PAlife BUSINESS TRAVEL SHOW FORECASTING THE FUTURE
IN THIS INCREASINGLY COST-CONSCIOUS CLIMATE, WILL THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS TRAVEL AS A SOUND INVESTMENT CONTINUE TO BE RECOGNISED? COLETTE DOYLE TURNS TO AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL’S ANNUAL SURVEY FOR ANSWERS
TRAVEL MANAGEMENT TOP 10 MOST PURCHASED BUSINESS TRAVEL SERVICES
1
HE MAJORITY OF COMPANIES IN Europe (73 per cent) will not be looking to increase their travel spend in the year ahead,
according to American Express Global Business Travel’s 2012 EVP Barometer. Anthony Drury, the company’s Vice-
President and General Manager for the UK and Nordics, has some advice for office professionals booking business travel over the coming months. “While budgets in 2013 are projected to remain largely the same, companies continue to keep a close eye on the bottom line and those responsible for booking travel will need to maximise budgets. PAs can consider making advanced ticket purchases using online booking tools to source the best available fares and partnering with a travel management company to provide more control.” The Barometer,
TRAVEL WILL NEED TO MAXIMISE BUDGETS
PAS BOOKING BUSINESS
a survey conducted among more than 500 companies across Europe, shows that the practice of implementing a travel policy is now widespread, with
more than 90 per cent of large companies having one in place. This practice is also being adopted in smaller businesses, with 74 per cent of small and medium enterprises and 50 per cent of micro-businesses citing they have a policy in place. Centralised budget control continues to be a focus, with six in 10 companies saying that it is looked after by a centralised executive. However, when it comes to reporting, only
24/7 support 2
Online booking solutions 3
Airfare sourcing 4
Hotel room sourcing 5
Analysis for improving sourcing strategy 6
Pre-trip approval solutions 7
Creation and review of travel policies 8
Re-routing travellers/ emergency
relocation or repatriation solutions 9
Integration of travel policies into IT systems
10 Workflow audits and recommendations
30 per cent of companies measure the return on investment of travel spending, making it hard to analyse the bottom line benefits that travel expenditure can offer. As companies maintain a focus on cost
control and seek ways to better capture ROI, they are increasingly turning to their travel
management company for support, with 59 per cent saying they use one as their main source of reporting. Hotels represent a new concern for
procurement teams, and 54 per cent of companies are monitoring spend within this category. As a result, 88 per cent include this as the first item on their travel policy, followed by categories such as air, meetings and events, rail and car rental. Greater enforcement of travel policies is another key factor highlighted by Drury. “Companies will consider enforcement as a priority next year, so PAs should make sure that all travel bookings fall within policy. This may mean checking which hotels travellers are permitted to stay in, booking flights with preferred airlines and ensuring that ancillary fees are in line with the company policy.” According to the findings of the Barometer,
mobile technology has now become a booking channel in its own right. Mobile tools can provide travellers with greater flexibility, and offer new services such as travel alerts (according to 67 per cent of travel managers surveyed), mobile check-in (60 per cent), security alerts (58 per cent) and notifications of reservation changes (56 per cent). Traveller security is increasingly important, with nearly half of all companies (45 per cent) citing it as one of the top items for inclusion in a policy. As Drury points out: “Traveller safety will
likely be a top priority for companies across Europe next year and companies are increasingly including this topic in their travel policies. To ensure the safety of travellers, PAs should stay on top of itineraries and make best use of all the tools available to keep updated with any changes to travel.” ●
PALIFE.CO.UK
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 • PALife
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