FCM MEA Upgrade Magazine - Issue 1

Upgrade

Winter 2019

FCM TRAVEL SOLUTIONS MEA

Elevating business travel intelligence

How to realign your travel strategy during mergers and acquisitions

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Welcome

Winter 2019

T

his issue of Upgrade focuses on the latest developments in travel management from virtual card payments and mobile wallets to innovations in ground transport.

Winter is also a season marked by change. Our lead feature on pages 4 to 6 examines how changes in company structure, in the shape of mergers and acquisitions, impacts travel programmes.

We also take a look at a new FCM report, ‘Women in Business Travel’, based on research we carried out recently among our clients’ travellers to gain better insight into the preferences of female versus male travellers, and whether change is needed to accommodate their needs. Turn to page 19 to find out why there is actually more gender harmony in business travel than ever before.

A new year is usually a time when we promise to make some changes in our lives or business. Change is good. I hope this issue of Upgrade helps you to embrace it!

Ciarán Kelly

Managing Director

Middle East & Africa Network FCM Travel Solutions

Contents

EDITORIAL COMMISSIONING EDITOR

15

Cultural diversity Interview with FCM’s Asia MD, Bertrand Saillet, who manages a region of different technology, payment systems, content and service expectations

Betty Low CONTRIBUTORS Catherine Chetwynd, Linda Fox, Mark Frary, Bertrand Saillet FCM EDITORIAL ADVISER Vanessa Aves ADVERTISING ADVERTISING SALES Sue Robinson DESIGN PRODUCTION & MANAGEMENT WonDesigns, Caren Johnstone

16

4

Leanne Armstrong

A world of difference Mark Frary looks at how mergers and acquisitions can cause huge waves in travel programmes

8

10

LEAD DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATOR

Solar support & Soweto school FCM staff’s latest fundraising and CSR initiatives

17

Play your cards right Virtual cards, mobile wallets, contactless cards: is a revolution on the way? Linda Fox finds out

Women on the move Catherine Chetwynd looks at a new FCM report which examines trends among women business travellers

12

André Albuquerque PUBLISHING MANAGER Rebecca Talbot PRINTING REBOX Group Ed Cooling

FCM news What’s happening at FCM Upwardly mobile Good ground transport management is about so much more than appointing a car rental company

DESIGNER

©FCMUPGRADE 2018 Images sourced from suppliers, FCM Travel Solutions, and stock photography

19 Rooms for a view Brainstorms often require no distractions.

What UK venues might be suitable?

New business enquiries salesuk@fcmtravel.co.uk Editorial and advertising enquiries enquiries@fcmupgrade.com FCMUPGRADE.COM

03

TRAVEL MANAGERS PROGRAMMES

A world of difference Mark Frary looks at how changes in company structure can cause huge waves in travel programmes

M

ore than 13,500 mergers and acquisitions have been announced so far in 2018, meaning this could be a vintage year for corporate deals. In fact, the amount of money changing hands has topped some US$2.72 trillion, according to M&A analysts Mergermarket. Deals like Comcast’s acquisition of Sky and Takeda’s proposed acquisition of Shire mean that 2018 is proving to be the second-best year on record – only 2007 was better at this point of the year.

The reasons for this are what John Kelly, Global Head of Integration and Separation at KPMG, calls “a wall of cash in private equity and sovereign wealth”.

Kelly, who has been involved with 500 deals over the last 20 years, says, “People think equity markets are toppy and want to be down on the stock market, there is uncertainty in property - so people are looking for a home to invest. Interest rates remain very low so there are trillions of dollars waiting to be invested in M&A.” For some travel buyers and procurement directors, the first that they know of a merger or acquisition is when they see the headline on their smartphone, but that is not always wthe case.

In mergers and acquisitions between companies in sectors where business travel is one of the largest indirect costs, the people responsible for procurement in general, as well as those with a focus on business travel, are much more likely to be involved earlier on in the merger process.

Kelly says: “If I am looking around the table, I want to see that people who are

04

Winter 2019

“ going to own the implementation have signed up to the synergy numbers that you have bid on. If you are in a merger where procurement is half the business case, I personally want them to be involved in the deal.”

The Walgreens-Alliance Boots merger of 2014 is a classic example where procurement was involved early.

“There was a mismatch between the price of generic drugs across the world – they were much cheaper in the UK than in the US,” says Kelly. “Virtually all retail mergers are driven by procurement, where 70% of the benefits are likely to be in that area. Procurement is easy, it is other people’s money – it is fast and not painful. That is why people are very focused on it.”

When Chinese computer maker Lenovo bought the personal computer arm of IBM in 2005, combining procurement was a priority - and merging travel policies provided an early win.

Speaking to McKinsey in 2008, the company’s chief procurement officer, Qiao Song, said that getting support from the CEO to combine travel policies was vital.

He told McKinsey: “There was one moment fairly early on that stands

Supply chain synergies account for between 30-50% of mergerrelated increases in shareholder value” The Power of Procurement in Mergers & Acquisitions, Accenture

out. The team was on the phone with a senior executive, and everyone was really getting into issues such as changing from this or that airline, and there was a sense of caution. Are we going to do this or not? Will we lose support if we push too hard? And the executive said, ‘Let’s settle this; I’m calling the CEO.’ And less than an hour later, the executive called back with the CEO’s unwavering approval. Such support was crucial – particularly since in general procurement, one of your key levers is compliance. The biggest source of leakage is people getting around the rules and doing their own thing. We found that reinforcing travel policies represented a sizable opportunity— perhaps one-third of the savings.”

