Meet Wayne Durkin, our Head of Business Development

Tell us a bit about your career to date – what were you doing before you joined Travel Counsellors for Business? 

I joined Travel Counsellors from CTM, where I worked as Director of Business Development with a focus on enterprise-level accounts. Prior to that, I worked for Clyde Travel Management, and in senior leadership roles managing sales, account management, and marketing for Good Travel Management, Meon Valley Travel, and Griffin Marine Travel (now ATPI). I started my travel career working for a GSA that distributed marine and energy airfares on behalf of several leading airlines. 

What brought you to Travel Counsellors for Business? 

The opportunity to work for Mel Quinn (Director of Corporate Travel at Travel Counsellors) again was a big part of my decision, as was the culture at Travel Counsellors.  Everybody I spoke to prior to joining said what a great place it is to work, and it certainly has lived up to expectations.   

What will a typical day look like for you in your role? 

I’m not sure that I will have a ‘typical’ day, but it will involve a mixture of supporting and mentoring my team and the Travel Counsellor community.  In essence, I will be focused on helping my team and our Travel Counsellors to be successful and achieve our growth plans.  I will also be growing the direct business development team, as well as supporting various projects to achieve our strategic goals for the business. 

What are you looking forward to most about your job? 

I’m really looking forward to getting to know my team and our Travel Counsellors, and play my part in helping them to build and develop our businesses. I’m also looking forward to helping my team to develop and achieve their potential - and most importantly, enjoying what we do! 

What do you enjoy doing away from work? 

Away from work, I love spending time with my wife, Debs, and my family.  I’m a huge rugby fan, but I enjoy watching and spectating most sports. I’m in the process of developing my outdoor cooking skills - my goal is to cook the perfect brisket on my barbeque! I also enjoy going to watch live music. Finally, I’m a volunteer with the Mission to Seafarers, which involves conducting ship visits on vessels docking across the Humber to check in on the crew members and their welfare. 

What challenges do you think businesses are facing when it comes to their travel management programmes? 

I think there are a variety of challenges for companies managing their travel management programmes. Maximising the value from business travel is key for many SME businesses. Being able to access the most cost-effective products as well as track costs remains an essential requirement as the economy continues its recovery. Likewise, ensuring that your employees are safe and fully supported is critical, including the focus on employee wellbeing as well as ensuring compliance to legislation. Additionally, the new environmental reporting requirements will eventually require companies to measure and disclose their Scope 3 emissions.  As business travel forms a significant part of many companies Scope 3 emissions, being able to easily measure and capture this data through their travel partner will greatly streamline this process.   

However, the number one challenge I see is getting effective travel support for their business. The travel industry is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and as business travel has continued to increase, many travel companies are now struggling to meet the service standards expected by their customers. For many large to mid-sized TMCs, this means that their SME customers will fall through the cracks. Many of our new customers talk about the long response times and the call centre-style environment they have experienced previously through other providers, where there is no recognition of your business or travel requirements.  

What do you think sets Travel Counsellors for Business apart from other TMCs? 

The Travel Counsellors for Business product is unique in the market with its laser focus on supporting our customers and redefining what care looks like in the travel industry.  Whilst we have leading-edge technology, I’ve been blown away with the stories I’ve heard from our Travel Counsellors. I’ve loved hearing how we proactively support our customers around the clock, especially when facing challenges whilst away on business.  This truly differentiates Travel Counsellors. We can provide dedicated people who will build and grow their understanding of your business and travel requirements, and essentially become an extension of your organisation. No other TMC can match that level of support.   

What advice would you give to businesses who are looking for a corporate travel provider? 

When you have an employee stuck in an airport, the ability to contact your Travel Counsellor directly and resolve issues quickly can sometimes be the difference between getting home to your family or being stuck in an airport overnight whilst you wait in a queue for a call centre to help you. I would always recommend you focus on the personal support you will be getting when you’re evaluating travel partners. If you’re being offered a call centre or designated team, then it would be worth seeing how Travel Counsellors and our dedicated experts can help you to get the high-quality personal care you need to fully support your employees.