FEATURE SME SECTOR
“Expense management used to be the preserve of the large international businesses but today everybody can get what IBM uses”
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to redeem against room nights, car hire vouchers, airline FFPs and room upgrades. Nick Grandvoinet of IHG – whose hotel
brands include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental – believes SMEs are looking for “value rather than price or rate, ease of booking and a degree of loyalty”. In 2013 IHG launched Business Advantage targeted at SMEs, which gives four per cent off rack rate regardless of number of room nights, a reward scheme and a payment set-up that includes extended credit and monthly VAT invoices. “It gives more value than spot buying,” says Grandvoinet. Virgin Atlantic has a two-fold approach to SMEs. The first is incentivising the 2,000 SME members in its Flying Co programme, by rewarding both travellers and employers with miles redeemable against flights – upgrades are the most popular redemption.
The second is a range of net fares accessible by the TMC. Relaunched as Virgin Smart Fares in April this year, they are flexible fares that are fully refund- able and changeable in all cabins and require no minimum volume. “Our net fare programme is an acknowledgement of the
importance of our SME business to us,” says Virgin Atlantic's Chris Goring. Of course, it’s possible to find a cheaper fare on the day but it will carry restrictions such as a minimum stay or advance purchase. Hotel solutions provider HRS offers
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SME SECTOR
Only one per cent of businesses are considered to be large, either nationally or across the world. The other 99 per cent are the lifeblood of our economy, with over fi ve million SMEs in the UK employing between them over 25 million people. Having grown year on year for over a decade, Britain's SMEs boast a combined turnover of £3trillion and contribute the lion's share of the UK's GDP. Unfortunately, over 50 per cent of SMEs fail within just
two years, a fi gure that continues to rise. But, as they fail, others begin. Moreover, the successful SMEs could develop into the blue chip companies of tomorrow. Corporate Traveller’s Graeme Milne says that he’s transited fi ve companies from his company to FCm over the years as they have grown from minnows to big fi sh. “But some don’t want to move,” he says.
corporate discounts to all businesses which can be accessed unlimited times through its corporate portal. “Once signed up, they can benefit from up to 30 per cent discount off many hotel rates,” says the company's Jon West.
Technology levels the playing field Technology provider Concur charges no set-up fee and asks SMEs to commit to a minimum term of three-months for its automated expense solution, after which they can pull out. “Expense management used to be the
preserve of the large international businesses but today everybody can get what IBM uses,” says the company's managing director, David Vine. “It can grow with you and be totally
flexible. You might not want all the bells and whistles that IBM want, like five
40 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
levels of authority across different countries, so why should you pay for them? It’s all in the cloud.” That is one example of the low entry points available to SMEs to automate their processes. “Technology is so easy, so corporates don’t have to invest in a heavy enterprise system or subscribe to a full model,” says Advito’s Kriedt. “They can pull in Concur for an
expense system and American Express for a corporate card model.” Julian Mills of Traveldoo says that often
brakes are applied because of lack of resource, unlike a larger corporate who will have an in-house IT department. “Investment in time is often what holds back the SME,” he says, “and this is where a TMC can fill the gap.” Many TMCs have dedicated help desks
to solve technological glitches. Traveldoo has a service called Assisted Booking where their consultant creates a booking from the client request, then replies with options for the traveller. “The skillset of the consultant has
stepped in,” he says. Mills refers to “degrees of Muppet-ness” of the end user. “I would challenge them to get to the same level of touchless booking as a TMC,” he says. Ultimately, technology is helping to blur the lines between large and small corporates and it’s apparent that some TMCs prefer working with SMEs due to their lack of bureaucracy and minimal number of stakeholders for buy-in. They may have been
overlooked historically but today that is certainly not the case. Hillgate’s Warren Dix has the last word: “It’s much more fun to work with SMEs.”
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