The pharmaceutical industry is another example where travel can be an important driver of merger savings.

Here, there are enormous travel costs from the drug sales team visiting general practitioners, and attendance at conferences is central to the whole business model.

In other industry sectors, travel may not be so important.

Juan Antonio Iglesias, Head of Account Management for EMEA at FCM, says: “Where travel is not a big part of their overall strategy, they will often leave that aside and maintain the existing travel programmes separately while they concentrate on other things.”

Sarah Edwards, a consultant with Festive Road who has worked on combining travel programmes in several merger scenarios, says that in some sectors, even though travel is important, there are other issues at stake. “I have also worked for clients in the financial sector where it is potentially more sensitive, and so we have no visibility until after the event,” she says.

If there is an opportunity for those in charge of business travel to be involved early, this is often done by adopting a “clean-room” approach where data from the two organisations is shared with a trusted third party, often a management consultancy with expertise in M&A. The third party then approaches the supplier to see what deals could be made with the combined volume.

The advantage of the clean-room approach is that this can be done before the closure of the deal.

KPMG’s John Kelly adds: “In week one I want to have all the conversations ready for each of the suppliers, with all the combined purchasing data and on a consistent basis so I can go into bat with suppliers.”

In cases where business travel is not a key driver of the deal, it is often viewed as a quick win after the deal goes through.

behaving better or worse than you, they may be using lots of intercontinental - and you may not get any benefit out of it.”

Another problem is data – or the lack of it.

“What often happens is that the new company doesn’t have a lot of data,” says Iglesias. “The approach then is that after three to six months, we can see what we are talking about.”

While boosting buying power will be a priority, there is also the small matter of aligning the travel policies of the two organisations.

“Travel will be one of the functions they want to harmonise as soon as possible,” says Iglesias. “It all depends on leveraging volume which can automatically provide you with better discounts.”

Combining volume is desirable but there are often barriers.

It is usual that the acquired company normally be transitioned over to the acquiring company’s travel policy in conjunction with the acquired company’s HR and travel department.

One challenge is that the new air volume may not be additive. “In travel, 2 + 2 doesn’t always equal 4,” says Iglesias.

“The company you acquire could be

TOP SECTORS FOR M&A, Q1-3 2018

Industrials and chemicals

“

Pharma, medical and biotech

Cost savings of up to 15% are possible by combining buying powerˮ The Power of Procurement in Mergers & Acquisitions, Accenture

Edwards worked on one merger in the FMCG sector where they were involved in advance of the acquisition. “We could do a lot of the work in advance to ensure we had a smooth transition and employees’ expectations were met,” she says. “However, major airlines are not always keen to share one company’s pricing with another and sometimes before the acquisition you only have a rough idea on volume and spend but no specifics until afterwards.”

Energy, mining and utilities

Business services

Technology

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TRAVEL MANAGERS Kelly says there is a temptation for the acquirer to think that because they are the ones doing the acquisition, their systems are better: “The person who has been bought who has a partner and a family might think ‘If you don’t pick my system, I have no job’.

This doesn’t necessarily make for a rational conversation.”

Edwards agrees: “This can be sensitive, especially if the new policy is perceived as less favourable, for example if business class was available for travel more than 6 hours but with the new company this could be over 9 hours - or even not allowed at all.”

Kelly says a lot depends on the travel manager’s ability to get travellers to follow the new policy. “If an employee is hugely invested in oneworld and someone says they have to use Star Alliance instead, that is where it starts to grate,” he says.

It is not always a problem, however, says FCM’s Iglesias: “You find that most of the time, in the same industry sector, travel policies are quite alike. You wouldn’t get people being restricted to three-star hotels in one company and allowing fivestar hotels in another.”

In other situations, travel managers may decide to leave two disparate travel policies in place for other reasons, such as the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations or TUPE.

TUPE regulations in the UK mean that when a company is sold, the terms and conditions of employment of its staff must be maintained. This is not restricted to terms and conditions that are contained in an employee’s contract but also cover policies outlined in staff handbooks or that have been established through custom and practice.

After all this, there is still the sobering reality that getting mergers and acquisitions right is hard – really hard.

The Harvard Business Review says that “study after study puts the failure rate of mergers and acquisitions somewhere between 70% - 90%”.

Communication is the key to aligning policy, believes Iglesias. “If you don’t do it properly, there is always going to be resistance from travellers and bookers. 99.9% is about selling the benefits and we make sure that the new entity has the time to adjust.”

Mergers also bring opportunities for consolidation beyond airlines and hotels – specifically around the number of TMCs involved.

KPMG’s Kelly concludes: “There is no silver bullet, mainly because deals require people to take actions.

People talk about having a playbook, a set of policies with which you do a merger, but 50% of what goes wrong is people-related.”

“People” have a lot to answer for, it seems. 

FINDING THE BENEFITS FROM BUSINESS TRAVEL

With most large multinational organisations, consolidation is inevitable, believes Edwards. “In some instances you may end up with additional TMCs where the local market is better serviced with an incumbent agency, and are just brought into the programme as you would a normal new market integration,” she says.

INCREASED VOLUMES Higher spend can lead to greater negotiated discounts with suppliers and enable greater rebates to be secured from corporate card programmes

ACCESS TO NEW MARKETS Adding new geographical markets to a travel programme may open up working with global suppliers such as airline alliances

“The moment you have two TMCs, you don’t have the full picture,” reiterates Iglesias.

