• Hybrid cars. Cost of car still an issue.
• Airlines - Changing to more efficient planes
• Research and development programs - Renewed fuel
• Issue - Financial support of company
• Corporate card - Electronic expensing
• Green promotion items
• Water coolers vs. water bottles
• Telecommute

In what ways has fuel cost affected your business directly?

• For the travel management companies, their volume is down as their customers are not traveling as much
• More companies are encouraging alternative work schedules (Telecommute, modified work week etc.)
• More business and meetings are being conducted via teleconferencing, web meetings etc.
• Company car fees have increased
• Ticket prices and ancillary charges from airlines have increased
• For the car rental companies, they have a glut of SUV inventory that historically they could use as an up sell and now no-one wants to rent them
• Fuel surcharges and delivery fees for all services and products for hotels
• 2nd and 3rd tier cities (Tucson) are losing air service
• Stressing occupancy over ADR in hotels
• Keeping meetings closer to home and more regional
• Transportation and rental car companies are converting fleets to alternative fuels where and when possible (although it was mentioned that a hybrid in AZ does no good due to the AC usage negating the hybrid effect
• Hotels and Merchant Models are doing gas cards as a promotion for booking
• Encouraging alternative transportation bike, light rail, bus, car pools
• Airlines are re-engineering how they do business
• More "Staycations"
• Business travel is more strategic and employees are asked to book further in advance to save costs

Has your company made any recent changes to its travel policies as a result of the economic climate?

• Aggressive pricing. Occupancy oriented
• Travel must be pre-approved
• No travel
• Limited out of state travel
• Less national travel
• REALLY looking at travel expense budgets
• Less trade show participation
• Increase conference calls
• No Sales Conference
• No overnight
• Pre-trip authorization
• Increase negotiation
• Airfare limits
• No business class travel
• $300. limit on domestic fares
• Decrease travel budget allowance

Has your airline travel decision making process changed as a result of new fees (luggage, F&B, etc)? AND, how are the fees handled on the back end?

• Fly Southwest
• Communicate fees upfront to travelers
• Travel policy concerning excess bags. Ex 2 day trip carry-on 3 to 5 days 1 check bag
• Use company credit card to track fees
• Fly elite class where fees are included

How will the light rail impact your company?

• Love - Hate relationship.
   
• For the few local business and companies located on or near the current light rail line will be able to benefits from it (possibly) but if you are not near it they will not use it. The companies and business located near by are encouraged to support and increase ridership, to save on the environment and relieve traffic congestion on already very busy roads. Many businesses are offering special rates and packages to those area businesses along the line - builds local teamwork and partnerships with in the community that before were never there. A few area hotels along the Washington Street corridor are including rider cards as part of corporate rate to encourage ridership in the new system since their offices are close by and along the rail line and to promote more business into their properties by building on current 'neighbor' relationships. Some of the companies along the Central Ave line are offering reduced rate cards and Max cards for the local area business. The companies already subsidize parking in the area and offer car pool programs. The programs will now include the option of reduce rate metro cards in lue of the parking options to increase ridership.
   
• The new light rail will be great for traffic into and out of the airport (once fully completed). It will be easier for people to take advantage of the park-n-stay lots along the line and take the rail into the airport with their luggage instead of using the airport economy lots - very congested and expensive currently.
   
• Those who are depended on their car will not use it and is very frustrated with all of the traffic, construction problems. Those companies want nothing to do with it because it will not impact or have any effect on their business.
   
• Many businesses along the line had to close down due to the actual construction and widening of the road - mostly along Camelback Rd. This hurt the city because it drove out the local area business man or forced them into moving a well established business to a different area not marketed or researched.
   
• Transportation companies do not like it all because it will drive business away from them. People will not be renting 'limo' to go to special events, sporting events downtown, nightclubs in Phoenix or Tempe because this people will now use the rail system. Once built, the new airport line extensions will cut into the rental car business. People will not be renting cars as often because of the connection to downtown.
   
• City wide convention. - With the new convention center being completed or big events downtown, people are not forced to stay at downtown hotels because of the light rail. Hotel around the airport, along north central avenue (uptown area) or downtown Tempe now all have an option to try to take market share from the big downtown hotel foe these big events. It gives the visitor, guests or delegates to the event now a pricing option. They will not have to pay the high dollar rates attending the event because they are located next door but rather take a few minutes use the new light rails system and save half the amount in hotel costs staying at an outside location. No car or dealing with downtown traffic and paying costly parking garage fees with using the light rail system.
   

Debbie - Have you already felt any direct impact from airline capacity cutbacks and what are you doing to prepare for the cuts to come?

• Teleconferencing as an alternative to travel
• Hotel guest down 20%
• Rental car down 20%
• Advance bookings are down
• Competition up - lower rates
• Working harder to monitor
• Relationship is key
• Sell Destination
• Seeing no impact as of yet
• Tucson Convention business up
• Video conferencing instead of travel