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An issue that has been causing 'issues' to both governments and providers, as well as intermediary agencies, during their foreign travels for decades, is the matter of currency exchange, credit or debit card payments, or costs generated by the currency exchange itself that certain banks usually perform in these types of transactions.
After many years of working closely together, organizing trips for governments and major institutions, there are certain patterns that repeat in each and every one of them. Many of these, after extensive studies using algorithms and big data, are compiled in the 'International GITT Standard' Norm.
Perhaps the most common of all is the last-minute changes, both before and just before and during the trip. Many of these changes not only involve reorganizing a significant portion of the Delegation's components but also entail expenses not initially included in the budget, which in many cases pose certain problems in adhering to the planned estimates, including contingencies.
This does not imply that governments cannot handle them; on the contrary, governments are obliged to pay for these unforeseen expenses 'on-site,' despite sometimes paying significant exchange rate commissions, whether in cash -in very isolated cases- or with credit/debit cards -the most common cases-.
Anonymizing certain real cases, as is logical, it is necessary to point out an anecdote that took place in a major European capital. Due to last-minute changes, the advance team's trip was conducted with little margin in relation to the Delegation's arrival. Initially, in certain aspects, the presidential suite did not meet the requirements demanded and agreed upon with the Travel Unit.
Since it was a summit of enormous international importance, the city was fully occupied in terms of accommodation, even in nearby towns. Other accommodation providers that are usually kept on standby were considered in advance, but the limited maneuvering room required improvising on the fly -always with the express approval of the head of the security team-.
In situations like these, and specifically in this case, there is usually full coordination between the Travel Unit's management, the accommodation management -often with the concierge's involvement- and the intermediary agency. Numerous possibilities are considered in a rapid brainstorming session, taking into account, first and foremost, security elements, the physical possibilities of the location, and the budget.
The budget tends to become more flexible in these situations; they are unforeseen last-minute expenses, and canceling the entire meeting, especially if the Delegation is already en route by air, would incur even more costs. Therefore, in this case we are discussing, which was successfully and remarkably quickly resolved, the decision was made to purchase new furniture for the presidential suite on the spot, as well as a series of essential additional elements.
This led to an extraordinary expense through two channels: on one hand, through the accommodation itself, which covered part of the purchase -which would later be transferred to the Delegation-; and, on the other hand, by the Travel Unit itself, which had to make numerous card payments with the corresponding surcharge.
Another type of common unexpected situations are those related to medications of any kind, in which part of the security team or the Travel Unit's office usually takes charge of purchasing them at pharmacies and health stores. Sometimes, although it's not a frequent issue, complications of all sorts arise due to not having a personalized credit or debit card, despite the fact that both travel units and intermediary agencies are usually accustomed to dealing with these situations.
Currency exchanges, as we've mentioned, also pose a common issue, whether it's about exchanging on the go, with the high commission it entails, or when paying with a card, through which the bank automatically performs the exchange applying a certain fee.
These relatively problematic situations are extremely common in the GITT sector, and the reasons are quite obvious in most cases. However, it is important to consider that, with tools and payment solutions exclusively designed for this type of clientele, many of these surcharges, last-minute budget rearrangements, etc., would have a virtually negligible impact on the overall trip expenses, not only ensuring its success but also making the experience completely satisfying for all parties involved.
