the
Businessmagazine Travel 59
JULY/AUGUST 2016
OUT of the Shadows Regional airlines make their mark
Also inside... Expense management Meetings and events Cab conundrums Meeting in... Leeds On business in... Las Vegas Focus on... Canada
business stays
www.sterminshotel.co.uk /StErminsHotel @sterminshotel
St. Ermin’s Hotel, 2 Caxton Street, London SW1H OQW
CONTENTS JULY/AUGUST 2016
26 Meetings and events
Inside
ISSUE 59
Features
70
26 MEETINGS AND EVENTS New booking and enquiries technology is pushing the meetings and events industry forward 34 EXPENSE MANAGEMENT Automating expenses is best practice but the humble paper form still has a future 52 REGIONAL AIRLINES The lines are blurring between traditional low-cost carriers and legacy airlines
Focus on Canada
TIME IS MONEY
60 CAB CONUNDRUMS What does the rise of rideshare businesses like Uber and Hailo mean for business travellers and their employers?
10
Six of the best...
Arrivals
Regulars
6
OPENING SHOTS Eye-catching industry images
14 THE KNOWLEDGE Making the most of online adoption
8
EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT... The EU referendum result
16 SPEAKING OUT Environmental initiatives
10 SIX OF THE BEST... New hotels in Amsterdam
23 MEET THE BUYER Maria Fuller
13 IN FOCUS Direct booking incentives
24 BACK TO THE FUTURE The rise and fall of IRIS
The Review
30 THE CONVERSATION Mick Sharp, International SOS
41 Ten pages of top news stories, trends and developments, plus updates from the ITM, GTMC, ACTE and MIA
32 THE DEBATE Hotel group consolidation
Departures
64 SUSTAINABILITY Alternative fuels
65 MEETING IN... Leeds
68 TECHNOLOGY Airport security developments
67 ON BUSINESS IN... Las Vegas
78 THE FINAL WORD The lighter side of travel
70 FOCUS ON... Canada
59 BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO... Duty of Care
76 REALITY CHECK Product reviews
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 3
Looking after the people who look after your business
Wants a VIP business and leisure travel service
Chooses his preferred airline for a consistent experience
Only stays in hotels with top health club facilities
Find out more • www.atpi.com/yourpeople
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2016
WELCOME JULY/AUGUST 2016
the
Businessmagazine Travel 59
JULY/AUGUST 2016
OUT OF THE SHADOWS Regional airlines make their mark
Waiting for the dust to settle
Expense management Meetings and events Cab conundrums Meeting in... Leeds On business in... Las Vegas Focus on... Canada
EDITOR
Andy Hoskins andy.hoskins@thebusinesstravelmag.com PUBLISHER
David Clare david.clare@thebusinesstravelmag.com
WELL WHO SAW THAT COMING
campaigners – and Gatwick
THEN? The bookies got it wrong,
Airport – claim Brexit and a
the pollsters got it wrong (again)
change in government leadership
and 48% of voters would say the
is the death knell for a third
52% majority got it wrong.
runway at Heathrow.
Amid the early turmoil, it’s
Also inside...
THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM
Andy Hoskins, Editor
At the time of writing, Boris
CONTRIBUTORS
Gillian Upton, Emma Allen, Alex Blyth, Colin Ellson, Catherine Chetwynd, Linda Fox, Roger Gardner & Rob Gill JUNIOR JOURNALISTS
Benjamin Coren & Cameron Roberts
difficult to tell just how the UK’s
Johnson is the bookies’ favourite
exit from Europe could affect the
to be the next resident at Number
Steve Hartridge
business travel community and
10, and he is opposed to expansion
SENIOR SALES MANAGER
industry regulation, but you'll find
at the West London airport.
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Craig McQuinn craig.mcquinn@thebusinesstravelmag.com
Pro-Heathrow groups say David
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Cameron could make expansion at
Matt Bonner
the airport his last big decision in
DESIGNERS
his tenure as PM. It is just the tonic
Louisa Horton & Ross Clifford
needed to ensure the UK grows its
JUNIOR DESIGNER
Zoe Tarrant
international trade, they say.
PRODUCTION MANAGER
The likelihood is that there will be
Clare Hunter
further delays and more challenges
PRODUCTION CONTROLLER
before a decision is made whether
Steve Hunter
to proceed with the Airports
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER
Commission’s recommendation
Cheryl Staniforth
filed almost a year ago.
Uncertainty around our post-EU future extends to the painfully protracted issue of airport expansion in the South East
that accompanying this issue are two excellent supplements: our first annual guide to rail travel and The Women in Business Travel Report 2016. The latter is produced on behalf of Maiden-Voyage and
the opinions of a range of business
will be launched at The Business
leaders on pages eight and nine
Travel Conference in July where
of this issue.
we’ll also be marking the tenth
Several airlines – British Airways
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Martin Steady
What we can say with certainty is
(Print) ISSN 1754-8543. THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY BMI PUBLISHING LTD: SUFFOLK HOUSE, GEORGE STREET, CROYDON, SURREY, CR9 1SR, UK. T: 020 8649 7233 E: ENQUIRIES@BMIPUBLISHING.CO.UK BMIPUBLISHING.CO.UK ALL PAPER USED IN THIS PUBLICATION IS SOURCED FROM SUSTAINABLE FORESTS AND IS FULLY RECYCLABLE Recycle
When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it
anniversary of our popular event.
and easyJet included – quickly
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downgraded revenue forecasts, citing in part the effect of Brexit. Uncertainty also extends to the painfully protracted issue of airport expansion in the South East. Anti-Heathrow expansion
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THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 5
OPENING SHOTS Eye-catching images of the latest news and developments
1
1 TRENDY Dutch hotel group citizenM will open two hotels in London this year. Its new flagship property at Tower Hill will have 370 rooms across eight floors, topped by the two-storey Cloud Bar. Following hot on its heel is the citizenM Shoreditch which will open later this year.
2 6 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
2 SERVICED apartment company SACO has introduced a new communal area concept, The Lounge, at its new Cannon Street aparthotel in London. It includes 24-hour reception, sofa seating, tables, wifi and refreshments.
ARRIVALS OPENING SHOTS
3 4
3 THE first of a new brand from
Millennium Hotels & Resorts has opened in Singapore. The M Social hotel is on Robertson Quay and was designed by Philippe Starck.
5
4 UNITED Airlines has unveiled an all-new business class product, United Polaris, that will be launched on intercontinental flights from December. 5 CATHAY Pacific has refurbished
its business class lounge at The Pier at Hong Kong International Airport. Its lounges at Heathrow will also reopen this summer.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 9 7
ARRIVALS
EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT... The EU referendum result
The vote for Brexit is a momentous one, and will have a significant impact on
The UK travel management community now faces a period of uncertainty. ITM and its members will now be focused on the potential ramifications of Brexit to the managed travel sector and we will be prepared to advise and facilitate the education of the implications to the industry”
the UK, but is a decision that should be put in context. The UK has always been a great trading nation and will continue to be so. While there will undoubtedly be a period of realignment as we re-establish trade links with Europe, that trade will continue and with it, the need to travel”
Simone Buckley, Chief Executive, Institute of Travel Management
Clive Wratten, Chief Executive Officer, CTI
Time will tell what this vote will mean for the UK and wider European aviation sector. Aviation is a global industry that works best in a borderless environment where the free movement of people allows airlines to move passengers seamlessly and without complication” Simon McNamara, Director General, European Regions Airline Association
bmi regional has significantly grown its activities outside the UK and we see further sizeable opportunities for bmi regional to continue this Pan-European growth. Should the dynamics that unfold prove too challenging for bmi regional to pursue these opportunities, our base as a UK airline may have to be reviewed”
IAG believes the vote to leave the European Union will not have a long-term material impact on its business. Following the outcome of the referendum, and given current market volatility, while IAG continues to expect a significant increase in operating profit this year, it no longer expects to generate an absolute operating profit increase similar to 2015” Enrique Dupuy de Lome,
Peter Simpson, Chief Executive Officer, bmi regional
8 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Chief Financial Officer, IAG
ARRIVALS
We need to embrace the referendum result. We can’t sit back and rest on our laurels and expect consumer confidence to return and business to just flood in – particularly from outside of the European Union. Instead, organisations need to re-evaluate their business plans and develop creative ways to actively encourage cross-border relations and inbound tourism from our European counterparts as well as diversify to attract the international pound” Jane Longhurst, Chief Executive, Meetings Industry Association
STAYING SAFE IN TIMES OF CRISIS By Anthony Drury, Head of Business, easyJet
T
oday’s travel climate is one of disruption, with uncountable factors that can impact an employee’s ability to travel safely.
While precautions are regularly taken to ensure
traveller safety, there is one safeguard that is often overlooked. And that is the need to book travel through approved methods, be it a travel agent, corporate travel partner or preferred booking tool. With the availability, convenience and price competitiveness of travel booking options, there is often a heavy temptation for travellers to DIY, but
The EU, the UK and our sector are now facing a period of uncertainty. It is now incumbent upon travel management companies to help customers navigate through this period of uncertainty and to simplify any complexity that arises from the separation” Jason Geall, GM/VP, American Express Global Business Travel
the risks that come with this are significant. When employees go ‘off the grid’, there is no way to effectively monitor their whereabouts during times of disruption. That’s why it is so critical that travel managers employ tactics to ensure their employees adhere to travel booking policies, not only to meet travel spend targets, but also to be able to effectively account for and look after them. With the support of a good travel partner you should be able to easily track the whereabouts of your travellers and immediately implement any support plans they may require. TMCs will partner with you and your travellers to anticipate and assess potential issues before they arrive at their destination. They should also be equipped with the tools and resources to immediately support your travellers in the case of emergencies. Another simple and effective way of looking after your travellers is to keep in touch – through travel
We are entering a period of market uncertainty which will undoubtedly put pressure on travel and tourism businesses, however we know that our sector is resilient and we expect business and leisure travel to hold up in the face of these challenges” David Scowsill, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council
apps or your company’s regular communication channels – as this can make an enormous difference in the case of disruption. There’s no question the climate is challenging, but with the right precautions and appropriate traveller compliance, risks can be minimised and employees looked after while they’re on the road.
ARRIVALS
SIX
OF THE BEST... New hotels in Amsterdam
A steady stream of stylish new hotels has opened in Amsterdam in the last 12 months. Benjamin Coren picks out six of the best additions
PULITZER AMSTERDAM
The recently-restored Pulitzer Amsterdam is housed in 25 classic canal houses, all linked together. Rooms are contemporary and some suites are playfully themed for book, antique, music and art lovers. THE HOXTON AMSTERDAM
Hipster UK brand Hoxton's first overseas property opened last year on Herengracht. Its 111 individual rooms are spread across five former canal houses and come with free wifi access. Lotti’s restaurant is run in partnership with Soho House & Co and there's also a lobby bar and cocktail den. ELEMENT HOTEL AMSTERDAM
Starwood’s new 160-room eco hotel is located in the Zuidas business district. Recognised as an industry leader in green hospitality, Element offers in-room recycling bins, waterefficient fixtures and ecofriendly paints, carpets, and furniture. Tech geeks will love SPG Keyless which enables them to use their phone or Apple Watch as a room key.
10 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
NH COLLECTION
NH Hotels has refurbished and reopened a trio of Amsterdam hotels: the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, the Barbizon Palace and the Doelen hotel. Guests can look forward to NH Collection Brilliant Basics in their rooms which includes free wifi access, a Nespresso coffee machine, 34cm-thick mattress and flatscreen TVs.
Pictured clockwise from above: Hilton Hotel Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; Element Hotel Amsterdam; Jaz in the City; NH's Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky; the Pulitzer Amsterdam
JAZ IN THE CITY
The website sets the tone for this trendy hotel, declaring: "Canals, wooden shoes, tulips? Yeah, whatever." That's not to say that Jaz In The City isn't proudly Dutch though - the hotel acts as a stage for aspiring local acts in the world of music, food and arts and the Rhythms Bar & Kitchen pairs its cuisine with craft beers from local breweries. HILTON AMSTERDAM SCHIPHOL
The 433-room property became the largest hotel at Amsterdam Schiphol when it opened late last year and is conveniently connected to airport terminals by a covered walkway. The hotel has a striking cube form and diamondpatterned façade, with interiors designed by London-based The Gallery HBA.
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DISHIER DISHES Brand new menus, designed exclusively for us, are now being served in First Class. These taste bud tingling menus focus on the use of locally-sourced, high-quality ingredients, showcasing producers from along our route. We’ll also be giving menus in Standard an overhaul this autumn. Here’s to a gloriously tasty journey. LUXURY LOUNGES Our First Class Lounges have had a touch up too, with slick workstations, comfy relaxation areas and even a few chaise longues. You’ll also find free wifi, soft drinks, snacks and newspapers – oh we are spoiling you. MORE TIMES TO SHINE We’re now making more journeys than ever between Edinburgh and London, with 42 additional services per week (that’s 22,000 extra seats). With our services along the west coast included, you’ll find more Virgin Trains travelling between Edinburgh and London every weekday than any domestic airline. Whether you’re heading up or down for business, you can go as and when you like. So easy. FIND OUT MORE AT: virgintrainseastcoast.com/glorious
ARRIVALS
IN FOCUS A closer look at industry developments
Stop clicking around: direct booking incentives Hotel groups have launched a rash of direct booking campaigns this year, but at what cost to the business travel sector, asks Andy Hoskins First it was Hilton, then Marriott waded in, Hyatt soon joined the party and InterContinental Hotels Group entered the fray. In the space of a few months, the four hotel groups each launched marketing campaigns encouraging customers to book direct with them rather than through an online or traditional travel agency. For Hilton, it was the largest marketing campaign in its 97-year history. The ‘Stop clicking around’ message promised guests enrolled in its HHonors loyalty programme the lowest rates available anywhere and free wifi access when booking direct through its website, app or call centres. Marriott, Hyatt and IHG’s strategy was similar, each offering preferential rates to loyalty scheme members booking direct. The strategy is gaining ground as the big hotel groups bid to win back bookings from the online travel agencies. The likes of Expedia and booking.com pocket a hefty commission whenever they sell a hotel room on behalf of Hilton and co, thereby cutting the end profit for the hotel group. Mark Weinstein, Global Head of Customer Engagement, Loyalty and Partnerships at Hilton Worldwide, also says hotel groups are battling a “huge misconception that third parties always offer lower prices for our hotel rooms, which is simply not true.” The campaign achieved its goals. Hilton CEO, Christopher Nassetta said after the first quarter of the year that its web direct business
was “higher than ever and is growing faster than ever”, and enrolment in its HHonors programme has increased almost 90 per cent. All very impressive, but at what price does it come for relations with the business travel industry? The campaigns, though largely targeting leisure travellers, can’t help but taint the decisions of business travellers too. They are being lured into booking direct with their favourite hotel chains, tempted away from employers’ preferred booking channels. Not surprisingly, travel managers, procurement teams and industry associations are unhappy. Simone Buckley, Chief Executive of the Institute of Travel Management, says: “Traveller compliance to the managed travel programme is critical from a duty of care perspective as well as delivering market share to preferred suppliers. We condemn any practice that fragments this process, particularly in instances where no attempt has been made to collaborate with the business travel community.” At the GTMC Conference in May, Marian McLain, Vice President, Global Sales, Intermediaries, at Marriott International, justified her hotel group’s strategy and moved to quell the concerns of the business travel industry. “The traditional lines between distribution channels are blurring,” she said. “Our goal is to have the right balance of direct and indirect business. We need to fortify our direct channels and serve our most loyal customers – our Marriott Rewards members.
“Business travellers want to do the right thing but they also want to reap the benefits of being a loyal customer” “We’ve been thoughtful not to isolate travel management companies. Your business is so valuable and we try to limit the impact of our decisions on your business. I’m not saying we won’t continue to fortify direct channels, but that’s not in lieu of you,” she told senior TMC bosses. It wasn’t an altogether reassuring message, not when research from the Global Business Travel Association suggests the number of UK business travellers booking direct with suppliers is on the rise. As one industry spokesperson sums it up: “Business travellers want to do right by their employers but they also want to reap the benefits of being a loyal customer, which leads them to explore options available on supplier sites. “Meanwhile, companies want their employees to stay satisfied and productive, but not at the cost of allowing them to use any app or platform of their choosing.” It’s a balancing act for hotel groups (and other suppliers), corporates and business travellers alike, and one that is proving difficult to master.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 13
The Knowledge
How to...
Make the most of online adoption Headware and apparel company New Era wanted to get its business travel spend under control and identified online booking as a means to help. Andy Hoskins explains how they went about it and what the company achieved
THE BACKGROUND
Sarah Sabean, Team Leader at Corporate Traveller, identified an opportunity to drive Founded in the 1920s, New Era is a US-based adoption of the online booking tool it family-owned company specialising in the supplies to New Era, with the company’s manufacture of headwear and apparel. travel needs well-suited to online booking. The EMEA Head Office is in Milton Keynes “If they were doing 90% long haul, and it also has offices in Italy, Spain, France multi-stop itineraries it wouldn’t be ideal, and Germany, and works with factories in but for what New Era do it’s absolutely China, Bangladesh, Portugal and Turkey. perfect,” says Sarah. She was confident the Executive Assistant Vicki Mann is tool could help New Era achieve its goals, responsible for the company’s travel needs, “so long as they got buy-in from on which it spends the main bookers and senior heads”. around £750,000 The TMC’s Client Relationship annually. Much of it is Manager, Peter Jamieson, within Europe but explains why pushing online directors might travel booking is mutually beneficial. anywhere worldwide. “Although we earn a higher “One of the directors fee for offline bookings, it’s travels to Russia and South about seeing it from the Africa fairly regularly and client’s perspective and how there’s an annual trip to they benefit. Yes, we’d earn China to check on all the less if we pushed online factories,” says Vicki. booking but instead it gives She joined the company in us the scope to be more March 2015 and says her productive elsewhere.” travel responsibilities take up much of her time. “I arrange travel for the – the percentage by which average return directors, the VP and our Vicki’s arrival at New Era fares have dropped on New Era’s top ten routes offices in Europe. A colleague coincided with a general books travel for everyone else review of travel policy, a in the office. I tend to arrange more of the process she contributed to. VIP trips and I manage the relationship with Employees would now have to give a our agency, Corporate Traveller.” minimum two weeks’ notice ahead of business trips and low-cost carriers were now included in the options as standard. Crucially, she had good support from When Vicki joined the company its travel directors in implementing new measures. programme was not as well-managed as it “Our employees were already getting could be and it was her first role handling better at choosing low-cost carriers because company travel arrangements. they were getting pushback if they were “It was pretty daunting,” she says. “A lot picking more expensive options,” says Vicki. of people were just booking travel without And then there was the process of considering cheaper options and there were embracing the booking tool. “Sarah came in a lot of late bookings and cancellations.” and trained me on the tool. Initially I did a New Era wanted to get its travel prolot of offline booking through Sarah, but gramme under greater control and identify now I know our travellers’ typical needs and cost-saving opportunities. At the same preferences it’s straightforward using the time, its travel volumes were creeping up. booking tool. The tool is very simple to use “Our goal was to save the company once you know what you’re doing and what money, cut back on travel and get our fees you’re looking for.” down,” says Vicki.
35%
THE CHALLENGE
Vicki Mann
Executive Assistant, New Era PROFILE
Vicki joined New Era in March 2015 as the assistant to the VP of EMEA and the directors. Her responsibilities include managing the company's travel, visas, meetings, company cars and facilities, plus assisting the events manager and supporting reception. Prior to joining New Era, Vicki was a manager of two dental practices with responsibility for around 20 employees. She was there for just over four years before joining New Era.
