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ISSUE 8 FCM TRAVEL SOLUTIONS UK
Elevating business travel intelligence
The trade-off for greener travel 2020 tech trends
Top 6 traveller gadgets
Destination São Paulo
Travel managers’ survey insights
Awaiting resized Qatar advert
Welcome
Issue 8
I
t’s a New Year and with it comes fresh momentum to set and achieve new targets and goals.
Travel buyers are no exception and from a joint ITM/FCM survey we can highlight what those priorities are for most of you for 2020, alongside the challenges and concerns integral to such a dynamic sector. See page 8 for the full report. One of your priorities is how best to make your travel programme greener as it is rarely cost neutral so while you may be keen to pursue it, your FD may not. Our cover feature, starting on page 4, unpicks the best ways ahead to strike the best balance and keep all stakeholders happy. We live in an increasingly digital world and integrating new travel technology solutions into your programme is a constant challenge. Get it right and technological
innovation benefits all. Read our feature on page 10 which reveals the new tech trends to watch out for this year, while on page 24 we list those tech-friendly gadgets travellers shouldn’t leave home without. It’s insightful to hear from those at the sharp end and our interview slot this issue is no exception. Caroline French, Head of Global Travel & Expense Management at worldleading mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat, one of FCM’s global clients, shares her experience of 15 years in the industry and responsibility for spend and operational reporting across 13 countries. See page 22 for the full story. It would be remiss of me not to mention our win at this year’s Business Travel Awards, for Travel Team of the Year. It recognises the outstanding work with client RSA Insurance plc. Read all about our top accolade on page 16. I hope you enjoy this issue of Upgrade and if you have any ideas for future content do get in touch with me.
G raham Ross
UK General Manager, FCM Travel Solutions
Upgrade Update Since this issue's publication the World Health Organisation has officially declared COVID-19 (coronavirus) a global pandemic. With countries taking measures to contain and control the outbreak, we have edited this issue to include an update from FCM UK's General Manager, Graham Ross, and links to our resources to ensure your travellers' safety. Find these on page 17.
Upgrade is published by FCM Travel Solutions EDITORIAL EDITOR Gillian Upton CONTRIBUTORS Catherine Chetwynd, Mark Frary, Linda Fox
Contents
DESIGN PRODUCTION & MANAGEMENT WonDesigns, Caren Johnstone
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Amber, not green Cost-positive sustainable strategies are proving the stumbling block to greener travel programmes
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Opportunity knocks New Year, new challenges for travel managers, says new survey
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Fast forward We unpick the mega tech trends for 2020
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São Paulo We profile the commercial hub of Brazil and the whole of South America FCM News FCM triumphs at 2020 Business Travel Awards
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Top Shops Read how FCM's efforts boosted the coffers of its Charity of the Year Best in class The front cabin is the epitome of luxury 35,000 feet up The Interview Caroline French of Inmarsat shares her experience of the business travel world
Don’t leave home without… Our top six gadgets essential for today’s traveller
Food for thought Keep your delegates awake and engaged with brain food
LEAD DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATION Leanne Armstrong ILLUSTRATION André Albuquerque, Oliver Sleeman ADVERTISING ADVERTISING SALES Claire Harrington FOR FCM TRAVEL SOLUTIONS Claire Harrington, Alice Taylor, Vanessa Aves New business enquiries salesuk@fcmtravel.co.uk Editorial and advertising enquiries Enquiries@fcmupgrade.com While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, FCM Travel Solutions cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions.
PRINTING REDBOX Group, Ed Cooling ©FCMUPGRADE 2020 FCMUPGRADE.COM
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TRAVEL PROGRAMMES
Amber, not green The will is there to implement a more planet-friendly travel programme but sanctioning the extra cost is the stumbling block, outlines Mark Frary
O
n 23 September 2019, 16-year-old Greta Thunberg stood up at the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit and told world leaders: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” One of the key targets of her words was US president Donald Trump. A photo of Thunberg glaring at him was splashed across the media shortly afterwards. Thunberg arrived at the summit in an unusual fashion – via transatlantic yacht. Many dismissed it as a publicity stunt. Yet Thunberg was making a decision that a growing number of travel managers are having to do – she was recognising that her views would carry more weight and have more chance of being listened to if she was physically present in New York rather than appearing over a videoconferencing link. Bernard Harrop of IG Management, who has many years’ experience of advising companies on sustainability, gets to the heart of the problem. “If you stop travelling on business, you stop business. Big global companies would not be able to continue.”
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Even those who are at the forefront of addressing travel’s effect on the climate are being pragmatic. Harold Goodwin, a director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership, says, “Clearly, business depends on building relationships and you can get a long way on the telephone or Skype – once you have built a relationship. Building a relationship means having some faceto-face meetings.”
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Have a sensible discussion about what can be realistically achieved. You have to get the balance right.” Bernard Harrop, IG Management
We have been here before. In the noughties, there was much discussion and some action about
the environmental impact of business travel. Then the global economic meltdown of 2008 happened and companies suddenly had other things to worry about – their very survival. Paul Tilstone of consultancy Festive Road believes that it does feel different this time around. “The rhetoric being used is different, eg climate emergency vs climate change, and this reflects that we have just lost a decade. The deadlines for sustainable action are shortening and the next generation coming through are driven on creating that change.”
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The deadlines for sustainable action are shortening and the next generation coming through are driven on creating that change.”
transportation. This will dampen the demand for air travel in the first place.
There was talk at the end of 2019 about introducing a frequent flyer tax. “It is never going to happen,” says Goodwin. “How on earth are you going to keep a database that says how often someone flew? The bureaucratic cost Paul Tilstone, Festive Road of that is too high. Complicated solutions easyJet followed with won’t work and the simplest answer is a vow to be the world’s to put a tax on airline fuel.” first major airline Greta Thunberg’s generation are to operate net-zero certainly increasing the pressure on carbon flights across the older generations already in the its whole network workforce. Goodwin says, “It is like that through offsetting poster that says, ‘What did you do in schemes. More limited the war Daddy?’ Now it is more ‘What offsetting schemes did you do about the carbon crisis?’” from British Airways and Lufthansa have also been announced. Offsetting doesn’t have universal approval. Festive Road’s Paul Tilstone says, “Offsetting should in theory be considered a last resort once reduction approaches have taken place, but it can be useful as a tool for change. There are lots of actions that can be taken to reduce once you know what you are emitting.”
