Upgrade Magazine - Issue 2

Upgrade

Winter 2018 FCM TRAVEL SOLUTIONS UK

Elevating business travel intelligence

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Rewards that matter to you.

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Earning points Using points Earn Base Points on qualifying stays, dining, spa experiences and more. Earn 5 Base Points for every eligible You may spend points on free nights (with no blackout dates at Hyatt hotels and resorts), airline miles or car U.S. dollar spent. rental awards. You can also share points with other World of Hyatt members. Free nights start at just 5,000 points.points Using You may spend points on free nights (with no blackout dates at Hyatt hotels and resorts), airline miles or car New for 2018 rental awards. You can also share points with other World of Hyatt members. Free nights start at just 5,000 Starting January 1, 2018, all nights on free night awards count toward tier status. You can now earn elite status, points. additional benefits and rewards faster.

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The trademarks Hyatt®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, World of Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Miraval®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, HYATT®, Andaz®, Hyatt Centric™, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt™, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt Ziva™ and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. © 2018 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

The trademarks Hyatt ®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, World of Hyatt ®, Park Hyatt ®, Miraval®, Grand Hyatt ®, Hyatt Regency ®, HYATT®, Andaz ®, Hyatt Centric™, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt™, Hyatt Place ®, Hyatt House ®, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt Ziva™ and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. © 2018 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

The trademarks Hyatt ®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, World of Hyatt ®, Park Hyatt ®, Miraval®, Grand Hyatt ®, Hyatt Regency ®, HYATT®, Andaz ®, Hyatt Centric™, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt™, Hyatt Place ®, Hyatt House ®, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt Ziva™ and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. © 2018 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

Welcome

Winter 2018

The clocks haven’t yet gone forward but spring is in the air and new growth is already appearing in our gardens.

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Growth is also the message from all our economic measures. Sterling is now trading at a higher level since pre-Brexit, the American stock market is booming and European growth is exceeding all forecasts.

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Market optimism and growth are strong indicators of increased demand for business travel and there couldn’t be a better time. Buyers, bookers and travellers are being treated to a range of innovations from new airline lounges and business class products to technology tools which will enhance the hotel guest’s experience.

Buyers are now finding loyalty programmes and new sources of content that can enhance compliance rather than cause leakage.

Growth is encouraging positive results for corporate travel.

Enjoy spring. Enjoy the second edition of Upgrade.

Betty Low, Editor

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n the fast-changing world of business travel, where new trends and technology are emerging constantly; acronyms like ‘NDC’ or ‘GDPR’ suddenly appear on the radar; and buzzwords like ‘sharing economy’ are the new norm, how do you keep up with it all?

As a leading global travel management company, it’s our job to stay at the forefront of developments and innovation in our industry, so that we can help our clients sift through the noise.

That’s why we launched ‘Upgrade’ last October to give FCM clients impartial insights on topics that are the talk of the industry. Feedback from the first issue has been fantastic.

In this second issue the editorial team have triumphed again with an

EDITORIAL EDITOR | Betty Low CONTRIBUTORS | Catherine Chetwynd, Linda Fox, Mark Frary FCM EDITORIAL ADVISER | Vanessa Aves ADVERTISING ADVERTISING SALES | Sue Robinson DESIGN PRODUCTION & MANAGEMENT WonDesigns, Caren Johnstone DESIGNER | André Albuquerque ILLUSTRATION | Simona De Leo

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Contents interesting and enjoyable mix of news, features, interviews.

At the time of going to press, FCM UK had also just triumphed at the Business Travel Awards, winning Best Travel Management Company (over £200M annual UK sales).

The judges said: “FCM is a company really embracing change, with a massive investment in people and technology, while remaining totally customer focused.”

I can’t think of a better way to sum up our approach to everything we do, including our approach for this magazine.

Jo Greenfield

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Switching channels Switching channels can be confusing. Mark Frary explains how to thrive in a multiple channel world

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Letter from America Upgrade asks FCM’s US head Charlene Leiss if globalisation has eradicated regional differences

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Loyalty rewards

Frequent flyer programmes were once used to lure travellers.

Catherine Chetwynd explains how they’re now used to drive compliance

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FCM news • Awards success • Seeqa launch • Sam rollout • Conferences • Media dinner • Finnish travel fair

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A class of their own Mark Frary explores why corporate travellers might soon be turning left

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Stockholm Stockholm is considered the most digitally connected city in the world

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At your service

Technology developments are set to revolutionise the hotel guest experience. Linda Fox tells us more

UK General Manager, FCM Travel Solutions

PUBLISHING MANAGING DIRECTOR | Sue Robinson

REDBOX | Ed Cooling

20 Travel: a cost or an investment?

Why do so many aim to control costs rather than to achieve growth?

©FCMUPGRADE 2018

New business enquiries:

23 Community care FCM is raising money for MIND in the UK and a school in Soweto

salesuk@fcmtravel.co.uk

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PRINTING

Editorial and advertising enquiries: enquiries@fcmupgrade.com

Meeting expectations Organising small staff meetings can yield great savings

TRAVEL MANAGERS

Switching channels Travellers’ using their work mouse or smartphone just like their home remote control can leave a confused manager. Mark Frary explains how to thrive in a multiple channel world.

low-cost carriers have been particularly successful in this, positioning themselves as the cheapest option – even though the term “low-cost” really applies to the airline business model rather than the fare itself, a clever marketing twist.

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magine a world where in order to compare the prices of different brands of baked beans you had to visit a Heinz shop, a Branston shop and as many supermarkets as there are own-brand versions. One thing is certain, you would quickly go off beans.

Unfortunately, for much of business travel’s recent history, that is exactly what you had to do for certain types of product, specifically those that have not been available through the global distribution systems (GDS).

This non-GDS content has proliferated in the past two decades since the arrival of low-cost carriers which, as part of their low-cost model, choose to distribute their fares through their own web channels in order to save on costs.

Yet low-cost air travel is not the only non-GDS content that travel managers and bookers need to access. Access to

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Winter 2018

Providers of non-GDS content, such as Uber, have also recognised the value of clever technology, such as user-friendly websites and apps that promise to make the booking experience friendlier and friction-free. hotels, particularly smaller, independent ones, has been always an issue for travel buyers.

The sharing economy has also given rise to a proliferation in travel content that is not available through the GDS – think rooms on AirBnb and Ubers as well as the countless lookalikes to these two around the world.

The result of this behaviour is that compliance with travel policy has been under growing threat and travel management companies are increasingly having to operate as aggregators of an ever-growing list of distribution channels.

Non-GDS content has proliferated since the arrival of low-cost carriers.”

The challenge for travel managers is that this non-GDS content has proven irresistible to business travellers – partly because of the huge amount of money that has been spent on marketing them to individuals. The

Take air, for example, where the lowcost airlines have completely broken the short-haul air market model in Europe and many other regions.

FCM Air Product Manager Kavon Bagheri says the rise of low-cost is partly due to a trend for company travel policies to require

allow our consultants to easily explore offerings from LCCs and traditional carriers in one screen,” he says.

Not content with having broken the short-haul markets, LCCs are now eyeing up long-haul markets.

Bagheri says “The rise in low-cost supply is quite dramatic with existing carriers increasing routes and aircraft plus new entrants in the market.

