The Business Travel Magazine Aug/Sept 2019

More documents

Recommendations

Info

ARRIVALS EVENT REPORT BTA Conference Sustainability in the spotlight The GTMC revealed a new name and identity at its Netherlands conference in July, with the organisation moving forward as the Business Travel Association. Andy Hoskins reports from the event. Sustainable travel initiatives are firmly back on the corporate agenda if sentiment at the BTA Conference can be presumed to emanate across the industry. The majority of sessions touched on the subject at the annual event, which also saw the organisation unveil its new identity as the Business Travel Association (see p53). “We all need to take responsibility for sustainable growth,” said IATA’s Aleks Popovich. “We’ve got a good track record [as an industry] but we need to be stronger if we’re going to grow sustainably. We need to deliver more to earn the right to grow.” Andy Shand (pictured), General Manager of Customer Affairs at NATS, added that in a period when the total distance flown in the UK domestic air space has grown 39%, emissions have risen by only 20%. However, he said that UK airspace tools and procedures need modernising to cope with traffic growth and, in order to do it sustainably, the airspace must be managed much more efficiently. “It needs NATS, airports and airlines to work together,” he said. “The government does currently understands the need for change.” Conservative MP James Heappey claimed the aviation industry is “disproportionately blamed for not decarbonising quickly enough” but added that, in the not-toodistant future, “we’re going to have to make a robust case for travelling to do business”. Birmingham Airport's Aviation Director, Tom Screen, suggested that airports should offer incentives to airlines using greener, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Jo-Anne Lloyd of business travel consultancy Nina & Pinta believes APD could be replaced with a carbon offset tax, but also indicated a degree of confusion among travel managers as to how to address their environmental responsibilities. “We need simplification,” said Lloyd. “Emissions are calculated differently around the world and there is little regulation of offsetting,” she claimed. NEW IN THE CHAIR Suzanne Horner, CEO of Gray Dawes Group, is the BTA's new Chair of its executive board. She takes over from Paul Allan who steps down following Clarity's acquisition of Ian Allan Travel earlier this year. END OF THE TENDER “THE RFP PROCESS IS DEAD. IT CREATES UNNECESSARY WORK FOR BUYERS AND SUPPLIERS AND WE ARE READY TO GET RID OF IT” Stephanie Smook, ACTE’s Regional Director for EMEA CARBON CONSCIENCE For its overseas conference in Noordwijk, Netherlands, the BTA offset the emissions of 170 flights from London to Amsterdam with ClimateCare, offsetting 20.47 tonnes of CO2. 14 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM
ARRIVALS SPEAKING OUT Serviced apartments The Holy Grail of online booking The serviced apartment sector is booming but live online booking is still a rarity. Jo Layton of CAP Worldwide explains why When I ask a buyer what they think utopia looks like in the extended stay sector, the answer is often the same: “it’s when a traveller can view and book their serviced apartment online, without the intervention of an agent or consultant”. However, the desire of the buying community to book apartments just as they book hotels is yet to be fully achieved by any platforms currently available on the market. I often compare booking apartments online to booking a meeting or event online. Both are complex transactions that require lots of research. Bookers need to understand the options available, the location, transport, parking, terms and conditions and more. And there’s even more to it for apartments: how to access the unit on arrival, the room sizes, the particular facilities, views, the local community, proximity to schools, transport and more. For a guest staying in a serviced apartment for several weeks – or months – the minutiae really matters. The details are all paramount to achieving a successful stay for the guest, and that’s before you include a review of the lease and the (sometimes very confusing) terms and conditions. If you are booking a hotel room for a couple of nights and the room doesn’t quite meet your standards or your needs, it’s annoying, but if you’ve booked a stay for 28 nights or more and there is no option to change it on arrival it is a different story. On the other side of the booking, meanwhile, the operator is looking to achieve the optimum length of stay for their units. For the majority of providers, this would be over seven nights and ideally a minimum of 30 nights-plus. The small gaps in between are then plugged by loading this distressed inventory online – but this