14 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
THE STRATEGY
THE KNOWLEDGE CORPORATE CASE STUDY
overall visibility, allowing us to really Corporate Traveller’s Peter Jamieson adds, pinpoint where there are further savings “Often people don’t want to use the tool to be made.” unless they get good training on it, and A lot of rail bookings were previously that’s fair enough. Users have to learn the made by individuals and claimed on environment. It’s not the same as booking a expenses, for example, but that spend is Ryanair flight on the Ryanair website but, in now captured and properly managed. theory, it’s easier because you only need to A further benefit is the time-saving aspect. learn the one booking environment.” “The tool cuts out the middle man. We no A key element of using the longer have to wait for Corporate booking tool was the Traveller to give us options. I can just ability to present pull them up right away and present employees with a them to employees,” says Vicki. range of options and Peter adds, “New Era’s initial price points. approach was ‘we want to save on “We aimed to raise fees’ but of course fees cost awareness,” are only the thin edge explains Vicki. “When of the wedge on I send people their business travel costs.” options I highlight He says savings off they can save £100 full fares have by choosing easyJet increased over the over British Airways. last year while average “And when we return fares on the process it online you company’s top ten routes have to give a reason have come down by 35%. code and justify why ...of all travel is now booked online, compared with around 40% previously Advance booking habits have you’ve not chosen the improved too, with 67% of all flights lower rate. It’s very now booked more than two weeks before effective. When we get reports in I’ll sit travel. In addition, the number of flights down with the Finance Director and look at booked within three days of travel has fallen why people made certain choices.” from 14% to 5%. Peter adds, “You start to see patterns Vicki says people have been largely emerging, people doing the same thing accepting of the changes, “but I do have again and again, almost manipulating the the support to pushback and everyone in system. Some slip through the net but the office is now pretty good at selecting habits are quickly flagged up.” the cheapest options,” she says. New Era also shifted to Evolvi for all its rail “We do have the occasional person who travel bookings, which is accessed through goes on an airline website for their long the Corporate Traveller portal. haul flight and finds a lower rate that we’ll “We used to get Sarah to book all of our then have to go offline and book through train travel whereas now we do most Sarah, but that rarely happens.” ourselves. It gives you exactly what you And as Sarah puts it, “If I don’t want, all the fares to choose from and it’s hear from Vicki in a day that’s pretty intuitive,” says Vicki. pretty normal.” Peter, meanwhile, believes the early training and enthusiasm The most telling statistic is the increase in from New Era have been critical the number of travel bookings made online to successfully increasing online which has risen from around 40% to 73% booking adoption. currently, and still rising. In fact, excluding Vicki concurs, adding. “It helps group bookings and multi-stop trips, the that we’ve had a lot of support. figure is closer to 100%. When you book travel it can be “There was a lot of feedback on the daunting – especially if, like me, changes at the beginning,” says Vicki, “and you haven’t done it before! It’s it wasn’t until a few months in that the tool been a very steep learning curve started make a difference. Our booking but we’ve achieved a lot and fees have fallen and we’re now capturing we’re still improving.” more travel spend and have greater
“Our booking fees have fallen and we’re now capturing more travel spend and have greater overall visibility”
73%
THE RESULTS
67% ...of all flights are now booked more than two weeks before travel
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 15
SPEAKING OUT
BOB SCHUMACHER
Elevating environmental efforts Environmental initiatives are high on the agenda for travel suppliers, says Bob Schumacher of United Airlines, who explains what the airline and the wider industry is doing to ‘green’ its operations
Bob Schumacher Managing Director Sales, United Kingdom & Ireland, United Airlines PROFILE
Bob Schumacher is Managing Director Sales, United Kingdom & Ireland for United Airlines, a role he has held since January 2011. Previously, he was Senior Director of the UK & Ireland for the former Continental Airlines subsidiary, having first joined the company in 1994. Schumacher is also Chair of the Board of Airline Representatives, BAR-UK, and also chairs the Country Steering Group of STAR Alliance in the UK & Ireland.
16 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
AIR TRAVEL is an integral part of life. Today alone, over eight million people will take to the skies on flights around the globe. Equally, in today’s society there is a greatly increased sense of awareness of the impact our lives have on the environment around us, from the origins of the food we eat, to the production processes and conditions used in the clothes we wear. Individuals and businesses alike are taking ownership of environmental issues and making a conscious effort to ensure the decisions they make are conscientious and mindful of the potential effect on the environment, and the future of our planet. While air travel plays a unique role in bringing people together – whether it is to visit family and friends, conduct business, or simply to enjoy a hard-earned holiday – we recognise that many people want to minimise its environmental impact. Like many travel industry suppliers, we are increasingly putting environmentallyfriendly choices at the forefront of our operations. We have made a commitment to the advancement of sustainable aviation biofuels and we are not alone in doing so. According to IATA, more than 20 airlines have now operated over 1,600 commercial flights using sustainable alternative fuels. And we made history earlier this year with the launch of regular scheduled flights from Los Angeles using sustainable biofuel. But pioneering the use of alternative jet fuel takes time and resources and it is not always a smooth process. So in 2015 we set about an even more ambitious endeavour, making a $30million equity investment in Fulcrum BioEnergy to support the development of additional sustainable biofuel refineries. Good airlines are taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of their operations both in the skies and
on the ground too through waste reduction and fuel efficiency. Our own efforts are showing good results. Over the past seven years we’ve recycled 27.8 million pounds of aluminium cans, paper and plastic and, like many airlines, we enable passengers and corporate customers to offset the carbon footprint associated with their air travel through our Eco-Skies CarbonChoice programme. Back in the air, we’ve improved fuel efficiency by more than 34% since 1994. Aircraft with winglets are a common sight at airports and it is this relatively modest design addition that delivers a three to five per cent improvement in fuel efficiency. We now have more than 370 such aircraft in our fleet, and we are also welcoming more Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350 aircraft into the fold.
“As technology advances, we are confident we will discover new opportunities for commercial aviation to further reduce its carbon footprint” These next generation aircraft improve fuel efficiency by around 20% for airlines around the world, as well as opening up the potential for new routes. Like all other businesses, airlines have to grow in an environmentally responsible way, and our customers, quite rightly, expect no less. As technology advances, we are confident we will discover new opportunities for commercial aviation to further reduce its carbon footprint, and play its part in preserving and improving the environment in which we live and work.
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And the winners are… The winners and finalists of The People Awards 2016 were recognised at a lunchtime ceremony in May at the Grange Tower Bridge hotel in London. Attended by over 350 people from all corners of the industry, the annual awards recognise excellence in business travel and once again we received a record number of nominations. A shortlist of finalists was drawn up by a panel of independent judges with the winners across all categories subsequently decided at a day-long meeting of the judges in early May. The ceremony included a new dimension this year as the winners in each category were personally serenaded with their own song by The Showstoppers, an improv group of singers, as they took the stage, The event's marquee accolade, the Rising Star Award, was won by Sarah Marin, Director of Operations at Capita Travel and Events.
TMCs and HBAs CATEGORIES
SUPPLIER CATEGORIES
Reservations Consultant of the Year • Anna Piredda, Corporate Traveller
Account Manager of the Year • Esther Crowne, IHG
Reservations Team of the Year • Chestnut Team and Save The Children, Diversity Travel
Account Management Team of the Year • Trainline for Business
Account Manager of the Year • Dusko Kain, FCM Travel Solutions
Sales/Business Development Manager of the Year • Naomi Phillips, Classic Lodges Hotels
Account Management Team of the Year • Corporate Travel Management
Sales/Business Development Team of the Year • Trainline for Business
Sales/Business Development Manager of the Year • Simon Moran, Portman
INDUSTRY CATEGORIES
Sales/Business Development Team of the Year • Click Travel Operations Manager of the Year • Helen Gordon, ATPI
Rising Star Award • Sarah Marin, Capita Travel and Events Judges' Award • Yanik Hoyles, IATA
Operations Team of the Year • Quality and Training Team, Diversity Travel
Congratulations to all the winners! Turn over to see a photo gallery from the awards ceremony. To read a full description of each category or find out more about the awards visit thepeopleawards.co.uk
This year Virgin Atlantic Airways and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts are supporting The People Awards’ overseas educational trip, with the winners of the agency category awards flying to Shanghai in October.
The People Awards 2016 are brought to you by
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THE PEOPLE AWARDS 2016
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THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 21
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B E T TER IN B LU
MEET THE BUYER MARIA FULLER
Meet Maria Fuller Teleperformance
Maria Fuller, EA to the CEO at Teleperformance and author of How to be a PA, speaks to The Business Travel Magazine about her role
Q Tell us a little about your company’s line of business and your role there. A. With 10,000 employees in the UK and 190,000 worldwide, Teleperformance is the largest global provider of customer service management. For the past four years I’ve provided Executive Assistant support to the CEO UK and South Africa as well as recently heading up the travel management programme, which is currently being rolled out across the UK.
Q How much of your time is spent managing and arranging business travel? A. Our CEO UK is a frequent traveller, a ‘road warrior’ who regularly visits our 27
I’m under no illusion that issuing a new travel policy document will solve existing problems overnight UK sites with additional global travel for client and strategic meetings. I’m responsible for co-ordinating all of his trips. My time is generally split 50/50 between travel co-ordination and diary management, although since heading up the travel management project, there has been a shift in ratio. Q And what do your other responsibilities include? A. Conference and event management, diary management and developing and delivering the new UK travel policy. Next on my agenda is re-negotiating the annual rate contracts with all of our preferred hotel suppliers. And then of course there's my personal project – writing and publishing my book, How to be a PA.
PROFILE
Maria Fuller is a C-suite level Executive Assistant with an impressive corporate career history supporting global board directors and CEOs of multinational organisations across the legal and financial services sectors. She is the author and publisher of a new book, How to be a PA, launched on Amazon in June 2016. She also writes regular features for Executive PA magazine.
Q How many staff do you have and how many travel on business? A. With a workforce of 10,000, only a small percentage travel on business. Online meeting solutions and conference bridges have thankfully pre-empted the need to travel in many circumstances, which is a
huge plus financially for the business and is less downtime for the employee. We have just under 500 registered users on our travel management platform, with around 250 making up the core. Teleperformance UK’s travel is mostly domestic and we promote low-cost carriers for all our air routes flown. Q Do you work with a TMC? A. Egencia provide our online travel management platform and increasing online adoption is part of my travel policy roll-out programme. I’m under no illusion that issuing a new travel policy document will solve existing problems overnight and we have a series of webinars planned that will focus on best practice, advanced booking benefits and the value of using the online booking portal.
Q Do you have a comprehensive travel policy in place? How effective is it? A. I believe it is, but then I wrote it! The most obvious mistake I noticed with the old policy was that all the focus was on travel and not on how to hold meetings without the need to travel. Q What are the biggest challenges you face when it comes to arranging travel? A. Managing the use of taxis is a challenge. Annual costs are high and often could be replaced by travellers being smarter about using alternatives such as the Underground or airport shuttle buses. Q What was it that inspired you to write How to be a PA? A. There’s a big gap in the market for learning and development books for PAs. Many focus on the soft skills but hardly any exist focusing on the practical skills – the skills PAs need to be successful. Once I’d made that discovery it was evident that something had to be done to address the balance. Two chapters of the book focus solely on business travel. It’s a huge part of a PA’s role and therefore rightfully deserved in-depth coverage.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 23
BACK TO THE FUTURE
BORDER CONTROL
2007
The rise and fall of IRIS 2007 Issue 4, November/December The Business Travel Magazine,
2007
IN 2007 The Business Travel Magazine reported on a first-hand experience of the then revolutionary border gate technology, IRIS. Benjamin Coren finds out why the much-vaunted gates no longer open today
Then... The Business Travel Magazine, Nov/Dec 2007 The Iris Recognition Immigration System, or IRIS, uses an eye scan to identify registered participants and allow them into the country without any need for human intervention at airport immigration. Designed to ease congestion at entry desks, it seems a Godsend for business travellers – British or otherwise. That is, as long as it works. IRIS was launched at Heathrow Airport and is now in operation at nine airport terminals across Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, with 121,000 people enrolled in the scheme and 525,000 completed crossings. Questions were raised about the reliability of the system, particularly after having read travellers’ blogs detailing frustration at finding the quick-entry gate inoperable and asking why the UK decided to invest in new and unproven technology when a similar system had been running in Amsterdam Schipol for a number of years. The Home Office said IRIS was a much more sophisticated system than the Dutch version and delivered a higher level of immigration security. Ultimately, IRIS works and is a brilliant queue-jumping device. Even with lingering doubts over reliability, it’s worth the trouble to get scanned and registered.
Now... Early concerns surrounding IRIS proved to be justified and the system was decommissioned at all airports in September 2013. All information and biometric data was securely destroyed. As well as difficulties with successfully using the system – scanners were slow to recognise registered users and on occasion would outright reject them –
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In other news our 2007 report in The from 2007: Business Travel Magazine After a series of additionally highlighted issues production delays, Singapore Airlines around simply registering for launched the the IRIS programme, with world's first service poorly signed locations and operated by the new 'superjumbo' inconvenient opening hours. Airbus A380 With new technology waiting in the wings, the writing was on the wall and the IRIS system, believed to have cost nearly £5million to develop and a further £4million to operate, was duly ditched. IRIS' successor is the ePassport gates widely in operation today. Though not always without glitches of its own, the system uses facial recognition technology – as opposed to iris recognition – and can be used by EEA nationals in possession of a biometric passport. “Increasing the use of ePassport gates is part of our commitment to improve the customer experience of airport passengers by processing higher volumes of legitimate travellers while maintaining the security of the UK border,” says a spokesperson for the Home Office. “This reduces queue times as well as freeing Border Force officers up to focus on other priority work such as dealing with higher-risk passengers and tasks including the detection of the smuggling of dangerous goods. “We have introduced new technology, investing heavily in digital services at borders, including 141 e-gates at 18 airport terminals since 2010, which improve forgery and imposter detections.”
MEETINGS AND EVENTS
GATHERING
PACE
The meetings and events industry is experiencing mixed fortunes currently, but booking and enquiries technology is at least pushing the industry forward, says Catherine Chetwynd
ACCORDING to a Trends Watch Report by Dr Rob Davidson, ibtm world industry analyst, “There is general agreement that, overall in 2015, companies’ budgets for meetings and events continued to grow, with an increased investment in human capital, training and strategic planning. This appears to have driven increased business across the board, including the corporate sector.” And the results of an annual survey of meeting planners undertaken by MPI show an optimism that reflects that: 72% felt business conditions would remain strong for the rest of the year (7% more than in the previous year), 62% anticipated an increase in attendance at live meetings and events and 57% expected attendance at virtual events to rise.
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ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, also saw more events but attendances varied, and global and general associations have growing competition from regional and specialist events, according to a comment in the above report from ICCA’s CEO Martin Sirk. He puts this down partly to the volatile global economy, with China’s barometric progress destabilising the AsPac region and other BRIC countries, low prices hitting oil producing countries and prices down in agriculture and metals sectors, all of which hits Latin America. An ever-increasing awareness of potential terrorist threats also plays a part. This overall lack of confidence was exacerbated on home ground by the uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum (since resolved) and by late bookings, now the norm, particularly for smaller events.
Sizing things up Recent analysis undertaken by venuedirectory.com of over 100,000 bookings identified that 73.69% of enquiries are for meetings comprising 30 delegates or fewer. “Lead time is also much tighter these days and from this data, we saw that 25% of bookings are made within 12 days of arrival and 77% within 12 weeks,” says Managing Director, Michael Begley. Gatherings of between 400 and 500 tend to be booked 12 to 18 months in advance because there are fewer venues to accommodate those numbers. However, that has its downside: “Venues will give a day delegate price of £50 and reserve the right to review that in 12 months’ time, when they decide how much they are going to increase or decrease their rates,” says Director of Conference Care, Andrew Deakin. Terms and conditions are also harsh: “Big chains tie organisers into a contract
MEETINGS AND EVENTS
“Big chains tie organisers into a contract and from nine months out they will be paying cancellation charges, not just on the room rate but also on food and beverage”
and from nine months out they will be paying cancellation charges, not just on the room rate but also food and beverage, and often, if you sign up for 100, even if people drop out, you still pay for 100,” says Sales and Marketing Director for NYS Corporate, Leanne Fowler. “That is why we have our own terms.” She adds that it is tough from the venue’s viewpoint because, “we can cancel at the last minute and then they have a nasty gap in their diary”. Short lead times inspired Conference Care to create daydelegate.com, an online booking tool for meeting rooms for up to 25 people. Customers key in city, date, number of delegates and layout, and it comes up with details of rooms available in the area and savings to be made. The tool is available to corporate buyers and Conference Care is the first agency to use it in order to iron out any glitches before launching to that market. A Property Management System (PMS) which gives direct access to hotel inventory will follow.
Technology to the fore These days, meeting planners expect to use technology to get information quickly and accurately. “An online proposal is the preferred delivery method for venue finders and clients,” says Managing Director of venue directory.com, Michael Begley. “Clients are transacting more and more business on handheld devices and demand high quality images and video as part of the decision-making process.”
And the process is efficient: “Last year 46% of venues replying through venue directory.com did so within 30 minutes and 81% within two hours,” he says. The company has launched a booking widget that venues can install on their website to allow organisers to see and book live inventory online for up to 30 people and with no commission. Others that have seen the potential for this market include meetingrooms.com, zipcube.com, hirespace.com and headspace.com, which have created booking platforms that focus on small, commoditised meeting space.
“Lead time is much tighter these days. Our data showed 25% of bookings were made within 12 days of arrival” NYS Corporate has developed a sourcing and submission tool that allows clients to check availability in venues such as Regus and MWB and submit a request, when NYS’ bookings team takes over. The next step will be the ability to book online. The company is developing technology to let clients use mobile phones to touch into internal meeting rooms, which will encourage better use of companies’ own meeting spaces. Leanne Fowler has also noted a rash of affordable delegate registration technology, including eventbuy, which is chargeable on a pay-as-you-go basis, rather than the traditional long-term
contract models. And there are start-up companies producing apps such as the award-winning Glisser, allowing greater interaction with audiences. Event Travel Management (ETM) has launched an event app that can be branded by clients and allows interactive polling. And later this year, the company launches technology that enables delegates to check into an event, edit and print a name badge and pay any outstanding conference fees, making reconciliation easier for the client. “And we have launched an app that contains information about an event such as the agenda or what room delegates are due in and when. And we can push notifications – this speaker is in a different room or the agenda has changed, for example,” says Senior Account Director, Ashleigh Rimmer. HRS has improved its meetings offering by investing in partner meetago, marrying up all elements of the meetings buying and booking process, and giving users access to the 300,000 independent and chain hotels on the HRS system. “It will simplify the process,” says Senior Account Manager of Meetings & Groups UK at HRS, Karina Steinberg. “There is an e-contract between the hotel and the client, so they do not have to do any paperwork on site or worry about email communications with the hotel. It is all done online. A payment solution in the tool will be implemented shortly.” The technology allows an RFP rather than live availability and rates are provided for requested dates as a guideline. ➔
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 27
meetings and events
➔ Zibrant’s technology, meanwhile, marries up transient live availability from 140 comparison websites with block booking allocations, all in the vicinity of the required venue, to provide delegates and bookers with the breadth of choice available on consumer sites. This reduces the likelihood that delegates will go off piste and book outside the allocation.