SUPPLIER RATIONALISATION Reducing the number of travel suppliers and increasing their market share could lead to lower costs or more ‘soft’ benefits, eg free wi-fi or lounge access

GLOBAL QUARTERLY BREAKDOWN TREND 2013–2018

Q1

Q3

Q2

Q4

REDUCED HEADCOUNT Although the new organisation may be larger in terms of headcount, the combined workforce may be smaller than the sum of the individual companies, leading to reduced total spend on business travel

Deal Count

20000

4000

18000 1,199.6

16000

3000

14000

824.7

985.1

933.3

2500

703.2

870.3 2000

570.3

873.3

718.0 1088.3

1,039.6 963.7

741.9

6000

751.0

4000 560.4 500 444.0

570.7

760.6

627.9

758.1

2016

2017

931.6

0 2013

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Winter 2019

2014

2015

The two organisations have access to a wider range of fares, rates and fees and can see where they have not been getting the best rates in the market

8000

1500 1000

12000 10000

853.3

656.9

ACCESS TO MARKET INFORMATION

Deal Count

Deal Value (US$bn)

3500

2018

2000 0

BETTER PAYMENT TERMS Moving from the 30-day payment terms of one company to the 60 days of the other can help improve cashflow

in Partnership with

FC MTRAVEL -

www.awardsinternational.ae/our-awards

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â„¢

- SOLUTIONS

@Awardslntl

TECHNOLOGY

Play your cards right Virtual payments, mobile wallets, contactless cards: is a revolution on the way? Linda Fox finds out

D

evelopments in leisure travel very often catch on in corporate travel: think online booking, peer-topeer accommodation and mobile everything.

This is true in the payments world too - although in some areas, such as virtual cards, it’s possible the corporate travel landscape already has the lead.

But even those are taking time to really catch on despite their benefits of speed, security and convenience.

Research conducted by the GBTA and AirPlus has revealed that although companies are exploring ways to make payments easier for travellers, adoption rates are still relatively low. Just over 10% of business travel programmes are using single-use or “virtual” cards, while 23% of respondents say they are likely to adopt them in the future.

The research also looked at the feasibility of mobile wallets, which enable travellers to store card details and pay via mobile devices. For corporate travelers, about 22% of their companies’ main commercial cards could be integrated into a mobile wallet, but 45% of travel managers said they could not and a third were unsure.

There’s clearly work to be done in terms of education and adoption of new payment methods. Survey respondents highlighted administration issues,

“

There’s clearly work to be done in terms of education and adoption of new payment methodsˮ 08

Winter 2019

NOT SURE

YES

Mobile wallets

22%

33%

Is your company’s primary corporate card compatible with mobile wallets?

45% Note: Based on questionnaires completed by 139 US travel managers who had input into payment decisions in January and February 2018

NO Source: GBTA in partnership with AirPlus, Five Business Travel Payment Trends, June 2018

supplier acceptance and spend visibility among their concerns about the technology.

In theory, spend visibility shouldn’t be an issue as further automation should make it easier to gain a better overall view of real spend. However, the reality is that there are often issues around integration with other technologies.

Supplier acceptance is another aspect to consider. A recent announcement from Alibaba’s travel platform and technology specialist Shiji says that facial recognition is now being used to enable travellers to check into a hotel, receive a room card and authorise payment. Check-in kiosks are being installed in 50 hotels in China, including Marriott and IHG properties.

Hotel chains such as Mandarin Oriental also now accept a wider range of payment options for stays and food and beverage, like Alipay and WeChat.

While these developments cater very much to the local market, and often

target the leisure customer, it’s not hard to see them and/or regional versions catching on in a similar way in other parts of the world for the speed and convenience they offer to business travellers.

The ongoing rise of mobile will also drive development and adoption of alternative payment methods.

Another recent report from GBTA, in partnership with U.S. Bank, revealed that although awareness of mobile wallet and contactless payments is high, almost 50% of travel buyers don’t see the benefits.

Contactless cards are widely offered by companies, according to the research, while only 18% offer mobile wallet as a payment option.

Those that have adopted mobile payments say the barriers are cardholder education, integrating travel expense processes and the card setup process. But, they also cite benefits including better

adherence to travel policy, a reduction in lost or stolen cards and improved employee satisfaction.

One of the conclusions of the report is that developments in the consumer world will continue to drive adoption of alternative payment methods.

When tapping a smartphone to pay for a coffee becomes ubiquitous, then business travellers will expect it to extend to every part of their travels.

US consumers already use Google Pay and Apple Pay at about 10,000 7-Eleven stores across the country.

The push from the consumer as an adoption driver is also supported by research from Amadeus in conjunction with pymnts.com revealing it as the biggest drive to investment in new payment options.

“

When tapping a smartphone to pay for a coffee becomes ubiquitous, then business travellers will expect it to extend to every part of their travels”

The research confirms that most travel companies, including airlines, hotels and intermediaries, are planning some sort of payment innovation.

The conclusion from the Amadeus report is that we’re almost at “a payments innovation tipping point”, with companies recognising the need for change driven by consumers and the competitive landscape.

It’s too early to say how this will play out in corporate travel. Could one or two mobile wallets gain traction in the sector over others by providing the best user experience, easy integration with existing processes and incentive

Single-use cards Why don’t more travel programmes use single-use cards?

62% Concerns about administration

53% Concerns about supplier acceptance

39% Concerns about visibility/control

Note: Based on questionnaires completed by 139 US travel managers who had input into payment decisions in January and February 2018

schemes or tie-ups with existing loyalty schemes?

Established players in B2B payments such as Conferma have already made steps to stay relevant as the market progresses. In May 2018 the company introduced its WALLET functionality, letting prepaid funds be stored for payment of air, rail, car rental and other services. This allows for fee reductions, real time transactions, automatic updates and reconciliation to build greater efficiencies in all aspects of business.

