GTMC COLUMN PAUL WAIT Let’s work together
A spirit of collaboration is crucial to meeting the business travel challenges of 2017
ERTAINLY THE LAST 12 MONTHS HAVE BEEN... INTERESTING. While, for many, the changes and events that took place in 2016 have instilled a sense of doom and gloom, as we start the new year I would urge my fellow business travellers and travel managers to embrace 2017 with a strong sense of optimism and purpose for the future. Too often it is easy to blame exterior forces for poor business performance. Certainly, I’m not denying that security threats, bad weather, economic downturns and political unrest can make both running a business and business travel challenging. In this vein, I expect 2017 will see duty-of-care remain a top priority for businesses and travel managers. However, the focus on managing
C
Paul Wait is chief executive of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (
gtmc.org)
growth must also be paid due diligence. Business travel is an investment and it is the job of the
MOVERS & SHAKERS
industry to ensure that it continues to be seen in this way. Cutting costs on business travel means cutting routes to growth with the end result being loss in profit and damage to a company’s brand. To ensure companies recognise the value of business travel, it is crucial that travel management companies (TMCs) collaborate with clients to capture the total cost of trips, with comprehensive reporting and data capture that details all modes of transportation, accommodation and expenses.
In the B2B space of business travel, the intention of this ethos of collaboration is to make it easier for corporate clients and TMCs to transact business efficiently, with both the corporate budget and traveller in mind. It is at risk from a number of airline and hotel operators looking to fragment current methods of distribution. I suspect this will be a growing and
significant area of potential conflict between the requirements of the buyers in the marketplace working closely with their TMC, and some in the airline and hotel industry. What we need is for those wanting to force change to make a new year’s resolution to stop, think and build a customer-centric business strategy in future. By that, I mean something a customer needs and wants to buy, not a strategy based on cost reduction alone, where the customer effectively subsidises a business. Then business travellers, buyers and operators can move into 2017 in a continued spirit of collaboration that will enable us all to realise our ambitions for growth in the coming 12 months.
FRITS DE KOK Frits De Kok joins Flight Centre Travel Group as chief marketing officer for Europe and Africa. De Kok most recently spent four years with Chambers Travel Management, since rebranded as part of Corporate Travel Management, as general manager.
138 BBT January/February 2017
LAURENS LEURINK Laurens Leurink has been appointed senior vice-president, distribution, at Amadeus. He has been with the company since 2016, having most recently held the positions of president of lodging partner services at Expedia for five years and COO of
Booking.com for two years.
ADAM BELL
Carlson Rezidor has appointed Adam Bell as head of TMC for the UK and Ireland. Bell joins the company after holding senior positions at Malmaison, as business development manager and director of sales, and at Macdonald Hotels and Resorts.
HEIKE BIRLENBACH Heike Birlenbach has been named Lufthansa’s vice-president, sales, EMEA. She has been with Lufthansa for over 20 years, most recently as vice-president, sales and services for Europe, vice- president of cabin crews and vice-president, Milan division.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
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 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144