AIRLINES


SMEs


SMALL FIRMS ‘PAY MORE’ FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL


Indonesian airlines cleared for US flights


INDONESIAN CARRIERS HAVE BEEN CLEARED to start operating flights to the US. The US Federal Aviation


Administration (FAA) announced that Indonesia now complies with


international safety standards and has been granted a category 1 rating. The rating could open the door for Indonesia’s national airline Garuda to start operating flights to the US. Antara news agency reported the airline’s vice president of corporate communications, Benny Butarbutar, as saying


CYBER ATTACK


MAJOR HOTEL CHAINS HIT BY MALWARE ATTACK


STARWOOD, MARRIOTT, HYATT AND INTERCONTINENTAL branded hotels have been hit by a malware attack on 20 US properties. The security incident could have affected the payment card information of travellers who used cards at point-to-point sale terminals, such as food and beverage outlets at certain properties. In a statement, HEI Hotels and Resorts, which manages the affected properties, said it saw malware installed on the payment processing systems, “designed to capture payment card information as it was routed through these systems”. A full list of affected hotels, along with the dates during which data may have been compromised at each property, can be seen here: bit.ly/2b1mPit.


12 BBT September/October 2016


that Garuda wants to commence services to New York and Los Angeles, with two or three flights per week. The FAA first granted the


country the top safety rating but downgraded it in 2007 after a number of incidents. “With the International


Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category 1 rating, Indonesian air carriers... can establish services to the US and carry the code of US carriers,” the FAA said. According to Flightglobal, Indonesia has had 13 fatal crashes in the past 10 years.


BUSINESS TRAVELLERS FROM SMALL COMPANIES believe they pay more for travel and it is more time-consuming and difficult to book compared with larger firms. A study from IHG conducted by Kelton Global found a third of business travellers from small businesses feel they are not treated as well as those from larger companies. The Holiday Inn Small Business Travel Study showed more than half of small businesses don’t have a travel policy but are still careful to choose the most cost-effective option to help keep costs down.


The cost in time, however, is high. On average, SMEs take as many as nine different steps just to book a hotel, and those that visit hotel websites will do so an average of three times before they pick the right place.


While 98 per cent of travellers working for SMEs believe


there are perks to be had from their trips, they often have to deal with a lot of planning and stress when booking. According to the survey, the biggest headache for travellers from small businesses is the stress of travel itself (56 per cent). The research follows IHG’s launch of a new offer where SMEs can earn benefits through the new Business Inn offering. The survey was conducted between March 23 and April 8, 2016, among 1,005 small business travellers aged 25-65, using an e-mail invitation and an online survey.


DISTRIBUTION


Hotel direct bookings ‘decline’ as OTAs boost market share


HOTELS’ OWN DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS are on the decline with an increasing dependency on OTAs, a Hotrec study has found. The research, which is based on responses from over 2,000 hoteliers, showed nearly one in four bookings were generated through an OTA. Meanwhile, the share of direct bookings dropped to 55 per cent for 2015. “The study clearly shows that online platforms are steadily acquiring bigger


shares in hotel bookings, while the hotels’ own distribution channels are on a decline,” said Hotrec CEO Christian de Barrin. The study showed


the OTA market is being dominated by the ‘big three OTAs’, which have a common marketshare of 92 per cent. The most dominant is the Priceline Group (Booking.com) with a share of over 60 per cent, followed by Expedia. HRS “lost ground significantly” over the past two years.


BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


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