GEHAN COLLIANDER, PRESIDENT, GBTA EUROPE
Gehan Colliander has an impressive background in travel and the aviation sector, counting KLM and Air France as previous employers. This experience undoubtedly helped when she took up the position of president for GBTA Europe in early 2016 for a two-year stint. In an interview with BBT, she said one
of her main tasks was to make GBTA “the partner of choice for buyers”. So far she has spoken out for more transparency in
AIRBNB TRIPS
In 2014 we featured Airbnb in our Hotlist, saying at the time that “the whole of Airbnb may seem a long way from the world of corporate managed travel, with its negotiated rates and strict travel policies... but could have an impact on how accommodation is booked”. It’s fair to say the sharing economy provider is now a major player in the accommodation
sector. The disruptor successfully launched Airbnb for Business and, despite reservations from many global buyers, it has tapped into the needs of the younger business traveller and the leisure/business trip crossover. Now Airbnb is expanding with its Trips option – calling it the most significant develop-
ment in its eight-year history. The key area for this sector and why many in the industry are sitting up and taking notice is its move to add flights and services to the platform this year, effectively offering something similar to the OTAs.
MARRIOTT/STARWOOD Last year, we included Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson due to the then-impending acquisi- tion deal with Starwood. This year we’ve included the recently-merged company due to the concerns from many in the industry that this sort of consolidation will lead to higher prices in the sector, as well as reduced power for buyers in the request for proposal (RFP) process. The deal means, a total of 30 brands now fall under the Marriott umbrella to create the largest hotel chain in the world
ONES TO WATCH FARE TRACKING SERVICES
It was our intention to feature one fare tracking company. However, we soon started to receive nominations for a number of different firms offering similar products around airline and hotel price tracking. One of them is Fairfly, which is built on the notion that ticket prices are “highly erratic”. It claims that flight prices are volatile and change an average of 92 times between the moment a fare is published and flight take-off. The start-up re-books flights after tickets have been purchased, when it sees a reduction in price.. Another similar company predicted to have a big future in corporate travel is Yapta. It monitors booked airfares and hotel rooms, and issues instant alerts when prices drop. Yapta says its corporate travel solutions, Fare IQ and Room IQ, enable companies to extend their travel and expense budgets, boost compliance and attain essential programme-specific data. These types of tools could be more commonplace for many buyers by the end of 2017.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM BBT January/February 2017 75
with more than 5,800 properties and 1.1 million rooms in more than 110 countries. At the end of 2016, HRS chief execu-
tive Tobias Ragge said the “whole market structure” had changed on the back of a “consolidation drive” following the recent Marriott/Starwood deal as well as Chinese firm HNA acquiring a 25 per cent stake in Hilton. Buyers will undoubtedly be watch- ing closely to see if consolidation will have an impact on negotiations that many have been predicting.
the airline sector and voiced concerns over suppliers replicating the relationship they have with the leisure traveller in the corporate environment. For 2017, Colliander has promised to expand GBTA’s education and resources within the business travel industry and push for greater cohesion between buyers and suppliers. As head of global travel at The Boston Consulting Group, she understands the latest concerns of the sector and can use her position at the GBTA to help address these.
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