The balance of power Mixed economic messages have created a market where buyers and sellers can both benefit. “There will always be service providers offering rock-bottom prices or tempting promises of quality but it really is essential to weigh up a
“For big events, because there is a shortage of very large venues, you are at the hands of the suppliers”
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venue’s operational credentials before you sign on the dotted line,” says Chief Executive of the MIA, Jane Longhurst. “Organisers should not be tempted to squeeze the venue too much as the impact could be reduced service. Rather, buyers should look for added value.” PricewaterhouseCoopers’ meetings are on average for 45 people, much of it learning and development activity. “For smaller meetings of up to 15, it may be a buyer’s market but for big events, because there is a shortage of very large venues, you are at the hands of the suppliers,” says PwC’s Head of UK Hotels and Venues, Sam van Leeuwen. She recently finished negotiating M&E contracts for two years and took an average increase in rates of 1.5%, though it varied according to location. In Bristol, for example, demand is high, so prices have gone up dramatically. “The London market is quite soft because of the number of new venues. They were still looking for large increases of 8% to 10% but they are not getting that,” she says, and adds that anyone negotiating at the beginning of the year would have been met with strong rates that reflected a good 2015 but now there is more uncertainty and the market has responded accordingly. Rates could also be affected by the introduction of the National Living Wage. “A lot of staff in hotels, restaurants and private dining places are paid by the hour,” says Leanne Fowler. She adds, “We are also starting to see menu choices increase in price. Where
clients have got a preferred programme, they are almost sheltered from it this year but when we renegotiate at the end of year, I think it will be tough.”
Regional variation Increased demand for meetings and events has seen rates generally rise in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds but, in other locations, venues will compete for business. Transport links play a major role in venue choice, which is why London, Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Edinburgh and Glasgow do well. Additionally, Edinburgh has the advantage of good team-building facilities at attractive venues on the outskirts of the city. The final word goes to the American Express Meetings & Events 2016 Global Meetings Forecast: “Following a year of added capacity, an increased focus on compliance-related concerns and a growing need to manage risk across all meeting types, meeting and events owners are predicted to expand their budgets next year.” The report continues, “In turn, hotels are expected to increase capacity in key cities but lead times remain tight. Therefore, meeting owners who are able to plan farther ahead have the best chance of securing their first choice property and dates.”
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Mick Sharp
Chief Operating Officer, International SOS & Control Risks
Evacuation, security, repatriation, protecting lives – it’s all in a day’s work for Mick Sharp. Benjamin Coren speaks to the COO of International SOS A BUSINESS park in Chiswick might not seem like the most auspicious location for a company whose business is protecting and saving lives and has a name akin to something out of Thunderbirds, but that's where I meet the Chief Operating Officer of International SOS (ISOS), Mick Sharp. The affable Australian has a background in counter-terrorism – including long-term assignments in Pakistan and Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks in the US – and talks about his somewhat colourful time at International SOS, where he was pitched into the midst of the Mumbai attacks in 2008, soon after joining the company. “I was based in India at the time, deploying from Delhi to Mumbai within five hours to lead our Incident Management team, comprised of former Indian military and police officers, some of whom were on hand an hour after the attacks commenced,” he says. “We had 13 people directly affected in the hotels throughout the siege and we were doing a lot of medical and logistical support in the background for people in the country.” International SOS provides security and medical advice to organisations sending business travellers all over the world and, in his capacity, Mick identifies patterns in the sort of threats travellers face today. “While road safety, crime and health issues are the most frequent risk for business travellers, in terms of
In terms of terrorism, one thing is clear. Terror threats in developed countries have definitely become more significant terrorism, one thing is clear. Terror threats in developed countries have become much more significant. It’s not a new threat either. We’ve had September 11 and the London bombings, but what we are seeing now is that it’s more dispersed, more frequent and harder to track. “A large part of it is through Islamic State involvement, but we also see more of the kind of
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attacks that these groups inspire, as we’ve recently seen in Orlando,” he says. In the absence of a CEO for the joint venture with Control Risks, Mick has a broad general management remit at the company and reports double digit growth throughout the history of the venture. “It’s a reflection of interest in the travel security industry in which we are global leaders,” he says. The tight integration with the medical aspect of International SOS' business is what sets it apart, explains Mick, with the number of medical evacuations and repatriations that it orchestrates reaching around 20,000 a year. “When I was working out of an embassy in Islamabad one of my colleagues got a bad case of pneumonia and got secondary infections in a less than salubrious hospital in Pakistan," Mick Recalls. “At that stage I didn’t know the company particularly well, but ISOS did the medevac and got him in very fast and he credits them with saving his life today.” Cybersecurity is becoming much more significant today for business travellers and is something that Control Risks has been working on. The cybersecurity threat extends from basic smartphone and lap top security when entering certain countries to major compromise of a company’s database. Key growth is happening in these areas, says Mick. “We are going down a digital path, and the nature of our business is such that we are very focused on information and assessments, providing preventative solutions for companies. It’s about being a trusted advisor in this space.” He continues, “ISO 9001 certification reinforces our security and medical platforms are on the same qualitative level and it’s significant for us in terms of external confirmation of the quality of our processes.” Mick believes the future for the company lies in being genuinely international. “Building a team of international people gives different perspectives and creates true objectivity. “Everyone has a mission focus and camaraderie can be easily built. It’s a pleasure to be a manager in this company and the risk management industry, and people love what they do.”
THE CONVERSATION MICK SHARP
in brief... What are some of the main risks business travellers face? There are many situations that can be avoided by general awareness. People get themselves in a situation that starts to unravel – they take a taxi in the wrong place or they are not aware of a particular threat. The risk for female travellers is amplified around certain threats in particular locations. Where are some of the higher risk destinations travellers go to? It largely depends on the nature of where people go and the nature of their operations and work. It’s not hard to clarify the extreme end. Our value is not to discourage people from avoiding locations unnecessarily but to help them make informed decisions, understanding and preparing for a given environment and supporting business continuity including in tough environments. What new threats might business travellers fall foul of? It’s more about the different manifestations of a threat. Terrorists targeting more soft targets in developed countries more frequently, for example. As long as we've been in this industry, it is the criminal elements that fool individuals, and crime is harder to track from a business travel perspective. But we can define hotspots and there are patterns. Do you make use of International SOS services when you travel? I’m an international relations junkie and I stay up to date with world events and it’s pretty easy when I’ve got a team covering it. Our app is really convenient – it gives me alerts as soon as I cross borders and it’s very clear and objective. I get a sober assessment.
PROFILE
MICK SHARP is the Chief Operating Officer at International SOS and Control Risks. With extensive experience and specialised training in risk management and mitigation, he has also worked as a political and security consultant for corporations across the AsiaPacific region, as well as for the Australian Government with long-term assignments in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
What do you enjoy doing in your down time? I don’t have a lot of spare time, but work is a love as well as work. Spare time is more travel. I like to get out of cities and hiking in the country and spend as much time as I can with my little daughter who is seven. Where are your favourite destinations? My passion is South East Asia – Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma – and Italy is hard to beat; the history, the food and the people.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 31
THE DEBATE HOTEL GROUP M&As
Recent mergers and acquisitions among global hotel groups are likely to affect corporate travel programmes, but how? A hotel consultant and TMC offer their thoughts
What do hotel M&As mean for buyers? Melvin Gold
Hotel Industry Consultant, Melvin Gold Consulting Ltd.
THE HOTEL industry is on an irreversible consolidation path and we need to get used to it. The Marriott-Starwood tie-up is the largest part of the trend and, on a similar timescale, Accor is taking on the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel portfolios. There are over 40 hotel brands involved in just these two transactions. Marriott will be the first hotel company to top one million hotel rooms and will become the world’s largest hotelier. The companies may grow but it is unclear whether all the underlying brands will survive. Some have very similar market positioning which suggests the exit door beckons. The reasons behind the trend are manifold, but what is most relevant to this readership is that global hotel companies can best service the requirements of large and global corporate clients. In fact, the reality is more complex. It is fine having thousands of hotel rooms but if none are local to a key office location for an important client that’s not going to help clinch the sale or engender the client’s loyalty. So globalisation is fine but locality is important too. As are quality, service, price and facilities. It has to be borne in mind that for the most part hotels are not owned by the brands themselves but by financial investors. It is their investment in the hotels that maintain the facilities but the brand has to ensure them a commercial return. Thus they have divided loyalties between owner and customer. Unfortunately, the customer is not the only king! Ultimately, corporate buyers will determine what is best for their company or client and what fits their requirements. That may be the relationship with the global hotel companies but sometimes the location of an office or factory may be best served by an independent hotel that just happens to offer great
32 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
service and facilities. Either way, it is unlikely that better corporate pricing will occur as a result of the mega-mergers, even if a particular buyer ends up having more of its business with one of the everlarger hoteliers. That is not the rationale that underpins these transactions. The hotel group consolidation trend may prevail, but some market fundamentals remain unchanged.
“It is unlikely that better corporate pricing will occur as a result of the mega-mergers, even if a buyer ends up having more business with them” Margaret Bowler
Director of Hotel Relations, HRG
IT’S PROBABLY still a little too early to answer this question. At the moment, the market is dominated with hotel consolidation news and as a result we have all heard the horror stories – namely that hotel rates will increase because of less competition and also that corporate negotiations will therefore become harder. However, change is a funny thing and the unknown throws up all manner of rumours and ‘what-ifs’. It’s possible there will be a period where the hotel market is quite unsettled and perhaps there will be some price fluctuations. We need to be in it for the long term and wait it out, because change also has a habit of settling down and not being quite as bad as first envisioned. The good news is that hotel group consolidation will provide corporates with a single point of contact for multiple hotels, and that’s never a bad thing. Consolidation also presents opportunities for the newly-merged groups who must ensure that they don’t compromise on existing service levels, that they maintain benefits from loyalty programmes and they continue to place value on existing corporate relationships, which is all positive for buyers.
Expense management
SAVE THE PENNIES Technology is driving change in expense management but the humble paper form has yet to be eradicated completely, says Rob Gill
TIME IS MONEY
34 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Expense management
In the world of business travel, the completing and processing of expenses is one of the more menial and humdrum tasks faced by both travellers and their companies. One Concur executive even called expense management a business process that “time has forgotten”. But using an effective and efficient expense management tool should be a key ingredient in any good travel and expense (T&E) programme. Get it right and companies can save significant amounts in processing costs, as well as giving time back to employees by removing the chore of them having to manually fill out expense forms. Automating the expense process is undoubtedly the key to unlocking these savings. A report by payment specialist PayStream Advisors found that the average cost of manually submitting an expenses form was $26.63, a figure that falls to just $6.85 for those companies using fully automated systems. The GBTA Foundation has estimated that the average cost of submitting an expense report for a one-night hotel stay is even higher, at $53, with employees spending an average of 20 minutes completing an expense report. Firms also spend more time (18 minutes) and money ($48) correcting the 19% of expense reports that contain errors. Clearly these estimates of money and time lost vary depending on which report you read, but one message is clear: having an automated expense system should save time and money, and the advance of technology should only make the process cheaper and quicker over the next few years.
Costs and benefits Many small and medium-sized companies may be concerned about the price of implementing an automated expense system, particularly with potentially high start-up costs. So how big does your firm need to be to reap the benefits of an expenses system? Bill Hanfrey, Partnerships Director EMEA, at expenses specialist Chrome River, says: “In terms of the cost threshold, 100 claims a month is typically the area where we see a break-even point between the price of the solution and the savings made by automating manual expense processes. “Of course, this doesn’t take the employee experience into account, so
organisations that go below the 100 claims a month threshold could view the additional cost as an investment in their employees’ overall happiness.” The advance of cloud-based technology is making it cheaper for companies of all sizes, according to Alan Gillies, Vice President of UK Sales at American Express Global Corporate Payments. “Even companies with a modest travel programme, of say £50,000, can use these systems,” says Gillies. “Without the need for upfront software expenditure to implement such a cloud-based T&E system, they are now more affordable for smaller companies.” Gary Povey, UK Sales Director for expense management firm Traveldoo, argues there are solutions for “all types of companies”. But the most important factor is not a firm’s size but the profile of its travel programme, including the number of travellers and trips taken. “When we talk to prospects, we invest a considerable amount of time understanding the nature of their business, the type of travel they do and the destinations. We are then able to offer consultative advice on the correct solution to meet their business needs,” explains Povey. GBTA in its report, Expense Reporting: Global Practices and Pain Points, argues that firms should adopt a “more holistic approach” to their T&E programme in order to “close gaps in their expense reporting process”. “Just because travel managers are less concerned about paying out reimbursements and archiving expense report data does not mean these steps in the process are not pain points and resource drains for those involved,” says GBTA. Companies seem to be aware of this need for a holistic system. For example, Traveldoo has seen a rise in the number of clients requesting a full end-to-end T&E solution, incorporating an expenses system, from 40% of companies in 2014 to 78% of all tenders this year.
“100 expense claims a month is when we see a break-even point between the price of the solution and the savings made by automating expenses”
Going mobile For business travellers, using mobile apps to manage and submit their expenses is becoming more prevalent as specialists in the field add more functionality to their apps, including using smartphones to take pictures of paper receipts. One of the market leaders, Concur, says that it has more than one million ➔
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 35
92% OF ALL COMPANIES* RECEIVE INCOMPLETE TRAVEL EXPENSE REPORTS. DON’T BE ONE OF THEM.
DID YOU KNOW?...
€53
Average cost of processing an expense report for a single night hotel stay
20min
Average time taken to complete each report
€48
Average cost to correct an expense report
18min
Average time taken to correct an expense report
19%
Average percentage of reports with errors
HRS’s payment solutions deliver increased accuracy, reduced costs and greater traveller satisfaction. With HRS, hotel payment is made centralised, paperless and transparent for improved business travel management.
Find out how HRS can help your expense reporting. Call 0208 846 0640, email salesUK@hrs.com or visit hrscorporate.com *Companies of over 500 employees. Source: Expense Reporting: Global Practices and Pain Points (HRS/GBTA) Download the whitepaper from our website at corporate.hrs.com
Expense management
➔ log-ins to its mobile expenses app every day, and this number is only set to grow. Chris Baker, Concur’s UK and Ireland Managing Director, says: “The mobile app is by far the most popular way for travellers to do their expenses as it’s so quick and convenient. They can use it to check and submit their expenses or record a receipt. Most managers are approving expense claims on the mobile app as well.” Improved technology is also removing some of the practical obstacles for travellers who want to use their mobiles to capture receipts while on the road. Chrome River’s Bill Hanfrey says: “The introduction of OCR – optical character recognition – means when you snap a photo of a receipt and send it in to your expense solution, data such as amount, date and vendor can be automatically pulled out and entered into the fields within the system. This means that your reports almost write themselves, so travellers don’t have to spend time manually entering information.”
So what’s next in the world of mobile expense management? HRG’s Fraedom division (formerly known as Spendvision) believes that clients will start moving towards using a mobile virtual wallet, where their travel and general business expenses become virtualised on to their mobile device. Simon Raymer, Fraedom’s Chief Information Officer, explains: “An employee should be able to simply touch their phone on a payment terminal anywhere in the world to pay for their expenses using virtual account technology. This essentially means moving them to a touchless transaction experience where the whole expense reconciliation process is automated.” Companies are increasingly seeing the advantages of a mobile-based expense system. Chris Groome, Commercial Manager at cloud technology specialist Software Europe, says that it has seen a 201% increase in clients using mobile for expenses this year, which has driven a 57% rise in the uploading of expense items via mobile devices. Heather Ribbans, Head of Prepaid Cards at AFEX, says it is difficult to predict how technology will evolve in the next few years. But she adds: “Wearable technology will continue to grow and expenses apps, or similar, will be integrated into these and are likely to become essential tools for the business traveller.”
Laying down the law
£105.00
While mobile seems to be the way forward in managing expenses, how important is it for companies to mandate the use of preferred travel suppliers and where do TMCs fit into the picture in ensuring a smooth expense management process? Amadeus’ UK & Ireland Managing Director, Champa Magesh, believes that hard mandates are a thing of the past. “In the world of our customers today, the traveller is in the centre and drives adoption automatically – based on how user-friendly and intuitive the online experience is,” she says. The main players in expense management will tell you that one of their major selling points is the ability to capture data from bookings made outside of the client’s travel programme and preferred suppliers. ➔
“Expenses apps will be integrated into wearable technology and are likely to become essential tools for business travellers” THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 37
➔ Fraedom’s Simon Raymer says: “In order to provide an organisation with the best possible benefits of an expense management environment, the organisation needs to be able to add data from multiple booking channels. “Ultimately the expense platform should be capable of managing and controlling information from multiple sources by providing the client company with the best of both worlds – freedom and control together.” Despite this ability of expense systems to capture information from multiple channels, Traveldoo’s Gary Povey says travel management companies remains an important part of the process. “In theory, it doesn’t matter which booking channels are used. However, to fully appreciate the benefits of an automated and streamlined process, it is more efficient for the business traveller to use a TMC,” he adds. “We believe the TMC is the data source for around 80% of travel expenses. It links the PNR (passenger name record) straight into the expense report to ensure a seamless and efficient process.” TMCs can also offer “wise consultancy” to clients on subjects such as expense management, says Julie Oliver, Managing director of Business Travel Direct.
“To fully appreciate the benefits of an automated process, it is more efficient for the business traveller to use a TMC” She also highlights other benefits: “We can look at expenses, especially when travellers have booked outside the mandated policy, and we are able to use this data to track travellers and enable corporates to fulfill their duty of care obligations.” What’s also true is that good quality expense management data, particularly when combined with management information from a TMC, will give a very detailed overview of how and where money is being spent – the kind of transparency which can only aid future negotiations with travel suppliers. It’s important not to ignore the part that the corporate card programme
38 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
plays in the expense management process. A travel buyer for a UK-based university says that it’s crucial that the T&E system is fully integrated with both its TMC and corporate card provider. Vince Eavis, Managing Director of Paytech Commercial, says that data from a card provider and expenses system can highlight how well a T&E programme is performing: “If you’re spending $100million a year on travel but you have a lot of leakage and only half of that is going into your expense management system then you have a hole in the business case for your programme.”
Expense management
Paper chase Despite all the talk of automated technology, paper-based expense systems are far from extinct. PayStream Advisors found that employees in most firms (69%) still submit paper receipts to their accounts department, while GBTA research revealed that paper expense forms were still submitted at 35% of European companies. Concur’s Chris Baker says: “There are still plenty of large companies where there are trays of paper expense claims sitting on desks. They are often printouts of Excel spreadsheets and there are teams manually checking them. We are only scratching the surface in what value we can add to companies of all sizes.” Another technological advance that could aid the move away from paperbased expenses is the single-use virtual card number. This allows all the expense data to be collected at the point of purchase rather than when the traveller returns from their trip. Simon Barker, CEO of payment technology specialist Conferma, says: “It’s a very simplified process because you have that control before they spend, which is particularly important for SMEs. Once you have created the card number, you have created the start of an audit trail and that data is seamlessly integrated into the expense management process.” As with other areas of business travel, technology – particularly mobile – is driving huge levels of innovation within expense management. Perhaps the days of business travellers setting aside one day every month to go through a mountain of receipts and laborious form filling will soon be over.