Norwegian applied for 155 new routes in 2017 and were granted 153 of them and announced Buenos Aires and Singapore as new destinations and will likely announce more in 2018. We then see the traditional carriers making plays into this market with new entrants like IAG’s Level and Air France’s Joon.”

The idea of non-GDS air content should also be considered in the light of IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) initiative which aims to make shopping for air products easier and more transparent.

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Providers of non-GDS content, such as Uber, have also recognised the value of clever technology.”

FCM and parent company Flight Centre Travel Group have been proactively engaged with key NDC players for the last two years to address customer need for access to NDC content.

“NDC will play an increasing role in travel distribution and our priority has been to ensure that our customers benefit positively from the opportunities it presents, as well as ensure the value of the airlines is well represented," says Bagheri. "We have been working closely with our technology partner Amadeus and major airline groups such as British Airways/Iberia, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM to help shape the future

travellers to book the lowest available fare on short haul routes.

“While many low-cost carriers (LCCs) have increased the traveller experience with speedy boarding, fast track and even lounge access, the more traditional airlines have arguably reduced their traveller experience by unbundling meals and baggage to try and compete on price point. This has made economy travel on short routes quite comparable between LCCs and traditional airlines.”

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of that distribution and look at new ways to integrate airline content into our existing booking platforms. We are very close to integrating NDC content via our core booking systems so that we can define a win-win strategy for our customers and the airlines moving forwards. FCM is proud to be playing a key part in shaping the roadmap for NDC in the travel management space.”

Alexander Blunt is Flight Centre Group’s head of land product, with responsibility for sourcing hotels, apartments, car rental, rail and visa and passport ancillaries across both the corporate and leisure sectors of the company.

Blunt says, “We find ourselves talking about non-GDS content a lot. We have good partnerships with Booking.com, Expedia, GTA and HRS but in the majority of cases, traditional GDS hotel content is what clients still want. For example Booking.com has 1.5 million hotels but when you dig down, a lot of corporate clients don’t need or want that.”

When buyers realise that many of these hotels do not honour loyalty status, are unable to provide a VAT invoice and may not offer a negotiated rate even if you are putting significant spend into their property, the appeal often wanes.

“Clients are all talking to us about this but once you inform them of the differences they generally choose to stick with the GDS model,” he says.

Blunt says that part of what buyers want is not so much the breadth of content but giving the buyer or booker confidence that there is price parity for the traditional GDS content.

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Low-cost continues to expand partly through consolidation but also through new models.

A crucial point in the accessibility of non-GDS air content is in making it easily available. FCM works very closely with its technology partners to ensure that all content is maximised and presented in an efficient manner, says Bagheri. “The tools that we use

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FCMUPGRADE.COM

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TRAVEL MANAGERS

Ticket

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The desire for non-GDS content has also dropped following FCM’s introduction of technology from TripBAM. The offering monitors hotel rates booked through the GDS every day until check-in to see if a lower rate is available at which point the existing booking can be cancelled and the room rebooked at the lower price guaranteeing the client with the best available rate.

“What our travellers want is to be able to book everything in one place, flexible payment options, loyalty and management information,” says Blunt.

Flexibility to meet a corporate’s needs in different markets is also key. “Some clients say we only want to see our preferred hotels and our negotiated rates,” says Blunt. “Others say we want to see that in London but not in Germany, where we want to see HRS content as well. Some don’t want to see GDS content at all in the Middle East.”

A number of the online booking tool partners that work with FCM allow non-GDS content to be aggregated alongside GDS content, making it easier for bookers to compare.

Extended stay properties have become more popular too as hotel groups have expanded their brands into these areas, such as Hilton with Homewood and Embassy Suites and Accor with the acquisition of OneFineStay. At the same time, property investors, particularly buy-to-let landlords in the UK, have bought properties to rent them 06

Winter 2018

on the long-stay market, using new technology platforms such as AirBnb. FCM has partnerships with many of the leading providers, including SACO and BridgeStreet.

AirBnb’s unapologetic efforts to win over the corporate market have not gone unnoticed and buyers have a duty to consider the growing demands from younger travellers in particular to offer more authentic accommodation choices.

“All of our clients want to talk about AirBnb but it is important to discuss the duty of care risks with buyers and many end up sticking with long-stay apartments,” says Blunt.

However Blunt says that hotel chains are responding to the threat of AirBnb taking their business by refreshing their offerings and launching new brands such as Premier Inn’s hub and Hilton’s Canopy.

“The chains present great offerings in the mid and economy scales that target millennials. If you add in the value-added benefits offered by FCM’s SmartSTAY, such as free WiFi and breakfast, AirBnb becomes less of a discussion,” he says.

For non-GDS content, booking is only one part of the story – data is the other crucial element. Without good data and reporting, corporate buyers will be unable to see and act upon the big picture.

“Data is really, really important,” says Blunt. “TMCs are becoming aggregators and providers of data at a holistic level

Ticket

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A number of the online booking tools allow nonGDS content to be aggregated alongside GDS content, making it easier for bookers to compare.”

to allow clients to pin down travel spend exactly and identify where there are gaps and where companies are overspending and underspending.”

For bookings that flow through the online booking tool, this is straightforward. For non-GDS bookings where part of the booking may be offline, this means having defined procedures in place to ensure data flows into FCM Connect suite and HUB portal.

All this means that shopping for nonGDS content, as for baked beans, now requires a lot less time and energy. And that has to be a good thing. 

WIFI UP HIGH We’re the first European airline to offer WiFi across our entire fleet, so when you fly Virgin Atlantic or with our partner, Delta Air Lines, you can stay connected on all your transatlantic flights.

To find out more and book, contact FCM.

In business, time is money.

We save you both.

With Etihad BusinessConnect, the more your employees travel, the more your business benefits. Miles accrued shave costs off future travel and secure seat upgrades, helping you and your employees arrive more refreshed to your business meetings. What’s more, managing the BusinessConnect account is easy with our online portal.

Join now on businessconnect.etihad.com and start saving on your business travel. businessconnect.etihad.com

From

Abu Dhabi to the world

INTERVIEW

Letter from America Business travel is global. Upgrade asked FCTG USA Corporate Brands head Charlene Leiss if that meant there were no regional differences

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he UK and US are often referred to as two countries divided only by a common language so Upgrade consulted Boston-based Charlene Leiss to discover what if anything was different in the world of travel management in the US. It’s easy to see why Leiss is Flight Centre Travel Group’s President, Corporate Brands in the US. She exudes authority and her market knowledge is impressive.

Her thoughts on business travel make her a living and breathing example of her view that corporate clients believe that it’s important for their TMC to be the experts and forward-thinking.

According to Charlene, because business travel is a truly global industry the main topics of interest are similar across the regions – distribution and access to content and the ascent of NDC, data privacy and GDPR, risk management and the importance of technology and data.

The concerns may be the same but different market contexts mean that Europe and North America can be at different points of a development’s cycle and the specific effects can vary hugely.

“No one has taken any steps to move content away from the GDS,” says Charlene when asked if US airlines are introducing any initiatives to disincentivise GDS bookings comparable to Lufthansa’s DCC. “We think it’s coming but airlines are beholden to the full content agreements that are still in effect. When the GDS agreements expire, it will follow. It’s just a matter of time.” Large corporates in North America have already seen the rise of open booking and actively

aggregate non-GDS bookings given the popularity of low-cost carriers and sharing economy suppliers such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb.