More recently, Conferma unveiled a mobile app for cashless payments which it says reduces the risk of fraud and allows for increased control on spend. It also says the app makes expense management easier by removing out of pocket expenses.

There are further signs that suppliers and technology specialists are looking to alternative payment methods.

Amadeus launched its Agent Pay

Source: GBTA in partnership with AirPlus, Five Business Travel Payment Trends, June 2018

service for call centre agents to take payment through a link sent by SMS or email. The customer then completes the payment from a smartphone, tablet or PC. Finnair has already implemented the technology and extended it to its chat-based agents. The Agent Pay system also allows alternative payment methods such as Alipay and PayPal. More of these initiatives will emerge in the corporate travel industry as the travel management community seeks to improve the experience for buyers and travellers. The benefits of not only convenience and speed, but also tighter spend control and access to data, are being proven.

And innovation won’t stop there.

There is already a drive towards super-applications that encompass all the travel content, the itinerary management features, chatbot assistance and payment mechanisms built into one, although it is some way off.  FCMUPGRADE.COM

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NEWS

TOP STORY

Ground transport booking moves up a gear FCM’s ground transport booking services have moved up a gear with the launch of Amadeus’ transfers technology solution. In addition, FCM has partnered with MYCAB International SA as the first preferred global ground transfers provider to be integrated within the Amadeus’ transfers solution in the UK and EMEA. The move means FCM consultants can seamlessly book MYCAB ground transfers via Amadeus Selling Platform Connect. Traveller details and dates are automatically extracted from existing flight bookings, populating the search fields. The booking is fully integrated into the PNR, which allows for simplified trip servicing and easy access to a transfer booking when needed.

MOUNTAIN LOCATION FOR MEA CONFERENCE Marrakech was the location for FCM MEA’s latest conference in October 2018.

But this was no ordinary venue. Some 50 delegates from FCM senior management headed up to the local Atlas Mountains for the three-day event where business sessions took place under canvas in traditional Moroccan tents.

Amadeus’ solution and MYCAB content is also fully enabled with FCM’s powerful new SEEQA online booking tool. As a result, for the first time, travellers and bookers can arrange point-to-point transfers and chauffeur services at over 300 airports and cities in 75 countries using an online booking tool. Launched earlier this year, SEEQA is a bespoke solution built on of the Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense tool that allows FCM to add proprietary functionality and content.

The theme #StrongerTogether gave the group the opportunity to talk about their vision, strategy and success stories in the region and followed on from their previous gathering in Muscat in May when over 250 global colleagues were also present.

Suppliers such as Amadeus spoke about automation and bringing further cost savings to FCM clients in the region.

NEW GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGER Scott Alboni has been appointed as Global Marketing Manager for FCM Travel Solutions. He brings substantial expertise across multi-channel platforms, as his career includes senior branding, marketing and design roles in the business travel and private healthcare sectors.

Based in London, Alboni will work closely with FCM’s Global Managing Director Marcus Eklund, and Frits de Kok, Chief Marketing Officer, Flight Centre Corporate, as well as FCM’s regional marketing leaders, to strengthen the company’s global marketing position and focus on global strategic objectives.

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SPEAKING OUT It has been a busy time for FCM in terms of taking part in in key business travel industry conferences. First up was the annual Business Travel Tech Talk London on Thursday 6th September. FCM’s Chief Experience Officer, John Morhous, was on the first panel of the day, discussing how to apply AI and machine learning to business travel. Next came The Business Travel Conference on 17th and 18th September when Paul Jarvie, FCM’s Head of Account Management, North UK spoke during a session entitled ‘Do behave! Getting your travellers to comply with travel policy’.

Finally, The Business Travel Summit took place on 17th October. In addition to sponsoring the event, FCM was also represented in three different ‘meet the expert’ sessions by Matthew Heymans, Enterprise Sales Director, Rachel Newns, Hotel Programme Manager and Andrew Barker, Director of Sales for cievents.

Industry expert Jo-Anne Lloyd from global strategic consulting and accredited training company Nina & Pinta also attended the conference for the second year to give insights into procurement strategies and cultural intelligence.

“This was a very successful conference in an inspirational location,” said Ciarán Kelly, Managing Director for FCM in Middle East and Africa. “Not only did the group spend valuable time discussing our business in the region, but teamwork activities such as a stunning zip line across the mountains really got people to work closely together.”

Paul Jarvie, Head of Account Management North UK spoke on a panel at The Business Travel Conference

TAKING THE LEAD WITH NDC FCM is continuing to take the lead in driving development of technology to book IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) airline content in the corporate sector around the globe.

Global technology provider Sabre has named FCM as a launch partner for its collaborative initiative ‘Beyond NDC’ in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. FCM will participate with Sabre in the

solution design process, integration and testing of an end-to-end NDC solution to meet customer needs.

The Beyond NDC program will ensure that the future booking of airline product optimises the distribution capabilities of direct and indirect distribution channels, giving FCM customers access to NDCenabled product quickly and easily.

Meanwhile in EMEA and Asia, as announced in March 2018, FCM Travel Solutions was the first travel management company to partner with Amadeus in development of the technology provider’s NDC-X Program. FCM is already working closely with key airline suppliers to test integration of NDC content in Amadeus’ Selling Platform Connect solution.

This will enable FCM’s business travel consultants to access an even richer choice of fares and NDC content in an already familiar technology environment, personalising the booking experience for their clients.