£105.00
Cutting out fraud Cheating or “exaggerating” on expense claims has been somewhat of a habit among British workers – just look at some of the former MPs who went to prison over the expenses scandal a few years ago. A major selling point for having an automated expense management system is that it should largely prevent this kind of fraud from happening and save money for the employer. A report from the Institute of Travel Management (ITM) on end-to-end travel and expense integration found one of the advantages is a “reduction in incorrect payments and fraud. Smarter processes are reducing room for error and wilful abuse of expense claims”. PayStream Advisors also revealed that reducing fraud was one of the benefits achieved by automating T&E systems, with 15% of companies saying that this was an important outcome from the process. But some old habits may still die hard. According to a KDS survey, 25% of UK business travellers regularly “embellish” their expenses by rounding up mileage claims by between one and ten miles per journey. The study also found that 20% of UK travellers also “sometimes added a bit” to blank taxi receipts, with 5% admitting to “often adding a little bit” to receipts. KDS’ CEO, Dean Forbes, says: “The survey results show how ineffective and outdated systems put companies at risk of significant unnecessary wastage, with travel expenses in particular being open to neglect at best, and abuse or fraud at worst.”
Virtual payment solutions for virtually anywhere Our suite of virtual solutions make it easier to manage travel spend, whatever you’re paying for. Our products are issued in multiple currencies, offer enhanced levels of control and security, will optimise cashflow, can be seamlessly integrated into your business and provide faster, more accurate and detailed data on your travel spend. Make the smart choice. Choose Barclaycard.
To find out more, visit barclaycard.co.uk/business/virtualsolutions or call 0800 151 0282 today. All Barclaycard customer service lines are non-premium rate numbers. Calls to 0800 numbers are free from UK landlines and personal mobiles, otherwise call charges may apply. Please check with your service provider. Calls may be monitored or recorded in order to maintain high levels of security and quality of service. Barclaycard is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register number: 122702). Registered in England No. 1026167. Registered Office: 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Barclays Bank PLC subscribes to the Lending Code which is monitored and enforced by the Lending Standards Board.
THE REVIEW JULY/AUGUST 2016
the
Review Only the business travel news that really matters
GTMC UPDATE p43
“There has been a lot of talk about the threat posed by the growth of the sharing economy”
ITM UPDATE p50
“There are many brilliant people in business travel, but we must be sure we are ready for the future”
BIG MOVERS
The £6billion potential of business travel (p42)
IN THE AIR p44
United unveils new business class product for intercontinental flights
ON THE GROUND p45
Virgin Trains introduces free online booking portal for SMEs
THE ROOM REPORT
p46 User reviews reported to be of more use than star ratings
THE MEETING PLACE
p47 First Global Meetings Industry Day marked at Las Vegas event
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 41
THE REVIEW THE LOWDOWN
IN BRIEF CTM
Innovation Award
Corporate Travel Management was named the winner of the GTMC’s Innovation Award at the association's annual conference in Florida in May. The award, sponsored by Travelport, was bestowed on the TMC in recognition of its Smart technology suite of ‘ground-breaking business travel applications'. The Appointment Group
US expansion
Travel and event management company, The Appointment Group, has expanded in the United States with the opening of an office in Nashville. The new location will primarily concentrate on the travel requirements of the touring and entertainment industry, one of TAG’s core markets. It already has offices in New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
THE AVERAGE international business trip
contributes £34,000 to GDP and generates £14,000 of exports, according to research from Oxford Economics and the GTMC. The figures were presented at the
such a rebound would bring," says
GTMC Conference, where Dr Nishaal
Dr Gooroochurn.
Gooroochurn, Head of Econometrics
"If international business air travel
at Oxford Economics, said a return
volumes continue on the upward
to pre-financial crisis levels of
trajectory that they have
business travel within the next five
enjoyed since 2010, then the
years could boost international
return to the wider UK
trade by as much as £6.5billion.
economy would be significant.”
August after complete renovation
Called The Value of International
GTMC Chief Executive, Paul
Business Travel, the report revealed
Wait, adds: “This new research
a steady return in international
highlights clearly that international
business air travel volumes, rising by
business air travel is critical for a
12% between 2010 and 2014 in the
vibrant economy.”
wake of a 26% decline from 2006
He continues, “The business travel
and 2010. A one per cent increase in
sector is a major contributor to UK
total business travel volumes would
trade, powering foreign direct
boost total trade by £400million, or
investment, exports and imports.
0.5%, said the report. “Oxford Economics’ new report
“The magnitude of the impact of business travel on economic
outlines that business travel has
performance and foreign investment
not yet recovered its pre-2008
within the UK is staggering – the
levels, and defines the remarkable
value of business travel cannot be
impact on the UK’s economy that
underestimated.”
High-risk incidents triple in number The number of major global
of which 1,359 were 'high risk'
incidents has tripled in the last
incidents, generating over 69,000
two years compared to the
requests for medical assistance.
previous four, according to a new report from Anvil. Called A World of Risk, A World
“Businesses need to be increasingly risk-savvy,” says Anvil's Matthew Judge. “They
of Opportunity, the report says
need to make risk part of their
over 24,000 incidents were report
daily business calculations and
between May 2014 and May 2015,
respond accordingly.”
42 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
The luxury Franklin Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, reopens this
Thornton's Travel
Management takeover
The management team at Thornton’s Travel have acquired a majority shareholding of the company following Carol Wootton’s decision to retire from the business earlier this year. Long-standing employees Sarah Kelley and Lee Morse are the new directors. Review Travel
Executive acquisition
Review Travel has acquired hotel and venue booking specialist Executive Status, adding around £2million to its £10.7million annual turnover. Manchesterheadquartered Executive Status will relocate to Review Travel’s Wilmslow office. The travel management company is seeking further acquisition opportunities. Amex GBT
Network growth
American Express Global Business Travel is set to acquire SMT, a Finnish travel management company and long-standing Amex GBT network partner. Currently owned by the Finnair Group, SMT was formed in 2013 after the merger of the two largest Finnish-owned business travel agencies, Area Travel Agency and Finland Travel Bureau.
THE REVIEW THE LOWDOWN
GTMC UPDATE
IN BRIEF Airport experience
Travellers rate lounges
More than half of frequent travellers enjoy the airport experience, though 40% of business travellers head straight for the lounge, completely avoiding dining outlets and duty free shopping opportunities. The research from Priority Pass also showed 59% of business travellers consider access to an airport lounge ‘important’ or ‘very important’. Select Apartments
Booking bonus
Businesses making bookings with Select Apartments are now entitled to free access to three business lounges in London operated by Office Space in Town (OSIT). Customers will also be given five hours access per week to OSIT’s office buildings in Waterloo and Liverpool Street and offered a 20% discount on meeting room hire at its venues. ATPI Group
New Zealand addition
Travel management business the ATPI Group has acquired New Zealand-based agency Business World Travel, taking its wholly owned offices to 34 in 18 countries worldwide. ATPI has strengthened its Asia-Pacific presence in recent years with the takeover of Australian company Voyager in 2014 and DTC Travel in Malaysia last year. Sabre
Personalised travel
Over two-thirds of travellers think it’s important to receive travel options catered to their personal travel history and preferences. The study by travel technology company Sabre also found only 8% of respondents associate the airline industry with personalisation. Heathrow Airport
Going quiet
Heathrow Airport is on track to become the first large European airport free of the oldest and noisiest aircraft as the likes of Virgin Atlantic, BA, Qatar Airways and Air Canada increasingly deploy quieter, more efficient B787 Dreamliners at the airport.
Paul Wait Chief Executive, GTMC
T
he weather in the UK at the moment certainly encourages a return to
Marco Island, South West Florida, the venue of the GTMC Confer-
THE MARRIOTT group could
ence in May, where our speakers
control 60% of hotel rooms in New York following its Starwood deal.
delivered a number of key
These are the sort of challenges travel managers are
by the Oxford Economics
faced with as the hotel sector increasingly consolidates,
research of the true value of
delegates were told at the ITM Conference.
business travel to companies
The message came from Claire Marsden, of Sodexo, who said: “Mergers create big shares of big markets”, adding “Marriott will have 30 brands to play with”. In a whirlwind review of the business travel industry,
messages to the industry. One of the key messages was the undeniable evidence provided
and the UK economy. Additionally, Sandy Jap, professor of marketing at Emory University, Atlanta, spoke of the
Geoff Allwright, of Airbus UK, spoke of airlines returning
importance of channel collabora-
to “the golden age of profits”. He said: “It’s largely down
tion in today's route to market
to the low price of oil but also because airlines are
and why any business deploying
getting better at filling up their aircraft and there’s more
an imbalanced multichannel
route agility. They’re canning the routes that don’t work.”
distribution strategy, favouring
PwC’s Will Hasler discussed the dramatic impact of smartphone apps on the way ground transport is booked and paid for. And SACO’s Ben Harper spoke about the
one channel over another was "marketing madness". There has been a lot of talk
rise of the aparthotel model – the middle ground
recently about the threat posed
between serviced apartments and hotels. “GDS presence
by the growth of the sharing
and online distribution is now the norm,” he added.
economy with the surge in popularity of the likes of Airbnb. However, research carried out
Brits spend more on business travel Global business travel spend by UK travellers rose by 30% last year, to £5.82billion,
with HRS into booking accommo-
Passengers can now fly from London to Auckland with new American Airlines
according to analysis of the
services via
latest travel data from the
Los Angeles
dation and the business travel experience demonstrated only two per cent of travellers would opt for Airbnb accommodation. The main reasons stated for an overwhelming preference for chain hotels are location,
Collinson Group. And UK
price, ease of booking and
corporates are travelling more
knowing that important facilities
often with the number of visits
will be catered for.
up 7% and the number of nights
All of this demonstrates the
spent away up 17%. Meetings
importance of building strategies
across the Atlantic are thriving,
around research and putting
with UK business travellers
customer experience at the heart
spending £1.05 billion on
of a business strategy as opposed
corporate trips to the US in 2015,
to a factory-led approach and
and up 35% from 2014.
propaganda campaign.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 43
THE REVIEW IN THE AIR
IN BRIEF Alitalia
Airlift increase from London
Alitalia has expanded its operation between London City Airport and Milan Linate with the addition of a fifth daily service. The last return flight from Milan departs at 8.30pm local time, landing at London City at 9.25pm, enabling a full day’s business in the city.
B ritish Airways
Direct Middle East routes
UNITED AIRLINES has unveiled an all-new
British Airways is cutting two hours off its flights to Doha and Muscat by flying non-stop to the Middle East cities. From October, its services will no longer stop off in Bahrain en route to Doha and in Abu Dhabi en route to Muscat. Instead it will operate daily flights between Heathrow and Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain, and a five-times-weekly service between Heathrow and Muscat.
business class product that will be launched on intercontinental flights from December.
Called United Polaris, the onboard
be introduced in December on
product comprises 78-inch flatbed
Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and
seats with direct aisle access, 16-inch
subsequently on Boeing 787-10
HD screens, custom-designed
and Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, as
bedding, new amenity kits and an
well as on Boeing 767-300 and
‘elevated dining experience’.
777-200 retrofits.
Following more than 12,000 hours
On the ground, United will also
of research, sleep emerged as the
open new Polaris business class
single most important priority for
lounges in nine locations
amenities in-flight
business class travellers, which
around the world that will
and on the ground
prompted the airline to gear the new
feature private daybeds,
product towards enticing sleep.
showers and hot meals served in
The new business class product will
a ‘boutique restaurant’ setting.
Delta to double Scottish network in 2017
Brussels Airlines adds third cabin class
Delta Air Lines will double its
Brussels Airlines is introducing a
Scottish route network next
third cabin class on interconti-
summer when it begins flying
nental routes, Economy Plus.
between Glasgow and New York.
The new seating option occupies
The service, which will begin on
the first four rows of the
May 26, will be the only non-stop
economy cabin and gives
flight between Glasgow and
passengers more legroom and
New York-JFK. The daily summer
greater seat recline – 20 degrees
service will depart Glasgow at
instead of eight – as well as
13.00 and will be operated using
enhanced dining options and
a 164-seat Boeing 757-200ER
amenities. The first Airbus
aircraft equipped with wifi ac-
A330-operated flights with the
cess. The announcement came
new seating onboard will take off
shortly after Delta began operat-
on 1 July. The airline has also
ing between Edinburgh and New
upgraded all economy seating
York earlier this summer.
across its fleet of A330s.
44 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
EVA Air is upgrading
for business class passengers
bmi Regional
North East to Norway
bmi regional’s latest addition, a six-times-weekly service between Newcastle and Stavanger, commenced at the end of May. The service to the Norwegian oil business destination operates daily from Sunday to Friday. Aer Lingus
Trio of US services
Aer Lingus is adding three new routes from Dublin this summer as it celebrates 80 years of flying. The Irish carrier launched a four-times-weekly service to Los Angeles in May and will introduce a daily service to New York Newark on September 1, complementing its existing daily service to New York JFK. A third service, to Hartford, Connecticut, begins on September 28. Norwegian
New services
Norwegian is now flying to San Francisco Oakland and is set to launch a new service to Las Vegas in October. Transatlantic routes from Scotland are also on the cards.
THE REVIEW ON THE GROUND
ACTE UPDATE
IN BRIEF Gett acquisition
Market consolidation
The competitive B2B taxi market has seen its first major consolidation as ‘on demand’ app Gett completes its acquisition of Mountview House Group (MVHG), best known for operating corporate account specialist Radio Taxis. The multi-million pound deal for MVHG sees Gett increase its fleet of black cab drivers in London to 11,500; acquire the group’s online booking platform, One Transport; and boost its portfolio of corporate accounts.
Enterpise Rent-A-Car
Cutting costs
Car rental company Enterprise claims to have saved Aylesbury Vale District Council £90,000 and halved its carbon emissions in the first year of a new partnership. Rather than private car use among employees and mileage claims on expenses, the council now has eight on-site hourly rental pool cars sourced through Enterprise Car Club for employees making short journeys, along with Enterprise Rent-A-Car daily hire cars for longer journeys. Virgin Trains
Onboard streaming
Virgin Trains’ new entertainment app BEAM is now available to passengers on all Virgin Pendolino services on the West Coast route. The new app allows passengers to stream films, TV shows and read magazines on their own mobile device free of charge and regardless of class of travel. Once customers have downloaded the app from the Apple or Android Store it connects to a server on board, separate to the wifi, so as not to interrupt the quality of the internet service. The service will be rolled out across all Voyager trains by September and is also due to be introduced across Virgin's East Coast network.
Greeley Koch Executive Director, Association of Corporate Travel Executives
O
n a recent speaking tour through Asia (during which I addressed
several hundred business travel
VIRGIN TRAINS has introduced
managers and suppliers), a
a free booking portal for small and medium-sized businesses.
striking difference emerged
Called Railblazers, the self-booking tool allows business-
centricity has been immediately
es to reserve all their rail journeys from a single website,
grasped by many as providing
incorporating users and departments into one portal for
another dimension to the
the whole business.
traditional corporate savings
There are no credit card or booking fees and business
between these professionals and their western colleagues. The advantages of traveller
strategy. No 'hard sell' was
travellers will be able to collect their tickets without the
required to push the opportunities
card used to purchase them.
generated by greater collabora-
“We know that many SMEs face challenges getting ahead in business, which is why we support them both as suppliers and as customers,” says Graham Leech, Group Commercial Director at Virgin Trains.
tion between travel managers and business travellers. By contrast, it has taken the Association of Corporate Travel
“We are fully committed to supporting small businesses
Executives the better part of three
in the UK by creating bespoke offers designed to enable
years to pioneer this concept in
their travel across the Virgin Trains network, facilitating
other parts of the world. While
face-to-face meetings which are vital in securing deals
studies indicate the theory of
and maintaining business relationships. The Railblazers
traveller centricity is now
portal is designed to make rail travel easier for SMEs
accepted by 75% of Western
across the UK,” he adds.
business travel managers, many
Railblazers is supported by a dedicated UK-based team for clients and the portal went live in June.
are hobbled in its execution by outdated company metrics that still emphasise cost savings as the measure of successful
FirstGroup gets the nod for East Coast competition
travel management. There are times when a well-developed, mature business travel management programme
Train operator FirstGroup has gained approval from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to launch services on the East Coast Main Line and go head-to-head with Virgin Trains. Operating under an
can limit its own potential returns.
As global competition heats up,
Trainline has
traveller centricity is likely to
launched mobile tickets for customers purchasing fares for
‘Open Access’ agreement,
the Heathrow
FirstGroup has been given
Express
give Asian companies a definitive edge in sales and earnings. The most successful travel managers in the business now combine traveller communications programmes,
permission to run five services a
traveller satisfaction metrics, and
day each way between London
traveller input to the procurement
and Edinburgh from 2021. It says
process – along with established
average fares will be kept below
savings techniques – to achieve
£25 and wifi access will be free.
maximum results.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 45
THE REVIEW THE ROOM REPORT
IN BRIEF AccorHotels
Corporate card refresh
AccorHotels has renamed and enriched its subscription card product for corporate travellers. Business Plus is the new name for AccorHotels Favourite Guest Business. Members receive up to 15% off rates in 2,700 hotels across 11 AccorHotels brand, 20% off Europcar rentals worldwide and 10% off catering in ibis and ibis Styles hotels.
THE SIGNIFICANCE of hotels' star ratings
is declining according to research presented at the GTMC Conference. A survey of over 1,000 frequent
Radisson Blu
Edinburgh hotel makeover
Location (71%) and price (55%)
business travellers showed that user
were the most important criteria, but
reviews were of more use to those
ease of booking (53%) and safety
booking hotels than a star rating,
considerations (49%) were not far
according to the research from
behind. The research also showed
AudienceNet and HRS.
three-quarters of business travellers
Ben Fowler, Research Director at
prefer to stay at chain hotels – over
AudienceNet, cited it as the most
other accommodation options
significant finding of the research,
(see page 48). When it comes
revealing that only 31% consider star
to payment, half of respondents
ratings a 'very important factor'
pay for hotel stays with their
when deciding where to stay as
own credit cards and claim
opposed to the 33% who rank user
back on expenses, while 45%
ratings as influential.
use a company credit card.
The historic Watergate Hotel in Washington DC has reopened after a major refurbishment project
A comprehensive overhaul of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Edinburgh is now complete, with all guestrooms, meeting rooms and public areas having been refurbished. The year-long, £12million project has included a restyled lobby and the launch of a spa and health club at the hotel on the Royal Mile. Meeting rooms have been given a fresh look and there are new breakout areas and upgraded wifi, while guestrooms have 'Naturally Cool' decor, new mood lighting, furniture and media hubs. Hyatt Place
Hotel's UK debut
Marriott brings AC Hotels brand to the UK
Airbnb grows business travel offerings
The UK’s first AC Hotels by Mar-
Airbnb has unveiled a tool
riott have opened for business
enabling travel buyers to book
in Manchester and Birmingham.
business travel for co-workers.
The 142-room AC Hotel Man-
Previously, only the person
chester Salford Quays is set in a
booking the room was able to
prime spot in this regenerated
view the booking details and
area and the 90-room AC Hotel
they could not book other
Birmingham City Centre is situ-
travellers in the same checkout
ated at The Mailbox. Both hotels
flow. Subsequently, both the
have a signature AC Lounge – a
booker and the employee taking
creative hotspot by day and
the trip can see bookings details,
social hub by night – as well as
make changes to the reservation
the AC Library and meetings and
and message the Airbnb host.
events facilities. Marriott expects
The sharing economy exponent
to open a further 22 AC Hotels
says its business travel bookings
globally this year.
have tripled in 2016.
46 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
The UK's first Hyatt Place hotel has opened, located near London's Heathrow Airport. The 170-room property joins three Hyatt Place hotels in Europe as the select service brand gains momentum beyond the United States. The hotel has a Gallery Cafe with a la carte menu, 24/7 Gallery Market for 'grab and go' snacks, a StayFit gym and over 2,000sqft of meeting and event space. SilverDoor
Apartment agent acquisition
Serviced apartment agent SilverDoor has acquired one of its biggest competitors, Citybase, through a £2.25million takeover of Worldview. SilverDoor and Citybase will continue to operate independently from their London and Lancaster offices.
