Texas Snowstorm Snarls Travel: CI Azumano’s Response to Travelers in Need
The Texas Snowstorm Snarls Travel
CI Azumano's Response to Client Travelers in Need Introduction:
February 2021 hit Texas especially hard with an unexpectedly fierce winter snowstorm that left millions without power and water, causing billions in damages. The devastating storm caused havoc for travelers in Texas and across the country, as airlines cancelled over 4,000 flights throughout the week.
For one of CI Azumano's large enterprise clients, with thousands of travelers en route to destinations on any given week, the travel disruptions caused by the storm created a massive logistical challenge.
It was up to CI Azumano to help the client and their travelers quickly resolve issues, provide up to the minute information, and ultimately get those travelers where they needed to be, by all means necessary.
Scaling to Meet Unprecedented Demand
Forecasters had predicted a snowstorm would hit Texas over the President's Day holiday, but no one predicted the scale of damage created by the icy blast that damaged power and water systems throughout the state.
As airlines began to feel the effects of the storm, flight cancellations started to stack up. This left our client with thousands of stranded travelers, looking for help. CI Azumano Travel suddenly saw call and email volumes from this client spike to 400% over normal levels. The demand for increased support persisted from Sunday, February 14th to Friday the 19th, only returning to normal levels that next weekend.
When it came to addressing this sustained demand throughout a 24-hour day for traveler support, CI Azumano didn't miss a beat. CI Azumano's agent operations team quickly scaled up its workforce to address the surging demand, drawing in expert travel agents from across the country. CI Azumano executive leadership also jumped in, working alongside agents over email and phone to service stranded travelers.
Keeping all Stakeholders Informed with the Latest Information via our Travel Risk Management Platform
In addition to scaling our staff to support traveler issues, CI Azumano provided hour by hour updates on affected travelers to Client HQ, keeping them up to date on all issues. To do this, CI Azumano leveraged a sophisticated travel risk management platform that provides visibility across all affected travelers. This allowed CI Azumano to manage the full scope of the challenge and to relay relevant information as it became available. Client leadership had this to say about CI Azumano's support during the Storm:
“ CI Azumano’s dedication to our travelers goes over and beyond. During the storm, they provided information multiple times during the day on a daily basis. CI Azumano played a vital role by ensuring information was available to our headquarters and traveling staff.”
Providing Creative Solutions to Unique Problems
What is a traveler to do when all flights out of your market are cancelled? Call your CI Azumano travel agent for the solution! The Texas Snowstorm produced hundreds of examples of CI Azumano's ability to creatively resolve problems.
Here are some examples:
With the absence of flight options, CI Azumano agents secured rental cars for travelers to drive out of the affected area, either to an airport with active flights or to a city with available hotel space.
Proactively booked hotel space to get stranded travelers a place to rest and determine the next steps
Chartered buses were considered, for moving large groups of affected travelers to a given location
“The service I receive from all of your agents is always first-rate! They handled all the changes due to weather/airline cancellations. Thanks to all!”
Dealing with the Aftermath of the Storm
As conditions on the ground improved, CI Azumano moved to the next phase of its support: helping the client make sense of airline ticket refunds. As you can imagine, the scale of the accounting work is challenging.
CI Azumano's account management team leverages its reporting platform to identify all outstanding credits, ensuring our client can properly account for travel spend and adjust their financials accordingly.
Demonstrated Need for Travel Management:
Protect your Travelers and Your Bottom Line
The Texas Snow Storm was a devastating weather event for millions of Americans. The Storm has once again shown how a strong travel management partnership helps organizations of all sizes protect their travelers and their bottom line. If you're not already working with a travel management company, now is the time to consider a partnership with one, ahead of the next weather event.
CI Azumano Business Travel is your complete resource for travel management. Our strategic blend of people and technology empowers companies to maximize ROI on every aspect of travel. At CI Azumano, we combine our in-depth travel industry knowledge with a steadfast commitment to customer service to deliver innovative business travel solutions.