Joyce Striar

I am one of those people who delights in the fast pace of arranging corporate travel. It’s often rapid problem solving for clients who are literally making changes on the fly, and also meticulously optimizing routings on a multi-flight trip and ensuring that all the pieces of a trip are aligned.

It’s exciting to know that I am supporting people in their work. I know business travelers often have a lot riding on staying on schedule, so I’m always tracking your progress when you are on the road. You may be on a flight, and I can see you will never make the planned connection, but with my “superpowers” I find a workable solution. By the time you land, there may be 50 people in front of you at the ticket desk, and no way to reach the airlines by phone, but you’ll have a text from me telling you the flight I’ve booked for you.

I also handle group travel. For example, I arrange all the travel for two different sports broadcast teams: one is 20 people, the other is over 100. In season, those people, with their equipment, are following their teams coming and going from different places every week. I’m negotiating hotel space, cars, and transfers and providing for reporting for their accounting. It sounds glamorous, but for me, the excitement is in the problem solving and making it work. It sometimes feels like a big Sudoku puzzle, and I know I can figure it out because I know all the secret keys.

Corporate Travel Management  is a relationship business so it helps to be a people person. For example, one of the production teams had to change all their dates at the last minute. According to the contracts, my client was responsible for all the room charges because the cancellation was so close to the arrival dates, but all but one of the hotels let us out off the hook and even the one that gave us a significant discount. That’s because I’d already developed working relationships with all these people, many of whom I’ve never met.

The relationships I’ve built with suppliers over the years often let me take service a step beyond what most travel agents can provide. I know who at the Delta Airlines desk will understand the importance of waiving a change fee or upgrading my clients from business class to first class at no additional charge when there are seats available. 

Similarly, when booking hotels, I always reach out to get VIP treatment for my clients. This might be an upgrade to a better room, free breakfast, late checkout and other special amenities. Even for a one-night stay, I want you to be as comfortable and pampered as possible.