Maggy Sainsbury and editor of the annual Global Serviced Apartments Report. Several core items remained constant however, and that was the stellar line-up of expert buyers and supplier speakers who shared their knowledge and best practice over the two days, and our objective, to act as a melting pot of new ideas, to spark debate, share practical knowledge and network with suppliers and buyers alike. Delegates were given
“Thanks for a well-structured and organised conference. The content and workshops were extremely refreshing”
Jamie Barker, regional travel manager, UK/Europe, global travel services, Barclays
the opportunity to learn how to streamline processes, shave budgets, improve compliance, keep abreast of new laws and technology, start out on a new journey and discover more efficient ways of working. None of this would have been possible without the generous sponsorship of a dozen suppliers: Virgin Atlantic as our main sponsor and SACO and HRS as executive sponsors. Then a clutch of others, namely Carlson Wagonlit Travel who sponsored the first-night dinner and party; Corporate Traveller who sponsored the pre-dinner drinks; Click Travel the refreshments in the exhibition area; MWB Meeting Venues the expanded workshop zone; BCD the chill-out corner with all-important de-stressing massages; AirPlus our keynote speaker and moderator and finally, Egencia and Jet Airways who sponsored the main prize draw – the Calling Card. Read on for a précis of some of the sessions and workshops that made up The Business Travel Conference.
CONFERENCE SESSION: BUSINESS CLIMATE CHANGE Paul Wait, general manager of global, MNA and UK sales at Virgin Atlantic, kicked off this session with a plea for companies to keep travelling and to optimise spend rather than cut it. He also reiterated his desire for the scrapping of APD as a government tax that is penalising business and warned of an end to affordable travel due to continued fuel price increases. Chris Thelan, CEO of
Chambers Travel Management, pointed up the change in how TMCs are now working, from moving people to connecting people, and the overwhelming demand for access to more content that is forcing travel management companies to raise their game. Last speaker Lee Whiteing, travel and fleet manager at HSBC, made a plea for the industry to lobby for free wifi in hotels, questioned the need for so many apps, and pointed out that his company's required savings meant that it couldn't be achieved simply by negotiating with suppliers but by also amending traveller behaviour (particularly to educate them about restricted rates and fares) and by less travel.
WORKSHOP: SMALL FISH, BIG POND Tony Pilcher, director of consulting firm Pilcher Associates, ran this session, looking at the needs of SMEs, and was aided by Bryan Daniels-Hepnar, director national
accounts UK at CWT. It soon became clear that TMCs are failing in their duty to get SMEs data – so corporates can achieve a better-managed programme – and that TMCs consider SMEs too small to warrant a relationship manager. On the other hand, many SMEs were unclear
as to what data thy needed to make those decisions while others were hampered still farther by not using a TMC in the first place, driven by the misconception of the high cost of having a TMC. Pilcher emphasised the basic need to channel bookings through one source: ”Start with a policy, get senior management sponsorship, then compliance will follow,” he said. “You must look at the end-to-end process, starting with policy, moving to data and finally sourcing.”
CONFERENCE SESSION: ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LAW Robert Starr, associate business defence at law firm Greenwoods, outlined the ramifications of the Anti-Bribery Act, and highlighted that corporate hospitality remains a grey area until there is case law. “Anything lavish with no obvious bearing would be seen as a bribe. The measure is ‘reasonable and proportionate’,“ he reiterated. Internally, he advised to obtain top level
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