Client interviews: Amanda Yahia on international business travel and working in Milan

What is your added value in the business travel industry?

I think Egencia’s main added value, which nobody else in the market can claim, is the fact that we own our technology– this lets us put the customer at the heart of all our innovations. In our offices, we have IT managers that build Egencia’s solutions tailored to meet customers’ needs for example, we have an app which centralizes everything globally for both the travel manager and the business traveler. This allows business travelers to book flights, hotels, cars, everything through one single platform and travel managers to update policies, profiles and payments methods all in one place. Sounds brilliant, doesn’t it?

It sure does! What attracted you to Milan?

Mainly the business atmosphere is so prevalent in Milan. This is the core, the heart of the Italian business life. And there are also undertones of “La Dolce Vita” that always make Italy a fascinating destination. The Italian atmosphere is a perfect mix of business and relaxation. We always enjoy coming here, meeting our customers and showing them our solutions.

Find the perfect venue for your next event!

What aspect do you consider important in the organization of an event, particularly when working with an event agency?

Availability. If I forget a piece of information and I call you, you need to pick up the phone or be there to answer. And we also value flexibility and reactivity, when dealing with multiple vendors at the same time, catering companies and so on. An event agency has to understand our needs, they need to basically help us feel more relaxed and secure about everything, from timing to catering, from deliveries to seating plans or managing the cloakroom. We just need to feel that everything would be fine. I think is the most important aspect.

Did Smart Eventi manage to fulfil all these requirements?

Yes, absolutely. Smart Eventi is the perfect example of all these skills and services. You helped us with everything: you were there early in the morning, to manage all the logistics and the seating plan before the event, you helped me manage the venue and run the cloakroom, you liaised with the venue managers and made sure everything was always on point. All these details are essential to get good results with a corporate event. Therefore, I would say that on the D-Day everything was fine thanks to Smart Eventi.

Start planning your next corporate event today!