It’s probably coming, but no major US carrier has taken steps yet to move content away from the GDS.” Data privacy is also a big issue. Although privacy laws in the US are nowhere near as stringent as those in Europe, including the UK, and Canada, GDPR is still a concern for many corporates because numerous companies based in the US have employees, either there or abroad, on European passports and therefore covered by GDPR. In the past the US would never have been considered a high-risk location yet, on the day we speak, there has been an explosion at the New York Port Authority. As Charlene observes, “Terrorism hits somewhere in the world every day so you have to know where everyone is.

“We have to make sure we’re forward thinking with everything to do with risk management.”

American clients both want a volume of data and they want targeted, personalised data.

According to Charlene, data is especially sought in some specific ways:

1 GAMIFICATION The use of data which highlights how different travellers rank in areas such as how far in advance they book, how much they’re saving, etc. to drive traveller behaviour.

2 TRAVELLER WELFARE Reporting and predictive data can highlight issues such as whether companies are asking travellers to make unnecessary connections when they fly. Improving the travel experience can help to retain staff, an especially important business objective in locations such as Boston, New York and Silicon Valley where high-tech industries are concentrated and skilled individuals.

3 PREDICTIVE DATA According to Charlene, “there is a movement not to look back to see what has happened in the past” but instead focus on what is or will be happening.

Predictive data allows customers to make live changes – and savings. One of the more popular predictive tools is one that can identify to 95% accuracy flights that are likely to be delayed.

Predictive data is especially valuable for people who have air agreements and want to meet targets. For example, new routes are being launched regularly in the US – JetBlue for one is starting a whole new set of routes in direct competition to the US’s Big 3 - and other airlines can consequently be potentially very generous in offering discounts to maintain market share.

There will be new tools and different emphases but many issues, such as air agreements, remain the same. Supply and demand still affect price. Changing behaviour can still drive savings.  FCMUPGRADE.COM

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TRAVELLERS

Loyalty rewards Frequent flyer programmes were once suspected of being used by non-preferred suppliers to lure travellers. Catherine Chetwynd explains how they’re now used to drive compliance

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he worm has turned. A decade or so ago, travel managers decried frequent flyer programmes (FFPs) as the work of the devil, tempting otherwise compliant corporate travellers into booking the carrier whose loyalty scheme best benefited them. Now, buyers are arguing that participation is a good way to ensure they stick to policy and use the preferred carrier because they can accumulate points to their own advantage – upgrades, family holidays, etc.

However, airlines have a tendency to move the goalposts. The current trend is to give rewards based on money spent rather than miles flown. American Airlines, United and Delta led the way in 2015, and others now include Oman Air, Air France-KLM and, from March 2018, Lufthansa.

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Those who ignore programmes when negotiating and making sourcing decisions often end up with a less compliant travel programme.”

Mia Anderssen Festive Road

In theory, the two should be closely related, in that longer journeys are more expensive but in reality tickets from London to San Francisco and Seoul (both approximately 8,000 miles) would cost different amounts, so it does not necessarily remove the temptation for travellers to book out of policy. And the money used to calculate the points does not include taxes, so businesses part with more dosh than travellers are rewarded for and travellers are earning less as a result.

on kilometres flown and booking class. “As a result, members who pay a higher price for their ticket may receive fewer miles than those who pay a low price. This is viewed as unfair by many participants,” says senior director, sales UK, Andreas Köster.

“The new allocation, called Revenue Based Accrual (RBA), credits miles based on the ticket price and it will also no longer be decided on whether it is a continental or intercontinental flight. This makes awarding miles more transparent and easier for the participant to understand.”

Lufthansa contends that the new system is fairer. It is currently based

Global Travel Analyst for Oil Spill Response Alice Linley-Munro agrees.

Winter 2018

Access to the lounge is a big incentive for booking with the preferred partner

“I think Lufthansa’s switching to a farebased system seems fairer because why shouldn’t you be rewarded more for when you may have paid over the odds for it?” she says. “But if staff catch wind of ‘the higher the fare, the higher the miles’, it’s potentially not going to help with their frankly diabolical advanced booking behaviour, if they think they can get something out of it!” Doubleedged sword then.

There are also more barriers to upgrading status with attendant lounge access: “It will put more strain on the travel manager and on policy because if people cannot easily retain premium loyalty cards, the only way they will

benefit from lounge access is to travel business class,” says director of Severnside Consulting Chris Pouney.

In addition, Grant Martin, writing in Skift, notes there are record levels of passenger dissatisfaction with loyalty programmes of American legacy carriers.

“By design, spend-based loyalty programmes are made to reward high-spend customers and shrink the pool of participants. The question isn’t how unhappy passengers are, however.

It’s whether the loyalty programs care.” Not only was American Airlines criticised specifically for rewarding elite status members by miles flown but also for limiting the availability of award space.

Not all carriers are going down this route and Air France-KLM recently made available all seats on a flight for tickets bought with Flying Blue miles, rather than a limited number. Some carriers are also giving members the option to pay for awards with points and cash.

When negotiating fares with carriers, buyers can be seduced at the RFP stage by offers of complimentary upgrades and matching loyalty status because these don’t cost airlines much.

But that only matters to travellers who fly with one carrier, have top-level loyalty programme membership status and whose travel manager is considering moving them to a different supplier.

In the 21st century, a loyalty scheme is de rigueur, whether you are running an airline, a supermarket or a credit card company. But what people want from their loyalty points has changed.

“Their main concern is the airport experience,” says travel engagement leader of consultancy Festive Road Mia Anderssen.

“Travellers tell us frequent flyer points are important for access to the fast lane and priority boarding. Four years ago, the majority would have wanted lounge access in order to relax, work and be productive. It is possible today for buyers to negotiate that regardless

of loyalty programmes and those who ignore programmes when negotiating and making sourcing decisions often end up with a less compliant travel programme.”

Non-compliance also has duty of care implications, as travel managers will not know when employees are travelling or on which airline. “We have had to work very hard indeed to move our spend away from BA, which was our top carrier because people wanted their tier points,” says Alice Linley-Munro. “Staff even downgraded their class of travel, flying direct, so that they could do this.”

“This affected their health, with mental and physical fatigue,” she says.

“However, we have subsequently pointed out that if you fly business class with a stopover with an airline in oneworld, you accrue more tier points. We tell new staff to sign up to various programmes, usually BA, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, and we have recently started telling them to join Flying Blue Petroleum for additional perks.”

These days, traveller experience is a key focus of many travel programmes and loyalty programmes increase traveller satisfaction, so including them in negotiations helps travel managers drive compliance, rather than driving it away. “Buyers take advantage of suppliers’ loyalty programmes and use

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Lufthansa’s switching to a fare-based system seems fairer. Why shouldn’t you be rewarded more when you may have paid over the odds?”

Alice Linley-Munro Oil Spill Response

a number of communication channels to highlight the value of those, whereas before, they didn’t mention them,” says Mia Anderssen.

AIG takes this approach, choosing suppliers that give value to the company and encouraging membership of loyalty programmes to drive

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Loyalty programmes are not going away so it makes sense for organisations to stipulate those that employees can use.”

Jan Jacobsen AIG

compliance, but it must be advantageous for both employer and employees for global accommodation manager, global corporate travel & meeting services Jan Jacobsen to promote it. “They can use speedy boarding and lounges, which means they do not buy food and drinks in the airport,” he says.

