January /February 2016

...WHERE READERS RESPOND TO BBT’S ONLINE REPORTS

HOTEL GROUP BUYOUTS WITH MARRIOTT’S acquisition of the Starwood group, it’s reported the combined entity will have 1.1 million rooms in more than 5,500 hotels. And now we read news of Accor buying FRHI group – this brings to mind the potential implications of consolidation. The Accor deal is not on the same scale as Marriott/ Starwood, but nevertheless, Accor is already one of the world’s largest hotel chains. Much has been said by travel buyers and consumers about the adverse affects of airline consolidation in the US – less competition means higher prices.

But at least they understood the reasons for the mergers, as those airlines’ financial struggles were well documented. This is not so clear with the burgeoning hotel groups. And it’s certainly difficult to spot any benefits for buyers and consumers from this trend of hotel consolidation.

HEATHROW EXPANSION THE PRIME MINISTER’S delay in making a decision about the third runway at Heathrow airport is nothing short of scandalous. Clearly, he thinks more about his political skin (by delaying things until after the London mayoral elections) than he does about the nation’s wellbeing.

THANK GOODNESS! Let’s hope that sense prevails and that there is going to be no further expansion of the mess that is Heathrow. Airport provision in the South East needs some

132 BBT JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016

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@TheGTMC

Short-term London political interests being prioritised above long- term national interest #Heathrow

@ZacGoldsmith Delighted that after much campaigning govt has seen

sense and is judging Heathrow decision on environmental test: on.fb.me/1NrIKvY

@TravelbizPaul @lufthansa CEO at @GBTAEurope1 says sorry to #travel buyers for poor booking tech but defends #GDS fee

@BTUK

@KuwaitAirways pulls Heathrow-JFK route after US threatens legal action over not selling tickets to Israelis bit.ly/1IbClpQ

@McWhirterAlex Kuwait Airways LHR- JFK will be missed by budget travellers – was a good source of cut-price transatlantic tickets

clear thinking, without all the noise from vested interests. The current model is not optimal. What is required is, quite simply, one major hub for international long-haul flights (with connections to/from key UK/Europe cities), located away from residential property and not alongside the M25, with high-speed rail links. And a number of ‘satellite’ airports to service point-to-point short-haul travel and new model airlines on international/ long-haul routes

Now that would make

real sense – not the muddle that we currently have of perpetuating the inherent problem that is Heathrow.

HOTEL RATE PARITY HOTELS SHOULD HAVE MORE CONTROL, as the large online travel agencies (OTAs) have become too dominant in the market due to massive advertising budgets. This overall inevitably means customers pay more.

BBT LINKEDIN GROUP: IMPLEMENTING SELF- BOOKING TOOLS IN INDIA WITH THE HIGH ADOPTION RATES of self-booking tools (SBTs) in the South African market, I’m surprised it has not had a faster uptake in India. With most SBTs being used by corporate travellers for domestic travel, with authorisation flow-paths built in the SBT’s and companies looking to reduce their spend where ever possible, it’s a no-brainer. I agree the time for India’s business travellers to adopt this practice is ripe. Once a few are on board, it

should quickly spread – best practice, risk and authorisation all included into a succinct booking tool that can co-exist with a high-touch traditional service for complex international bookings or those VIPs who expect it. This is not even to mention improved travel policy compliance, better accessibility for anyone with internet access and superb reporting capabilities. I wish you, and those selling and implementing these, all the best.

BBT LINKEDIN GROUP: WHAT YOUR CEO WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CORPORATE TRAVEL IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE (SMART) CEOs are also asking about what value they are getting for their travel spend and what happens to their business if they take this spend up or down. The industry needs to get better at articulating its overall value to organisations if we want to elevate our standing, be taken more seriously and not just be seen as a cost line to the business.

BBT LINKEDIN GROUP: AIRBNB VS CORPORATE TRAVELLERS

I TRIED TO USE AIRBNB FOR a family trip to Manhattan last year, requesting a four-night stay. All the Airbnb apartments I contacted would only book a minimum of seven nights. In the end, we booked two rooms at a hotel. At the GBTA session in Frankfurt, Airbnb said its biggest market was New York, which may indeed be the case, but what percentage of business travellers stay for seven nights?

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