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SUPPLIERS

Upwardly mobile Ground transport management requires much more than just appointing a car rental company…

G

round transport is growing up. It is now a fully-fledged category that travel managers handle rather than just purchase.

This has been born out of both necessity and market evolution.

There’s pressure on travel departments to deliver value for money, whether by saving costs or improving the traveller experience. This has been exacerbated by the growing maturity of airline relationships, meaning fewer savings opportunities. As this has traditionally been the largest part of any corporate travel programme, the pressure is going elsewhere.

New legislation and changing corporate cultures are also driving change.

Duty of care is now an important consideration so vehicle usage for business is under the HR microscope.

“Travel managers’ biggest challenge in ground transportation is duty of care,” says Avis’ Julia Kemp. “You know where corporate travellers are when they are in the air or in a hotel - but there’s a need to understand where they are on the ground – are they driving themselves or being driven? The future is with technology to help companies understand their duty of care.”

Technology has also precipitated the options for ground transport to evolve from a central solution for car rental and local solutions for everything else, to enabling what was once a fragmented category into one which can be managed.

According to Kemp, who is Director of Global Sales and Partnerships, “change is being led by globalisation and where people are going. In India and China, you’ll want to be driven, even if you are a regular car driver.”

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Winter 2019

Technology is facilitating communication and the ability to offer a more consistent and comprehensive service, from pricing to data.

As the sector develops, the thinking behind it also becomes more strategic and the suppliers are no longer car rental companies or chauffeur drive firms but want to be known as providers of “mobility solutions”.

As James Raffo, Group CMO of MYCAB, explained, the ability to configure the service to individual TMC or corporate requirements is why they think of themselves as a travel solution rather than a transport company.

Ground transport solutions can be divided into four main sectors:

1

CAR RENTAL Self-drive vehicles, usually from and to the airport, are the backbone of most ground transport programmes.

Although less important in the UK than in the US, it is still a significant cost – and source of cost savings – in most travel budgets.

Duty of care is also a major consideration (road fatalities and casualties are much more likely than air accidents). One large multinational’s policy limits eligibility to drive out of the airport to those who have flown less than 13 hours, for example. And some organisations restrict how many of its same employees may travel together in the same vehicle.

MYCAB MYCAB is a good example of the new generation of companies that describe themselves as providers of mobility solutions which are ground transport services for current needs.

Founded in Sweden in 2006, it now operates in 75 countries.

It owns no vehicles but says it is not an aggregator as it has direct partnerships with small, local companies and individuals which all use the same technology to ensure consistent data and reporting and service standards.

James Raffo, Group CMO, says it’s important for clients to know they

Managing car rental programmes has unique challenges. There’s no product differentiation: all offer cars at the same airports. “What differentiates car rental companies at the core of corporate programmes is people, account managers and rental sales agents,” says Kemp. “What people want is speed - to get people into a car as quickly as possible.”

The differentiators are elements of service such as data provision (including that for duty of care) and the service itself, which is very much driven by location. Their apps do differ, but not that much.

The big differentiating factor is cost, so negotiations are vital. Day rates are usually similar, but extras such as refuelling and airport taxes are negotiable and can vary significantly.

In addition, a corporate might receive a signing-on fee and a rebate dependent on the volume of business transacted.

Another area to consider is insurance and to compare car rental company insurance with what is covered by the traveller insurance which a company already has in place.

will receive a “reliable service across all its staff no matter where they are, whether they are in Singapore or Stockholm or St Louis. There are standards to uphold. They turn up on time, vehicles are clean, the driver is fully licensed and vetted.”

The service can be configured as required by each client to take account of travel policy and content is available via the GDS or a direct API. Detailed data is available to facilitate both expense management and future strategy.

2

RIDE-HAILING Ride-hailing, a term used traditionally for the taxi sector, is often used to describe sharing economy alternatives such as Uber and Lyft.

Both are targeting business travel and increasingly becoming part of the managed travel programme.

More and more travel departments are negotiating a taxi service for the whole organisation to replace a process of reimbursing expense claims for cash payments to a wide range of small companies.

3

BOOKED CHAUFFEUR DRIVE There’s a group of corporatefriendly organisations such as MYCAB

“

Technology is facilitating communication and the ability to offer a more consistent and comprehensive serviceˮ

which can take care of the journeys whose time, origin and destination are known in advance. These are most often used for airport transfers.

Transfers to and from rail stations are also becoming a more important part of this sector.

4

CAR-SHARING The principle of car-sharing isn’t new. Large organisations would often lease vehicles for their employees’ use.

What is relatively new is the concept of corporate car-sharing clubs such as Hertz 24/7 and Avis Zipcar, however.

On demand cars can be dropped at the traveller’s business or home address, and billed on a minute or hourly basis.

They are especially beneficial for inner city short trips and one-way trips. Julia Kemp reports that since launching Zipcar Flex – the ability to reserve a car in London up to 15 minutes before needed and then just use the Avis app to open it and go – one-way trips between central London and Heathrow have zoomed. “This is for people who don’t need a car on a consistent basis but the convenience of having access,” she says.

CONCLUSION Just as the GDS is no longer the sole corporate travel distribution channel, car rental remains the largest and most important mobility solution but it is no longer the only option.

Business travellers need the widest possible air and hotel content. They also increasingly want a choice of ground transport solutions.

To quote Julia Kemp: “We’re trying to put all this together for people who want to have choice and move between the different mobility options.” 

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INTERVIEW

Cultural diversity across Asia Bertrand Saillet manages a region with different experiences of technology, payments, content and service

A

sia is home to the world’s most economically buoyant economies.