“Greta’s generation will question their need to travel on business more,” says Harrop. “My son is more mindful and wouldn’t dream of travelling as much as I did when I started work.”
Yet offsetting just takes the pressure off, warns Goodwin. “There are similarities between buying offsets and buying medieval pardons,” he says. “It just gives you a licence to carry on sinning. Planting trees is a good thing – but they cannot absorb carbon fast enough to offset your emissions.”
What, realistically, can travel managers do to address this emergency? Harrop says, “The answer is always to travel smarter and having a sensible discussion about what can be realistically achieved. You have to get the balance right.” (See Harrop’s fivepoint plan on page 6). Many corporates have looked at offsetting their carbon emissions as the answer; suppliers are doing their bit too. In October, Shell announced it would offset fuel purchases for its loyalty scheme members and business card users free of charge. In November,
If offsetting is off the table then what? Goodwin says, “The way a business flyer could reduce their carbon emissions and still fly is to go on one of the budget airlines - the number of passengers with whom you divide the carbon emissions is larger.” There are other things you can do too he says – fly direct, fly on a plane that’s full and take less luggage to reduce the amount of fuel burned. The real game-changer, believes Goodwin, will be when the government implements a tax on airline fuel, something that currently sets aviation apart from other modes of FCMUPGRADE.COM
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TRAVEL PROGRAMMES
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The real gamechanger will be when the government implements a tax on airline fuel.”
THE PERFECT TRAVEL BUDGET
Harold Goodwin, Responsible Tourism Partnership
Moreover, this new generation of employees may see their business travel managed in a different way. Traditionally, companies have managed business travel by setting travel budgets. A growing number of companies are supplementing that with carbon targets, with some even incentivising their employees for meeting those targets. “You may have caused 10 tonnes of carbon emissions last year and the company says they want you to reduce that by 5 or 10% and explain why if they don’t achieve that,” says Harrop. Adds Tilstone: “Setting an overall carbon budget and then one by department as well ensures that sustainability remains top of mind and this drives behaviour.” He calls for more detailed information on carbon emissions to be available at the point of sale. Travel managers face a balancing act: choosing an option that reduces carbon can often increase the cost, both direct and indirect. Take someone in Aberdeen who needs to go to Stavanger. By plane this takes an hour and the airfare is as low as £65; taking the train and night bus takes almost two full days and costs three to four times as much. Are companies ready to accept that trade-off? Another problem lurks in the wings. Many employees are increasingly concerned about traveller wellbeing, and rightly so. A travel policy that replaces business class with economy might save both money and carbon but could well affect a traveller’s health because they could not sleep in a small upright seat with little legroom compared with a lie-flat bed. Corporate travel budgets, it seems, will be increasingly focussed on the three Ps – the purse, the planet and people. 06
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FIVE-POINT PLAN FOR SUCCESS Companies wanting to put sustainability at the heart of their travel programmes should follow these guidelines: 1. COMPANY ATTITUDE For these things to work the company has to be as one – everyone from the chairman to the lowliest worker must be aligned.
2. DEVELOP A STRATEGY Once a company understands what it needs to do, it needs to put a strategy in place to achieve that. Do you go to see clients once a month rather than once a week, for example?
3. EDUCATE AND MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES Explain the benefits to the company and individual of what the company is doing and make it easy for them to help. For some employees, there is a disparity between what they do at home and at work. They will happily sort their rubbish into different bins for recycling at home but it all goes in the same one at work. Encourage them at work too. 4. LEVERAGE YOUR SUPPLIERS A zero-emission aircraft is not going to happen overnight but if one airline has 10% lower emissions than another then consider it, but recognise that it may be more expensive.
5. SET TARGETS Do real-time reporting, telling your employees every time they travel what their emissions are and their total for the month. Source: IG Management
THERE’S A NEW TRAIN ON THE BLOCK
LONDON TO LEEDS from
2 hrs
and
16 mins
THIS IS OUR
LONDON TO NEWCASTLE from
2 hrs
and
51 mins
LNER.co.uk/Business Launching alongside existing LNER trains
TRAVEL MANAGERS
Opportunity knocks What challenges and new business opportunities lie ahead for travel managers this year? According to a combined ITM/FCM Travel Solutions study, several items are filling their inbox
W
hat challenges lie ahead in 2020 for travel managers? Compliance and budget control take the spotlight, followed by issues over integrating third party technology systems and managing traveller behaviour according to the findings revealed in a new study. The responses are from the latest annual survey of travel managers by the Institute of Travel Management (ITM), in conjunction with FCM Travel Solutions. IATA’s new airline standard, NDC (New Distribution Capability), ranked as another concern as it will allow
the distribution of more airfares and ancillaries through third parties and lead to a shift towards bigger conversations around cost and commercials. Access to full travel content is also a major challenge for 41 per cent of those polled, placing it in fourth position, followed by traveller safety in fifth spot while traveller wellbeing ranked sixth in the list for travel managers this year. The study found that almost half of respondents have already incorporated traveller wellbeing into their company’s policy, but the level of measurement is still hugely varied. Only 5 per cent of those surveyed have optimised and
integrated wellbeing throughout their organisation and 16 per cent take a proactive and consistent approach. The majority of travel managers measure wellbeing on a reactive basis, by defining basic policies, or gathering metrics. “Wellbeing is a major issue in society in general and we are seeing a knockon effect in business travel,” said Graham Ross, UK general manager
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR MANAGING TRAVEL IN 2020 Access to full travel content
Technology implementations, integrations of third party systems etc 08
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Managing traveller behaviour
Compliance and budget control
2020 TOP PRIORITIES WEIGHTED AVERAGE (COMPARATIVE VIEW) 1
Traveller safety
2019
2020
2
Budget control
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1
Traveller safety
3
Traveller wellbeing
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2
Budget control
4
Enhancing experience
5
3
Traveller wellbeing
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Booking tool compliance
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4
Enhancing experience
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Sustainable practice
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5
Booking tool compliance
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Full content access
NEW
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Sustainable practice
4
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Full content access
Expense integration
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Expense integration
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Diversity & inclusion
NEW
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Diversity & inclusion
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Adapting to Brexit regs
NEW
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Adapting to Brexit regs
at FCM Travel Solutions. “After lots of talk about the subject over the last two years, we are seeing conversations turn into action.” Sustainability is another hot topic for travel managers and the research called into question how much corporates would be willing to pay to increase sustainability, with only 17 per cent of respondents saying they would favour airline suppliers using biofuel if the flight option was more expensive. Some 51% said they would choose the cheaper option. A hefty 54% said that they would only slightly consider a supplier’s sustainable practice when selecting a service provider. Sustainability is staying in the ‘nice to have’ category, it seems. In the year that the UK leaves the EU, the issue of Brexit gave pause for thought in the study, with 67 per cent of travel managers believing spend will remain the same post-Brexit, and nearly a quarter (24 per cent) believing it will increase. Only 8 per cent predict a drop in spend.
HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING BEEN INCORPORATED INTO YOUR COMPANY'S POLICY?
Traveller Wellbeing
The study results are substantiated by FCM's Ross. “In terms of Brexit, we haven’t seen any particular downturn in trading or changes in customer priorities that we can attribute to the UK leaving the EU. In fact, the majority of our clients were trading up in 2019,” he says. When it comes to buyers’ priorities for 2020, the list looks slightly different. Traveller safety is number one, followed by expense integration in second place and budget control in the third slot. Enhancing the traveller experience takes fourth place followed by online booking tool compliance in fifth.
ABOUT THE ITM/ FCM STUDY 51%
Despite this, adapting to changes in regulations caused by the UK’s exit from the EU ranked low on travel managers’ priorities for the next 12 months. Business confidence for 2020 remains buoyant, with 48% of respondents expecting growth for their organisation against 27% being cautious.
49%
51%
Priority
46%
Sustainability
The online survey is closed to buyers only and is fielded for the first two weeks in October. The confidential questionnaire is comprised of 20 questions varying in complexity covering topics such as core challenges, company confidence, tender process, GDPR, travel programme, policy, travel gadgets and technology. The full survey results can be downloaded from the ITM Resource Centre here: itm.org.uk; fcm.travel
3% Yes
No
I Don't Know FCMUPGRADE.COM
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TECHNOLOGY
Fast forward Tech trends are impacting the world of business travel in a big way and this looks likely to accelerate during 2020, writes Linda Fox
M
any of the trends which emerged in 2019 in corporate travel will continue to be on the agenda in 2020. Some will accelerate and perhaps become mainstream while traction for others will be slower as companies prioritise other issues. In travel technology, the industry can expect ongoing trends such as the continued explosion in payment mechanisms and the rise and rise of data and how it helps improve the traveller experience. Sustainability and the impact corporate travel has on the environment, and where new technology can play a role, will also be increasingly in the spotlight. The use of machine learning will permeate across the corporate travel sector as it automates processes and brings efficiency as well as improvements in the travel experience. In just a few years the number of ways consumers can pay for goods and services has exploded, from online payment systems such as PayPal (owned by eBay) to mobile mechanisms such as Apple Pay, AliPay and WeChat Pay. All predictions are for this trend to continue. Analysis from
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The industry can expect ongoing trends such as the continued explosion in payment mechanisms and the rise and rise of data and how it helps improve the traveller experience." Amadeus reveals that alternative payment methods overtook cards and cash combined in 2019 for the first time. In Q4 2019 earnings, Apple CEO Tim Cook said there were 3bn Apple Pay transactions and that the app’s
transactions and revenue more than doubled yearon-year. By the end of 2019, UK bank RBS began trialling biometric key fobs for transactions up to £100 while Gemalto announced biometrics would be coming to card payments. What this means for travel suppliers is the need to ensure they can offer the payment methods their customers are using. With payments comes data - knowing where travellers are spending their money and on what is powerful but it’s only one area where data will be
harnessed. The travel industry has begun to get to grips with the value of the data it is sitting on, how to access it and make it meaningful and there are many examples of this happening. Airbus, for example, has developed its Skywise platform which is a data lake, or massive data repository, for airlines to store, manage and analyse their data. Advantages, according to the aircraft manufacturer, include the ability to address maintenance problems more quickly and improve operations. Another example is Journera, a data platform that enables travel companies such as hotels, airlines and ground transportation providers to improve the experience for travellers. For example, a hotel might know that a traveller’s flight arrives before the property’s check-in time and offer an earlier check-in. The likes of American Airlines, Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, United Airlines and an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation are utilising this platform, some of whom saw fit to invest in Journera when it launched in 2016.
predictions. The search giant Google crunched through masses of historic flight pricing data and offered a flight promotion last summer with a guarantee for consumers that their flight would not go down in price. It branded the initiative a “spectacular success” at a recent travel industry conference. Others are already on this particular bandwagon, including most of the big online travel players such as booking.com and Expedia. Google also sees uses for machine learning to help with customer service at call centres as well as in gauging intent and sentiment through language processing. Established travel companies and startups are also employing machine learning techniques to develop conversational commerce applications (think chatbots) to provide information and book travel or make predictions in areas such as airline disruption. For example, startups such as Pilota are using machine learning to predict airline disruptions, while Sabre has been developing its hotel techto enable travellers to pick and choose elements they might want (eg, late checkout). A lot of this technology is still in its infancy but worth watching. AirAsia works with Google Cloud on AI and machine learning for weather predictions.