THE REVIEW THE MEETING PLACE
MIA UPDATE
IN BRIEF UKCAMS
More meetings, less spend
More business meetings and events were held at UK venues in 2015 but with fewer delegates and less overall spend. The findings reflect recent research which suggests organisers are being asked to deliver more with static budgets. The figures indicate a market that is till highly competitive, and there’s more good news for meeting planners in that there was no let up in investment by venues, with over three-quarters having upgraded their facilities in 2015.
Farnborough International
Exhibition centre
Farnborough International Airport will open an exhibition and conference centre in 2018. When complete, the purpose-built 12,500sqm event space will comprise a 2,500 seat conference space and 14 multipurpose meeting and event rooms. Lion Quays Hotel
Cabinet rooms opened
The Lion Quays Hotel & Spa in Oswestry, Shropshire, has taken inspiration from British politics for the transformation of its ‘Cabinet Rooms’ conference centre. The new development has created four meeting rooms - The Cabinet Room, Westminster Room, Number 10 and Number 11 – bringing capacity up to 122 delegates for meetings and training sessions. In addition, there is a banqueting suite suitable for events of up to 400 delegates. Palace Hotel Manchester
Events space relaunch
Manchester's Grade II listed Palace Hotel has relaunched its meetings and event spaces as part of a multi-million pound refurbishment. All 17 conference, meeting and private dining rooms have been upgraded, including the art deco Ballroom with capacity for up to 1,000 seated guests.
Jane Longhurst Chief Executive, Meetings Industry Association (mia)
A
huge amount of energy, time, dedication and money goes into
searching for and hiring the very best employees.
THE first Global Meetings Industry
In fact, it can be a real struggle
Day was marked in Las Vegas by an event that showcased the city’s thriving meetings and events sector.
to recruit the right talent with the
Las Vegas hosted some 22,000 meetings, conventions
more diversified, strategic or
and trade shows last year and welcomed around six
senior role?
million delegates – figures set to rise again this year. Michael Dominguez, Chief Sales Officer for MGM Resorts
exact skillset at the right time. So why do we often overlook existing employees who could potentially be nurtured into a
There can be numerous benefits to recruiting in-house. Initially,
and Chairman of Meeting Professionals International said
there’s no need to reinvent the
there was currently “pent-up demand that we just cannot
wheel. From the moment they
accommodate”. He called for expansion of the city’s
start their new role they will be
convention centre, calling it a “critical must-have”
well versed in the nuances of your
improvement for the city's meetings and events industry.
organisation as well as its values
Among recent developments has been the opening of the $375million, 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena, which
and principles. They’ll also have a good
forms part of The Park, a new entertainment district in
understanding of the relation-
the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. In addition, Aria Resort
ships in place with a range of
& Casino closed its Cirque du Soleil show, Zarkana, in
stakeholders from clients and
April to start work on a $160million expansion of its
suppliers to employees.
meeting facilities, while the Mandalay Bay hotel has already unveiled an expansion of its convention centre. Rossi Ralenkotter, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention &
Similarly, it sends a huge motivational beacon to current employees who will recognise the
Visitors Authority, said: “People don’t understand the
trust and faith that the manage-
impact of the meetings industry. It’s an integral part of
ment has in acknowledging
the economy. Face-to-face meetings are still where it’s at.”
internal progression. But naturally this won’t happen
Boutique hotel group relaunches meetings
'Movies at Madame Tussauds' features three
Malmaison has introduced a new ‘Work + Play’ concept for meetings and events. Initially being launched at its
event spaces for up to 120 guests in Star Wars and Marvel styles
overnight. To allow internal talent to flourish and be available at the right time, it’s crucial to implement a long-term strategy mapping employee skills against the requirements for the next level role. Devise a structured training
Birmingham hotel, new ‘Touch
and development plan to support
down’ rooms for small meetings
them. It’s also worth compiling
feature sleek glass walls,
a detailed analysis of where any
high-tech facilities, air condi-
gaps could lie and where efforts
tioning and flatscreen TVs. Six
should be concentrated to
larger meeting and event spaces
nurture capabilities. The MIA runs
at the Malmaison Birmingham
a range of workshops for both
have also been refurbished.
members and non-members.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 47
THE REVIEW DATA
BEDDING DOWN
Business travellers’ accommodation preferences For all the talk of Airbnb, sharing
continue to hold the trump card
economy accommodation options
when attracting the corporate
are not proving all that popular with
market, despite the ever-increas-
business travellers.
ing popularity of the sharing
Research conducted by Audience-
T R AV E L P O L I C Y 50% of business travellers pay hotel
economy,” says Paul Wait, Chief
Net on behalf of the GTMC and
bills on their own
Executive of the GTMC.
HRS showed only two per cent of
credit card and claim
“While shared homes might be
back the money
travellers said a room or home from
able to compete on price and
the likes of Airbnb and HomeAway
location there is the ongoing issue
was their accommodation prefer-
of safety and connectivity. With
ence when travelling on business.
both guaranteed at hotels, business
Rather, chain hotels was the first
travellers and company owners are
choice for an overwhelming 75% of
assured of the facilities in place for
respondents, followed by independ-
effective working and more efficient
ent hotels with 21%.
business travel.”
“For today’s business travellers it is
Do you have a travel policy for...?
FLIGHT TICKETS Total: 71% Large businesses: 81% Medium businesses: 74% Small businesses: 36%
See below and right for more
peace of mind in terms of facilities
findings from the report, which also
and traveller safety that mean hotels
looked at corporate travel policies. SOURCE: GTMC, HRS & AudienceNet
WHEN TRAVELLING FOR BUSINESS, WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER STAY?
2% in a short-stay serviced apartment
21%
rooms booked on sites like Airbnb and HomeAway
75%
at an independent hotel
CAR RENTAL Total: 56% Large businesses: 64% Medium businesses: 57% Small businesses: 31%
in a chain hotel
HOW MANY BUSINESS TRIPS INVOLVED STAYING AT...?
Luxury hotels
1-3 trips
4-6 trips
21%
15%
Mid-range hotels
24%
Budget hotels
24%
Short-stay serviced apartments Rooms booked on sites like Airbnb and HomeAway
15%
3% 1 1
12% 3% 1 1
48 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
7-9 trips
14%
10+ trips
6% 7%
26%
ACCOMMODATION Total: 73% Large businesses: 81% Medium businesses: 75% Small businesses: 45%
No trips
50%
10%
12%
4% 14%
30%
45%
80%
TRAIN TICKETS Total: 56% Large businesses: 62% Medium business: 61% Small businesses: 33%
83%
SOURCE: GTMC, HRS & AudienceNet
THE REVIEW THE CALENDAR
FROM conferences and exhibitions to gala
dinners and golf days, TBTM lists the best of the industry’s upcoming events
TBTM ONLINE
STAY CONNECTED thebusinesstravelmag.com
JULY 4-5
OCTOBER 14
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL CONFERENCE
THE ITM SUMMIT AND NORTHERN
Novotel London West,
BUSINESS TRAVEL BALL
Hammersmith
Manchester
thebusinesstravelconference.com
itm.org.uk
JULY 12-13
OCTOBER 26-28
✓
'How to' guides
✓
City profiles
✓
Product reviews
SERVICED APARTMENT SUMMIT
ACTE GLOBAL TRAVEL CONFERENCE
Park Plaza Victoria, London
Amsterdam
servicedapartmentsummit.com
acte.org
✓
Event information
JULY 17-20
NOVEMBER 7-9
✓
Photo galleries
GBTA CONVENTION
WORLD TRAVEL MARKET
Denver, United States
London
convention.gbta.org
wtmlondon.com
SEPTEMBER 12
NOVERMBER 14-16
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
GBTA CONFERENCE
GOLF MASTERS 2016
Frankfurt
Doing business in South East Asia • a look at
Mannings Heath, Sussex
gbta.org/europe
meeting venues in Manchester • Muscat city profile
thebusinesstravelmag.com
✓
Regular competitions and reader offers
Recently added online • Reality Check reviews of Foxhills Club & Resort in Surrey, British Airways First Class and the George Hotel, Edinburgh • plus the latest industry news, delivered every Friday
TBTM Weekly Only the news that really matters A news bulletin delivered by email to your inbox every Friday • Only the biggest stories and announcements from the world of business travel over the previous seven days • A weekly column from business travel consultant Lesley Turvey • Subscribe by visiting thebusinesstravelmag.com
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THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 49
In association with
THE REVIEW ON THE MOVE
ITM UPDATE
Simone Buckley Chief Executive, Institute of Travel Management
A
Pip English
Trish Govier
Stéphane Trycionka JOINS: CORINTHIA HOTEL LONDON
JOINS: DIVERSITY TRAVEL
JOINS: FCM TRAVEL SOLUTIONS
AS: Director of Sales & Marketing
AS: Supplier Relations Manager
AS: Global Risk Product Leader
FROM: Métropole Monte-Carlo
FROM: Qatar Airways
FROM: Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Stéphane Trycionka joins London's five-star Corinthia hotel with responsibility for driving sales at the group's flagship property. He has 11 years experience in the hotel industry, most recently at Monaco's Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo, as well as The Oetker Collection & Le Bristol.
Trish Govier takes over 25 years experience of the travel industry into her new position at travel management company Diversity Travel where she is responsible for supplier relations. Trish joins the TMC from Qatar Airways and has also worked for Emirates and KLM.
In his new role at FCm, Pip English is responsible for the delivery and maintenance of the company’s Travel Risk Management programme globally. He joins FCM from CWT where he worked as a Global Travel Risk Management Advisor to British Petroleum for three years.
t our recent annual conference there was much discussion about
'traveller centricity'. The concept means travel policies and programmes, and supplier products and services, should all be developed specifically for the end user if they are to be successful. In bygone years, cost control or compliance were central objectives; the modern consensus is that if you look after travellers then savings, compliance and
Mark Walton Patrick Oniyelo
fulfilling duty of care obligations
Ashleigh Rimmer
will logically follow. It’s a reminder that there is no more important business asset than people. The business travel sector
PROMOTED AT: ROOMZZZ
JOINS: CLARITY TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
JOINS: EVENT TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
TO: Chief Operating Office
AS: Business Development
AS: Senior Account Director
FROM: Head of Roomzzz
Manager FROM: Key Travel
FROM: cievents
Mark Walton has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer at Roomzzz' aparthotel company. During a 20-year career, he has opened and managed over 19 addresses across the UK, Europe & Middle East, including a 400-room flagship hotel.
Clarity Travel Management has appointed Patrick Oniyelo as Business Development Manager. He moves to Clarity from the not-for-profit sector specialist Key Travel where he held the same role. He has also worked for Uniglobe and Capita Travel.
Event Travel Management (formerly Chambers Travel Events) has appointed Ashleigh Rimmer as Senior Account Director. For the last four years she has held key event manager and director positions at cievents in Australia and the UK.
has, particularly in the postrecession era, had challenges recruiting and retaining highcalibre workers. I was delighted, therefore, to once again see the cream of our industry’s talent recognised at The People Awards ceremony in May. Like the ITM awards and others across the sector, it is crucial that we take time to reward those individuals and teams that go above and beyond for their employers, clients and travellers. There are many brilliant people in business travel, but we must be sure we are ready for the future. Technology and business change fast. Individually and collectively we must adapt our skill sets to remain relevant. It might be procurement or HR today, but tomorrow the emphasis may be on marketing, communications or data analysis. To support travellers of the future, the buyer and supplier communities must look after their own people, too.
50 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
ALSO ON THE MOVE... Amadeus has strengthened its UK management team with the appointments of CLARE DE BONO to the role of Head of Product and Innovation for UK and Ireland and AMANDA KOTENKO as Head of UK Account Management • Travel management company CTI has appointed KATE HEMMINGS as Sales Partnership Manager for Hotels and promoted CAREN WOODMAN to Head of CTI Bristol • Flight Centre Travel Group has appointed PETE STEPHENS as Corporate Chief Technology Officer for the Europe and Africa regions • BENEDICTE OLLAGNON has joined HRS – Global Hotel Solutions as Partner Director in the UK and Ireland • Travelport has appointment PEGGY BIANCO as Vice President, Head of Hotel Sourcing • PAUL RAMIREZ has joined FCM Travel Solutions in a newly created role as Global Data Leader • Global Hotel Alliance, GHA, has appointed FLO LUGLI in a new role as Executive Chairman • PAUL SKINNER has joined London's Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel as Director of Operations • GEORGE MICHALOPOULOS has been promoted to the position of Chief Commercial Officer at Wizz Air • The Rocco Forte Hotels group has appointed MAURIZIO SACCANI as Global Director of Operations while RICHARD COOKE is the new General Manager of its Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh • MICHELLE SIZER has joined The Hylands Estate in Essex as its Events and New Business Coordinator • GLOBY OUSEPH has joined the The Sofitel London Gatwick as General Manager of the 518-bedroom hotel
EXECUTIVE SEARCH AND RECRUITMENT SPECIALISTS Dedicated to the business travel sector info@sirius-cv.com • +44 (0)845 605 9055 • www.sirius-cv.com
EVENT REVIEW TBTM DINNER CLUB
DINNER CLUB Senior personnel from across the business travel industry enjoyed an evening of conversation, debate and networking at The Business Travel Magazine’s latest dinner event at The Dorchester Hotel in May. Guest speaker for the evening, Dr Nicola Millard, Head of Customer Insight & Futures in BT’s Global Innovation Team, gave a lively and insightful perspective on how
offices of the future will operate and how to employers can get the best out of their teams when it comes to communication. The evening was co-sponsored by ANA All Nippon Airways, Sabre, Avis Budget UK and Qatar Airways. If you would like to attend the next event in September and you are a senior travel buyer email david.clare@bmipublishing.co.uk
“Guests were treated to a lively and insightful talk from Dr Nicola Millard about the future of the workplace”
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 51
Regional aiRlines
FLYING HIGH The lines between low-cost carriers and legacy airlines are blurring as their interdependency increases across Europe. Gillian Upton reports on the evolving regional airlines market
QUESTION: When is a low-cost carrier not a low cost carrier? Answer: When they begin adding codeshare partners and start operating as feeder airlines for the big flag carriers. So what do we call them instead? Hybrid airlines perhaps, or regional carriers? What is crystal clear is that aviation economics dictate that it is no longer viable for the legacy carriers to operate thin, short-haul routes. They do not have the right equipment for these routes as they only require aircraft with 50 to 100 seats onboard. It might be Aberdeen to Norwich (flown by bmi regional), Leeds Bradford to Southampton (operated by Eastern Airways) or Birmingham to Glasgow flown by Flybe. Nonetheless, the legacy carriers need passengers from regional points to feed their far more profitable long-haul networks, which is why the codeshares, wet lease arrangements and subcontracting deals that are increasingly being clinched provide a beneficial solution for both parties.
52 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
The legacy carriers benefit from extending their geographical reach with minimal outlay, and the regional carriers have a solid modus operandi. Both carrier types have the right aircraft on the right routes to optimise aircraft economics, with low-cost carriers preferring the likes of twin-engined, turbo prop, 70-seat Bombardier Q400s flying 300-400km routes and 150-seat Airbus A320 jets flying 1,500km routes. The legacy carriers used to have sub100-seat aircraft in their fleets but now go for scale with much larger aircraft. Many can no longer afford to operate their short-haul routes as legacy services ever since low-cost carriers started decimating their market, but they are trying their best to manage decline.
Upping the ante The low-cost carriers of today started as no-frills airlines, aggressively undercutting the legacy carriers, and now they’re moving away from their DNA by adding frills in a bid to achieve higher yield fares. It’s a tandem trend in the short-
haul market and ATPI's UK Managing Director, Adam Knights, suggests calling today’s low-cost carriers web airlines. On easyJet, for example, passengers no longer have to scramble to the aircraft to get a seat, they can book one, and they can buy a fare type with flexibility to change or cancel the ticket. Passengers no longer need fly from less convenient secondary and tertiary airports but the main UK hubs. “Low-cost carriers can only move upmarket by offering more attributes which have a value to the customer,” says airline analyst Chris Tarry of consultancy AIRA. They’re moving upmarket and still offering fares lower than legacy airlines. According to a survey undertaken by Capita Business Travel, LCCs undercut legacy carriers by 35% on average on domestic routes in the UK. “They’re as good a product and price and sometimes they’re quicker,” says Chris Truss, Director of Proposition & Consulting – Air, Rail & Ground Transportation, at Capita Travel & Events.
Regional aiRlines
“One caveat is that easyJet is engaged with the business market more than Ryanair over the last couple of years.” The percentage of business passengers onboard easyJet has grown by 23% over the last three years. “Allocated seating was a fundamental move,” says Anthony Drury, Head of Business at easyJet. However, he also cites managed contracts booked through TMCs, direct booking through the website by SMEs, brand awareness and the customer journey and experience combining together to fuel the changes. “Those dynamics work in our favour, and supply and demand too, and we spent a lot of money marketing and supporting the TMC community,” he says.
Moving in on the market Ryanair has only just begun its journey to woo the business sector. It launched Business Plus fares in 2014, which gives ticket flexibility, priority boarding, seating and 20kg baggage, and has begun to talk to the business travel community too, through the GDS for
example. Last year it launched mobile boarding passes and a secondary cabin bag allowance. The airline has also been adding mainstream airports, most notably Amsterdam, Brussels and Rome Fiumicino, and clinched a deal in April to provide feeder traffic into fellow budget
“Many legacy carriers can no longer afford to operate their short-haul routes as legacy services as low-cost carriers win market share” airline Norwegian’s growing network of long-haul flights from London Gatwick. The growth of Norwegian in the UK is another story altogether, with recent increases in flight frequency from Gatwick as its base to fly long-haul to destinations in the United States. The carrier recently announced a new twice-weekly service to Las Vegas (beginning October 31) and introduced
new fares for its Premium product on flights to the US this winter, which start from £399 one way to Boston – another new route for 2016. The fact the airline has both a Premium cabin and a frequent flyer programme is demonstrative of the evolution the lowcost sector is undergoing. Its scheme rewards customers 'sooner rather than later' – starting from six bookings in a year – and lets them choose the particular benefits they want. Vice President of Norwegian Rewards, Brede Huser, says: “You can earn cashpoints on all flights and these can be used for full and partial payment on every ticket.” EasyJet, meanwhile, does not offer a traditional frequent flyer programme but rather an invite-only scheme, Flight Club. To qualify, customers must have booked and flown 20 flights or more in 12 months (or ten or more and spent over £1,500), with benefits including free flight changes, free name changes, a price guarantee, preview fares, special offers and a dedicated contact team. ➔
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 53
Regional aiRlines
➔ Corporate conundrums Andrew Newton, Head of Corporate Travel at Colpitts World Travel, believes LCCs are getting there, having recognised that they need to work with travel management companies, but says that challenges remain. “There is still a lot of work to do in terms of easing the payment process for TMCs, while on any multi-segment routings the legacy carriers continue to have the advantage with through fares and other service advantages.” The legacy carriers have responded by emulating LCCs with unbundled fares, and offering hand baggage only fares, for example. It is rumoured that British Airways may unbundle the food and drink offering onboard, although the airline denies it. Today, the plethora of fare packages across both airline types embrace seats, flight times, baggage and meals predominantly. For this reason, Capita’s Truss believes the delineation between legacy and LCC on short haul operations will disappear. “They have to in that marketplace,” he says. EasyJet’s Drury believes that there is a clear USP between themselves and their LCC competitors but less so with their legacy rivals, nonetheless saying that it represents “a decent head of water”.