And regarding the contentious issue of whether points gained belong to the individual or the company they work for: “Travellers use the rewards. There is no point in fighting a losing battle, it is better to make it work,” says Jacobsen. Given that loyalty programmes are not going away, it makes sense for organisations to stipulate those that employees can use in order to keep a hand on the rudder, while still making travellers feel they are getting some recompense for slogging around the world on behalf of their employer.

There are programmes that benefit the company, generally aimed at SMEs, including British Airways’ On Business, also available to American Airlines customers, which recognises employer and employee with On Business points and Avios respectively for each booking.

Other comparable schemes are Emirates – customers must be members of Emirates’ Business Rewards (corporate) and Emirates Skywards (individuals), and similarly Virgin’s Flying Co./Virgin’s Flying Club; plus Etihad’s BusinessConnect, Lufthansa PartnerPlusBenefit, valid on 10 other Star Alliance members; Qatar Airways’ QBiz, valid on other oneworld carriers; and SAS Credits.

The last word goes to Mia Anderssen: “The value of a loyalty programme generally exceeds the value of the airline itself. Sometimes it is double the value of the airline,” says Mia Anderssen. “This is a major revenue stream for airlines and hotels and it is important for buyers to remember that.”  FCMUPGRADE.COM

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NEWS

TOP STORY

FCM recognised with prestigious award FCM has been named the Best Travel Management Company with annual sales over £200 million at this year’s Business Travel Awards.

Commenting on FCM’s triumphant submission the judges said: “FCM Travel Solutions is a company really embracing change, with a massive investment in people and technology, while remaining totally customer focused.”

Winners of the Business Travel Awards are determined by an independent panel of judges, made up primarily of

FCM LAUNCHES SEEQA

business travel buyers, who identify those worthy of winning the coveted titles after reviewing and marking each entry.

FCM was jubilant to receive this recognition. UK General Manager Jo Greenfield said, “We are absolutely thrilled and incredibly proud to win this award. It’s a tremendous achievement as the Business Travel Awards is such a prestigious programme and the judging process is rigorous and totally impartial.

“Winning Best TMC is a fantastic endorsement of FCM’s approach

FCM is on the countdown to the launch of Seeqa, a powerful and progressive new online booking solution that gives travellers and bookers access to unparalleled travel options and functionality as it aggregates GDS, non-GDS and FCM’s proprietary content within one business travel eco-system.

purchase air, hotel, car, rail and other ancillary services within company policy with just a few clicks. Tight integration between Seeqa and other FCM Connect applications will ensure that booking flows are further optimised giving bookers and travellers a seamless user experience.

Seeqa is fully integrated within FCM Connect, the company’s suite of next generation travel technology tools which was unveiled last September. Navigation of Seeqa is easy and fast via a single interface enabling users to plan, book and

“Bookers and travellers need an online tool which is agile and easy to use but also gives them access to the richest content while still being within a company’s travel programme,” said Marcus Eklund, Global General Manager, FCM

to delivering exceptional customer service, our industry-leading technology and the commitment and expertise of our people.”

The Awards, which are organised by Buying Business Travel Magazine to recognise achievement of the UK’s leading business travel businesses and individuals, were presented at a gala ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House on 22 January.

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Winter 2018

FINNISH FAIR

The UK’s leading business travel and MICE journalists and Flight Centre Corporate’s senior executives gathered together for the company’s annual media event on February 8th. The evening provided an opportunity for journalists to be updated by Steve Norris, Flight Centre Corporate MD, Marcus Eklund, Global General Manager FCM and Michel Rouse, CTO EMEA, FCM on 2018 developments. Also attending were Jo Greenfield, FCM UK General Manager, Alex Blunt, Head of Hotel Supplier Relations, Aisha Battersby, General Manager, Corporate Specialist Brands and Lucy Francis, General Manager, cievents.

This year’s venue was the stunning, Art Deco-inspired Trafalgar St James Hotel, which reopened in October 2017 after a multi-million-pound refurbishment.

SENIOR FCM SPEAKERS AT LEADING INDUSTRY EVENTS FCM will be well represented at two leading industry conferences at London Olympia in February

avoid becoming obsolete. It takes place at 3.30pm on Wednesday, 21 February.

Those who want to be thought leaders rather than followers should head to Travel Technology Europe’s panel session “Futureproof yourself: critical skills and the need for innovation” to hear the thoughts of FCM’s CTO EMEA Michael Rouse.

This panel will examine how to be at the forefront of your industry and

Those interested in consistently finding the best prices available should find time at 1pm on Thursday, 22 February to listen to Alexander Blunt, Head of Hotel Supplier Relations at FCM. This session at the Business Travel Show will explore when, where and how to get the best air fares and hotel rates possible.

SAM GOES LIVE GLOBALLY Sam, FCM’s chatbot-assisted personal support service for travellers, is now available for download on both the App Store and Google Play.

Travel Solutions. “As an end to end solution, Seeqa gives our clients maximum content and a full choice of booking options for all aspects of their business travel needs – mixing best public fares with negotiated fares and FCM proprietary content.”

Seeqa is being unveiled at the Business Travel Show in London, where visitors to the FCM stand will have the opportunity to discover more about its unique content and functionality.

Two versions are available. The basic level is free and can be used by any user to add their trips manually, check the weather, traffic and flight alerts and access local ground transport options.

The premium level is available only to FCM customers and has advanced features. These include auto-synching the traveller’s bookings, integrated selfbooking tool as well as the ability to chat live with an FCM consultant to amend a booking or other service. The user can also share their location to fulfil corporate duty of care responsibilities.

UK FCM customers already have access to the premium version of Sam. A phased roll-out is underway for FCM clients across the rest of Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Marcus Eklund, Global General Manager, FCM Travel Solutions, said, “We are delighted to announce that Sam is live and can be downloaded globally.

FCM’s team in Finland were out in force at the Makta Nordic Travel Fair – the largest travel industry event in Northern Europe, which took place in Helsinki for two days in January. This was the second time FCM has exhibited at the event, joining some 900 exhibitors from over 80 countries. FCM’s stand in the Business Forum was a big success and the team took the opportunity to network with thousands of visitors who were particularly interested in FCM’s chatbot-based technology app Sam.

“Most technology solutions in business travel focus on the needs of the corporate buyer and bookers, not the needs of the business traveller and their experience while travelling. Our FCM Lab developed Sam to support our client’s individual travellers and make life easier for them.”

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13

SUPPLIERS

A class of their own

Those that travel for work used to fly business class. Mark Frary explores why corporate travellers might once again be turning left

the evidence has been this is not the case. Over time demand comes back.”

IATA’s statistics over the years show a strong correlation between growth in world trade and business-related premium travel demand. Premium demand also tends to track the relative performance of shares in the global banking, oil and mining sectors compared to the wider market.

Kavon Bagheri, FCM’s Air Product Manager, says, “Premium travel is growing at a great rate. This is in part due to the increased investment airlines are making in their premium products, but also due to the competitive pricing being offered by airlines.”

T

he global financial crisis that began a decade ago dramatically dampened demand for business class air travel, possibly for good, but are we on the verge of a renaissance?

Some seem to think so.