These examples are large initiatives but smaller developments, also based on data, are helping to improve the traveller experience by delivering relevant information to them while they are on the road. For example, a traveller might be reminded of travel policy on ground transportation when arriving at an airport. There is little talk about data in travel these days without mention of machine learning which works on samples of data to make predictions and improvements. Companies such as Expedia Partner Solutions and Google employ machine learning to make pricing
And, as sustainability comes increasingly into the spotlight, data and machine learning will also be brought to bear in the development of solutions. On a basic level, carbon calculators are being talked about again, with Egencia adding a tool to gauge CO2 emissions to its analytics suite in December. The technology enables travel managers to generate reports on different trips or travel groups. Other initiatives include the launch by travel consultancy Advito of “Sustainable Collaboration.” Services within the initiative include helping companies set up carbon offset
programmes and employing more sustainable forms of collaboration to reduce trips. The company says that demand from corporates for advice on supporting sustainability initiatives has reached new heights. The above developments are likely to gain traction with 2020 planned as the year for action in the climate change movement. Another trend to watch is the development of super apps. WeChat in China and others such as Grab provide consumers with access to a range of products and services including communication, ground transport and payment. Mobile devices are already part of billions of consumers’ everyday lives and studies show a desire to access more services from one place so the super app trend is not likely to go away. Whether travel companies will try to create their own super apps with aggregated travel services will be interesting to watch. Many startups that tried to create specific travel social media services failed because there were already platforms such as Facebook for that. As 2020 progresses it will be interesting to see how the trends described above play out. Some developments, especially around data and machine learning, will no doubt converge to further enhance the traveller experience and drive efficiency. And others, such as developments in more seamless payment methods, will become the expectation. FCMUPGRADE.COM
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Lovingly designed, charismatic hotels in stylish neighbourhoods W doylecollection.com
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DESTINATION
São Paulo
DOING BUSINESS IN
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ão Paulo is the commercial hub not just of Brazil, but of Latin America. If it were a country its GDP would rank it as one of the largest
in the world. The ex-Portuguese colony’s huge coffee export income has enabled it to grow into a wealthy industrial city, and now it's following the global trend into services. International law, consulting and financial services are all strongly represented, too. GETTING THERE
There are very few non-stop flights between the UK/Ireland and São Paulo. Oneworld partners Latam and British Airways both have a daily flight from Heathrow, as does Virgin Atlantic through its Brazilian codeshare partner GOL. A connecting flight will be required if any other carrier or UK or Irish airport is used. The centre of São Paulo is about 15 miles southwest of Guarulhos (GRU – the international airport), so a taxi or airport transfer should be organised.
STAYING THERE Traffic in São Paulo is so heavy that taxis can sometimes take an hour, so it’s vital for the hotel to be close to the intended meeting. First impressions are important in Brazil and businesspeople are judged not just by their dress but by their accommodation. Business hotels are plentiful around Avenida Paulista and in the districts of Jardins and Itaim Bibi, which are also home to some of the city’s finest restaurants.
Hotel Emiliano, a boutique hotel on Rua Oscar Freire, one of São Paulo’s most stylish streets, has many sophisticated features. These include a fully-equipped spa, a vertical garden, a champagne bar and even a rooftop helipad. The Renaissance São Paulo, also close to a metro and Avenida Paulista and Rua Oscar Freire, has the bonus of two betterthan-hotel-average restaurants: Terraço Jardins features Brazilian cuisine with local ingredients from small producers, or Living Lounge Bar & Sushi for Japanese food.
Located in downtown Brooklin, São Paulo’s new commercial district, the Grand Hyatt São Paulo is close to Itaim Bibi and Congonhas (the domestic airport) and has panoramic city views and two international restaurants. The Hilton São Paulo Morumbi is situated inside the CENU Complex, close to Berrini Avenue, WTC Convention Center and Berrini rail station. The city’s skyline can be admired from most of the guestrooms and there are stunning views of the Ponte Estaiada suspension bridge from the top floor’s swimming pool and fitness centre. FCMUPGRADE.COM
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DESTINATION EATING São Paulo is a huge melting pot. With many of its population having Italian or Japanese roots, there are many Italian and Japanese restaurants. Latin America has also become something of a foodie heaven and São Paulo has many creative chefs and restaurants eager to showcase local products. The Jardins restaurant D.O.M. has two Michelin stars and has been a stalwart on the world’s ‘bests’ lists. It’s famous for rock star chef Alex Atela (literally, as he is an ex-DJ) and a multi-course tasting menu with Amazonian ingredients, including ants and Brazilian seafood such as Santa Catarina oysters. Mani’s head chef, Helena Rizzo, and her contemporary Brazilian-European fusion dishes are regulars on Netflix’s The Final Table. Her tasting menu can be sampled in this former residence in Jardin’s leafy Jardim Paulistano neighbourhood. Carnivores who don’t want to linger over a Michelin-starred meal but find themselves in Republica should visit A Casa do Porco, a bar which, as its name suggests, is a temple to imaginative, notbreaking-the-expense-account creations from bacon, sausage and ham.
DRINKING Close to the Avenida Paulista, inside the Maksoud Plaza, is the very cool and classy Frank Bar. It was created as a homage to Frank Sinatra but the cocktails, both the classics and some imaginative modern inventions, are the star of the show. Whether to describe its shape as a watermelon or an old ship is debatable - but the luxurious Hotel Unique’s rooftop Skye Bar is the place to sip a wasabi martini and share stunning views of the city. 14
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The Riviera Bar is for those who want to sip their caipirinhas somewhere with history. This home to musicians and leftwing intellectuals, particularly during Brazil’s military dictatorship throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s, on Avenida Paulista and Rua da Consolação, reopened a few years ago as a much larger – and smarter – bar with superb cocktails. And if you’re a footie fan, try São Cristovado in Vila Madalena, a temple to Brazilian football. GETTING AROUND Traffic is heavy in the city, so by day the best way to get around São Paulo is on foot or via metro. At night, taxis or Ubers are the better option. The São Paulo metro operates six colorcoded lines that are also numbered. The routes typically move north and south, and east and west. The metro runs from 4.40am to midnight Sunday through Friday and to 1am on Saturday. You can buy a bilhete unitário (single ride) or a reloadable bilhete único card which can be topped up as necessary at metro station kiosks.