54 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
The convergence between the two carrier types has led to another market characteristic, explains Paul Dear, Director of Supplier & Industry Affairs at HRG – confusion in the marketplace from the explosion in fare packages. “If you want a seat number but not hold luggage is it better to get a bundled fare?” he asks. He also believes the confusion lends itself more to a classic environment than an online one, which strengthens the argument for using a TMC. “It really is a confusing market,” he says, “but also quite exciting.” EasyJet could add to the confusion with a plan to bundle fares with a food element, others with extra baggage. “We want to tailor the product to certain industries,” says Drury. Currently in test, the airline will evolve its website to add aspects of personalisation for certain groups, such as SMEs and oil and gas companies.
a trio of models Current market dynamics have split the short-haul market three ways, into the LCCs, the regional carriers and the legacy carriers, and all are trying to woo the corporate customer. Despite the fragmentation, managing their revenue is key to all as on the horizon is an awful lot of new capacity. Airlines may have posted record profits this year, due
to the low fuel price, but there will be insufficient demand to fill all the new aircraft, so fares will have to come down and balance sheets will suffer once again. In May, Ryanir’s Michael O’Leary announced a fares decrease of at least 7% for 2016, while easyJet fares are 20% lower for summer 2016. Airlines have tried to delay fleet delivery, while the fact that fuel prices have climbed by 45% since January – admittedly from a very low base – will complicate the financial balancing act they juggle every day. “Fuel is going up and fares going down, which is great for travellers but not for airlines,” says Chris Tarry. “People should hang on for a bumpy ride,” he says, predicting that by the back end of the summer, “it’ll take a grip.” He cites the examples of one African and one Asian airline – Kenya Airways and Sri Lankan Airways – getting rid of aircraft, and another major player based in the Spanish capital busy looking to purchase second-hand A380s as the price of new ones is prohibitively high. Some legacy carriers flying out of Heathrow have no choice but to continue operating some thin short haul routes because they have to hang on to their valuable slots at the hub airport.
gaining ground Where will it all end? Arguably with the likes of easyJet and Ryanair taking larger chunks of the pie as their networks get better, deeper and become the norm. “We are a change management agent,” declares easyJet’s Drury. Ameliorating against Ryanair expansion are slot constraints if they try and ➔
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regional airlines
“We’re seeing a noticeable increase in connectivity between legacy carriers and low-cost carriers. It seems to be where everyone’s headed”
➔ replicate easyJet’s network. Currently, the two airlines only overlap on 6% of their route networks. On the continent, their counterparts are Vueling and Eurowings – the lowcost arms of British Airways owner IAG and Lufthansa respectively – and it is they that will grab more market share. It is these such legacy airlines with their own low-cost carrier that are in a strong position, such as Vueling/British Airways, Iberia Express/Iberia and Transavia/Air France.
Regional solutions On long-haul operations, the legacy carriers will purchase aircraft with extra range – the A321 Neo being a good example of transcontinental range on long-haul sectors – and increasingly sub-contract short-haul services to regional carriers. The likes of Flybe, bmi regional and Cityjet will benefit. These airlines are making regional airports more attractive to the business traveller, with good frequencies, connectivity to major hubs and often seamless codeshares with legacy airlines' global networks. “We’re seeing a noticeable increase of filings of connectivity between legacy carriers and LCCs,” says John Grant, Senior Analyst at OAG. “It seems to be where everyone’s headed.” Even Gatwick Airport has got in on the act, offering a Connect baggage service in the arrivals hall for those passengers connecting between two low-cost carriers or between a legacy airline and a low-cost carrier. “It’s a move
56 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
to a self-facilitating, self-connected passenger,” says Grant. One issue is how corporates manage codeshares in their travel policy, says HRG's Dear. Are they classed as indirect fights or direct fights? Jochen Schnadt, CEO of bmi regional, which codeshares with Lufthansa and has interline agreements with United and Condor, explains his airline’s rationale: “We cannot compete with the LCCs so we go into markets not able to sustain larger aircraft. Our proposition caters to the corporate end of the market by offering a level of convenience, like bag drops and a full service in terms of food. “We don’t unbundle. All our prices are inclusive of a bag, a meal and ticket flexibility.” Some include Fast Track, others lounge access. The airline’s Business Powered product is a bespoke package of different elements, which could be a shuttle between office and airport, which ties into bmi’s flights, for example, or a coffee and croissant rather than lounge access. “We’re having conversations with corporates to put packages together as seamlessness is the key today,” says Schnadt. “It is an opportunity for us to make a point of differentiation. “We’re bringing customers from all over the regions to Lufthansa’s hub for long-haul connections. We have 50-seat aircraft so that allows us to serve these destinations with frequencies.” In the next 18 months the airline will be evaluating aircraft in the 90-100 seat range which will allow bmi regional to enter new, medium-size markets.
regional airlines
Another big regional player, Flybe is connected to many other major longhaul carriers, namely Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Cathay Pacific and Air India, and says it is the largest regional carrier in the UK and Europe. Its route network majors on smaller cities and towns and different fare types suit different demographics: Just Fly is a stripped-back, seat-only fare; Get More tickets allow passengers to change to an earlier or later flight on the same day at no extra cost; and All In which, as the name suggests, is a full service fare type including priority parking and Fast Track security access. Business passengers book across all fare types. “A lot of our passengers are business owners, the SMEs, and they’re all about saving money,” says Chief Revenue Office, Vincent Hodder. He believes unbundled fares can provide much better quality MI for corporates than they could historically and that the advent of NDC-enabled comparative shopping for airfares will allow customers to choose the elements they want to pay for and omit those they don’t. But Capita’s Truss believes NDC could open the door to upselling and less compliant travellers, not something corporates will be happy about. “Travellers’ needs are different to travel managers’ needs,” adds HRG's Dear. “Travel managers don’t want to encourage additional spend.” From the airline perspective, ancillaries allow them to satisfy different client types but Dear recognises that greater choice offers opportunities to over-spend. The next stage of Flybe’s technology development – expected in the next 12 months – will help travel managers as it will allow customers to track their policy rules and in Q3 or Q4 this year the airline will launch an SMS portal targetted at SMEs.
Connecting the dots Flybe has five aircraft that fly on behalf of SAS and two for Brussels Airlines, which make up the airline’s white label operations. Its core operation, though, is connectivity between the UK and European regions with a fleet of 75 aircraft. It has hubs at the likes of Birmingham, Cardiff and Exeter, and codeshares with the likes of Air France, Air India, Aer Lingus, British Airways,
Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, KLM, Finnair and Virgin Atlantic. Its recent codeshare with Virgin means that a business passenger can buy one through ticket between say, Exeter and Los Angeles and not have to re-check-in their baggage. “It’s seamless and a proper codeshare,” says Vincent Hodder. Some 80% of its route network is not competed with. “The quote I love is that if Flybe didn’t exist, you’d have to create it,” says Hodder. The other 20% is generally operated in competition with lower frequencies and larger aircraft from low-cost carriers, which do offer better seat economics. Expansion plans from Flybe mean it will ultimately serve the business community almost exclusively – its current passenger mix is 60/40 with a business traveller majority. On some routes, such as Exeter-London, the passenger load is predominantly business passengers. Another regional carrier is Cityjet, which operates with three different business models: scheduled routes out of London City as the second largest carrier there, serving mainly France and Dublin; an adhoc charter market; and a growing wet lease business, historically
“Flybe’s new codeshare with Virgin means a passenger can buy one through ticket between say, Exeter and Los Angeles, and not have to re-check their baggage” with Air France (who used to own the airline), and now on behalf of Air France and SAS. The arrangement with SAS means it has aircraft stationed in Helsinki and Stockholm and some 150 staff based in the Nordic region. Cityjet’s wet lease and codeshare business accounts for 60% of its operations and this is where it is focusing its expansion plans, becoming the European launch customer for the 98-seat Superjet SSJ100 aircraft. It has ordered 15. “There is a definite niche for the 100-seat market,” says Cathal O’Connell, Chief Commercial Officer of the airline, “and we would like to operate from other airports.” O’Connell was previously CEO of bmi Regional. ➔
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 57
regional airlines
➔ One need only look to the US to see a thriving and mature 100-seat market being delivered on behalf of the larger airlines by partner airlines under different brand names. Cityjet’s fares match other regional carriers in terms of offering a range of options: City Premium offers upmarket food, greater ticket flexibility and two checked bags, for example. The airline’s most frequent route is a nine-times-daily service to Amsterdam as a codeshare with KLM. One third of the passengers on this route connect with long-haul services (and neatly circumvent APD). “We’ve evolved LCY as a gateway to Amsterdam,” says O’Connell. Also proof,
if any were needed, that Heathrow is gradually losing its European hub status. In fact, the government’s dithering over runway expansion in the southeast is playing into the hands of regional airlines. “It’s undeniably the case that other European airports are expanding to the detriment of Heathrow,” says Chris Truss. The current hope is that a decision on airport expansion will be made after the EU Referendum, later this summer. In the meantime, constrained supply in the South East means that airports such as London City are operating at capacity at peak times, such as Thursday and Friday at 6pm. Plans to expand taxiways and realign the apron area will help, allowing the airport to accommodate
larger wingspan aircraft, make the airport more efficient and increase the number of slots available as more aircraft will be able to be on the ground at any one time. With at least one or two decades before a new runway opens in the South East, business travellers’ flying habits will have changed beyond all recognition as they become familiar with the convenience of flying long-haul from their local airport. Ten years is a long time in the business travel market and the current dynamics in the short-haul market – with three distinct market players – could diminish the need for a hub and spoke system at Heathrow as capacity at regional airports will become the priority.
regional connectivity The airlines below operate predominantly within the UK and Europe, to key hubs and regional airports alike. Their business models vary from fully low-cost, no-frills operations through to more traditional set-ups Airline
Headquarters
Number of routes across network
Top routes/destinations
Biggest UK bases
Number of aircraft
Aurigny
Guernsey
13 (three seasonal)
Guernsey, Gatwick, Manchester
N/A
11
Business Plus online tool
BA CityFlyer
Manchester
30
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Dublin, Zurich
London City and Edinburgh
23
2-2 seating configuration, free hand baggage allowance, no debit card charges
bmi regional
East Midlands
34
Bristol-Frankfurt, MunichRotterdam, Bristol-Munich, Aberdeen-Norwich
Bristol and Aberdeen
18
Four-tier Business Powered suite of fares/products: Regional Advance, Regional Privilege, Regional Elite & Regional Bespoke
CityJet
Dublin
13
Amsterdam, Dublin, Rotterdam, Paris Orly, Antwerp
London City
25
Fare options include City Value (1 checked bag, snacks and drinks); City Flex (all of the above plus flexible ticktet); City Premium (better food, two checked bags, turn up and fly)
Eastern Airways
Humberside
16
Durham
Aberdeen
33
Free food, snacks and Fast Track for all fare types; Flexible Fares offer unlimited changes and lounge access. Also Zonal route pass discounts when purchasing four or six return flights
EasyJet
Luton
800
Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Geneva, Belfast, Barcelona
Gatwick, Luton and Bristol
245
Standard, Inclusive or Flexi Fares (including speedy boarding, hold luggage, seat selection, Fast Track and ticket changes), easyJet Plus card
flybe
Exeter
214
Aberdeen-Manchester Birmingham-Glasgow Birmingham-Edinburgh Belfast City-Birmingham Birmingham-Paris CDG
Birmingham
74
Fly Get More based on standard ticket, 20kg hold bag and free SMS booking confirmation; Fly All based on flexible ticket, 40kg hold luggage, hand luggage, lounge access, free drinks/snacks, priority check-in and Fast Track
Jet2.com
Leeds
55
Alicante, Majorca, Malaga, Faro, Tenerife
Leeds Bradford and Manchester
63
Allocated seating, 22kg hold baggage allowance, 10kg hand baggage
Norwegian
Fornebu, Norway
450
(From London) Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, New York, Los Angeles
London Gatwick
110+
Premium cabin, free wifi onboard, Norwegian Rewards scheme
Ryanair
Dublin
190
Dublin-Stansted, Dublin-Gatwick, Sicily-Rome, Barcelona-Rome
18
350
Business Plus includes priority boarding, flexible tickets, Fast Track and premium seats
Vueling
Barcelona
410
Gatwick and Luton
108
Fare options include Basic; Optima, including one checked bag, seat selection, Avios and flight changes; and Excellence, including all the above plus first row seats, hand luggage, preferential boarding, flexible tickets, separate check-in, lounge access and Fast Track security
38 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 58 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Specific business offerings
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Duty of Care
Never has a company’s Duty of Care to its travellers been more pertinent. Linda Fox explains what it means for both parties
What is it? In short, Duty of Care is a company’s responsibility to look after its employees. The UK Corporate Manslaughter Act came into effect in 2008 and it means that the senior executives of a company can be held responsible for deaths if a judge believes management has failed in its duty of care. Travellers need to have been made aware and understand the risks to themselves and their employer. So far only a small number of prosecutions are believed to have taken place, with heavy fines imposed. There is no upper limit on the fines.
Why has it come to the fore?
Whose responsibility is it?
The whole Duty of Care issue has been brought sharply into focus by recent global events. While the law states that companies are responsible for the care of employees, it is increasing security threats – as well as terror attacks across the world – which has pushed many businesses to put risk assessment procedures in place. With incidents moving from just highrisk destinations a few years ago to any place and at any time, companies must know where their travellers are and be able to contact them in the event of an incident. There is also a more general trend towards looking after the traveller and trying to improve his or her travel experience, which also means during disruptions of whatever nature.
One of the reasons the law was changed was because it was hard to tie responsibility down to one individual. Now proceedings can be brought against companies of all sizes. While the law is directed at senior management a jury could also decide that policies from the senior team down led to a breach in the duty of care. Travellers should make themselves aware of the company policy on risk management as well as the procedure of communicating with the company if anything happens while they’re travelling. They may also need to decide whether they want to be tracked more closely using GPS and mobile devices. Thoughts are divided on this in terms of personal privacy versus company responsibility.
“It’s important to note that travellers making bookings outside travel policy must also be looked after”
Start by reading up on the law and then assess what the company already has in place to comply and what still needs to be done. Many of the travel security specialists (including iJet, Anvil,
What do I need to do about it?
International SOS, Control Risks, Red24) can provide step-by-step guides. Risk assessments should be carried out before each trip is taken, making sure risks are communicated to the traveller. Travellers should also be provided with updates during trips if situations change. Companies should have their policies and procedures recorded and be able to show risk assessments have taken place and travellers are receiving updates. It’s important to note that travellers making bookings outside travel policy must also be looked after.
Who can help? There’s a huge amount of information out there so read up. Your travel management partner may have a traveller tracking tool or may have outsourced to a security specialist. Mainstream newspapers have covered the topic and the Ministry of Justice (gov.uk) also provides regular information. The Health and Safety Executive (hse.gov.uk) also has information and legal firms provide advice too.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 59
Cab CoNuNdrums
60 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Cab CoNuNdrums
GROUND
CoNTrol The rise of Uber, Hailo and co. has shaken up the ground transport market, but what does it all mean for business travellers and their employers that pay their taxi bills? Alex Blyth has the lowdown
NoT so loNG aGo when business travellers wanted to book a taxi they stepped onto the street to flag down a black cab, or they picked up the phone to their local contract cab firm. Simple. But when Uber arrived on the scene everything changed. With a simple smartphone app, people could suddenly find nearby taxis and accept a fixed price booking, often at a significant discount from black cab rivals. Uber now has a worldwide network and, despite ongoing challenges to its operations, there are now more drivers registered to Uber in London than there are licensed black cab drivers in the city. And at the start of 2016 Transport for London dropped proposed restrictions on the service, opening the way for further growth. It is present in several other UK cities too, including Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield, but is facing increasing competition from a host of imitators and alternative models such as Hailo, Gett and Kabbee.
This rapid revolution in the taxi market has presented both opportunities and challenges to both employees and employers, but current best practice in this area is still up for debate and the market will continue evolving in the months and years ahead.
millennials make it the norm “The likes of Uber, Gett and Hailo, as well as Lyft in the US, have transformed the taxi market by matching up supply and demand using technology, and it is particularly appealing to millennials,” says Nicola Wilson, Client Relationship Executive at EQ Travel Management. “There is also a general consensus that these services are cheaper, and because of the GPS tracking and driver ratings you are unlikely to be taken the long way round,” adds Wilson. Such smartphone apps may have taken the urban consumer market by storm in recent years, but Adam Knights, UK Managing Director at the ATPI Group, says take-up among business users has not been so strong. “For daytime requirements we have not seen our
travellers making significant use of the new entrants for ad-hoc arrangements within the city,” he says. “The primary benefits of these services are convenience and cost, but companies tend to have arrangements in place for employees to easily book cabs. Also, for business users the price points tends to be less relevant.” However, he expects this to change. “We believe the actual technology and the benefits it brings, in areas such as expense claims, will mean younger travellers choosing these operators over the black cab on an increasing basis. City travellers who use the new entrants in their personal lives within London will probably do the same for their daytime working needs.”
duty of care concerns Employers have been cautious in their acceptance of some new entrants, with Uber's lack of regulation bringing duty of care issues into the debate. Hence despite all the benefits she cites, EQ's Wilson goes on to state that her firm does not recommend these to
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 61
Cab conundrums
“Regulated taxi firms have much stricter and tighter legislation, making them the more reliable option in terms of safety”
clients. “We have a responsibility to our clients, and until we can be sure that these services are officially regulated on driver insurance and car safety we would advise clients against using them,” she says. Indeed, the news in May 2016 that Uber drivers had been accused of 32 rapes and sexual attacks on passengers in the previous 12 months – revealed by a Freedom of Information request from The Sun – did little to reduce concern about safety in these taxis. Matthew Judge, Group Managing Director for travel risk management consultancy Anvil, points out that this issue is likely to increase in importance with the use of services by business travellers in less stable countries. He explains: “The most prevalent risk facing employees who use deregulated taxi firms are physical threats to their safety. With the rise of newer and less regulated taxi services there has been an increase in the number of incidents
where passengers have been involved in an accident or have been assaulted by the drivers themselves. “Regulated taxi firms have much stricter and tighter legislation, making them the more reliable option in terms of safety.”
Not all apps are the same Andy Jones, General Manager UK of Hailo accepts the issue: “The key challenges we hear from businesses are a need to control and manage their corporate taxi use while fulfilling their duty of care by ensuring employees only use safe, insured, fully accessible, licensed vehicles and drivers,” he says. “The sector is notoriously fragmented, and alarmingly many businesses apply little or no coherent policy to how their employees source ground transport despite the fact that statistically it can be the riskiest part of any journey.” He goes on to point out that not all providers are the same in this regard. Hailo only works directly with licensed
Cab conundrums
taxis. Users can see details of and communicate directly with their driver, which Jones says enhances security and helps minimise time waiting in the street or in poor weather. Its typical pick up time in London is three minutes.
The role of the TMC Many TMCs see a role for themselves as trusted partners who can guide corporate travel managers through this confusing new world of taxi booking. Stuart Birkin, Director of Business Management at Corporate Travel Management, says: “Hailo and Uber are good for local runs within a city, but corporates need to be mindful of duty of care, lower service levels and lack of due diligence when using Uber, as anyone can sign up to drive. “We build up traveller profiles for our clients and recommend the most appropriate type of transport. We also help clients select contract taxi firms and negotiate rates. In higher risk countries we would obtain the name, photo of the driver, type and registration number of the vehicle so the traveller knows exactly who should be picking them up.” Many TMCs are embracing the convenience of online booking and so launching their own tools. Annicka Lofstrand, Director of Global Suppliers at KDS, says: “Companies such as Addison Lee, Cabforce and Snapcar have already integrated with KDS to offer travellers a more streamlined booking and travel experience. It is a very effective way to control and manage ground transport costs via selected and vetted suppliers.”
