ACQUISITIONS HRG takeover delayed
THE ACQUISTION OF Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is now expected take place in the third quarter of 2018 rather than the second. The proposed deal was announced in
February and clearance by competition authorities in the EU was expected to be given in the second quarter. However, the conditions of approval are now set to be satisfied in July, delaying the final clearance. The companies have already satisfied the conditions of the acquisition in the US and Russia. HRG said a further update on the expected timeline for completing the purchase will be issued at a later date. HRG chief executive David Radcliffe is expected to join the Amex GBT board upon completion of the acquisition.
CONFERENCE
HRS held the day-long event at London’s Soho Hotel
HRS: Corporate Lodging Forum, London
HRS brought together a range of experts to tackle the topic of ‘Simplifying business travel’
APPOINTMENTS
FLYBE CHIEF IS FIRST WOMAN ON IATA BOARD
CHRISTINE OURMIERES-WIDENER, chief executive of regional carrier Flybe, has been appointed to the board of governors of IATA. Ourmieres-Widener is the only woman to sit on the 31-member board, which heads up the trade association that represents around 290 airlines. Her career spans more than 30 years, and she started as an engineer for Air France in 1998 before worked her way up the ranks, taking international roles at companies including Cityjet and American Express Global Business Travel. She is a former vice-president and
current board member at the European Regions Airline Association and was appointed to IATA’s board in an interim role in April 2017 following the departure of Fernando Pinto, chief executive of TAP Air Portugal.
The appointment comes as Flybe
reported an adjusted loss of £19.2 million for the year to 31 March – nearly triple its result in 2016-17. However, the loss before tax improved to £9.4 million and group revenue was up 6.4 per cent to £752.6 million.
18 BBT July/August 2018
GLOBAL HOTEL SOLUTIONS PROVIDER HRS invited no fewer than 24 speakers to help “simplify business travel” at its Corporate Lodging Forum in London’s Soho Hotel in June. “We’ve been making a lot of
complexity recently, so why don’t we actually start from scratch – that’s what we’re talking about today,” said Douglas Green, UK and Ireland managing director at HRS, in his welcome speech, before introducing Kenneth Clarke MP to set the scene.
Clarke said in his 40-year career, he had never seen so much uncertainty, either political or business, but outlined what he perceived to be the three key challenges for the audience: “Donald Trump – you now have a non-politician protectionist determined to wage a trade war. At the moment, it’s a crisis. Italy – there’s a rejection of traditional politics. The Eurozone is doing well actually, but it’s fragile. And Brexit – it has caused total uncertainty about what the British think they’re doing.” Following this wider outlook, Yvonne
Moya, principal at consultancy Festive Road, urged travel managers to rethink their policy: “Tell me on one page, or better, within the booking tool. Make it interactive, or show it as a simple infographic,” she said. She added that an ACTE survey revealed that limited staff resources (82 per cent), lack of time (80 per cent) and
IT infrastructure limitations (65 per cent) were the top barriers for travel managers when it came to simplifying policy. Later, a panel tackled how to “take complexity out of travel” with outsourcing a common solution. However, Emma Eaton, commodity manager – travel, Siemens, said the process should be collaborative. “We evolve with our suppliers. Our review plans are a two-way thing. It’s a reverse review, and not just us rating our supplier against KPIs – we work together,” she said. Olive Kavanagh, global travel
manager, Kerry Group, warned buyers not to underestimate the work involved in outsourcing. “You need a robust governance programme in place. If a travel buyer thinks it’s going to be less work, they’re mistaken,” she advised. “Year one of your outsource model
should look a lot different to year two. For example, there can be a lot of leakage. As more data comes in, you’re able to reassess year two.” HRS’s Green added: “A partner
should accelerate the rate of innovation. Travellers don’t have time to keep up with technology, or to see which company will win the race.” n HRS will hold another event during ACTE’s Paris Global Summit & Corporate Lodging Forum, 14-16 October, 2018
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
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