The UK's Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) has named four TMCs on its new Travel Management Services Framework.
Diversity Travel, Clarity Travel Management, Selective Travel Management and Key Travel have all been reappointed to provide business travel services and student group travel, having also featured on the previous framework which commenced on 19 August 2019.
The four TMCs are also named on the SUPC's newly created lot combining
business travel and student groups while Study Link was named as a fifth student group travel provider. TravelPerk, which was part of the SUPC's previous agreement, was not reselected.
The procurement organisation helps universities and colleges ‘buy smarter’. Its members include more than 150 institutions with combined purchasing expenditure of more than £3 billion annually.
The new framework commences on 1 April and provides SUPC members with "a set of standard added-value services across all suppliers, complemented by supplier specific added-value services".
TMC service rates and commission rates vary between suppliers and include fixed fees and percentages, says SUPC.
Christopher Airey, managing director at Diversity Travel, said its place on the framework "is fantastic news for us as we continue to grow our academic customer base across the UK, Europe and the US. This has been a key priority for the company, so now being recognised as the number one supplier in the UK is fantastic news."
He added: "Several customers I have spoken to recently have said that they are constantly experiencing resourcing challenges around procurement. This award really simplifies the process for them as customers can now award directly to Diversity Travel without running a complex process as the SUPC have already done this for them."
Clarity Business Travel's CEO Pat McDonagh said: "We’re delighted to have achieved a place on all three lots on the new framework and look forward to further consolidating our market-leading position in the sector."
See also: Who works with whom? Travel management companies' new business wins and contract extensions