Airline association IATA regularly reports on the proportion of traffic that travels in premium classes. After 2008, that figure fell to around 5-5.5% and has remained there ever since.

Premium class is far more important for some markets than others. It accounts for around 15% of the traffic across the North Atlantic and 25.7% of revenues, according to IATA. Premium classes between Europe and Africa, meanwhile, account for just 4% of traffic and around 7-8% of revenues. Asia sits somewhere in between but premium demand has been particularly strong recently in markets to, from and within Asia, according to IATA. With investment banking still in the doldrums and oil prices around half of what they were before the financial meltdown, it is perhaps no surprise that premium classes have not recovered.

14

Winter 2018

In the most recent release of statistics, IATA says that premium classes accounted for 5.2% of all traffic in the first eight months of 2017.

So where is the evidence of this renaissance?

Airline consultant John Strickland says business class is enjoying a resurgence.

“If you think back to 9/11 and the financial crisis, when people said that the days of premium travel were over,

You could also look to what is happening at IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia. For every month in the past year, it has reported that premium traffic has increased over the previous year. In November, for example, the uptick on the previous year was 7.3%.

Strong premium demand at IAG is no doubt behind its intention to invest £400 million to improve its long-haul business class service Club World. The changes include a restaurant-style catering service where passengers will be able to choose their food from a trolley, better inflight Wi-Fi and better lounge facilities at key

Both BA, above and Lufthansa, below are launching new business class products

Both Cathay and Qantas have launched new lounges at Heathrow Terminal 3” airports. The improvements will first be rolled out on Heathrow-JFK services this year with other routes following in 2019.

It also plans to launch Club Europe on UK domestic services. At the same time, it is making its economy services less appealing; for its new fleet of A320neo and A321neos, the seats in economy will be “pre-reclined” – a code for not being adjustable.

Other airlines are also investing in business class. KLM announced a new World Business Class in 2016. In 2017 Emirates unveiled an updated version of its popular Onboard Lounge. The new look retains the trademark horseshoe bar but revamps the seating to feel more like a luxury yacht with tables and window views.

While many corporate clients are still looking for lowest fares in business class, comfort is still crucial, says Bagheri.

“Lie-flat beds would be a minimum expectation (especially on a night flight), but other aspects such as the quality of the departure lounge, on-board service, on-board bar/lounge area, quality of WIFI, access to an arrivals lounge, etc. will have a huge impact on the decisionmaker’s final choice. Ultimately, if the price is not drastically different and the service is not too dissimilar then the final decision will likely come down to which airline will offer the customer the best loyalty advantage.”

John Strickland says that many innovations in business class have not happened in the air but rather on the ground. British Airways, for example, has opened new lounges at Gatwick South and Boston and is revamping those in Edinburgh, Cape Town, Amsterdam, Belfast, Washington, Singapore and Dubai.

Qantas meanwhile has recently opened a stunning new lounge for its premium passengers passing through Heathrow Terminal 3. It features a tended marble bar overlooking the tarmac as its centrepiece, food from chef Neil Perry’s Rockpool and spa facilities. Cathay Pacific has also opened a new lounge at Terminal

Qantas is known for its desirable lounges

3 and has also upgraded its already impressive lounges in Hong Kong.

premium economy is just a rebranded version of the business class of old.

So if business class is being reborn, what of all-business services such as British Airways’ A318 service between London City Airport and JFK and La Compagnie’s CDG-Newark services?

Virgin Atlantic was the first to introduce the premium economy concept 25 years ago. Other airlines were not keen to follow as they felt too many passengers would trade down from business rather than trade up from economy. As it transpires, the opposite happened and now other airlines are playing catch-up – Emirates is set to introduce the class for the first time later this year,for example.

Bagheri believes that “A lot of allbusiness class services failed in the past, largely due to the lack of financial backing. BA still operates its all-business class services, along with others, but I don’t think they have gained the popularity that the airlines were hoping for. Having said that, if the price is right and the service level matches, then I can see why a traveller would choose this type of service.

Whether or not it is financially viable for an airline is a different story.”

Strong premium demand at IAG is no doubt behind its investing £400 million to improve Club World.”

Premium classes are also getting a boost in the fast-growing long-haul, low cost. The success of Norwegian Airlines has seen others now consider entering the market. What is interesting is the appetite for the premium cabin on these services. The airline has announced that the newest Dreamliners entering its fleet this year will have 60% more seats in the premium cabin because of the strong demand.

It seems inevitable that companies will begin to look at the growing number of such services, if they have not started to do so already.

Bullish markets may also mean a return to the old ways of turning left when entering a plane.

Surf Air, whose name highlights its Californian origins, is trying a different tack. It has launched all-you-canfly business-class services between London City and Zurich for a monthly subscription. Other routes are expected to follow this year.

The World Bank has forecast that global economic growth will pick up in 2018 after a better than expected 2017 and is back to levels not seen since the start of the financial crisis. Oil prices are also rising, meaning that demand for business class services from the oil and gas sectors may be about to return.

Yet what do we even mean by business class? Some maintain that today’s

Business class is dead? Long live business class.  FCMUPGRADE.COM

15

DESTINATION

Stockholm

DOING BUSINESS IN

S

tockholm is home to many start-ups and considered the most digitally connected city in the world. It was the birthplace for both Spotify and Skype and is probably eclipsed only

by Silicon Valley and the San Francisco area in attracting tech stars. That means business travel. Lots of it.

GETTING THERE There are a number of airports that describe themselves as “Stockholm” but Arlanda is the main international airport used by British Airways, SAS and other network carriers as well as easyJet and is the most convenient for downtown Stockholm.

Above, the Scandic Haymarket; below, the Radisson Blu Waterfront

Transport between Arlanda and downtown Stockholm is amazingly easy using the express train, the Arlanda Express, which takes only 20 minutes and runs 4-6 times an hour between 0500 and 2300 between the airport and Central Station. There are also frequent coaches. Do note that if there are two business travellers, it’s just as cheap to take a taxi (see “Insider’s Tip”).

STAYING THERE Downtown Downtown is not really the business area but an excellent underground system makes getting around Stockholm very easy and the area round Central Station offers a choice of good hotels.

16

Winter 2018

Regional chain hotels are popular in Scandinavia and Stockholm has an abundance of quality Radissons and Scandics. The Radisson Blu Waterfront, close to Central Station, is a quintessential business and conference hotel as is the Scandic Haymarket, whose Americain (correct) cocktail bar

is a popular destination for an afterwork drink with a colleague.

Connect is also a solid business chain which has a property – including some rooms with kitchen facilities, in Kista, the centre of Stockholm’s thriving IT community.

Ekstedt restaurant © Photographer: Helen Pe

INSIDER’S TIP There is a popular Scandic – the Downtown Camper – on Brunkebergstorg which is also the location for boutique hotel Hobo and the Hotel at Six AB. Hobo has a rooftop terrace which is open year round and attracts a younger crown while AB 6 is a more characteristically business hotel.

EATING AND DRINKING If you have some free time, you might head to Nytorget Square in SoFo in the south of the city and allegedly Stockholm’s trendiest neighbourhood which has become an eating and shopping destination. Sample Sweden’s national dish at Meatballs for the People.