A maturing market Looking to the future, Mark Holden, Head of Strategy at Arena Media, expects that taxi services – indeed all corporate travel – will develop along similar lines to the bring-your-own-device movement. “Instead of using single fixed suppliers for travel needs, they'll start to act more like aggregators of travel services for employees, allowing them to choose the services they find most convenient, while introducing mechanics to encourage them to make choices that reduce costs. Businesses like Google have already developed this kind of model for travel, and I see it being adopted elsewhere.” It is without doubt a market which is attracting major investment across the
globe. In May, Apple invested £693million in Didi Chuxing, the car-hailing app that has a greater market share than US rival Uber in China. That was just a fragment of a $7.3billion financing round. Could this be the beginning of market consolidation and a maturing of this ferment of disrupters? ATPI Group's Knights believes so. “We think that this sector will grow to a small number of global players in the same way Airbnb is now dominating the room rental market. “We believe that black cabs or New York yellow taxis will continue to play a significant part in the transport chain but will need to maintain the quality of their proposition in the face of their rivals’ significant technology benefits.” Maintaining that consistency will be a sizeable challenge for the traditional players in this market. As Knights concludes: “A black cab driver said to me recently – ‘we have a great USP which can co-exist with the new entrants but the real issue is that we are 25,000 individual business owners competing against a single company’.”
“We think that this sector will grow to a small number of global players in the same way that Airbnb is now dominating the room rental market”
The main app players Uber Launched in 2009, it bypasses traditional licensed cabs, allowing customers to book nearby cars using an app, then pay for the journey using pre-stored card details from their phone. It offers a range of services and is present in hundreds of cities across the globe. Hailo Allows more than 16,500 licenced taxi drivers in London to connect with passengers via its app. Users only pay the meter fare as determined by Transport for London. A free Hailo for Business service allows account holders to access detailed MI. It operates in more than 20 cities, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Madrid, Barcelona and Singapore. Gett Uses licensed drivers and offers flat rate pricing, splitting cities into zones to calculate costs. It operates in 60 cities worldwide, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, New York City and Moscow. Kabbee Allows users to pre-book or hail a minicab from a selection of live quotes including closest car, cheapest fare and best-rated fleet. It operates only in London. Maaxi Allows users to book a seat in a black cab rather than hail a whole car, sharing the fare between a group of passengers. Operates only in London. Lyft Operates a similar business model and offer to Uber but to date is present only in the United States.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 63
Sustainability biofuels
alternative solutions Can alternative fuels come to the rescue of the carbon-intensive transport industry, asks Roger Gardner Continued strong growth in travel means that transport needs a ‘get out of jail card’ to deal with its carbon liability. Technology and passenger-linked fuel efficiency may be advancing well for all modes but the increase in demand is keeping air, road and sea travel firmly in the dock. With transport accounting for almost 20% of world energyrelated CO2 emissions, will alternative fuels come to the rescue or will they be too little and too late? The EU reports that greenhouse gas emissions in other sectors decreased by 15% between 1990 and 2007 but transport emissions grew 36% in the same period. Since then, vehicle emissions have started to decrease but by 2012 were still more than 20% above 1990 levels. The story for air and sea travel is no better: only rail can show a continuous improvement trend in recent years. Biofuels are being used increasingly but neither feedstocks nor incentives are sufficient to really make a difference. And the continuing relatively low cost of fuel is disincentivising investment in alternative fuel initiatives despite new advanced types of biofuel. Microalgae-derived fuels show great promise and do not risk the unacceptable practice of using land capable of supporting food crops for fuel instead, but production costs remains high. So it is likely that economics will rule the roost for a while with new fuels only taking off if oil prices get up towards the $100/barrel level again, and they are on the move. Specifically for business travel, the WWF estimated in 2011 that 22
64 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
million tonnes of CO2 could be saved if all European companies cut their business travel by 20%. That is equivalent to taking one third of UK cars off the road so the case for acting is strong. Waiting for stronger oil prices to force the pace is a poor justification for inaction. In relative terms, business travel may only be a small part of the total transport fuel use but that
Air travellers will be largely unaware of where the fuel that powers their flight may come from – fossil source or bio. Airlines will advertise their policies but if you want your business travel to be
“It will take a long time, higher oil prices and better fiscal incentives before alternative fuels really take off” means that the business travel sector can be a shining example, not least, as responsible companies should be establishing policies to use alternative fuel transport wherever possible (see page 16 for one airline's efforts in this area). Companies are also more likely to be able to afford the small cost premium associated with doing the right thing. That may be easy enough to do with road transport where ready alternatives exist in rental car fleets, chauffeur cars and taxis. But it is harder for air travel where the biofuels uplift is small despite some fuel companies now offering 30% bio-blends. The UK’s Sustainable Aviation Group has calculated that the use of sustainable fuels in the UK could contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 24% by 2050 for the aviation sector. Though very worthwhile, this estimate is fuel price dependent and not a near-term fix.
low or no carbon, corporates have a few choices. You can decide to ‘offset’ your flight carbon by buying an offset credit, you can decide to go by train if the journey is short-haul, or you can opt for videoconferencing some of your meeting needs. The key point is that it will take a long time, higher oil prices, better fiscal incentives and plentiful supplies of sociallyacceptable feed stocks before alternative fuels really take off. So be aware of the need to look out for green-fuelled transport options, as greater demand will help to accelerate a supply-side response. Business travel has the power to make that difference if it could mobilise collective action. The environmental plaudits for such a step would be significant.
DEPARTURES LEEDS
MEETING IN...
LEEDS
John Steele
Hannah Webster
Fast-growing and prosperous Leeds is West Yorkshire’s largest commercial and financial hub. With interesting venues like the Royal Armouries, Northern Ballet and Horizon Leeds, it's also popular with corporate groups – more than 4 million delegates visited last year. Law and finance are major business sectors (it is home to First Direct, Yorkshire Bank and others), and the city is the largest legal centre outside of London.
exposed beams and restored brickwork, can host up to 1,400. PRICE
DDR from £35pp plus VAT.
On a Shoestring
The Studio Riverside West, Whitehall Road,
2 Infirmary Street, Leeds LS1 2JP
The Studio Leeds opened last year and has established itself as a good value meeting venue. Located less than a ten-minute walk from Leeds station, the venue offers seven meeting rooms, the largest of which can host up to 180.
01132 368 368 / aspire-leeds.co.uk
PRICE
The Wow factor
Aspire
Set in a beautifully restored Grade II listed building, Aspire is a chic choice for banqueting and events with a range of smart spaces for hire, including the Mezzanine Champagne bar for 300 guests, and the spectacular Banking Hall for up to 1,100 guests.
DDR from £25pp plus VAT.
Small but perfectly formed
Thackray Medical Museum Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7LN
0113 244 4343 / thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk
Canal Mills
The richly decorated Wilkinson Room at the 150-year-old Thackray Medical Museum offers an intimate setting for up to 24 guests. Guests can wander the Museum’s historic galleries and a fully recreated Victorian street.
Brandon Street, Leeds LS12 2ED
PRICE
PRICE
Hire from £20 per hour plus VAT.
Quirky venue
Evening hire from £150 plus VAT.
0800 160 1138 / canalmills.co.uk
Once a dilapidated former textile mill, Canal Mills re-launched this year as a creative art, food and music event space after a lavish refurbishment. Its sizeable interior, complete with high ceilings,
MORE meeting in... www.thebusinesstravelmag.com
Leeds LS1 4AW
0800 028 6694 / studiovenues.co.uk
since played host to stars like Sir Elton John and Bruce Springsteen, but its choice of versatile function rooms, exhibition areas and breakout zones also makes it a viable option for groups both large and small. State of the art AV equipment and a range of production gizmos are among factor the facilities.
wow
Aspire
PRICE
DDR rates vary.
01132 368 368 Out of town
aspire-leeds.co.uk
Harewood House Harewood, LS17 9LG
0113 218 1010 / harewood.org
For an elegant private dining experience, Harewood House, seven miles out of the city, is hard to beat. Guests are served in the grandest rooms of the house, with food and wine provided by local Michelin-starred Box Tree Restaurant. Dinners for up to 80 guests and Champagne receptions for up to 200 can be catered for. PRICE
Venue hire from £3,500 plus VAT.
GETTING THERE By rail: Frequent direct trains travel from London to Leeds in just over two hours with Virgin Trains East Coast. By air: Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) is situated eight
Wired up
miles from Leeds city centre. Visitors can fly in from
First Direct Arena
around 75 destinations, and there are three flights a day
Arena Way, Leeds LS2 8BY
from London Heathrow operated by British Airways.
0844 248 1585 / firstdirectarena.com
For further information, contact Conference Leeds
The 13,500 capacity First Direct Arena opened in 2013 and has
on 0113 378 1183 or see visitleeds/conferences
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 65
EVENT REVIEW ENGLAND V WALES
KICKING OFF Football fans from across the travel industry enjoyed an afternoon watching the England versus Wales European Championship match courtesy of The Business Travel
Magazine. The event was held at the Nook Bar at London’s Strand Palace hotel and was sponsored by ANA All Nippon Airways, Avis Budget UK and Evolvi Rail Systems.
“It was a great atmosphere and great company with which to enjoy this absorbing game, and the result was even better!”
66 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
DEPARTURES LAS VEGAS
ON BUSINESS IN...
LAS VEGAS
'SIN CITY' might seem like a leisure-orientated destination but it’s an important venue for business meetings and events too, and ranks as one of the top convention cities in the United States. This trend is only set to continue with the opening of new facilities such as the T-Mobile Arena. Those who don't enjoy hot weather may want to avoid June, July and August when temperatures average more than 38°C. SLEEPING
When it comes to hotels, they like them big with the city accounting for 12 of the 20 largest properties in the world based on guestroom numbers. The big daddy is the MGM Grand with 6,852 rooms. More 'intimate' options include the Mandarin Oriental with just 392 rooms. The W Las Vegas, due to open this year, will have 289 rooms in the SLS complex on the Las Vegas Boulevard.
global and specialist cuisines. New openings include the Japanese Sake Rok at The Park next to the T-Mobile Arena.
The Strip is a sight in itself but for a more natural wonder, the Grand Canyon is only a 30-minute
DRINKING
helicopter ride away. The historic
There’s a vast range of stylish bars and lounges across the city’s hotels and casinos. For one of the citiy's best views head to the Skyfall Lounge on the 64th floor of the Delano tower. If you're gambling, it’s worth remembering drinks are free when you’re playing. Remember to carry your photo ID as staff will check it.
downtown Fremont Street area is also worth visiting and the new SPEEDVEGAS racing track gives guests the chance to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari or Lamborghini. CARBON COST Return flights from London Gatwick to Las Vegas cover 10,480 miles and produce 2.41 tonnes of CO2. Offset these flights with
GETTING THERE
Climate Care from £18.10.
Virgin Atlantic offers daily direct flights from Gatwick to Las Vegas’ McCarran airport, while British Airways also runs direct flights from Heathrow. Norwegian will launch a twice-weekly service from Gatwick to Las Vegas at the end of October. There are also options through major US hubs.
EATING
GETTING DOWNTOWN
The range of dining options is huge in every major Vegas hotel and there has been a distinct move upmarket with more fine dining restaurants replacing 'all you can eat' buffets. The Venetian and Palazzo complex offers more than 38 restaurants, featuring
McCarran International airport is located two miles from The Strip’s resorts. Taxis or limousines are the most popular transfer option, though shuttle buses are cheaper. A monorail links some of the big hotels on The Strip with the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
MORE ON BUSINESS IN... www.thebusinesstravelmag.com
MUST-SEE SIGHTS
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 67
TECHNOLOGY identification
Flying through the airport of tomorrow New technology has the ability to speed up the airport experience, but don’t expect overnight changes, says Linda Fox Change is afoot in the airport experience. It’s going to take time to filter through but projects being put on the table could pave the way for a faster, more secure way through security and border controls. SITA Lab, the research arm of air transport technology specialist SITA, is working on a project to improve how passengers are identified along their journey. Travellers create a ‘single travel token’ on their mobile device which stores their biometric data
system has also been built using Blockchain. ShoCard's Chief Executive, Armin Ebrahimi, describes the development as the future of identifying airline passengers. “It’s where we think the industry is going to go. It’s all going to be defined a lot more by users who will expect to access things that matter to them by simply proving who they are. They will expect it to be fast, simple and secure and work in both the digital and physical world.”
“Users will expect new identification systems to be fast, simple and secure and work in both the digital and physical world” as well as other personal information. Blockchain, the platform used for Bitcoin, works in the background to verify that the biometric data on the phone is the same as what it has stored. Then, at various stages along the way, passengers scan their face and device to verify their identity. No need for passports or other travel documents. There are other advantages, such as the personal data remaining on the traveller’s device thus alleviating privacy concerns. In addition, Blockchain was built to be secure and once details are registered on it they cannot be removed or modified. SITA Lab has also worked with digital identity specialist ShoCard to develop a demo of how the technology would work. ShoCard’s
68 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
The project is just one part of an “identity community innovation programme” launched by SITA Lab to solve some of the issues around identifying travellers. Other projects are also underway, such as finding a solution to matching up names between passports and boarding passes and ways to automate the verification of visas. A further initiative is around ways to use mobile devices for landing cards and border control. These are not overnight projects but they are recognition that times have changed, not just in terms of traveller behaviour but also in the need for more secure systems. A number of barriers stand in the way of further development. On a basic level, making existing airport systems communicate with these
technologies wont be easy. Then, there’s the hurdle of getting governments, airports and airlines to see the benefit of new initiatives and agree to collaborate on them. However, that SITA already has something to show interested parties is an important first step. SITA Chief Technology Officer, Jim Peters, says: “The demo is something to show the stakeholders. We believe we can have mobile technology solve this problem. We believe we can use Blockchain and get the feedback from the industry. It’s about getting them to engage in a discussion.” It’s not just the travel industry working towards these sorts of initiatives. Large companies such as Amazon are showing an interest and whole industries such as banking, also want to work it out.
AROUND THE CORNER. AROUND THE WORLD. TWO GREAT BRANDS, ONE GLOBAL BUSINESS RENTAL SOLUTION.
The Business Rental Programme, from National and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, provides corporate travellers with access to award-winning car rental services from a network of over 8,300 locations, across more than 75 global markets.
Brought to you by two of the world’s leading car rental companies, recognised for their commitment to service excellence, you can be confident that your business rental needs will be taken care of, wherever you go. And when you join the Emerald Club® loyalty programme from National, you can experience even greater service benefits, like Priority Service or our unique Emerald Aisle, at participating locations across the globe. What’s more, with the opportunity to upgrade your membership level, the rewards only get better the more you rent.
Contact us to learn more about how we can support your rental needs right across the world. Email us at europeansales@ehi.com or call +44(0)344 335 0218.
©2015 Enterprise Holdings, Inc. G06084 06.15
DEPARTURES CANADA
FOCUS ON... The world’s second-largest country is a loyal trading partner of the Uk and is welcoming a number of new air services from the Uk this year. Colin Ellson is your guide to visiting Canada on business
Canada
Pictured above parliament Hill, ottawa
CANADA is the second-largest country on earth but overseas perceptions of it are often sketchy. Or, as the (Canadian) philosopher Marshall McLuhan perhaps unfairly put it: “Canada is the only country in the world that knows how to live without an identity.” But while it might not be a high-profile international player, unassuming Canada, stretching from the US in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north, it does have a distinctive identity, as the 700-plus UK companies that do business in the country know. It is packed with vibrant cities, such as multicultural Toronto, predominantly French-speaking Montreal and Quebec, achingly scenic Vancouver, and the architecturally awe-inspiring capital, Ottawa.
70 THe 96 THeBusiness BusinessTravel Travelmagazine magazine
As Britain’s 16th largest export market, Canada takes over £7.5billion-worth of goods and services every year. And after a poor year in 2015, signs that the national economy is on the mend should persuade UK PLCs to seriously consider the many opportunities on offer, says UK Trade & Investment. These are occurring as Canada pivots away from a past over-reliance on the extraction of natural resources and starts to flex its muscles for a hightechnology future. This shift has been triggered by the global commodities collapse and other exports are starting to fill the gap. Reaching the Maple Leaf market from the UK is straightforward, with direct flights from many UK departure points to all the key cities in our survey. And access has been further enhanced this summer by a rash of new routes operated by the likes of WestJet, Air Transat and Air Canada Rouge. All of which will help to cut one of the world’s biggest countries down to size for serious business.
MORE FOCUS ON... www.thebusinesstravelmag.com
DEPARTURES CANADA
FACT FILE
CALGARY
Alberta GMT-6/7hrs Located in prairie country, 50 miles from the Canadian Rockies, Calgary is probably best known for the Calgary Stampede, a celebration of Western heritage staged over ten days every July. It contributes significantly to an economy reliant on the energy sector and financial services, plus film and TV production, transportation, logistics, aerospace, health and tourism. Calgary is home to the second-highest number of corporate head offices in Canada. Crude oil, agricultural produce, coal, machinery, chemicals and plastics. Aerospace, agriculture, biotechnology, craft beers and cider.
MONTREAL
Quebec GMT-4/5hrs Canadian with a Gallic accent, Montreal is located on Montreal Island in the St Lawrence River and is an important centre for commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology and design. The official language is French, spoken by 57% of the population, with English below 20%. Products in the aerospace, electronics and telecoms sectors, plus sugar, petroleum and consumer goods. Infrastructure, as part of the new ten-year Building Canada Plan, the largest project of its kind in Canadian history covering everything from social services to transportation.
OTTAWA
Ontario GMT-4/5hrs Located on the banks of the Ottawa River in Southern Ontario, Ottawa is the Canadian capital. As such, the Federal Government is the largest employer, with the technology sector’s 18,000 companies also major employers. Known as ‘The Silicon Valley North’, the city is also involved in the telecoms, software development and healthcare sectors. The National Defence Headquarters is located in Ottawa and is the main command centre for Canadian forces. Weapons, agricultural products, oil and gas. Rail infrastructure, oil and gas, defence and security.
REGIONAL ROUND-UP CANADA Capital city: Ottawa English, French and 60 aboriginal tongues Canadian dollar (CAD), £1=CAD 1.88 001+1
TORONTO
Ontario GMT-4/5hrs The most populous city in Canada, home to 25% of the population, Toronto is a key centre for finance, arts and culture. On the shores of enormous Lake Ontario, the cosmopolitan metropolis has an economy based on business and commerce, publishing, telecoms, technology development and film production. The city is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange – the eighth largest in the world – the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks. Motor vehicles, precious metals. Rail development (including a £3billion connection to Montreal) oil and gas, mining. province
Time zone
MORE FOCUS ON... www.thebusinesstravelmag.com
VANCOUVER
British Columbia GMT -7/8hrs In 1887, the US rail network was extended to Vancouver to take advantage of trading through its large natural harbour. Building on this heritage, Port Metro Vancouver is today the third-largest port in the Americas, providing links to the Orient, eastern Canada and Europe. The scenically attractive city has an economy dependent on forestry, tourism, film and TV production, software development, and the aerospace industry. Metals, ores, forestry products, vehicle parts, IT, aerospace components. Rail infrastructure development, oil and gas, mining.