INSIDER’S TIP Valquiria Mendes, National Account Manager, FCM Brazil “If you stay in the central area the metro is an efficient way to get around São Paulo. But if you stay further away from the centre, definitely use a taxi or Uber - be aware that it is a city of intense traffic; it is always good to allow extra time and set off an hour in advance, because you never know what to expect. “There are a lot of good bars and restaurants for business lunches, and for fun too. São Paulo is a 24-hour a day, 7 days a week city – there’s always something to do, some place to go.”
Renaissance São Paulo hotel
Neo-Gothic cathedral
BUSINESS CUSTOMS f UK Foreign Office advice is to be wary of theft or pickpocketing around Avenida Paulista and the historical downtown area. It also warns that the red light districts located on Rua Augusta (north of Avenida Paulista), Catedral da Sé, Praça da República and the Estacao de Luz metro “can be especially dangerous”. f Brazilians negotiate with people not companies - so first impressions and personal relationships are important. Men shake hands and women are kissed on both cheeks.
Ibirapuera Park
f Efforts to speak Portuguese are appreciated. When first introduced, it is polite to say “muito prazer” (my pleasure). Expressions such as “como vai” and “tudo bem” are used to say hello once you know someone. f Business starts at 9am but many business meetings are held over a coffee in a coffee shop or restaurant. Decisions are rarely made after one meeting. f Good conversation topics are football and family. f The city’s trademark is heavy traffic, so punctuality is relaxed and being late by up to 15 minutes is acceptable.
TIME OFF If you have any time off, just walk around the city. São Paulo’s amazing architectural history includes iconic buildings from its neo-Gothic cathedral to skyscrapers like the 1929 Martinelli and Oscar Niemeyer’s curvy Edifício Copan. The colonial-style Pátio do Colégio church marks where Jesuit priests founded the city in 1554. As well as being South America’s largest urban park, Ibirapuera Park is also home to several museums including the Museum of Modern Art. FCMUPGRADE.COM
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NEWS
The FCM/RSA team collected the award from awards host Dara O’Briain including Graham Ross, Hayley France, Dominic Hall, Joanne Adkins, Neelam Heer and Andrew Cameron
FCM steals the show FCM Travel Solutions triumphed at the prestigious 2020 Business Travel Awards in January, winning the top accolade of Travel Team of the Year together with the travel management company’s client RSA Insurance plc. Organised in conjunction with Buying Business Travel magazine, the Business Travel Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of the travel industry’s leading businesses, teams and individuals, who have performed outstandingly in their chosen field over the last 12 months. The FCM/RSA Insurance plc Travel Team have rejuvenated RSA’s entire
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travel programme over that period. Many travellers were previously booking their own flights and hotels outside of policy because they had lost faith in the incumbent TMC due to poor service levels and outdated technology solutions. RSA procurement was inundated with complaints from unhappy travellers and bookers. Thanks to working in partnership to bring unprecedented consistency and professionalism to the travel programme, the FCM/RSA team succeeded in ensuring vastly improved traveller and booker satisfaction levels. They also introduced innovative technology, created impressive efficiencies and when tasked with reducing RSA’s
overall travel spend by 11%, achieved a 13% reduction, ensuring significant cost savings. The judges praised the FCM/RSA Travel Team saying: “Working with RSA Insurance, FCM showed a holistic approach and a good understanding of their client – leading to good results. Judges also felt the pair were a winner as it was a perfect example of technology transforming the travel experience for the better.” Graham Ross, UK General Manager FCM Travel Solutions said: “It is a tribute to the dedication and innovation that the whole team has shown in rejuvenating RSA’s travel programme and delivering outstanding results.”
COVID-19 UPDATE On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. Since then, countries and businesses around the world have been taking various measures to contain the virus, including unprecedented travel restrictions. "Our clients are always our priority, and the current climate relating to COVID-19 doesn't change that," says FCM UK General Manager, Graham Ross. "We continue to adapt and apply expertise and resource where it provides the most value during such challenging circumstances, but our exceptional standards will always apply when you partner with FCM." With the situation constantly changing, FCM has created a coronavirus information page on fcmtravel.co.uk. This page is dedicated to directing people to the best sources of news and providing travel advisories, information on what you should do if you're concerned about upcoming trips, and resources to ensure your travellers' safety. Visit the page here.
FCM GAINS SAPCONCUR TMC ELITE PARTNER LEVEL SAP-Concur has accredited FCM with TMC Elite level in its partner programme for TMCs, the highest level of engagement and collaboration attainable between any TMC and the travel expense and invoice management solutions provider. TMC Elite partner level reflects FCM’s continued focus on delivering the best possible service and experience across the industry’s leading solutions. TMC certification means that existing and prospective clients can expect the highest standards of service from FCM
A FIRST FOR FCM FCM has achieved IATA NDC Level 4 certification – the first TMC to do so – which means it can provide “full offer and order management”. In addition to booking NDC airline content, FCM and parent company Flight Centre’s consultants can now also support changes in travellers’ NDC bookings and manage flight disruption, critical to servicing clients in the corporate sector. Level 4 is currently the highest in IATA’s NDC certification programme. “There is still work to be done industrywide to ensure that NDC standards are
completely business travel ready,” says Nicola Ping, FCM’s manager of air content and distribution EMEA. “We have spent the best part of the past two years focusing on our connectivity, travel content and NDC distribution capabilities, especially in terms of servicing FCM clients effectively. “The industry ecosystem needs to continue to work together to ensure progress, especially in the corporate environment,” says Ping.
TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT BOOSTS INNOVATION PROGRAMME FCM has invested in US-based Shep, the award-winning browser extension technology that helps companies with better management of travel purchased outside corporate travel policies. Founded in 2016, Shep helps corporates gain insight into the large data and expense blind spot that occurs when employees choose to book travel outside of managed travel programmes. This is done in real time through the Shep browser extension which monitors activity of over 70 consumer travel sites. Shep recognises when a traveller initiates a hotel or flight search on a consumer travel site and pops up a window that guides the user through the booking with defined pricing
parameters, captures the data and sends it either to the corporate client or to FCM for reporting. “We’re excited to leverage this technology into our platforms,” said John Morhous, Chief Experience Officer, FCM. “We feel the browser extension is a simple and elegant solution to a problem many of our customers face, which is gaining visibility over spend on travel that happens outside of the managed programmes they provide.” This minority investment in Shep is the latest in a line of similar investments and acquisitions made by FCM to promote product innovation in the business travel space.
in terms of advice, implementation and ongoing support with SAP Concur solutions to enhance their travel programme and deliver on their business needs. FCMUPGRADE.COM
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A PERSONAL SOLUTION FOR THE MODERN BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL Booking car travel can be a complicated and time consuming business and if you don’t know the country you’re traveling to it can also be a bit daunting. At GroundScope we have years of experience in business global car transport and have fully vetted our handpicked car companies, giving you complete peace of mind. You can easily book our services online, by mobile or by phone and to make life even easier, all your bookings are stored under your profile so you can manage your bookings on the go. Travelers receive a text message minutes before the journey enabling you to connect with your driver and have full control of the process from beginning to end. From standard cars to executive chauffeur driven cars, GroundScope have the solution. A fully managed global service designed exclusively for businesses.
GLOBAL REACH Our service is available in 100 countries and 500 cities.
ECONOMY TO BUSINESS CLASS VEHICLES We have a range of vehicles to suit all types of company budget.
SIMPLE & EASY BOOKING SYSTEM Our mobile app and online booking system have been designed with simplicity in mind.
VETTED SERVICE PARTNERS Groundscope’s fully vetted Services Partners ensure your duty of care obligations are met.
24/7 365 SUPPORT CENTRE Telephone assistance through our 24/7 365 Customer Support Centre means you are never alone on your journey. We are even open on Christmas Day.
VAT RECLAIM GroundScope make it easy for your business to claim back full VAT on every single trip, providing you with all the information you need.
EVENTS, VIP‘s AND SECURITY SERVICES We provide an events service and can supply coaches , people carriers and cars for any event you may have globally. We have a service for VIP’s and a Security Service for travel to more dangerous destinations.
Visit our website to find out how we are changing the way business travellers use car transportation. www.groundscope.co.uk
CHARITY
d We raise
£11K
Top shops
R
etail therapy has a different meaning for 21 staff on Flight Centre/FCM’s fast track leadership programme. They took part in an Age UK Takeover Day which raised over £11K for Flight Centre Foundation’s Charity of the Year.
Staff members split into teams to take over and run four Age UK High Street charity shops across London for one entire day. Teams went head to head in Clapham, Kentish Town, North Finchley and Tooting in a competition to increase each store’s profit on that day compared with the same day the previous year. “The first Age UK Takeover Day was a huge success for our Charity of the Year,” said Emily West, Flight Centre Foundation UK. “Congratulations to the four teams for their enthusiasm, creativity and sheer determination throughout the day and planning time in the weeks prior to the event. “The result of that energy was a huge revenue increase for that trading day. The teams raised over £5K, generated by store takings, stock collections, raffles and fundraising in advance and on the day itself, which has been matched by Flight Centre to make a whopping £11,444.32 for Age UK!” Plans are now underway to launch a National Flight Centre Age UK Takeover Day in 2020 with teams of staff taking over stores in regional cities and towns across the country.
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SUPPLIERS
Best in class
New First Class cabins provide travellers with an elevated premium travel experience both on the ground and in the air. Here’s our round-up of the best offerings
F
irst class air travel has stepped up a notch since a clutch of major airlines launched their premium cabins. Aside from the elevated privacy and comfort levels, the list of benefits outshines everything else 35,000 feet up. What all First Class cabins have in common is privacy, be it with a fullyenclosed suite as with Emirates for example - and the most amount of personal space. The facilities in First make it easy to be businessready on arrival. Givens are lie-flat beds, laptop power, USB plugs, on-board wifi and bags of storage space, a superior in-flight entertainment system and, on the ground, a dedicated departure lounge with restaurant-quality meals and, on some airlines, free chauffeur to/from the airport. Layer on top of this an abundance of soft products – the sleepwear, plush pillows, blankets, high-end amenity kits, freshly-prepared a la carte food that you can eat at any time and delicious wines that pair perfectly with the food. In culinary terms, anything your heart desires is on the menu, be it carrot and kale juice or Cristal champagne. A superfood salad? Of course, coming up... Dedicated crew are on call in First Class; warm hospitality
“ Emirates First Class
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Middle Eastern airlines have set the bar so high when it comes to airline standards.”
and greetings by name are the hallmark of this exemplary sky-high service. The cost is more than double that of Business Class, making it generally the domain of High Net Worth individuals and senior executives whose travel policy allows them to recharge in the front cabin.
