THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 39
➔ Travel spend on the rebound THE REVIEW ›› THE LOWDOWN
SPEND ON business travel and expenses continues to recover even in the face of heightened cost-cutting measures at companies across the world. That was the conclusion of
a survey of over 200 travel managers by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and the Kotler Marketing Group. The research also revealed that
travel managers intend to clamp down on usage of non-preferred suppliers, increase adoption of self-booking tools and encourage use of alternatives to travel such as videoconferencing. "These findings suggest that
even as corporate travel continues to rebound, travel managers will remain vigilant about controlling costs," says ACTE's executive director, Ron DiLeo, of the Corporate Travel
IN BRIEF
• IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, released a statement shortly before this issue of TBTM went to press announcing the successful purchase of BMI from Lufthansa. The deal went through at a reduced price due to the inclusion of BMI regional and bmibaby which IAG will seek to quickly offl oad. "bmibaby and bmi regional are not part of IAG’s long term plans and will not be integrated into British Airways. IAG will pursue options to exit these businesses," said IAG.
Spend Plans & Tactics report. Companies will continue to
try and negotiate lower prices with travel suppliers as well as turning to technology to exploit potential cost savings. The use of videoconferencing proved to
NOT-FOR-PROFITS SHOW THE WAY
be one such method, despite producing apparently mixed results – only 36 per cent of respondents reported a reduction in travel spend the year after implementing web or videoconferencing technology.
GTMC URGES QUICK DECISION
THE GTMC's chief executive, Anne Godfrey, says expansion at Heathrow Airport “is not completely off the table”, noting a shift in position from the government. But whether the green light
is given to Heathrow or 'Boris Island', the industry body would like expediency with the project seeing as it is likely to take decades to complete: “If you’re going to do it, do it”. On other issues, the GTMC
EMPLOYEES in the not-for- profit sector show an impressive commitment to travel policy, with 89 per cent aware of their company's rules regarding business trips and 90 per cent of those claiming that they always adhere to them. The findings come from a
survey of over 1,000 Key Travel customers, ranging from charities and educational institutions to NGOs and faith organisations. The travel management
company says that of the 11 per cent who were unaware of whether their company had a travel policy in place or not, the reasons cited were either that they had not referred to it for a
long time or that it had never been communicated to them. Over 25 per cent of those
surveyed said they expect to spend more on travel this year. Nearly a third said they prefer to book travel over the telephone compared to 19 per cent who'd rather book online and 50 per cent who prefer to book via email. “Although it is not surprising
that competitive pricing is important, particularly when so many in the not-for-profit sector are feeling squeezed, it is encour- aging to see that the majority of organisations have no plans to reduce their travel spend over the coming year," says Key Travel chief executive, Steve Summers.
has statistics showing those corporates who are already avoiding Heathrow because of APD, anecdotal evidence that members’ clients will be stopping travelling during the Olympics, and Q1 2012 transactions figures that show, when compared to Q1 2011, that air and rail travel is flat, hotel bookings are down by 13 per cent and car hire shows an inexplicable 15 per cent rise. The GTMC is currently
lobbying against IATA's plan to sell TMC data to airlines that may identify corporate clients and what they’ve paid on each route.
• BUSINESSES in the UK paid out an estimated £692million in expenses for claims that were in fact out of company policy in 2011. That's the startling fi gure calculated by Concur, who say that for every £100 a UK business paid out in expenses last year, nearly £10 was spent outside of that organisation’s travel policy on the likes of business class tickets on short haul routes and non-preferred hotels. “While there’s no question that UK companies understand the importance of having a policy in place, some are struggling to ensure it is understood, implemented and followed by their staff. This leads to ineffi cient spending, lost money and inaccurate forecasting,” says David Vine, senior director, product marketing EMEA at Concur.
• CARLSON Wagonlit Travel has teamed up with iJET International to enhance its safety and security offering to its customers' corporate travellers. CWT is using a custom version of iJET's tracking technology to help customers locate their travellers across the world, with additional facilities available to suit the various needs and budgets of its clients. They include messaging and response capabilities, asset and expatriate management, pre-trip training and situational monitoring.
• TRAVEL Counsellors, the network of over 1,200 home-based travel consultants has increased its business travel sales by an impressive 12 per cent year on year and enjoyed a ten per cent rise in new agents joining the company as business travel counsellors. "We’ve also seen a 17 per cent increase in corporate travel sales in the fi rst two months of this year alone, and won over 130 new accounts in 2012 so far,” says managing director Steve Byrne.
48 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112