But if it’s a business dinner and you want to impress a client, take them to the restaurant of one of Sweden’s famous chefs such as Mathias Dahlgren’s Michelin-starred restaurant at the Grand Hotel. For something more modern, try Ekstedt – the eponymous restaurant of Niklas Ekstedt, ex El Bulli and the Fat Duck – which is famous for using different Scandinavian woods to impart flavours during cooking.

Bodil Månsson, Managing Director, FCM Nordics “There is an open market in taxis but travellers should be careful always to use an official taxi company. At Arlanda don’t be tempted to take the first taxi.

People will be helping out in the taxi queue and they will point out an official taxi company. This is important to know for both safety and cost – otherwise you could be paying twice as much.”

“If you’re a runner you can always find places to run along the water in Stockholm. The Djurgården is an island in Stockholm which is home to 19th-century houses. You can have a beautiful 7 km run along the canal that divides Djurgården and Norra Djirgården or you can run 10 km around the whole island.”

years old. Sturehof is expensive but has very up-to-date food and an atmosphere which is bound to impress. Prinsen’s menu features both modern and traditional Swedish dishes.

BUSINESS CUSTOMS Shake hands when you meet someone in Sweden. Don’t kiss unless you know them very well.

At dinner, even in restaurants, never start eating until the host says bon appetit. When you have wine, if someone makes a toast you must look to your left and your right and those in front of you directly in the eyes before you drink. Then you may drink at your own pace. 

Mathias Dahlgren's restaurant, Grand Hotel

Another option is one of the rooftop restaurants and bars which have become very popular in Stockholm. Hobo has not only a rooftop bar but Tak (Swedish for roof), a restaurant it shares with Hotel at 6. Both have spectacular views of the city.

Then there are the old Stockholm classics such as Prinsen and Sturefhof which are both more than a hundred FCMUPGRADE.COM

17

TECHNOLOGY

At your service

Technology developments are set to revolutionise the hotel guest experience. Linda Fox tells us more

T

he travel management community might have come across Sam, Claire and Lola which are among the swathe of chatbots emerging to help road warriors – but most are probably not familiar with Dazzle, HiJiffy or Roxy yet. The latter are startups seeking to improve elements of the hotel stay.

trial were roughly broken down into pre-arrival queries such as getting to the hotel from the airport and in-stay requests for pillows and towels. The good news is that the London Marriott Park Lane, where it was tested, now wants to continue using the service and sees it as a new channel of communication.

As with many sectors, things are changing in the hotel industry driven by rising consumer expectations of heightened experiences. This has led to new companies focusing on how hotels interact with guests before, during and after, a stay.

Dazzle, developed by Lola Tech, was one of the winners of TestBed in its first year. The in-room personal assistant is designed to replace the telephone and guest directory in hotel rooms.

Both Dazzle and HiJiffy have been on the scene for a couple of years now.

Both have seen success with Marriott TestBed, the accommodation giant’s startup accelerator, initially launched in 2016, which enables start-ups to test their products within a live hotel environment.

HiJiffy was one of three winners in the 2017 programme gaining the opportunity to test its chatbot, driven by artificial intelligence.

Tiago Araujo, founder of the startup, said that for the purposes of the trial, HiJiffy worked on the ‘during the stay’ element with guests. This means that guests could use HiJiffy via Facebook Messenger to find information about the property and make requests from their rooms.

The service was promoted to guests via a pre-arrival email as well as information included within the keycard holder. The sorts of enquiries HiJiffy received over 18

Winter 2018

These developments and others like them beg the question of whether business travellers are seeking these sorts of services and how much technology is too much?

There has been much research in the area with some studies pointing to the need to provide hi-tech environments catering to millennials in the workplace while others come down on the side of the need to provide a clean and comfortable stay with WiFi. Back in late 2014 HRS, for example, found that business travellers generally liked the idea of a hi-tech room. At the time, they were looking for amenities such as in-room tablets and rooms that could be controlled using a remote.

More recent studies such as GBTA Foundation research reveal that business travellers are looking for more basic amenities such as power and USB outlets, streaming services and in-room chargers. Many of those surveyed also expressed interest in check-in and room

HiJiffy was tested at the London Marriott Park Lane which now wants to continue using the service

Hilton’s ‘Connected Room’ will have many of a guest’s preferences already in place when they arrive”

entry via mobile and hotels building more detailed guest profiles to provide more personalised stays.

Roxy, another startup on the scene, can fulfill some hygiene requirements as well as bring traditional services into the digital era. The company has developed a speech-enabled device which sits in the hotel room and provides concierge services such as WiFi advice, fresh towels and restaurant recommendations.

CEO Cam Urban says that as well as reducing cost and driving ancillary revenue, the devices enable hotels to gather data on guests which can then be used to create more personalised experiences. “It also rolls up a lot of the high costs in the hotel room into one device. It replaces the charging point, information book, alarm clock and soon the phone,” he says.

Increased familiarity and comfort with services such as Amazon Echo and Google Home as well as the likes of Lyft and Uber, is already spilling over into corporate travel and driving a change in traveller expectations.

That’s why perhaps the global hotel giants are investing not only in working with startups via accelerator programmes but also through the setting up of innovation labs to trial new concepts. Late last year both Hilton and Marriott unveiled labs, which are working on the hotel room of the future which will be controlled by apps and designed to make optimal use of space.

Hilton is already beta testing its ‘Connected Room’ where many of a guest’s preferences are already in place when they arrive. It is also partnering with London-based startup incubator Traveltech Lab for a year to help drive innovation. Marriott is working with Samsung and Legrand which specialises in power and light to help develop its room of the future at its lab.

These sorts of initiatives not only demonstrate how hotels are responding to changing traveller expectations but also the industry’s recognition that it can’t do everything on its own in such a rapidly changing landscape.

Sometimes it’s also about a change in mindset and instilling an innovation culture. Both AccorHotels and Movenpick brought in ‘digital natives’ to help them drive change and get everyone thinking differently.

AccorHotels chief Sebastien Bazin has said that younger people are more able to predict future trends and customer expectations.

And many of these developments are not just for those with deeper pockets.

Independent properties and small chains can also get involved and boost engagement and interaction with travellers via chatbot services such as Facebook Messenger. In fact, smaller hotels are often seen as having the advantage over the accommodation giants in that they can act quickly, implement new concepts, see what works and perhaps see some cost efficiencies.

A Forrester report revealed that a single point increase in its Customer Experience Index is worth almost £5 in annual revenue per guest, which seems worth it when you multiply it by the number of guests annually.

All of this comes with a caveat however.

Business travellers will welcome change but only if it provides value and caters to a wide range. If it complicates their lives further, or is just for millennials, forget it.

But, going forward the traveller experience will be further improved as systems become increasingly connected through partnerships but also through the Internet of Things.

Business travellers generally like the idea of a high-tech room” That often talked about holy grail of a seamless journey from start to finish for business travellers seems almost within reaching distance. The in-home device reminds travellers of their itinerary, books airport transfers and informs them of any delays.

The airline and/or airport informs the transport and hotel at destination of the guest’s arrival and ETA to the property, where they are already checked in and their room is ready with preferences already in place. Alternatively, chatbots such as FCM’s Sam, which was rolled out on both the App Store and Google Play last November, could act as the intermediary with the transfer service and hotel and provide each with up-tothe-minute information. These sorts of integrations are coming and can only make business travellers’ lives easier. 