GDP growth in both China and India is around 7%, while US and UK GDP rates hover around the 2% mark.

That means lots of business travel and an explosion in the level of intraAsia travel.

As Managing Director Asia for FCM, Bertrand Saillet is responsible for FCM’s direct operations in China,Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, as well as its partner network in the region. He is keen to emphasise how diverse the region is, with each market having its own distinctive characteristics and challenges.

“If you’re in China, Japan or Korea, you don’t have the same booking experience, technology and culture,” he says.

CONTENT IS KING Content, and the access to content, is fundamental - and just one example of the complexity that travel management in Asia involves.

“In China it’s Travelsky which works like an international GDS, but it doesn’t have hotel content so you must use a hotel aggregator for local hotel content,” explains Saillet. “Domestic Chinese business travellers to second and third tier cities will seek local hotel chains, rather than the large western chains which are only found in tier one cities. These hotels are not always available in the GDS. “In both Korea and Japan, each airline has its own distribution system.

In Thailand, Thai Airways distribute through one outlet, Amadeus, so if you use another GDS, you have to connect to Amadeus.”

Being responsible for such a diverse region is the perfect job for Saillet,

who left his native France for Bangkok eight years ago. After working for Amadeus both there and in Singapore, he joined FCM three years ago and was appointed Managing Director FCM Asia last July.

TECH CHALLENGES His challenges around compliance also vary from market to market.

Understanding the nature of the region’s diversity is central to achieving a successful travel management programme. Many of FCM’s clients are multinationals with an HQ in North America or Europe.

There may be diversity in their own region, but “they tend to think of Asia as one. We can help our customers

In a tech-comfortable country like China where, Saillet explains, “most transactions are virtual, and cash is largely absent from everyday life”, 70-80% of travel is domestic and online booking tool adoption has been relatively easy to drive. On the other hand, he says: “Hong Kong online is very low, Singapore a bit better - but in the rest of the region it’s non-existent.

understand Asia better and make more

“In Asia, some people find ways to play with travel policies. In Singapore and Hong Kong there are a lot of senior people who are less likely to follow a travel policy.”

a decision.”

The region’s corporate clients have high service expectations - but according to Saillet, also want to reduce their internal demand management costs.

difficult to gather full data with so many

Asia has traditionally been seen as a low cost labour market. This no longer is the case when in many major cities like Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, wages are comparable to other big cities across the world. The role of the travel booker is still seen as an important one across Asia. While increasing, the adoption of online booking tools in some markets is still a work in progress.”

and different booking systems in

MANAGING SERVICE EXPECTATIONS But Asia’s rapid economic growth is happening within cultures which value – and expect – a high level of service.

a fast pace which suits me very well.

“There is resistance to technology where people are concerned,” he continues.

informed decisions,” says Saillet.

He cites the example of a US-based travel manager wanting to deploy the same booking tool everywhere: “Once you arrive in Asia, that’s impossible.

That tool might have only some small part of content. All this needs to be explained and discussed before making

Both local and multinational travel managers need visibility of their travel programme - but it’s extremely booking channels. To consolidate rail data, for example, requires combining information from different channels different markets.

“We are driving expense management more and more, especially for the large multinationals and it’s getting better, but there are still a lot of manual processes behind the scenes.”

His positive energy is contagious. “I’ve never been happier in my job,” he says.

“This is a company which moves at Finding new ways to do things is always valued.”

Saillet himself exudes the same agility.

It is a good corporate match for a region of booming economies. 

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CHARITY

Shining a light on energy poverty SCHOOL KITCHEN PROJECT HEATS UP FCM staff’s fundraising endeavours have paid off, as a total of £100k has now been raised. This means work can start on a new kitchen at the Qhoboheane Primary School in Soweto, Johannesburg.

A

s part of Flight Centre Foundation’s latest initiative, FCM has partnered with SolarBuddy, a charity dedicated to illuminating the future of those living in energy poverty.

Approximately 18% of the world’s population has no access to electricity – that’s around 1.4 billion people living in darkness. This severely impacts education, health, the economy and the environment. SolarBuddy’s mission is to help break this cycle and improve the educational opportunities of six million children living in darkness, by providing them with solar lights to study after dusk.

The gift of a SolarBuddy solar light helps children living in energy poverty to continue studying long after the sun goes down, improving their education outcomes and overall health and wellbeing. Early stage evaluations indicate that children with a solar light are studying up to 38% longer.

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As part of Flight Centre Foundation’s five-year ‘adopt a school’ initiative, FCM has already raised money to renovate classrooms and play areas at the school. Now the deposit has been paid and work will soon start on a new kitchen. This will replace the current ‘kitchen’ of stove and sink in a shipping container, where lunch is prepared for almost 500 pupils every day, some of whom get there only meal here.

Staff at Flight Centre’s Global Conference built 2,000 SolarBuddy lights, which were shipped to children in Papua New Guinea and South Africa.

And at FCM’s Focus Conference, delegates made 400 SolarBuddy lights which have been sent to children in Madagascar.

Soweto school kitchen

Staff took on activities such as marathons, mountain climbing, sky dives and 100km walks, as well as office-based bake sales, World Cup sweepstakes and Royal Wedding celebrations to raise the much-needed funds. But that’s not all: staff will soon be heading to Soweto again to help out at the school and see the kitchen’s progress first hand.

TRAVELLERS

Women on the move A new FCM report looks at trends among women business travellers

T

he number of female travellers has increased by 50% over the past five years. Nearly two-thirds of travellers today are women, and women make 80% of all travel decisions. This is significant: 670 million women worldwide control $15 trillion in spending power, making female travellers a market twice the size of China’s and India’s markets combined (Harvard Business Review).

