The Business Travel

The Business Travel Conference 2021

SeniOr leaders in business travel shared their expertise and insights with travel managers at The Business Travel Conference 2021 in September, one of the industry's fi rst in-person events since the end of pandemic restrictions.

Under the theme 'Reconnect, Reset, Restart', a programme of lively, engaging and interactive sessions covered key topics such as travel risk and duty of care, wellbeing, sustainability and the new role of the travel buyer, all designed to help corporates navigate the new world.

Delegates also met with supplier exhibitors and there was plenty of time for networking at the two-day event, which took place at the London Hilton Bankside.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the conference sessions. For more see thebusinesstravelmag.com.

Keynote speaker, MP Stephen Hammond, told delegates he understood the travel industry's frustrations over the crisis handling and urged the sector to keep lobbying their local MPs and to join the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Business Travel, of which he is chairman.

VIEW FROM THE TOp: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

SimOne BuCkley, vP marketing

emea tripactions: "Pricing is going to be very dynamic for a while but don’t lose site of the data you used to look at. At some point we'll get back to the time when we’re talking with suppliers and negotiating deals again so keep your eye on that."

JameS ParkHOuSe, CeO agiito: "Everything feels sticky and clunky and it's going to feel that way for a while yet. People haven’t travelled for 18 months and they think it will be like it was in January 2020, but it’s not. Travel buyers must help manage expectations. Generally people are a lot more supportive if their expectations are managed."

david BiSHOP, CCO Gray dawes:

"We’re seeing the average transaction take fi ve times longer. That’s the time it takes us to navigate through all the rules. With our suppliers we’re seeing real pinch points, with airlines overselling to fi ll up their planes, which causes huge challenges."

[ SPECIAL THANkS TO OUR SPONSORS ]

Headline sponsor: Blue Cube Travel Executive sponsors: TAG, All Nippon Airways and South Western Railway

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS

darryl mCGarvey, director of Change development, SaP Concur:

"It's all about empowerment. We have to equip and empower travellers to make the right choices. You have to give them the information. "You also need to have a company culture that allows travellers to be passionate about sustainability. It has to come from both sides. "It’s about the leadership setting an example and empowering the travellers to do the right thing. "As long as they have the right information, the vast majority of the time they will do the right thing."

Sally HiGGS, Strategic account manager,

american express GBt: "You need to show you’ve reduced your carbon across the whole business, not just travel, and offset the rest. "We’re not in the position to not use carbon offsets at the moment. These are widely available and these are are how all companies are going to get to carbon neutral by 2025 or 2030. "To put it into context, if you wanted to do it without using carbon offsets, you wouldn't be able to drive a car, or take the train, or a plane, because all of these emit carbon. "

TMC TRANSFORMATION

Steve BankS, CCO agiito:

"During the pandemic we’ve been able to sort the fact from the fiction to help our customers. We hold some very valuable data and can use it to understand why people are travelling and the value of that travel."

Pete SnOwdOn, Commercial

director taG: "We’re living in a world, especially in travel, where it’s not an off-the-shelf environment. Everything is complex and individual. No two enquiries are the same. We see ourselves moving from a consultant to a consultancy in terms of the information we are providing."

Sumit GuPta, Blue Cube travel Head of Client and Supplier

management: "Technology is a must but it’s not the only thing. What is important is a good blend of online and offline. I think the biggest threat is the technology. We cannot rely completely on the technology because human assistance will be needed."

SimOne BuCkley, vP marketing

emea tripactions: "The digital evolution has leapt five years. I never did my grocery shop online but I had to do it during lockdown, so everything I do now is on my phone. There will be more people interested in mobile first."

GROuNd TRANSpORT

JaSOn dunderdale, Head of Sales uk Free nOw For

Businesss: "More people are getting the choice to use more sustainable methods of travel and now we can actually quantify the CO2 emissions."

JOSHua COllier, agiito Head of Proposition rail and Ground

transport: "There's been a lot of innovation and suppliers have looked at where there are gaps and where they can improve the customer experience and it's been very positive to see that."