Ou to fD at e

ARE ROOM KEYS OFFICIALLY OBSOLETE? Hilton’s “Digital Key” lets frequent travellers use the Hilton HHonors app to bypass the hotel check-in counter and access their guest rooms in more than 1,000 of the group’s properties.

On the day of check-in travellers receive a push notification once the key has been delivered. Once they check in it will be available through the app to access the room and any other area of the hotel that requires a key such as lifts, side doors, the fitness centre or gym.

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TRAVEL PROGRAMME

Travel: a cost or an investment?

Why are so many travel managers encouraged only to control travel costs rather than use travel as a tool to achieve a result?

Measuring travel’s ROI could be the first step

C

hange rarely happens quickly or consistently.

The GTMC contends that business travel should be seen by UK plc as an investment, not a cost. After all, asks the UK’s travel management companies’ industry association, how can businesses grow without the face-to-face meetings that travel enables?

But most companies’ structures mean that travel continues to be perceived as a fixed cost. Most UK travel managers are located in procurement departments. Those procurement managers who are responsible for a company’s “indirect” purchases, ie those that are not directly related to the production of the goods and/or services which the organisation sells, in other words the stationery, insurance, coffee – all those items that are considered the “fixed cost” of doing business, tend also to be responsible for travel. And the invariable business objective of fixed costs is to keep them as low as possible.

But many believe that the volume of travel – and the quality of that travel – that a company can do should not be managed as a fixed cost because it can vary. And vary it does, by company, company culture and business objectives and market conditions.

Juan Antonio Iglesias, Head of Account Management EMEA at FCM, says, “99% of companies locate travel buying in procurement but you’re not buying pencils or paper which will be consumed at different times by all. The impact of travelling will be individual.”

He believes that corporate culture and strategy are underestimated when people assess the value of travel and that the expected ROI from a trip would be defined in advance in an ideal world.

But life is far from ideal. Trip decisions must be made quickly these days because the fare is likely to rise and approval is not likely to be denied. As Iglesias explains, “More than 95% of trips will be approved. If you ask, how many requests to travel have been declined, the answer is very, very few.

There may be lots of policies in place but the practice is very different.”

The corporate attitude towards cost is dictated not only by company culture but company strategy. “You need to know where the company is in its own life cycle. If the company is acquiring or about to be acquired, cost control is vital. However, if a company is going through an expansion phase, it has to be more relaxed about costs,” he continues.

20

Winter 2018

“Within a company different people will look at travelling with different objectives in mind.”

This might be stating the obvious – after all, sales teams will be seeking different outcomes from those going to meet colleagues in another location. But the proliferation and wide availability of data mean that managers are now able to cost roughly every proposed trip once the dates and duration are known. After all the average cost for a flight between city pairs plus average accommodation rates and subsistence allowances are known.

A fixed cost approach may better suit budget setting and management.

However, if the company strategy is expansion, the budget for travel for sales team members is likely to vary – and vary upwards.

“If you link traveller spending to strategy, you will be able to analyse return on investment much more easily,” says Iglesias.

The chart below from an Amadeus report on travel ROI illustrates the different elements of corporate strategy that travel managers should take into account. Some companies are beginning to consider these influences on travel spend but industry sector will have a heavy influence. Those companies that recharge travel expenses won’t be looking too hard at the relationship between travel spend and trip outcome.

But there are companies that will view travel as an essential element in their growth strategies.

As Iglesias says, “Travel managers should know where the company is going.

For travel management companies it’s very different working with someone who knows what’s happening with the company. Strategy has to be set at a high level and cascaded down.”

“

The proliferation and wide availability of data mean that managers are now able to cost roughly every proposed trip once the dates and duration are known.” they are looking at different departments in the same way or differently.

Members of the sales team will always be more able to quantify a benefit while for others it is more difficult. However, just because a trip is being made by someone who works in a non-revenuegenerating department such as, say, HR does not mean that it is without value.

The difference is the ability to measure and demonstrate corporate benefit.

Some meetings will be more unproductive than others but if a client wants to see you, you have to go.

Internal meetings may not be vital to the month’s bottom line but managers must think they’re important for a reason or they wouldn’t be planned.

It would be costly to deny permission to travel at the booking stage. Travel managers need to understand whether

On the other hand, in some companies travelling for internal meetings is not considered important and believed to be dispensable. Others try to manage this by having web meetings monthly, say, and an annual face-to-face team meeting. Company culture will dictate the travel tactics.

Iglesias says “Travel is so emotional because it involves your personal life.

People look at it in a very different way.

Start from top to bottom. Don’t start small or you will miss the bigger picture.”

It can get very complicated because every trip will have different cost – and benefit – variables to measure. But improvements in data collection allow us to apply formulae which can give a company the approximate costs of all planned trips. It should not be beyond companies to work out a scale of benefits, based on a company’s culture and strategy, as well.

Because the business sector, cycle and culture affect strategy so much, an ROI measure cannot be developed as an industry-wide standard but must be created on a company by company basis.

It might not be standard but it is certainly possible. 

T&E Spend Management Framework T&E spend management processes

Strategy setting

It’s very difficult to control lots of travellers and lots of trips. For travel managers, therefore, to connect the cost of travel to its outcome means working in partnership with various internal teams as well as the travel management company.

This is a very different proposition from using pre-trip approval as a tool to determine whether permission to travel should be granted. Unless their line manager is very poor and unaware, no one in a company is likely to be going on a trip unless they believe that the net effect will be greater value.

As the chart reminds us, all companies have financial, HR and risk management strategies but some companies will get people together because their corporate cultures demand it.

IT enablement

T&E strategic sourcing

Analytics and feedback

Program set-up; supplier selection; systems selected; policies defined; ‘go-live’

Full spend visibility; opportunity identification; feedback loop

£ Expense management

T&E procurement

Bookings; approvals in and out of policy; alerts; corporate cards

Traveller support & duty of care

Claiming modes; auditing; accounting; pre/post departure

Changes to trip; claims on-trip; contact options; audit changes; accounting

Define the overall strategic objectives of the enterprise as it relates to T&E:

Feedback loop to optimise T&E over time

Financial Strategic HR Risk mitigation Efficiency

Optimise across the T&E spend management process to minimise the total cost of ownership to the enterprise

Review current status of IT enablement and define the desired future state

Source: Alexander Grous, Managing Every Mile, LSE Consulting and Amadeus, 2017

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21

Air Europa & your comfort.

Enjoy the benefits of Air Europa’s Business class, including fully flat seats, award winning menu and hours of entertainment on individual screens with access to Wi-Fi. Every detail counts.

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For more information visit us at: www.aireuropaexperts.com or call: 08714230717

CHARITY

Community care FCM has always believed in supporting its communities. This includes raising money for MIND in the UK and supporting a school in Soweto

G

iving back to the community is a core ingredient of Flight Centre’s corporate culture.

To enable the company and its employees, to do this both locally and farther afield, FCM’s parent company has created the Flight Centre Foundation.

In the UK the Foundation is partnering with Mind. The well-known mental health charity was chosen after staff nominated and then voted to select a charity to support. Flight Centre has pledged to raise £200,000 over the two years for which it is supporting Mind.

