GlobalStar and Umbrella

GlobalStar Travel Management operates in more than 3,500 locations in over 85 countries. Its combined turnover is more than US $14 billion.  Umbrella is pleased to announce that GlobalStar has chosen us as their global partner for profile management!

Please find below our insightful interview with GlobalStar’s president, Steve Hartwell and Benjamin Christen, Implementation & Operational Development Manager!

Steve, Benjamin, we’re absolutely happy to have you on board. How will Umbrella add value to GlobalStar?
Umbrella is a central tool that works across the globe and in almost all GDS environments. We have no need for manual intervention once the structures and profile shells are created. That represents a huge time savings given everyone is busy. The various language options are a plus point given that we work in a multicultural and multi-customer environment and English is not everyone’s first language.

Given the sensitive nature of personal and company details, it is of utmost importance to us and our clients that Umbrella is fully compliant to GDPR & PCD/DSS legislations. 

Besides GDPR and PCI/DSS, is there another advantage for your corporate customers?
Absolutely, yes. Profile collection and updates are done within seconds and the users have the power to control their data. This results in richer profile information and allows us to deliver better services. 

That’s great to hear, thank you!  Let’s talk about GlobalStar now: When and why was the organization founded?
GlobalStar was founded in 2001 and formed from a group of Travel Management agencies in North America. The idea was to service corporate companies with oversea interests who were looking to consolidate their travel spend.

It was run and managed by its partners until 2009 when a central team was introduced to take the network to the next level of its expansion. 

You have grown a lot since then. What makes GlobalStar special?
We are truly independent and not owned by a majority stakeholder. This means that we each have a personal accountability to meet the needs of our business and act in the best interests of our clients.

It's really that straight forward - the authenticity, passion, and precision of our processes guarantee success. We bring together some of the most skillful and talented individuals from both inside and outside of the industry and combine them with the business and creative goals of our clients. 

Coming back to our partnership: Why did you choose Umbrella over other profile tools?
It fits our needs best given that it is GDS agnostic and OBT agnostic. The ease of collection, i.e. ERP connection, mass upload, self-registration, two-way sync clearly demonstrate that the tool is fit for purpose and customizable even when clients have varied needs in profile data collection.

In addition, you are open to develop ideas that we bring forward, the spirit in which your support team members work, ease of working together, ease of use of the tool

You are actively promoting Umbrella to your partner agencies all over the world. Why should they use Umbrella?
By using Faces, our partners and we as network distinguish ourselves from competitors. It represents a uniform solution for our partners and in the wider aspect for our client. Another reason is the advantage in RFPs as we can offer profile collection options in various formats to local, regional and global clients.

Benjamin, you are an experienced, passionate traveler. What is your most memorable or outstanding travel destination?
I have to name two: One is Bhutan, to completely unwind and immerse in the culture. The other is Nepal for trekking and charitable work. Those are such amazing countries with wonderful people and breathtaking views.

Gents, thank you so much for your time and the interview