Case Study: QBD Books
Keeping Australia's Bookshops Connected, One Chapter at a Time
QBD Books is one of Australia's most loved retail booksellers, with nearly 100 stores connecting readers to books of all genres right across the country. Managing travel for a business of that scale demands more than a booking tool. It demands a partner. For nine years, Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT) has been exactly that: taking the complexity of QBD's travel off their plate so their team can stay focused on what they do best.
About QBD Books
- Industry: Retail — Books & Pop Culture
- Core Purpose: Connecting Australian readers with the books and stories they love
- Number of Employees: Nearly 100 stores nationwide
- Average Travel Bookings Per Year: 184
- Travel: Domestic (regular), international (book fairs), plus a biennial national conference
- Location: Australia-wide
- Years with FCBT: 9
Australia's Bookshop
In a retail landscape that's seen plenty of change, QBD Books hasn’t just survived — it's thrived. With nearly 100 stores across the country and a loyal community of readers, QBD has built its reputation on range, service, and a genuine love of books. From bestsellers to manga, children's classics to true crime, QBD curates a retail experience that keeps Australians coming back.
Behind the shelves, QBD runs a complex national operation. Store teams, buying trips, supplier relationships, and the logistics of bringing team members together for a biennial conference — it all adds up to a significant travel footprint, and a genuine need for someone to manage it well.
The Challenge: Coordinating travel for a national retail network
With nearly 100 stores spread across Australia, QBD's travel needs are constant and varied. Domestic flights for store visits and supplier meetings happen multiple times a week. International trips to book fairs require careful coordination of flights, accommodation, and ground transport. And every two years, the logistics of bringing up to 100 team members together in one place for QBD's national conference lands squarely on the organisation's plate.
Managing all of that in-house would be, as CEO Nick Croydon puts it simply, "overwhelming." Beyond the sheer volume, the fragmented nature of per-transaction invoicing was creating unnecessary administrative load. With every booking generating its own billing process, the accounts team was spending time on paperwork that could have been spent on the business.
The Solution: A trusted travel partner for the long haul
Partnering with FCBT has transformed the way QBD manages travel — not just operationally, but administratively. Conor Ford, QBD's dedicated Travel Manager, handles the full picture: domestic bookings running two to three times a week, international travel for book fairs, accommodation and car hire, and the coordination of large-scale conference travel that would otherwise tie up QBD's internal team for weeks.
One of the most tangible changes has been to billing. FCBT consolidated QBD's travel into a single monthly billing cycle, replacing a fragmented per-transaction invoicing process that created unnecessary friction for the accounts team. This kind of operational detail doesn't make headlines, but makes a genuine difference to how a business runs.
Nine years into the partnership, the relationship is built on something more than efficiency. Nick and his team know that when plans change — whether that's a last-minute itinerary shift or an unexpected disruption — Conor is there to sort it out. That confidence has become part of how QBD operates.
"Using FCBT allows us to focus our team on supporting our customers and their colleagues. Having FCBT behind them takes away the stress of travel, delays, and worrying about changes to their plans."
Nick Croydon, CEO, QBD Books
Need help with your corporate travel arrangements?
At Flight Centre Business Travel, we take corporate travel personally. We build partnerships, not just itineraries, because your success is personal to us. Our Travel Managers are dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable, and you’ll get direct access to the same person, who gets your business – and its travel needs – inside and out.
Nine Years, and Counting
What keeps a business with QBD's options coming back to the same travel partner year after year? According to Nick, it comes down to trust — trust that the details are handled, that disruptions are managed, and that his team can travel with confidence rather than anxiety. For a retail business competing hard in a challenging market, that kind of reliable support isn't a nice-to-have. It's part of how QBD performs at its best.
Visit qbd.com.au to discover QBD Books and find your nearest store.