Over the last 12 months staff have already raised some £125,000 by taking part in a wide variety of fundraising activities including the London to Brighton bike ride, the Brighton Marathon and the Kilimanjaro Climb. Team ‘Mind your Bike’ took part in Ride London. Money is also raised by staff paying to dress down on the last working day of each month, bake sales, pub quizzes, Christmas jumper day and pyjama day as well as the Three Peaks Challenge, Royal Parks Marathon and an Easter Egg Hunt in head office. In

addition three staff rode from Manchester to London for the Flight Centre summer conference, collecting money all the way down the country.

The Flight Centre Foundation also invests time and money in international projects in destinations around the world where it has a commercial presence. In South Africa for example, the Foundation is actively working to change the future of children through education. Flight Centre EMEA CEO Chris Galanty identified a project location, the Qhobosheane Primary School in Soweto, Johannesburg.

Flight Centre UK consequently decided to partner with the school so in 2017 it launched a five-year ‘adopt a school’ project.

Flight Centre and FCM employees do more than just raise money. Staff volunteer to work on the project. When a team of staff first visited Qhobosheane they could see first-hand all the work that needed to be done – building a kitchen, replacing broken windows, replacing flooring in the classrooms, putting in sports fields and a library.

It can get quite cold in the winter in Soweto. The school’s broken windows and rundown building meant that it would become so cold that children couldn’t concentrate. As a non-feepaying school with many of its children orphans or from vulnerable backgrounds it didn’t have the money to fix windows.

FCM staff stepped in and volunteered to take out broken windows and replace them with new panes. They also organised providing a supply of nonperishable food. “Every pound we raise really does make a difference,” says content manager Chris Steel.

Until now fundraising efforts and support for the school in Soweto has been driven

by Flight Centre’s UK employees and commercial partners. But that’s about to change as in 2018 Flight Centre UK and FCM UK are planning to invite clients to get involved in supporting the Flight Centre Foundation’s work with the school. Plans are under way to launch an initiative whereby UK clients contribute 1p per PNR booking to the Foundation’s Soweto school project. These donations will be matched by Flight Centre UK. The aim is for the collective power of employees, partners and clients to truly make a difference to the lives of the school’s pupils. Look out for more details in the next issue of Upgrade.  FCMUPGRADE.COM

23

Travel savings for your company

£ 50

towards a ticket or upgrade with BlueBiz.

Join BlueBiz, the loyalty programme for companies and get free tickets, upgrades and flight related services.

Simple & flexible Instant Savings Extensive global network Priority service for all members Plus more exclusive benefits

Enrol now using promo code FCM18 for your company to receive 50 Blue Credits.

Since 1 Blue Credit equals £1, that's £50 towards a ticket, upgrade or flight related service.

Find out more and enrol at BlueBiz.com

Terms and conditions apply. Enter the promotional code FCM18 when enrolling. Valid from 01.02.2018 until 31.12.2018. This offer is open to new members only.

Businesses with an existing contract with Air France, KLM and Delta are not eligible for BlueBiz. Blue Credits earned depend on the destination and booking class.

You will receive your welcome bonus within 90 days after your initial flight under the programme, and once the bonus is credited to your account, the credits can be redeemed.

All information correct at time of printing. Subject to change without prior notice.

MEETINGS

Meeting expectations Organising small staff meetings can yield great savings

P

icture the scene. Somewhere in Africa. A massive luxury resort hotel. A clutch of new model cars as well as a handful of celebs, a generous sprinkling of antelopes and cheetahs, who gallop by occasionally to remind you you’re somewhere exotic, and the obligatory lashings of champagne and lobster.

It may be the typical product launch but is it the typical meeting?

Well, err, no actually. The typical meeting is likely to be regular – monthly or quarterly – repeat events rather than a one-off extravaganza. It’s also likely to be an internal meeting for fewer than 30 people rather than an external meeting for hundreds.

And, most importantly of all, it’s likely to be the kind of meeting where shrewd management can deliver corporate savings and better value for staff.

Whether rooms are required for new staff induction days, training for a specific department or a means of bringing together people doing the same job in different site locations for brainstorms, regular internal meetings are part of most organisations’ standard operating procedure.

FCMUPGRADE.COM

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MEETINGS the terms and conditions of one contract rather than having different contracts with one supplier dotted around different parts of an organisation.

Any duty of care checks can be made once to ensure that corporate governance and safety requirements have been made.

Of course, consolidation may present some

etc.venues Liverpool Street has ideal spaces for small meetings

obvious benefits In many companies the booking of venues for these meetings is left to individual PAs so “many companies don’t realise how much money is being spent on these small meetings,” says Jade Howgrave-Graham, Head of Account Management at cievents, the specialist meetings & events business of FCM Travel Solutions. “PAs don’t necessarily speak to each other yet 20 different people might be booking this kind of event within one company.”

This phenomenon is especially true when bookers are at different locations of an organisation. If there isn’t a central point of contact different people could be negotiating with the same meeting location and the organisation is consequently notable to take advantage of the leverage that combining the volumes of spend might yield.

And meetings rarely require only a room – there are always extra soft benefits to negotiate whether it is additional technology or better meals or an additional coffee break for the same DDR (day delegate rate).

In addition if the meeting is residential because it involves getting together people who might be based as far apart as Aberdeen and Penzance or it’s a team brainstorm so people are required to stay, rooms will be needed. If this is an organisation that also does a lot of transient travel, there could be a more favourable rate for both the meeting and those guest rooms than if it is booked by someone who does only one booking.

For the organisation a single point of contact for internal meeting procurement can also mean greater efficiency. One expert can check 26

Winter 2018

but it doesn’t mean that anyone trying

INSIDER’S TIP

to combine the small internal meeting bookings won’t meet obstacles.

Jade Howgrave-Graham, Head of Account Management, cievents

PAs who have responsibility for booking

1. Book as early as possible – the further out you book, the more likely you are to get a good deal

It often involves perks such as the

2. If you’re doing a series of meetings, book all the meetings, not just the one that’s coming up next month. Annual events will be at a keener rate if they are booked for several years rather than just one

meetings can enjoy the responsibility. hospitality extended by venue managers, whether it be membership of “bookers’ clubs” which can involve some glamorous evenings or being invited to high profile occasions such as Ascot or concerts.

It’s not only internal consolidation which can deliver advantages. Using a large

3. If it’s possible, book a Monday or Friday – the rates will inevitably be lower

specialist organisation such as cievents

4. Be as accurate as possible about delegate numbers

specialist will have access because of the

5. If you want to get people engaged, look for a room suitable for cabaret style or bean bags. If it’s teaching, you might want classroom style

These large specialists will have

6. Think hard about the character of your event – do you want a dedicated, possibly remote venue that is not within walking distance of any diversions or do you want somewhere close to public transport or buzzy so that people can have a good break away from fellow delegates?

7. Remember your brand. If your business caters for the luxury market, it’s important to use a luxury venue. If you are a technology company you might want a sleek building fitted out with the latest kit

means that corporate buyers can take advantage of the keen rates to which the large volumes of business they do. relationships with a wide range of suppliers with excellent venues in different sizes and locations. Different clients won’t want just different sizes and locations of room – they will want a style of property that reflects their brand or perhaps conforms to their governance. Members of the pharmaceutical industry, for example, subscribe to a code which means they cannot hold events in a property graded above four stars.

Jade and her team are experts in meeting planning – she has several tips for buyers (see box) but one guiding piece of advice: “Give as much detail as possible, especially around numbers. It’s really surprising how many people just say ‘sometime in March’ when asked.” 

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