2014 FORECAST
THE MOVE TO BIG DATA • “It’s hype at the moment. The majority of clients haven’t been able to master the current data set. They need to get a handle on the full data spend,” explains Torsten Kriedt of Advito. • “An explosion of data has paralysed a lot of people so the filtering process has become more important,” according to Mark O’Brien, TCG Consulting. • “We’re not interested in Big Data but we’re interested in someone bringing intelligence to existing data,” says ITM's Simone Buckley. • Turn to page 70 for more insights into data analysis.
THE FUTURE FOR THE TRAVEL MANAGER • More stakeholders to satisfy: finance for process engineering, HR to check policy change and duty of care, accounts payable, IT for integration with other systems, marketing for meetings spend. • Less empowerment to make decisions as they need “the OK further up the chain of command so decisions on the business bidding process have become lengthier,” – Tony McGetrick, BCD. • “A need to develop a different skillset, triggered by different reporting lines and a drive to manage end-to-end costs. Policy needs to be linked with staff retention to decrease recruitment costs,” says Caroline Allen, ACTE. • “Buyers have to be more strategic players and show how to save money without degrading the traveller experience,” urges Bill Kerr of TCG Consulting. • ”They will be more accountable and under more pressure,” says ITM's Simone Buckley. “They should stay connected with their peers and get closer to their TMC who holds all the jigsaw pieces together.”
THE FUTURE OF THE TMC • TMCs will take centre stage, providing vision, thought leadership and a vital link in the managed travel programme.
THE DESTINATIONS TO WATCH
Austin, Albuquerque, Johannesburg, Leeds, Rio de Janeiro, Mykonos and Chengdu, according to British Airways
WAITING FOR… THE STREAMLINING OF MERCHANT FEES
New EU regulations will effectively reduce company rebates from card providers, which help offset
• “There's more consolidation on the horizon,” says Traveldoo’s Julian Mills. • “If TMCs didn’t exist, corporates would struggle; I don’t think we sell ourselves well enough. We’re not hitting the mark with everybody. We’ve become no more than another commodity and with that has come a lacklustre approach to business travel. If we don’t gee up and take some pride in our industry we won’t have a future,” says Liz Carter of Hillgate and Chair of the GTMC's People Strategy Group.
THE MOVE TO MOBILE • “Our vision is to create trips that allow the mobile-device-clutching voyager to enjoy a seamless and connected journey,” says Egencia’s The Future of Travel report. • “I see a big game change over the next three years, when mobile will overtake online bookings as a third channel,” predicts Torsten Kriedt, Advito.
travel department costs. “It will drive a big change”
...says ITM's Simone Buckley
• The correlation is being made between staff retention and travel policy. “One of the currencies to attract staff is the way you work,” says Graham Kingsmill, Egencia. • Dynamic pricing replacing resource-heavy RFPs. “We want to go for transparency,” says IHG's Russell Green. • “Route deals based on forecasted volumes over the next 18 months, rather than historical volumes,” says Paul Wait, GTMC. “Stop negotiating in the past and try to understand what you’re going to achieve in your business.” • Policies reflecting revenue-generating trips and non-revenue generating trips. • “Contracting with airlines is getting more complicated and less competitive because of alliances and consolidation,” says ITM's Simone Buckley. Turn to page 72 for some straight-talking on airline alliances. • The holy grail – total trip cost or end-to– end – is in sight. “Providers are getting there but it won’t happen overnight,” reckons Mark O’Brien, TCG Consulting. • UK plc should invest in travel rather than cut it. “They should get the CFOs’ hands off the travel budget and re-organise so that business travel sits with commercial – the CCO – so travel becomes part of the commercial strategy. The UKTI said if you spend £5 on travel you get £25 back in exports; it proves that if you travel you get a return,” says the GTMC'S Paul Wait.
• Yael Klein, AirPlus, forecasts ‘baby steps’ for mobile payments and VCNs, which will allow travel managers to bring in those travellers not allowed company credit cards. • “Mobile technology may leapfrog over online and go straight to mobile,” says Caroline Allen, ACTE.
NEW WAYS TO BUY • “More single contract approaches that incorporate more services, from rail, air and hotel to taxis and meetings,” says Capita's Trevor Elswood. • “Buyers moving meetings into their remit. They can’t cut more out of their transient travel but they might out of meetings. We’ll see a greater convergence between the two,” says ACTE's Caroline Allen. • More un-coupling of globalisation to regionalisation. “There is no global provider at the end of the day,” says Chris Thelen of Chambers (See our Debate on page 24).
THE VERY LONG VIEW... TO 2060 Holographic meetings, virtual hotel rooms, driverless vehicles and a completely different role for travel management… says the Travel Industry White Paper from AirPlus. Find more predictions from the report on page 50.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 77 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 15
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