Our Command Center: They Can't Protect You From Dinosaurs, But They're Pretty Good With Volcanoes.

Travel and Transport has a Command Center. From the outside, it's a room with maps, computers and TV's reporting on the weather. Because I have seen far too many movies, when I walk into a Command Center I instinctively look for the red phone to the president and/or the Jurassic Park cabinet filled with walkie-talkies and weaponry to be used in case the Velociraptors escape. For better or for worse, these things are nowhere to be found.

I recently spent some time with Julie Porter and Janis Levkoff in an attempt to understand how they, and the other members of the Command Center team, ensure that everything goes according to plan for our clients' travelers. According to Julie and Janis, the Command Center serves two primary functions.

The first is to monitor weather and travel conditions around the world and to redirect calls between our reservation offices when travel counselor demand peaks, due to bad weather or unexpected incidents. By identifying events that are likely to affect travel ahead of time, the Command Center ensures our clients always receive outstanding, timely service, regardless of the situation. As an example, during the recent Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption, Command Center continuously monitored the volcano situation through various news sources and monitored all flights in and out of Europe, so that our travel counselors would have up-to-date information to share with travelers.

The Command Center team uses the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather reports and maps in order to receive the most accurate, expert weather information. They share this data with our After-hours Emergency Service travel counselors in order to help them anticipate and assist travelers.

The second capacity in which the Command Center serves is as a double-checker of reservations. On a daily basis the Command Center team performs the following:

• 250 executive travel checks are executed, including a fine tooth verification and upgrade search for VIP reservations the day they are booked, one day prior to travel, and the day of travel
• The team monitors travel counselor calls to ensure a high level of service being offered our clients
• As a backup of our Fare Check quality control process, the team conducts fare audits to ensure the lowest fares and rates are booked
• Reservation records are checked to eliminate duplicate bookings
• The team secures hundreds of waivers a day for our clients
• International Traveler reports are checked to see if travelers are eligible for an upgrade
• Daily reservation center and after-hours reports are run to ensure a high level of service is maintained

The team also runs quarterly, monthly and weekly performance reports and assists with on demand projects such as staffing module requests and when necessary sends luggage check-in reminders. Clearly these people have a lot on their plate, but the importance of the work they do is equally evident. They might not have walkie-talkies or a direct line to our president in Washington D.C., yet the name Command Center obviously applies.

By the end of their day, they have ensured that the travel of hundreds of our clients' passengers has proceeded smoothly and correctly, even when the unexpected occurs. In my book, that is, admittedly less dramatic, but every bit as important as staving off dinosaur attacks.