Dialling code
Language
Currency
Other key cities Quebec City (Quebec), Edmonton (Alberta), Winnipeg (Manitoba, pictured below), St John’s (Newfoundland and Labrador), Halifax (Nova Scotia), Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island), Whitehorse (Yukon), Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), Iqaluit (Nunavut), Fredericton (New Brunswick), Regina and Saskatoon (Saskatchewan).
profile
exports
opportunities
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 71
DEPARTURES DEPARTURES CANADA SOUTh EAST ASIA
SPOTLIGHT ON... EDMONTON The capital of Alberta is a key hub for Canada’s oil and gas industry as well as large-scale diamond mining to the north. The strength of the petrochemical sector in the region is such that even the name of the city’s ice hockey team, the Edmonton Oilers, pays homage to the industry. The service industry and retail sector are strong too, with the city home to one of the world’s largest shopping malls.
72 THe 96 THeBusiness BusinessTravel Travelmagazine magazine
MORE FOCUS ON... www.thebusinesstravelmag.com
DEPARTURES CANADA
WHERE TO STAY
REgional hotel groups A selection of Canada’s prominent hotel groups and details of their presence in the country.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts 70 worldwide Locations include Toronto (1 hotel), Montreal (1), Calgary (1), Vancouver (4), Ottawa (1) Fairmont is owned by FRHI Hotels which operates 130 properties globally under the Raffles, Swissotel and Fairmont brands. The latter offers 19 properties in Canada, among them iconic buildings noted for their spectacular architecture and impressive settings. territories across Canada, with
Silver Hotel Group Over 20 across Canada Locations include Toronto (6)
Ontario and Nova Scotia. Launched in 2005, Holloway‘s
Montreal (1), Calgary (2), Vancouver
aim is to become a top-performing
(2), Ottawa (1)
hotel company. It strives to
Established 30 years ago, the
operates, focusing on select and
many leading hotel companies,
limited service properties in
including Starwood, Hilton,
secondary markets. As part of the
InterContinental, Carlson and
strategy, Holloway has sold its
Choice. In Toronto, for example, it
Canadian Travelodge franchise and
operates properties on behalf of
acquired Royal Host, thereby
Hilton, Comfort and Radisson, in
doubling its hotel portfolio. Many
addition to its own brand.
hotels fall under the Super 8 brand. Altogether, its 36 properties give it a presence
36 (Canada and USA)
in every province and territory
Toronto (2), Montreal (1),
across the country.
Calgary (3), Vancouver (1), Ottawa (1), Quebec (1), Winnipeg (1) One of Canada’s leading hotel groups, Delta was acquired by
Temple Hotels
IHG The InterContinental Hotel Group operates 4,700 properties globally, offering nine brands, from InterContinental to Crowne Plaza. It has hotels right across Canada and is represented in every province and territory.
Did you know? The Fairmont-owned Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City is one of the most photographed hotels in the world
29 across Canada Toronto (1), Calgary (1),
Marriott at the beginning of last
Vancouver (1), Ottawa (2),
year. Retaining its identity, the
Winnipeg (1)
company has 37 properties in the
STARWOOD The group offers eight brands at 1,300 properties worldwide. It is represented in all the destinations in our survey, including 11 hotels in Toronto and seven in Vancouver.
dominate the sectors in which it
group has formed partnerships with
Delta Hotels and Resorts
THE GLOBAL PLAYERS
particular strength in Alberta,
Temple operates 29 properties
midscale price range. Guests qualify
in Canada, having most recently
for many perks at Marriott’s 4,000
acquired the Hilton Garden Inn at
destinations worldwide.
Toronto Airport. It is the largest hotel company in Fort McMurray,
Holloway Lodging Reit
where it was unclear in early June
36 across Canada
how its nine properties had fared in
Present in all provinces and
the fires raging across Alberta.
NUM B ER OF p r o p e r t i e s
MORE FOCUS ON... www.thebusinesstravelmag.com
Pictured Fairmont's Chateau Frontenac is designated a Historic Site of Canada
REGIONAL PRESENCE
RAMADA WORLDWIDE One of 15 brands owned by the Wyndham Group, Ramada is itself split into tiers, comprising Ramada Ltd, Ramada Inn and Ramada Plaza. It has 900 hotels worldwide, 76 of which are located across Canada. It has signed an agreement with Canalta Hotels to develop 20 further Ramada properties in Canada over the next 15 years. RADISSON HOTELS & RESORTS A Carlson Rezidor brand, including Radisson Blu and Park Inn., Radisson offers 900 properties worldwide. There are 15 in Canada, with a high profile in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver. Last year the group launched Radisson Red, a new lifestyle brand.
profile
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 73
DEPARTURES CANADA
FLIGhTS
DESTINATIONS IN CANADA SERVED BY NON-STOP SERVICES FROM ThE Uk
Pictured Downtown Toronto
GETTING AROUND The only viable way for business visitors with a multi-destination itinerary to get around the world’s second-largest country is to fly –
CALGARY
but the price of tickets can be high
MONTREAL
VANCOUVER TORONTO
To travel across Canada from
OTTAWA
Toronto to Vancouver by train costs £227, compared to £296 by air. The
DESTINATION
FROM
WITH
WEEKLY FREQUENCY
calgary calgary calgary calgary calgary
london Heathrow london Heathrow london gatwick london gatwick manchester
air canada British airways WestJet air Transat air Transat
7 7 5 3 2
monTreal monTreal monTreal monTreal
london Heathrow london Heathrow london gatwick glasgow
British airways air canada air Transat air Transat
7 7 3 1
oTTaWa
london Heathrow
air canada
ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo ToronTo
london Heathrow london Heathrow london gatwick london gatwick london gatwick Birmingham glasgow glasgow glasgow edinburgh manchester manchester
British airways air canada air canada rouge* WestJet air Transat air Transat air canada rouge* air canada air Transat air canada air canada air Transat
14 28 7 7 8 1 3 2 5 2 3 3
vancouver vancouver vancouver vancouver vancouver vancouver
london Heathrow london Heathrow london gatwick london gatwick glasgow manchester
British airways air canada air Transat WestJet* air Transat air Transat
7 14 6 6 1 2
*seasonal service only
74 THe Business Travel magazine
7
reasons for the disparity are many.
42 The total number of weekly flights between London Heathrow and Toronto
Limited competition is one factor, with only a handful of carriers – such as WestJet and Air Canada – flying on domestic routes; another is some of the highest airport landing charges in the world – up to 200% higher than at US gateways. Add to this a lack of low-cost
Selected flight information supplied
carriers, with many start-ups never
by aviation intelligence specialist OAG.com. Where destinations are served by non-stop services from the UK alternative one-stop options with other European and North American airlines have not been included
low-cost airline New Leaf has been
getting off the ground. Undaunted, cleared for take-off. For those business visitors on less demanding or more localised itineraries, car hire is available at all major airports from companies including the likes of Enterprise, National, Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty, Alamo and more.
ONE-STOP CONNECTIONS FROM ThE Uk numerous us and european gateway airports provide one-stop connections across canada. icelandair, for example, flies to its home base of reykjavik from london Heathrow, london gatwick, manchester, Birmingham and glasgowm to destinations including vancouver and Toronto. it has also launched a four-times-weekly seasonal service from reykjavik to montreal. low-cost carrier WoW air is among the alternatives, serving Toronto and montreal from london gatwick six and five times a week respectively, again via its icelandic hub.
MORE FOCUS ON... www.thebusinesstravelmag.com
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For more information please contact Caroline Allen, Regional Director, EMEA europe@acte.org | www.acte.org Untitled-2 1
17/06/2016 08:51
DEPARTURES REALITY CHECK
FLIGHT THE FLIGHT
Flight AA39 from
FLIGHTS / HOTELS / APARTMENTS / CAR HIRE / TRAIN JOURNEYS / CHAUFFEUR DRIVE / AIRPORT PARKING
AMERICAN AIRLINES, BUSINESS CLASS options. Amenity kits, blankets,
London Heathrow Terminal 3 to
pillows and Bose noise-reducing
Miami International, departing at 12.15,
headphones were already laid out.
operated by a Boeing 777-200.
The smart silver and grey seats,
THE CHECK-IN
The staff at check-in
angled away from the widow, had
asked me a barrage of questions
power points and plenty of useful
about my reasons for travelling and
storage spaces. Controls for the
ultimate destination which made me
flatbed seat were on a smartphone-
think I should have just opted to use
type unit which was also used to
a self-check-in kiosk. They did point
select inflight entertainment options
out a short-cut to fast track security
to view on the 16-inch pull-out screen.
though, for which I was grateful.
I was keen to get some work done
THE LOUNGE
The Admirals Club
onboard and opted to pay $19 for wifi
lounge was extremely busy due to
access for the duration of the flight.
both the time of day and the delayed
The wifi was okay, if a little stuttering.
departure of an earlier flight. I was
THE SERVICE
Newspapers and
able to find a seat, however, and took
drinks were offered before take-off.
the duration of the flight and a meat
advantage of the selection of snacks,
Hot towels were passed round shortly
and cheese plate was served an hour
beverages, wifi and reading material.
after take-off and lunch orders were
or so before landing in Miami.
Boarding from the lounge was quick
taken. I’d used the pre-ordering
thanks to the nearby departure gate.
service several days earlier to select a
American for quite a while so I was
THE VERDICT
I’d not flown with
trio of seafood, though I was given
impressed by this smart, spacious
business class cabin was in a 1-2-1
the option to change my mind. It was
business class product.
configuration with alternate seats
accompanied by warm breads and a
facing backwards and each having
light salad. There was a choice red
direct aisle access. Rear-facing
and white wines and ice cream
window seats such as I had were
sundaes were offered for dessert.
probably the most private of the
Snacks were laid out in the galley for
THE SEAT
Seating in the
TRAIN JOURNEY
THE JOURNEY
I travelled from
a roll served from a basket and choice of preserves, juices and hot
Eurostar's new e320 trains.
drinks. This was followed by a (omelette with spinach and cheese,
ten minutes before departure and I
sausage, bacon, tomatoes,
cut it pretty fine. Thankfully, check-
mushrooms), gravlax or a melon
in was painless and security was
plate. The service was friendly and
speedy enough to allow me a
attentive and we were offered more
fleeting visit to the lounge.
bread and another hot drink later in
Seating options
Miami. Return fares in business class start from around £2,101. aa.com ANDY HOSKINS
choice of English breakfast
passengers can check-in as late as
THE LOUNGE
American Airlines
breakfast tray with a croissant and
Business Premier Class on one of Business Premier
THE DETAILS
flies twice-daily from Heathrow to
EUROSTAR, BUSINESS PREMIER
Ebbsfleet International to Paris in
THE CHECK-IN
“I was impressed by this smart and spacious business class product”
the journey. Business Premier
included soft-leather swivel chairs
menus are designed by Raymond
or stools at large, high tables, and
Blanc. Three-course lunch options
there was free wifi and a wide range
change seasonally and include
of newspapers and magazines. Hot
aubergine Caponata, marinated
drinks and a selection of breakfast
chicken with lemon polenta and
18 trains a day between London
items were available, including
rhubarb, and strawberry tart served
St Pancras and Paris; five call at
cereals, porridge, fruit, toast, jams,
with soft or alcoholic drinks. A
Ebbsfleet International. Return
cheese and yogurt. Juices, wines
useful service that staff offered was
standard fares between London
and beers were also available.
the booking of a taxi for you upon
and Paris start from £58; Standard
arrival in Paris.
Premier fares are from £169; and
THE SERVICE
I travelled in coach
16 in a single window seat facing a
THE VERDICT
There's still a
fellow passenger across a table. The
certain romance to international,
seats were large and comfortable
high-speed train travel and Eurostar
with plenty of legroom and a power
is certainly the most enjoyable and
socket at each. We left Ebbsfleet on
efficient way to travel from London
time and were soon given a
to Paris.
76 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
THE DETAILS
“Eurostar is certainly the most enjoyable way to travel from the South East to Paris”
Eurostar operates
fully-flexible Business Premier fares cost £490. Launched late last year, new e320 trains are being rolled-out first on services to Paris and then on services to Brussels. eurostar.com SALLY PARKER
DEPARTURES REALITY CHECK
MORE REALITY CHECKS... WWW.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM
TRAIN JOURNEY I had a First Class
THE JOURNEY
VIRGIN TRAINS, FIRST CLASS I opted for an unreserved window
Open Return ticket from London
seat at a table for two in the
Euston station to Manchester
sparsely populated second coach.
Piccadilly on Virgin Trains’ West
Drinking vessels and cutlery were
Coast network. Trains were departing
already laid out and soon after
every 20 minutes on this weekday
departure from Euston staff came
afternoon so I took the opportunity
round with a bar service – as they
to check out the First Class lounge
did once again later in the journey
at Euston before boarding the 14.00
– and a choice of four light lunches.
service, calling at Stoke-on-Trent,
I chose the tuna Niçoise salad. Fruit,
Macclesfield and Stockport.
cake and crisps were also offered.
The First Class
THE LOUNGE
The generously-sized seats had
lounge is located upstairs at Euston
individual power points, reading
station and is open to First Class
lights and a recline function and
ticket holders for up to two hours
there was good, free wifi access.
before departure and for one hour
Upholstery in the First Class
after arrival. It was busy when I
coaches was in smart, relatively
and comfortable experience with
arrived, but there was plenty of
muted blues rather than Virgin’s
good service and an environment
stylish seating options and a quieter
trademark red. Each seat had a coat
conducive to getting plenty of
business area too. Complimentary
hook and there was ample storage
work done. The journey felt shorter
soft drinks, snacks and tea/coffee
for luggage both overhead and in
than it’s 2hr, 8mins scheduling.
are available from a central bar area,
racks at the end of coaches. The
as well as paid-for alcoholic drinks.
operator has recently launched a
There’s free wifi access and
free-to-use entertainment system,
newspapers – while they last.
called BEAM, allowing passengers
THE SERVICE
The First Class
to stream popular TV shows and
carriages were at the front of this
films on their own personal devices
Virgin Trains Pendolino service and
during journeys.
HOTEL THE HOTEL
The hotel is located
THE BUSINESS
International Aiport, Yas Links Golf
ballroom, all of which benefit from
Course, Yas Marina Circuit and the
natural light. A dedicated
Island's popular attractions. It has
conference team is available on-site
281 rooms and 27 suites and there's
and the hotel can also provide
a wide range of on-site amenities
outside catering services. There is
set around the Yas Hotels Plaza.
access to a range of AV equipment
Piccadilly three times an hour during weekdays. Fares on the route start from £21 one-way and from £42 in First Class. virgintrains.co.uk ANDY HOSKINS
for conferences and meetings,
bright and airy and had a familiar
including an audio mixing console,
boutique feel to it. Check-in was
wireless microphones and LCD
quick and friendly and my bags
projector, to name a few.
were taken to my room. Reception
“Good service and an environment conducive to getting plenty of work done”
Virgin Trains services
depart London Euston for Manchester
The hotel has nine
meeting rooms and a spacious
The lobby was
THE DETAILS
This was a slick
YAS ISLAND ROTANA, ABU DHABI
on Yas Island, close to Abu Dhabi
THE CHECK-IN
THE VERDICT
THE FACILITIES
There are three
staff were helpful and able to
restaurants in the hotel – the Blue
answer all my questions regarding
Grill steakhouse, Rangoli Indian
the hotel and city during my stay.
restaurant and Choices buffet. The Island Cafe in the hotel lobby is
the public spaces were comfortable
Room with a king-size bed. The
open all day and in the evenings the
to spend time in. The hotel's
room had a plush marble bathroom
urban Y Bar is a great place to
location and breadth of facilities
with bidet and shower. In-room
unwind. The hotel has an outdoor
make it an excellent choice for
amenities include complimentary
swimming pool with a bar and there
business, and at times it had the air
high speed internet access,
is a fitness and wellness club,
of a boutique hotel.
minibar, in-room laptop-size safe,
massage treatment rooms, jacuzzi,
32-inch LCD TV, telephone and tea
sauna and steam rooms and an
and coffee making facilities. The
outdoor tennis court. The hotel also
decor was modern and a large
has a small newsagents.
THE ROOM
I stayed in a Classic
window ensured it the room was bathed in light.
THE VERDICT
I particularly liked
this hotel. It felt very personal and
THE DETAILS
“Its location and breadth of facilities make it a good choice for business”
Yas Island Rotana
Abu Dhabi, Golf Plaza PO Box 131755, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Room rates start from around 250AED (£49). For more information see rotana.com BENJAMIN COREN
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 77
The Final Word
Life’s a beach – apparently! The perks of business travel, fashionable passengers, wifi addiction and veganism – Cameron Roberts takes a look at the quirky side of travel
T
ravelling for business is more like a mini-holiday than actual work – or at least nearly half of respondents to a recent survey by Amba Hotels seem to think so. We reckon they must be the ones that never actually get to go on a business trip. The survey of 2,000 people identified paid-for expenses, nice hotels and working lunches as the perks of travel. Meanwhile, half of those surveyed felt business travel is ‘more fun than it used to be’ and 49% said ‘having a break from the family’ was a reason they liked going away on business. The research also revealed that those who are in a high earning bracket, are educated to at least a postgraduate level and who feel
Top ten...
Best dressed passengers British Airways has issued a list of the top 10 best dressed female travellers – compiled by Hollywood fashion stylist and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor, Elizabeth Saltzman – in order to celebrate the (perhaps tenuous) "relationship between flying and fashion and to honour today’s globe-trotting trendsetters". The airline has promised to release its list of Best Dressed Male Travellers soon. 1/ Victoria Beckham 2/ Amal Clooney 3/ Kendall Jenner 4/ Angelina Jolie 5/ Gwen Stefani 6/ Charlize Theron 7/ Taylor Swift 8/ Marion Cotillard
engaged in their jobs are more likely to view their work trips as a break from the norm. Nearly 60% of those who had a combination of all three of the above factors said they felt that a business trip could feel like a minibreak. Goldsmiths consumer psychologist, Patrick Fagan,
says: “It’s fascinating to see that nearly half of Brits are re-defining the business trip as a ‘mini holiday’ rather than work. A change of scenery and perks such as all-expenses-paid dinners and hotel services are clearly enticing and people really value getting away from the daily routine.”
9/ Lupita Nyong’O 10/ Heidi Klum
Dietary dilemmas Two-thirds of Brits connect to wifi within seven minutes of arrival at their hotel, says Roomzzz, whose research shows Londoners and Scots are the most impatient of all
78 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
V
egan travellers of the world rejoice! A new app and book by the name of Vegan Passport allows those abstaining from animal products to make sure they meet their strict dietary requirements while on the road. The guide allows vegans to effectively convey their objections to meat, dairy and other products when travelling to countries where they do not speak the language, and the multilingual phrasebook covers
enough languages to apply to 96% of the world’s population, says its proud developers. Of the 78 languages included, the Nigerian languages of Hausa and Igbo, as well as the South African language of Zulu, are among the newest additions. It also includes an ‘if all else fails’ section, which has a varied selection of images to convey what vegans do and do not eat all over the world. A picture really does say a thousand words, it seems. Vegan Passport is now available on Apple, Windows
and Google platforms, while a hard copy version is available from the vegan society website. It is clearly a must-have for those with that most tricky of diets – but also those simply wishing to avoid a case of the dreaded 'Delhi belly'.
The Business Travel Magazine
2016 GOLF MASTERS The popular TBTM Golf Masters is back once again and now open for bookings This year’s event takes place on Monday September 12th at Mannings Heath’s superb Waterfall Course in West Sussex. Team and individual entries include brunch on arrival, 18 holes of golf, use of golf buggies, on-course refreshments and post-event barbecue. In addition, the first 17 teams to enter receive the option of free sponsorship of a hole.
For further information and to book a place see: thebusinesstravelmag.com
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