DIVERSITY CHALLENGE

CarOl FerGuS, director Global travel, meetings and Ground transportation

Fidelity: "The important thing for me is that people are talking about diversity and inclusion and they’re looking at things more holistically. We’re having the conversations, doing the huddles, holding the committees, across the whole supply chain, buyers, and travellers. Without us continuously beating the drum it’s very easy for D&I to slip back under the carpet. We should all identify one person to champion and support and help them develop within the industry."

nOuran ZarrOuG, md

nulight Consultancy: "We need to look at how we drill down further with D&I to make sure it’s not just a document that sits in a folder in a cabinet somewhere. How do we make sure the policy impacts the organisation and the travellers? There’s still a long way to go, but we’re getting there."

BuyERS: NEXT GENERATION

mark CuSCHieri, executive director uBS and vP GBta:

"We’ve never had the greatest opportunity to look at our programme standing still. Historically, it’s been like driving at 100 miles an hour down the motorway and trying to change a wheel, but now the car is parked in the garage you can look at things differently and try new ideas – and be prepared to fail. There’s nothing wrong with that."

SCOtt davieS, CeO itm: "The great irony is that as we come through this and travel starts to return, it’s going to be more complex and there is going to be more requirement for specialists and specialisms, but at the same time none of us are specialists because we’re in a new world."

Jan JaCOBSen, Co-Founder Quality lifestyle worldwide:

"Working from home is totally 2020 - so last year! The new thing is being digital nomads, where you work from anywhere but travel more for collaborative meetings."

VIEW from thE top: What's nExt?

Clive wratten, CeO Bta: "What I’ve learnt is that the real way through to government is from the bottom up, not the top down. It took us a while to work that out."

Julia lO Bue-Said, CeO advantage travel

Partnership: "We’re now in a transition phase and we’re all grappling with our balance of life, the sustainability agenda, with no T&E budgets and many other challenges, and we don’t know where it’s all going to fall. I genuinely believe there has never been a better time to engage with a TMC." JameS FOiCe, Chief executive aSaP: "One of the headwinds we’re seeing is a labour shortage. We’ve lost a lot of skilled staff and industry veterans. But that isn’t as a result of Covid. It’s a result of Brexit. "

ACCOMMOdATION: WAKE up CAll

Paula Cullen, Black Box

Partnership: "Your TMC should know about the market, what supply is coming in and what leverage you could use. Future travel will be more project driven so be comfortable to be fluid."

nikki reGan, atPi Head of

Commercial Strategy: "You can't look at what happened in 2019. You need to rip that up and look at your business and where your travellers are going and put together a flexible programme."

Peter GrOver, triPBam md

europe: "I think we're going to be above 2019 prices by Q1 2022 so it's important that you negotiate rates now and be mindful of Last Room Availability, and make sure you continue to get that as rates and demand increase."

TRAVEl RISK ANd WEllBEING: BACK TO THE FuTuRE

Bex deadman, managing director Blue Cube travel:

"I really believe that, for the first time in history, we can come together as a united travel industry and can agree that the duty of care for our people is the thing we have in common and we can start making the changes we need in order to make our industry more resilient for the future. I believe that, for the first time, we can be proactive rather than reactive. The ISO 31030 is the backbone that we need to prove what we do and I’m asking you all to get behind it."

Jim lawrenCe, director Peregrine risk management:

"You have a duty of care, not just during the trip but when your travellers return as well. When something goes wrong, the stress doesn’t stop when you get back. You carry that baggage back home with you. So it's important to have that team in place, to have somewhere where travellers can go. That last pillar of the travel process is really crucial. If you don’t get that right your workforce is going to feel stressed and undervalued and they won’t want to travel again."

alex twiGGS, Business development director world

travel Protection: "One of the recurring themes is taking longer, more impactful trips, with more meetings, which doesn’t just help with regards to sustainability but also with cost, and that’s going to have an impact on the stress people feel. People will be away from their family for longer – perhaps for a week or two weeks – so how do you manage that, how do you support them? When we get back to travel it’s not going to be the same and the risks won’t be the same. I think stress will be a huge part of it."

AI R TRAVEL : R EADY FOR T A k E O FF

aman POurkarimi, Head of Gray dawes Consulting:

"If you’re spending £5m or more on air, the best thing to do is to fix that. Roll over your 2019 rates as it’s quite clear the fares will go up. If you're an SME, you are very attractive to airlines right now so take advantage of the programmes being offered, such as signing bonuses. If you sit in the middle, I would negotiate dynamically and rather than volume-based, negotiate from a market share point of view and then have various check-ins where you review your price."

Julie murPHy, ana Sales manager uk and ireland:

"All of the predictions moving forward are strong and the demand is there, but right here and now it’s a challenge."