OUTLOOK
Hilton and Intercontinental Hotels Group. The question for 2019 is: will these hotel giants introduce similar commission cuts in other markets around the world and will this mean higher costs for buyers? Globally, hotel rates are
expected to rise by 1-3 per cent, according to BCD Travel, while CWT predicts a higher increase of 3.7 per cent year-on-year. In the UK, hotel prices
are expected to go up only marginally in 2019, according to Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC). London hotel rates will be kept in check by the opening of another 4,340 rooms in the capital next year. The average daily rate (ADR) for London hotels is expected to rise from £149 this year to £150 in 2019, says PWC. Outside London, average rates are expected to creep up from £72 to £73. Another 21,760 rooms are predicted to open in the UK regions during the year. Liz Hall, head of hospitality and leisure research at PWC, says the market for UK hotels has been affected by “stuttering business travel” this year, and she also warns about the potential operational challenges for hotels following Brexit. “For a sector heavily reliant
on people to deliver its products and services, the shortfall in availability of EU nationals remains a concern for hotels, and the weak pound has pushed up the costs of retaining staff and importing goods within the sector,” adds Hall.
TECHNOLOGY When it comes to technology, the sentiment is best summed up by one seasoned buyer who says: “I don’t want to know how it works, I just want it to work.” Unfortunately the pace of change within corporate booking tools and other platforms has been slow with TMC tech often in the firing line – a whopping 95 per cent of buyers felt that TMCs failed to provided “satisfactory”
buyingbusinesstravel.com
PAYMENTS The payments industry is another area of corporate travel which could be affected by a “no-deal Brexit”, with the UK government warning of potentially higher payment costs post-29 March. “The cost of card payments
between the UK and EU will likely increase, and these cross- border payments will no longer be covered by the surcharging ban, which prevents businesses from being able to charge consumers for using a specific payment method,” says the government in an advisory on the impact of failing to reach a deal with the EU. This could potentially mean
technology, according to a Business Travel Show survey. One of the big areas of
focus in 2019 is NDC and how corporate clients can use new distribution channels, which are becoming increasingly crucial now the likes of British Airways are levying a charge on traditional GDS bookings. Decius Valmorbida, president
of travel channels at Amadeus, says: “We will continue to work closely with our travel seller customers to re-engineer a variety of Amadeus solutions to consume NDC content through the Amadeus Travel Platform. These solutions will allow airlines to sell their NDC offers to travel sellers, and for travel sellers to shop, order and pay for flights and related services.” Meanwhile, travel management software specialist Travelogix is working on new products, including a data suite, AnalytixX2
, as well as a “full fare
analysis” platform for TMCs. Chris Lewis, Travelogix’s chief executive, says: “We have some very exciting plans to start introducing advanced functionality such as benchmarking, predictive analytics, modelling and prescriptive analysis.”
UK-based payment providers losing access to EU payment platforms, including the Single Euro Payments Area, leading to “increased costs and slower processing times for euro transactions” for UK businesses. Aside from Brexit, corporate
THE
SHORTFALL IN AVAILABILITY OF EU NATIONALS REMAINS A CONCERN FOR HOTELS
payment specialists are continuing to develop new products and technology, including virtual cards, mobile payments, using biometric data for identification, and utilising machine learning to improve the quality of data being provided to clients. Blockchain, the digital ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, continues to make its mark. Banks and payment firms are working on using blockchain to improve the efficiency of payments. Meanwhile, Paul Spelman, managing director of AirPlus International UK, adds: “As an industry we continuously strive to improve processes, drive compliance and prevention of fraud. That said, I can see the continuing push towards the needs of the traveller, putting control back in their hands with self-service OBTs and the rise of low-touch TMC services. I have no doubt that we will see more consumer-style products and services appearing in our market space.”
2018 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 73
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