“
Some airline’s Business Class is superior to other airline’s First Class, so choose wisely.” One major caveat with First Class is the inconsistency across the world’s airlines as some airline’s Business Class is superior to another airline’s First Class, so it’s important to choose wisely. Singapore Airlines has just six Suites in its A380 which are configured 1-1 with sliding doors for extra privacy and even window blinds. Moreover, each Suite has a seat and a separate bed and also offers Double Suites with a double bed. A massive 32-inch touchscreen monitor takes care of entertainment and an enhanced KrisWorld IFE system saves your playlist and preferences for future flights. Passengers are offered both Dom Perignon and Krug on board and passengers can Book the Cook in advance and order food from a menu that’s not otherwise available on board, served on Wedgwood china. Cathay Pacific also offers just half a dozen seats in First Class. Padded with soft leather, each seat has a touchscreen controller and in-chair massage function. The seats may not be fully enclosed but they are angled towards the windows. Steaming jasmine rice or hot toasted bread - it’s all freshly prepared. Entertainment is from 18.5inch, HD TV screens while a video handset means that you can browse entertainment, order duty-free items and see the interactive map without interrupting your viewing on the main screen. The airline refers to a more bespoke, sensory journey, of inspired flavours, calming fragrances and refined textures. Passengers are served food on fine china and drink from crystal glassware.
Cathay Pacific
No First Class round-up would be complete without mention of the Middle Eastern airlines that have set the bar so high when it comes to airline standards. Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Emirates take a lot of beating when it comes to premium cabins. For example, Etihad has First Class Apartments, a dine-on-demand menu with onboard chef and onboard shower, so travellers can freshen up ready for their meeting. The airline is best known for The Residence onboard its A380 aircraft, which provides a three-room suite including private bedroom and shower and butler service. Qatar provides eight seats in 1-2-1 configuration but travellers also rave about the airline’s Qsuite Business Class as the closing doors provide more privacy than the raised partitions available in First. Nonetheless, what they don’t get to do is sleep on Frette linen sheets, change into sleep suits by The White Company and enjoy vintage
wines and caviar as part the culinary journey on board. First Class tops on-board service offerings to suit varying travel budgets, from Economy and Premium Economy to Business Class. THE BEST FIRST CLASS According to Skytrax and its 2019 survey of over 21m airline passenger respondents, tops is Singapore Airlines (SIA) for the World’s Best First Class and the World’s Best First Class Seat. Following SIA in the World’s Best First Class Airline 2019 is Lufthansa, Air France, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, ANA All Nippon Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, and Oman Air to finish the Top Ten ranking.
Singapore Airlines
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INTERVIEW
“
We’re seeing challenges to the traditional model and companies need to be quick to adopt new technology to ensure compliance and data is captured.” Caroline French, Head of Global Travel & Expense Management, Inmarsat
In conversation
Upgrade talks to Caroline French, Head of Global Travel & Expense Management at Inmarsat, the world leader in mobile satellite communications and a global client of FCM’s since 2017 How long have you been a buyer in the business travel industry and how did you start out?
Have you been responsible for global spend as well as national/regional spends?
I have been a buyer for over 15 years, having gained experience in the communications industry. In my current role, I have definitely seen huge changes as the company has evolved and progressed through a series of mergers and acquisitions.
Yes, I am presently responsible for spend and operational reporting across 13 countries.
Did you go the CIPS route in terms of learning your craft or did you learn ‘on the job’? Definitely in at the deep end with ‘on the job’ learning; but I have known and worked with some great people in the travel industry who helped and coached me through my early career development years as well as supported me with training where useful during my career progression.
What attracted you to the world of business travel?
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How large is your travel team and where does it sit in the company? Four people based in London, St John’s Canada and Switzerland, and the team sits in the Chief People Office department.
What in your view are the challenges of being a buyer in this industry? The challenges I see facing a buyer today are the need to keep pace with the ever-changing demands from both the business and the traveller. Depending on the size of the organisation it will find the buyer dealing across a variety of requirements such as traveller wellbeing, sustainability, risk, insurance and most
It’s a vibrant and constantly changing industry and a key element of an organisation’s ability to conduct business. Furthermore, you are closely working across all business levels and locations so you get a real insight into how the organisation works so that
importantly data reporting... but the list goes on!
its requirements can then be met.
making and enhancing data handoff for card payment solutions.
What are your current challenges at Inmarsat? Data reporting to provide strong insights into future decision
What are your plans for 2020 in terms of managing travel? Continuing to evolve our offering to meet the needs of our internal customers, a key focus in 2020 is around on-line travel and travel portal expansion.
What would you like to see change in the industry? A booking tool that operates in all global locations which mirrors the look and feel of some of the top leisure sites and pulls in rates available across all platforms. Well, that’s my dream!
In your view, what is best practice in maintaining a good working relationship with suppliers and the company’s TMC? I would say I apply openness, trust, respect and the comprehensive understanding of what each party requires. Above all, don’t be afraid to be direct to avoid any misunderstanding.
Is cost still the overriding factor when creating a travel policy or is that changing? Is it all about lowest logical fare or something else? In essence, cost is not the overriding factor but I would say that depends on the organisation and their financial/regulatory constraints. Any well-run business is going to be sensitive to price in purchasing decisions but there are many other factors and they are often a higher priority. Within my organisation we have updated our policy to reflect the challenges that travel represents under a traveller wellbeing section; we have expanded our risk and guidance to travellers and provided some policy guidelines to ensure traveller consistency and fairness.
What do you look for in a TMC and how important is culture in that mix of criteria or is it all about the technology offering? As we operate in multiple countries we need a TMC to be able to offer a ‘tailored’ in-country service solution to our mixed group of travellers. Culture and technology are extremely important. FCM meets that need and we are continually interacting and challenging them to provide the best solutions.
How do you feel Millennials and Gen Z will change the business travel industry? It’s important not to generalise because every generation of users is very diverse and so are their requirements. But we’re seeing challenges to the traditional model and companies need to be quick to adopt new technology to ensure compliance and data is captured. Research that we’ve carried out with the London School of Economics sets out how crucial it is for airlines to offer onboard wi-fi as a competitive differentiator for example, something that we’re the market leader in providing through our GX Aviation offering. My experience suggests that the ‘bleisure' requests have required a review of the travel policy and companies need to be mindful around insurance cover for this type of trip. A review of the booking and expense process needs to be streamlined and not ‘cumbersome’.
