The Review ➔ GBTA Europe steams ahead
“THINGS are never going to be the same in a post-recession world,“ declared Angus Lyon, enterprise strategist at Microsoft, in the opening session of the second annual GBTA Europe Conference. The keynote speaker discussed
at length the concept of 'hybrid organisations' whereby companies in the future will hinge on three fluid elements – people, places and technology. Microsoft last year published a series of papers that portrayed this emerging breed of forward-thinking companies. “Technology is blurring the line between work and life balance,“ said Lyon. “Work is something you 'do', not somewhere you 'go' anymore. 'Work' is no longer being trapped within the same four walls. “We want to have access to all the tools we have in the office
while on the go. It is technology that can lead change and it doesn't matter whether that starts in travel or HR, but ultimately we have to put the employee – the human being – first.“ Lyon explained that to work towards becoming a hybrid organisation, companies must: focus on the little things; have the right tools for the job; measure by
A GATEWAY TO TRANSPARENCY
NEW Hillgate Travel managing director Anthony Rissbrook – formerly of Co-operative Travel Management – unveiled a new online shopfront last month in the shape of The GateWay, a portal comprising “all the best bits that clients like,” with a single sign-in. Claiming to be a single source
of information that is completely bespoke to the profile of an individual, and 18 months in development, it can access multiple items: traveller profiles, travel requests, online check-in, alerts, a world clock and Hillgate’s OBT, as well as email copies of
invoices, offer live availability of flights by cabin class, and track travellers by date or location. Online MI pre-trip will delight
many. There are some 18 pre-trip reports, for example, while a financial director can track all trip approvals to form part of an audit trail if need be. Bookers can run reports on any traveller in under ten seconds. “It gives enormous power to the clients and it’s all about making the their life easier,” says Rissbrook. “There’s no-one with anything like this with one portal, one log-in and online,” he claims.
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results; always be in touch; and, crucially, to embrace change. Over 300 delegates from 18 countries attended the Global Business Travel Association conference, held at the Huis Ter Duin hotel in Noordwijk, south of Amsterdam. The Association unveiled a series of new develop- ments, including the launch of a new hotel RFP toolkit, a strategic KPI resource tool, and the creation of a new award to recognise services to the European travel and meetings management industry. A GBTA Academy, advocacy group and social networking tool were also unveiled, while Torbjorn Erling, global meetings and travel manager for Ikea, was named as chairman of the GBTA European Advisory Board for the next two years, replacing Caroline Strachan.
RAIL SPECIALIST ADDS HOTELS
RAIL booking specialist
redspottedhanky.com has launched a hotel booking service, fully integrated with its existing train ticketing service. Users can now book stays at over 130,000 hotels and will earn double loyalty points on accommodation bookings which can subsequently be redeemed on future train travel. There are no booking fees, credit or debit card fees or delivery fees.
THE LOWDOWN IN BRIEF
• FOR customers on the run, Chambers Travel Management has launched iApprove, enabling them to use their smart phones and hand held devices for pre trip approval. The company is continuing its pan- European reach with the opening of an office in Berlin in December.
• ZURICH Airport will be transformed in a few years’ time when The Circle opens. It’s a mixed-use project a stone’s throw from the terminals and is designed to offer business travellers somewhere to stage a meeting, stay overnight, to eat, shop, be pampered at a spa, and to visit commercial HQs. Restaurants, a luxury and a budget hotel, serviced hotel apartments, and conference and event facilities form the backbone of The Circle, which will be designed by Japanese firm Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop. Building begins in 2013 and The Circle will open in 2017.
• ACTE and the GTMC have signed a memorandum of understanding which will see the two industry associations join together in tackling issues impacting corporate travellers, TMCs and travel buyers. Both organisations will attend and participate in the other’s events, assisting with conference speakers and other common initiatives.
• STATESMAN Travel Group has acquired Commodore International Travel in a move that will see the combined company become one of the UK's top ten largest TMCs in terms of transactional volume, with revenues of around £100million. The company will be headquartered in London and trade as Statesman Travel, but Commodore’s Masterfare will remain a distinct and separate brand to Statesman.
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