kind of business is more expensive to manage for operators in terms of both administration and servicing. Add in the fact that online distribution costs for apartment operators can be high – and without any guarantee of securing business – and it becomes clear why online booking options are currently limited, perhaps in the best interests of both guests and operators. Bridging the gap between hotels and longstay apartments is the growing aparthotel sector. These properties offer online booking and amenities such as staffed front desks, cafés and communal areas, plus, in the units themselves, basic kitchen facilities and more If you book a hotel for a night and it doesn't meet your standards it's annoying, but if you've booked an apartment stay for 28 nights it's a different story” living space than a hotel. They are usually found in city centre locations and guests also have the option to cancel or change a reservation at late notice. In contrast, most serviced apartment providers have built their models in primary and secondary residential areas, provide more living space, weekly housekeeping, limited facilities and more stringent terms and conditions for cancellations or changes. They are very different business models and, for travel managers and guests alike, require different approaches. It is difficult to build a comprehensive global extended stay programme that satisfies all stakeholders, with just aparthotels. The expectations of bookers must be managed as the reservation experience is often traded off, wrongly, against suitability and value. Travellers need to be protected from the pitfalls of instant gratification, but operators nonetheless need to make their apartments as accessible as possible. Travel programmes that incorporate both options can of course be built, and that is when you will benefit from working with an informed agent (like us!) who can help corporates build a solid programme. JO LAYTON Jo Layton is Director of CAP Worldwide Serviced Apartments. She formed the company in 2019 after spending nearly 20 years in the sector. Jo and her leadership team have identified the gaps in current global programmes and have built CAP to bridge them. THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM 15
Page 1: 77 August/September 2019 LOUD AND C
Page 4 and 5: Travel and Events Implementing a bu
Page 6 and 7: ARRIVALS OPENING SHOTS Eye-catching
Page 8 and 9: ARRIVALS EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT..
Page 11 and 12: ARRIVALS THE KNOWLEDGE How to manag
Page 16 and 17: The 2019 TECH HOTLIST summer sizzle
Page 18 and 19: XXXXX The 2019 TECH HOTLIST summer
Page 20 and 21: XXXXX The 2019 TECH HOTLIST summer
Page 22 and 23: EVENT PREVIEW The Business Travel C
Page 24 and 25: EVENT PREVIEW TBTC'19 EXHIBITORS HE
Page 26 and 27: awards meet the winner Colin Harvey
Page 28 and 29: THE CONVERSATION Chief Executive Of
Page 30 and 31: UK hotel groUps Right at hoMe The U
Page 32 and 33: UK hotel groUps The ongoing uncerta
Page 34 and 35: UK hotel groUps [ WHO OFFERS WHAT ]
Page 36 and 37: GALLERY The Business Travel People
Page 38 and 39: TECHNOLOGY [ Delays and disruption
Page 40 and 41: PAYMENTS & EXPENSES On the MONEY Pa
Page 42 and 43: PAYMENTS & EXPENSES We have single
Page 44 and 45: Visa, everywhere your corporate Vis
Page 46 and 47: PAYMENTS & EXPENSES direct consump
Page 48 and 49: TALKING TRAVEL Living legend SIR TR
Page 50 and 51: Upcoming destination, Iguazu Discov
Page 52 and 53: THE REVIEW T H E L O W D O W N IN B
Page 54 and 55: THE REVIEW I N T H E A I R Virgin a
Page 56 and 57: THE REVIEW R O O M R E P O R T LIVE
Page 58 and 59: THE REVIEW O N T H E G R O U N D Tr
Page 60 and 61: THE REVIEW O N T H E M O V E EVENTS
Page 62 and 63: ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE BEST OF BOTH
Page 64 and 65:
SMEs / Introduction Big IDEAS Are t
Page 66 and 67:
SMEs / Introduction expectations o
Page 68 and 69:
SMEs / The TMC conundrum Getting TO
Page 70 and 71:
SMEs / The TMC conundrum models wh
Page 72 and 73:
SMEs / The TMC conundrum Darryl Mc
Page 74:
SMEs / Back to basics the importanc
Page 77 and 78:
Spend management / SMEs SAVE the pe
Page 80 and 81:
SMEs / Spend management Even if a b
Page 82 and 83:
SMEs / Six of the best Six of the b
Page 84 and 85:
SMEs / Data Cash flow CONCERNS Mana
Page 86 and 87:
DEPARTURES The best new... Gadgets
Page 88 and 89:
BECAUSE GOOD CONNECTIONS ALWAYS HEL
Page 90 and 91:
GALLERY Avis Budget UK at Henley Ro
Page 92 and 93:
DEPARTURES Focus on... East Africa
Page 94 and 95:
DEPARTURES Factfile: East Africa FL
Page 96 and 97:
DEPARTURES Reality check HOTEL: DAK
Page 98 and 99:
DEPARTURES The final word Nowt bett
Page 100:
The FREE event for buyers and arran
show all

The Business Travel Magazine Aug/Sept 2019

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?