QUICKFIRE ROUND Last film you saw
Last holiday?
Nixon with Anthony Hopkins (an old but rated Oliver Stone movie)
Singapore for the Grand Prix
Richard Wagner or Little Richard?
Skiing in Austria
Little Richard
Football or rugby, or neither?
Next holiday? Desert island luxury? Gramophone with a large selection of records
Gunners!
Sushi or fish and chips? Fish and Chips
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TRAVELLERS
Don’t leave home without... ON FULL CHARGE The UNIVERSAL All-In-One Travel Charger from Fuse Chicken has USB-A and USB-C ports for compatibility with numerous devices, and features adaptors for the US, Europe, the UK and Australia. The device also features a built-in power bank and gives wireless charging for compatible iPhones and Samsung Galaxy models.
LIGHT WORK If your laptop is oversized and weighs a ton, then it is worth considering transforming a tablet into a lightweight laptop with a portable keyboard. Highly recommended comes the Logitech keys-to-go portable Bluetooth keyboard, which is compatible with iOS and Android devices, weighs a mere 180g and is only ¼ inch thick and 9.5 inches long. The QWERTY keyboard comes in seven languages, four colours and has a tactile, durable, liquid-repellent covering, ensuring that if you spill something while typing, you can just wipe away the evidence.
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SOUNDS GOOD Given that any business traveller today streams films, music and other entertainment while on the go, clearly a quality speaker is a must. Ultimate Ears Boom 3 gives wireless (Bluetooth) 360o sound and for audio playback it communicates with any device that supports Bluetooth. The re-chargeable Lithium-ION battery gives up to 15 hours of action and for those who like to be entertained in the shower, it is also waterproof. And to mix things up, invite up to two friends to join Block Party in the UE App and see who's the best DJ…
BACK-PACKING TRAVELLERS For those who prefer to use a backpack and keep their hands free, the Nomatic Travel Pack contains a number of useful design features, has a capacity of 20L but expands to 30L and is waterproof, has an anti-theft device and is sleek. It converts into a briefcase for a more professional look, has a lie-flat laptop pocket that gives easy access, a convenient pocket for phones and other gadgets, and a secret area for cash and valuables.
FOLLOW THE LEADER Start the year with something practical yet fun in the form of Travelmate Robotics, the self-propelling suitcase that follows travellers around. It finds its way round people and other obstructions, has wheels that move in any direction, and travels upright or horizontally, allowing you to put items on top of it when prone. Travelmate is controlled from a mobile app or voice command, comes in three sizes, three colours, and could double as a rather conspicuous briefcase when you aren’t travelling.
SPEAKING IN TONGUES As business is global, so are language barriers and anyone who is regularly communicating with people whose first language is not English, may appreciate help from wordly. As long as the user speaks clearly and grammatically, the app translates into intuitive language; if people cannot understand you, the app probably can’t. The speaker uses a mobile device with the wordly app, which interprets into up to 15 languages; the listener or delegates join on the attendee app, select their language and receive the text and audio of the speech live. Fantastique! FCMUPGRADE.COM
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EVENTS
Food for thought Something is finally being done to alleviate the graveyard shift at events and it revolves around what we eat
W
e have all attended conferences and been fed cakes at the tea break, carbs for lunch and more cakes during the afternoon tea break. It has been the norm in the events industry for many years and hotels are as much to blame as anyone else, automatically playing safe by serving a menu catering to all tastes and budgets. That heavy helping of lasagne may hit the spot in the middle of the day but it weighs heavily for the afternoon sessions. Add a darkened room and warm room temperature and the speaker will be hearing snoring rather than applause. It doesn’t help the situation that costs are paramount when running an event. The standard day delegate rate includes two tea and coffee breaks, room hire and a buffet lunch for a set fee; ask for bespoke items and the price rises. Leading nutritionists attest to the correlation between healthy food and performance, mood and alertness. Hi-tech and media companies with a generally younger and more health-conscious workforce are breaking the mould in event catering. It began in-house when the likes of Google – which offers free food during work hours – worried about staff suing them for obesity so asked their outside catering company for healthier food options.
“They wanted leaner meat and less cream, so we took out 40% of the calorific value from our menus and took away the snacks and fizzy drinks and put bottles of water at eye level,” says Nick Vadis, Culinary Director for the UK’s largest contract caterers Compass Group UK & Ireland. There was no pushback, and no law suits. A key issue is budget; not every company has Google-sized budgets and healthier options are more costly to put on the table. “It’s a fallacy that a plant-based menu is cheaper,” says Vadis. “It costs between 20-30% more to produce.” Lime Venues, which represents over 80 unusual UK venues, is ahead of the curve in delivering healthier menus. “Do you need a full English breakfast every day of the event? Just grapefruit would be fine one day, and lunch could be soup and fresh bread and not two courses,” says the company’s Sales Director Jo Austin. “We have to help people make different choices and create good habits.” She would like to see companies taking nutritional performance seriously in the event world.
As an example, Vadis might provide granola, fruit and poached eggs for breakfast, fish salad for lunch and less alcohol too. “Some 40% of any menu we create has to be under 500 calories.” Reducing sugar and salt content is a given. Vadis believes we are reaching a tipping point, spurred on by trends in clean eating, vegetarianism and veganism. “Flexitarianism – i.e. not eating meat every day – will also become more popular,” he predicts. Gemma Austen, Business Leader at cievents, FCM’s sister division specialising in meetings and events, believes demand depends on industry vertical. “Look at the delegate type. If it’s a 25-year-old attending an event in a cool hotel then granola bars and quinoa salads are fine but that might not be suitable for a pharma conference of 20 doctors in their fifties.”
BRAIN FOODS Leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, water, dark chocolate, whole grains, blueberries, tomatoes, eggs, blackcurrants, avocados, flax and pumpkin seeds, broccoli, sage and nuts. Source: BBC GoodFood.com
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I L L U M I N AT E
The Future of Business Travel Autumn 2020, London