The gender pay gap and pressure for equal pay for equal jobs have brought fair and equal treatment of women once more under scrutiny; the differences between the requirements of female and male travellers continue to exercise the mind of the corporate buyer. A panel at the GBTA convention last year (2017) debated the need for travel managers to have a dedicated policy for solo women travellers, a topic which polarised opinion among delegates.

WHAT DON’T YOU LIKE ABOUT BUSINESS TRAVEL?

Cultural differences

FCM has just released a Women in Business Travel report (http:// uk.fcm.travel/report/women-inbusiness-2018) which is based on a survey of business travellers conducted during summer 2018.

Note: Percentages refer to the proportion of 100 each category attracted. Respondents were able to give more than one answer

Food preferences

Men

Women

Duty of care is the legal right of any employee, and traveller well-being continues to make its way up the agenda as travel buyers realise that people who are well looked-after perform better and make a positive impact on the bottom line.

All

According to the report, just 18% of corporate travel policies address the safety needs of this group, and although 61% of buyers believe it is important to consider matters of safety for women, only 44% have made arrangements to allow them to recommend female-friendly lodging options, which are available in hotels worldwide.

Social expectations Dislike traveling solo Nervous traveller Safety concerns Disruptive to work Away from family/partner 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Personalisation of travel arrangements is also increasingly popular as a means of driving compliance to policy. To that end, travel managers are engaging with more diverse groups of travellers.

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PRIMARY REASONS FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL are. This is despite a notable 70% of female travellers belonging to an airline loyalty scheme vs 37.2% of men. Pearson thinks this may be because while men are loyal to one programme, women may have numerous memberships and prioritise convenient departure times and routes over earning loyalty points.

Note: Percentages refer to the proportion of 100 each category attracted.

Event/ Conference

Men Women

Project

All

The three most frustrating elements of flying for men and women are time wasted at the airport, delays and cancellations and security processes, in that order for women, and delays and disruption first for men.

Training

Internal

Client meetings 0%

5%

10%

15%

Despite a bigger focus on their special needs, the FCM survey found that women and men dislike the same things about business travel. The biggest thing on that list is being away from family/ partner. They also find it disruptive to work, dislike travelling alone and have safety concerns.

More positively, 45.83% of women enjoy travelling, in comparison with 39.58% of men. Both enjoy face-to-face interaction most (60%), followed by meeting colleagues and the experience of travel.

Being away from the daily grind is liberating, according to Carolyn Pearson, CEO of Maiden Voyage, a network of professional women business travellers: “Professionally, I think much more creatively when my senses are being stimulated by new things; I will leave the office and come back with 10 million ideas.

“Women tend to be doing lots of things at once – filling the dish washer, engaging with their partner, dealing with children, and it all takes time. When we are on a business trip, we are given a respite… I never turn the TV on at home but I do in a hotel; so definitely, I love my business travel.”

The research overall found a general consistency in experience and attitudes between men and women.

But one notable gender difference which emerges is the reason for business travel. Meeting clients is the single biggest reason for men (22.3%), but is only true for 12.5% of women, whose main reason is internal meetings (12.9%) against 10.3% for men. This is surprising, allowing for the profile of those polled – 51.98% women, 48.02% men and 33.08% managers/supervisors with smaller percentages of senior executives, admin, 18

Winter 2019

20%

25%

30%

35%

sales, trained professionals, support and consultants.

Although nearly equal proportions of men and women travel by air, more women use the train and more men use self-drive. “I think that’s end-to-end convenience; you have everything with you and can work, read and someone else is doing the driving; and it is probably a bit more secure to go by train,” says Carolyn Pearson.

Men also prefer to drive to the airport, but marginally more women take a taxi. And it is interesting that using an airport lounge as an oasis from plastic chairs, children and ice cream makes only a minor contribution to the enjoyment of travel, with just 23.8% of business travellers using one every trip and 33.7% doing so occasionally. More men use them regularly (15.3%) than do women (7.7%), and 24.9% of women say they never use a lounge, against 18.5% of men. Lounge access, however, is determined by loyalty programme status or class of travel, so usage may have more to do with entitlement than preference.

Class of travel flown is also an eye-opener.

There is little difference below business class but where only 9.7% of women turn left on the plane, 13.5% of men opt for greater comfort although 78.4% said the choice was determined by company policy.

Loyalty programmes throw up another discrepancy: 10% of men are motivated by rewards when choosing an airline, but only 6.7% of women

Not surprisingly, location is the most important factor in the choice of a hotel with free wi-fi a close second. Nearly 60% of the respondents, distributed evenly between men and women, preferred a property close to their meeting or office.

It is much documented that women travellers do not like using hotel bars and/or restaurants alone, but FCM’s research shows that the restaurant, bar and gym are the three most used hotel facilities in roughly equal numbers by both sexes. That said, 42.5% of men drink alone in the bar, in contrast to only 32.2% of their female colleagues.

Where the controversial sharing economy is concerned, business travellers are evenly split as to whether or not they would stay in an Airbnb. Of this 50%, however, women are more amenable than men (29% v 21.3%).

The report concludes, “male and female business travellers are probably more similar, more homogeneous, than ever before. With just a few exceptions, the tastes and habits of both genders are the same.”

Maybe Venus and Mars are closer to colliding than anyone realised.  For sources please consult the full report which is available for download at uk.fcm.travel/report/ women-in-business-2018

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN CHOOSING A HOTEL?

