Business Travel March-April-2021

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THE NEWS REVIEW G O O N L I N E F O R L A T E S T N E W S BTA COMMENT BTA UPDATE UK needs economic shot in the arm For the first time since the beginning of 2020, there’s a spring in my step. We finally have the beginnings of a roadmap out of quarantine hotels, ever-fluctuating travel corridors and total travel bans. The Prime Minister has not waved a magic wand for a miraculous recovery for the travel industry, but he has given both the business and leisure markets hope. The new iteration of the Global Travel Task Force is working with leading industry bodies, including the BTA, to put detail on the roadmap out of the current quagmire. This plan needs to take a long-term approach as we learn to live and travel alongside Covid-19. I firmly believe that international standards on pre-departure testing and vaccine certification are the only way to ensure Britain can be a truly global trading nation once again. It is into this more hopeful environment that the BTA has launched its vision for business travel in 2021 and beyond, in partnership with Amadeus. It is up to us as an industry to nurture travel Clive Wratten Chief Executive Officer confidence and get companies who urgently need to travel for work moving once again. It is clear that corporates are going to prioritise their duty of care and take a more mindful approach to the return to travel. Travel management companies are going to be more vital than ever in meeting these demands and working to provide Covid-secure programmes. However, we recognise that it is going to be a gradual return to travel. The Chancellor’s decision in early March to extend the furlough scheme until the end of September will keep skilled people in our industry. However, a looming talent gap is a huge threat to our survival and only further targeted support rather than exclusion from the loans offered to the hospitality and retail sectors will save our sector from another avoidable cliff-edge. Alongside vaccinations, an economic shot in the arm is needed to prepare British business for the opening of borders and life travelling in the new normal. IHG poll reveals what travellers miss most NEARLY one in three UK business travellers are feeling demotivated by a lack of work trips, according to a survey by IHG Hotels & Resorts. Its survey of 2,000 UK travellers, conducted in January via OnePoll, also found 40% miss face-to-face meetings, 46% miss being able to stay in a different city, 20% miss being able to order room service and 38% miss having some time and space to themselves. Karin Sheppard, the hotel's SVP, Managing Director for Europe, said: “While many companies have successfully adapted to working in a completely virtual environment you cannot replace face-to-face interaction and the valuable relationships that brings." GBTA REPORT: UK BUSINESS TRAVEL WILL BE HARDEST HIT BRITAIN willl be the world’s worst hit business travel market, a gloomy GBTA report has forecast. The association’s BTI Outlook, which focused on Europe, concluded that a combination of the UK's "slower response" to the pandemic and ongoing Brexit uncertainty will make it the hardest hit out of the top 15 business travel markets in 2020, with the U.S. and Germany following closely behind. Business travel spend in the UK, U.S. and Germany is expected to have fallen by 61.7%, 61.1% and 60.9% respectively last year, according to the report. It said GDP in the Eurozone is estimated to have shrunk by 7.4% in 2020, compared to 4.4% globally, and more sharply in the UK (11.2%). But in 2021 the UK’s GDP growth is expected to bounce back more strongly (by 4.2%) than the rest of the Eurozone (3.6%). 12 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM
THE NEWS REVIEW T H E B U S I N E S S T R A V E L M A G . C O M PARK PLAZA EXTENDS COVID REASSURANCE PROGRAMME PARK PLAZA has introduced a dedicated programme, Reassuring Meetings & Events, designed to enhance safety measures across its hotels in preparation for the safe return of meetings, events and conference clients. An extension to the brand's Reassuring Moments programme, it guarantees flexible terms and conditions, including cancellation and payment policies, plus free WiFi, high-quality audio-visual equipment and hybrid solutions across all properties. It also ensures customers wil be ATPI EXPANDS EUROPEAN FOOTPRINT WITH ACQUISITION allocated a dedicated planner for every event and will be provided with contactless experiences in most hotels. Further Covid safety measures, such as temperature checks, hand sanitising stations and revised capacities, will be ensured in line with local government guidelines. Meanwhile, cleaning and disinfection has been enhanced in all areas, with particular attention to high-touch items, and instructions and re-directing will also be in place to help maintain social distancing measures. ATPI GROUP has acquired German travel agency Hamburg Süd Reiseagentur GmbH from Danish shipping conglomerate A.P. Moller - Maersk. The company said the strategic takeover marks further expansion of its footprint in the European corporate travel market and strengthens its position as a specialist TMC for the global marine industry. The team at Hamburg Süd Reiseagentur will transfer to ATPI. Report highlights rapid transformation TECHNOLOGICAL transformation in business travel that would usually take place over two to three years happened in just the first six months of the pandemic, according to a joint White Paper from the BTA and Amadeus. The report, the Future of Business Travel, says this transformation will meet demands for contactless and risk managed travel when corporate travel returns. But it stressed the human element of managed business travel is still vital, with 51% of business travel specialists seeing human interaction as the number one factor in winning clients and delivering effective travel programmes. The paper was based on global data from Amadeus alongside interviews with eight of the BTA’s Board members. 81.5% Drop in hotel bookings HotelHub, the hotel booking platform that powers many TMCs, looked at data from its top 10 destinations by booking volume and found figures dropped by 81.5% year on year between March and December, due to the Covid pandemic [ NEWS BITES ] >> INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL PARTNERSHIP has signed a new strategic agreement with ABC Global Services, specialists in global hotel programmes >> TAPTRIP has launched Vessul, a product designed to support the flow of goods and people within the marine and energy industry >> TRAVELPORT has launched a 'bold and distinct' new visual identity to reflect a transformation of its business >> CONFERMA PAY has expanded its role in the SAP Concur partner programme, providing virtual payment technology across all SAP Concur travel and expense products >> MALAYSIA AIRLINES has announced plans to introduce the a digital health pass, incorporating modules from IATA’s Travel Pass, to its mobile app >> PREMIER INN has become a strategic partner of the BTA. THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM 13
Page 1 and 2: 84 March/April 2021 BRIGHTER HORIZO
Page 3 and 4: UP FRONT Contents MARCH-APRIL 2021
Page 5 and 6: Welcome Spring into action Whether
Page 7 and 8: UP FRONT SPEAKING OUT We have come
Page 9 and 10: Think you know serviced apartments?
Page 11: THE NEWS REVIEW T H E B U S I N E S
Page 15 and 16: TRAVEL MANAGEMENT CoMPANIES Y O U R
Page 17 and 18: Introduction / TMCs TIME out The bu
Page 19 and 20: Introduction / TMCs 38% said they e
Page 21 and 22: Covid response / TMCs THEBUSINESSTR
Page 23 and 24: Traveller safety & cost control? Ye
Page 25 and 26: Consolidation / TMCs Size is no gua
Page 27 and 28: Strike a balance Do you spend every
Page 29 and 30: The 2020 Directory / TMCs Business
Page 31 and 32: The 2020 Directory / TMCs Business
Page 33 and 34: Fees / TMCs Underlying health condi
Page 35 and 36: Good Good Travel Travel Management
Page 37 and 38: A lot is changing in business trave
Page 39 and 40: taxis GrOUnd and transPOrt transfer
Page 41 and 42: Eco solution Go Electric. Operate y
Page 43 and 44: WELLBEING POSITIVE thinking As comp
Page 46 and 47: ACCOMMODATION Rise and SHINE Four e
Page 48 and 49: ACCOMMODATION home-cooked food, an
Page 50 and 51: DEPARTURES Reality check FLIGHT: QA
Page 52: Save the date SEPTEMBER 14-15, 2021

Business Travel March-April-2021

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