CONFERENCE REPORT
WORDS MOLLY DYSON IN PARIS
FRENCH CONNECTIONS
Buyers heard how car-sharing is not to be feared and why ‘data is the new air’ at the ACTE Paris Global Summit & Corporate Lodging Forum, while calling for practical use cases of NDC
THIS YEAR’S ACTE Paris Global Summit & Corporate Lodging Forum saw a trio of top travel buyers take the stage to explain which recent headlines could have the biggest impact on their programmes, with each having a different viewpoint of the issues. Perhaps the biggest difference in opinion was in relation to the growing use of ride-hailing cabs, such as Uber and Lyft. While one buyer from Marsh & McLennan said she found them troubling because she worried about the safety of her travellers, another from Illinois Tool Works believed the popularity of such services had made traditional taxi companies change their practices for the better. She said: “I remember the worries of the travel managers around safety and security, and I recall a lot of them saying it was too difficult to get a contract in place. I sat back and asked them: ‘Have you done this with every taxi company that your travellers use all over the world?’” However, a buyer at the International Baccalaureate Organisation pointed out that the most important thing a travel manager can do is educate their travellers on the use of such services. “We’ve had some incidents where an employee has landed in a city, tried to use their ride-hailing app and found it doesn’t work there. “It’s important to teach them not to
become complacent and reliant on the tools available to them because they won’t always work.”
18 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
THE POWER OF DATA The HRS Corporate Lodging Forum presented “The power of data” (pictured above), a session with Axelle Lemaire, partner at consulting firm Roland Berger and former French minister in charge of innovation and digital affairs. Lemaire discussed the use of data in an ecosystem ruled by GDPR. She said that rather than a threat to marketing tactics, GDPR was an opportunity for suppliers to tailor their services to individual customers so long as consent has been given.
When asked if data is “the new oil”, HRS chief executive Tobias Ragge pointed out that in some ways it already is, with many top companies building a business model around data. However, Lemaire added that oil
becomes more expensive the scarcer it is, but the opposite is true of data. Data is more like air – the more available it is and the smarter companies get about using it, the more everyone benefits.
THE EVOLUTION OF DISTRIBUTION A session entitled “The Evolution of Air Distribution: Considerations for your travel programme” drew on findings from a recent ACTE/Amex GBT research paper of the same name which shows
there is confusion among the majority of buyers about the changes they expect as NDC is implemented. Delegates were asked how they accessed content – traditional methods, including the GDSs, online booking tools and OTAs, direct booking channels on airlines’ own websites, or API-enabled connections.
They agreed API connections offered a wealth of content that closed the gap between OBTs and direct channels, but the complexity of NDC – how it will affect the ability to understand what travellers are buying outside of the air fare – is cause for concern. Lori O’Connell, senior director of
procurement business services and travel at PwC, encouraged her fellow buyers to engage the “value chain” in their distribution strategy, so that TMCs and other partners build new strategies into their contracts. ■ Read the full conference reports at
buyingbusinesstravel.com
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