Men

Women

All

Bar/restaurant on site Price 24hr reception Free wi-fi Location 0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7% 8%

9%

EVENTS

Rooms for a view Brainstorms often require no distractions.

What UK venues might be suitable?

Corporates usually source venues for client meetings, staff training, product launches and team-building.

But how about when it’s time for a brainstorm? Like all meetings the venue must be matched to delegate culture and the meeting objective.

Some, such as a brainstorm about expansion or a corporate re-structure, will also demand complete confidentiality.

Non-confidential meetings, such as a staff brainstorm on developing a new product or a new marketing campaign, might also demand privacy to facilitate delegates’ focus.

An exclusive-use property could be the ideal solution.

LONDON If you’re looking for a venue which guarantees an atmosphere different from your office and privacy, you could do worse than use one of London’s clubs. Even if you (or the boss) aren’t members of one of the “gentleman’s clubs” that line St James’s Street and Pall Mall, London has a wealth of stylish clubs in which you hold your brainstorm in splendid isolation from the hubbub of many meeting venues.

Landsdowne Club The Landsdowne Club is half traditional gentlemen’s club, half modern club. The 18th Century building has only been a club since 1935, and it has always admitted women as full members

London-based business’s team meeting as it’s spitting distance from Green Park station and Berkeley Square.

Andaz London, Liverpool Street This property oozes history. It was the site of the original Bedlam, Britain’s famous first hospital for the mentally ill, in the 13th Century. It was also once the Great Eastern Hotel, one of the most notable of Britain’s railway hotels.

A hotel, which is right next to Liverpool Street Station, has stood on this site since 1884. The Andaz, Hyatt’s luxury boutique brand, is the latest incarnation.

This cocktail of location and history means it has a unique range of meeting rooms, from slick designer spaces to grand Victorian rooms. To really inspire some creativity, you could do worse than hire the Temple, a Grecian-style room which is one of two Masonic Temples in the property. It feels very grand with the marble and original masonic chairs.

With a boardroom capacity for 30, the Landsdowne is brilliantly located for a

Some companies believe that venues with leisure facilities such as a tennis court or spa might give delegates a much-needed change of scene – and mindset – during break time so that they return to the brainstorm completely refreshed and ready to give new ideas.

Participant profile will affect what kind of venues provide distractions and which don’t. Many UK football clubs, Aston Villa and Leicester to name two, have a great range of meeting venues but some participants might start dreaming of putting goals into the net rather than new revenue into the company.

On the other hand, others may think of how much strategy is involved in football, which might spur more strategic thinking.

So what kind of venue might help your delegates at your next internal brainstorm?

Pennyhill Park Hotel

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Society M

M25 The most important requirement for some brainstorms might very well be participation from teams or people coming from different locations. This is where properties near the M25, especially those near Heathrow and/or Gatwick, can really score.

Pennyhill Park Hotel and Country Club If easy access for people coming from many different places is top of the wish list, Pennyhill Park is about as perfect a location as you could imagine. It’s 50 minutes from central London by train and 20 minutes from Heathrow. There is easy access from the M3, M4 and M25, with extensive parking and, should you need it, a helipad.

This property is well-suited to almost any meeting, with 20 rooms of all sizes, formats and layout options. It would suit a small group of 8-10 and, for those that have the budget, there is the option to book all of it for exclusive use, all 124 bedrooms on 120 acres of parkland including the golf course, tennis courts, etc.

MIDLANDS Sometimes a brainstorm is necessary at short notice (a launch of a competitive product, say) so the solution might be to use a local hotel with the easy access, required facilities and a conducive environment.

Macdonald Burlington Hotel Given that it’s only a two-minute walk from Birmingham New Street station, it’d be difficult to find a hotel in the Midlands which was any more accessible. It may not be the most secluded location, but the Macdonald Burlington is well kitted out for a brainstorm in Birmingham.

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Winter 2019

THE NORTH Broadoaks Broadoaks is smack bang in the middle of the Lake District, just north of Kendal, and quite close to the M6, making it as convenient for those from Newcastle and the North East as it is for people based from Lancashire up to the Scottish borders.

Companies can hire the property – complete with seven acres of garden, four break-out rooms and helipad for the CEO, for the exclusive use of up to 32 people. If the accessible location isn’t enough to sell this as a destination for those who want to base their brainstorm in the North, the hotel’s private hire boat could sway the decision.

“

Like all meetings the venue must be matched to delegate culture and meeting objective”

SCOTLAND Society M (Glasgow) A tech start-up or design team based in or near Glasgow would do well to consider the Society M. As befits a sister brand to Citizen M, it has a young and quirky style and its meeting rooms boast “wipe clean walls”, which make it perfect for creative brainstorms.

External venues suit brainstorms extremely well as they remove the potential arrival of a colleague who “wants a word” and smartphones can be deposited at the door. Focus and attention are easier to achieve.

However, the size and style of different companies means each might thrive in different styles of conference facility.

Across the UK there’s quite a choice. 

CONTACT DETAILS Andaz London Liverpool Street 40 Liverpool Street London EC2M 7QN 0207 961 1234 Broadoaks Country House Bridge Lane, Troutbeck Windermere Cumbria LA23 1LA 015394 45566 The Landsdowne Club 9 Fitzmaurice Place London W1J 5JD 0207 629 7200 Macdonald Burlington Hotel Burlington Arcade, 126 New Street, Birmingham B2 4JQ 0344 879 9019 Pennyhill Park Hotel and Country Club London Rd, Bagshot GU19 5EU 01276 471774 Society M 60 Renfrew Street Glasgow G2 3BD 0141 295 0045

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