to make a change, they can pick up the PNR [and change it]. This is tremendously important for TMCs because corporate bookings are changed very often and TMCs need to provide financial information and have it automatically integrated.” Schmidt notes: “Business travel agencies


are under cost pressure, under commission pressure and looking at new sources of revenue. They also want to provide a full service. Corporate agencies don’t like it if a corporate client does all its air bookings in our system then goes online for hotels. “From the smallest, mixed corporate and


leisure agency right up to the top TMCs, business travel agencies need to retain customers and win new customers.” To do that, he says: “They need to service


customers in the best way and to drive better service, but also reduce the cost of servicing customers. “There is a lot of pressure to optimise


services and to create new revenues. “It’s a constantly evolving market. There


can be external pressures, like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and internal – for example, a corporate customer says ‘I need a better mobile offering from you’ or ‘Everything I book must be refundable’.” At the same time, he adds: “More


GERMANY records the highest turnover from accommodation, not Spain, France or Italy. The UK is the most consolidated of


Europe’s accommodation sectors (Figure 42). Italy and France offer the most tourism beds in Europe


(Figure 43). The UK has the largest number of hotel properties; Greece has the highest proportion of hotels and rooms on the coast (Figure 44)


intermediaries are coming in and all want a piece of the pie. We can help by making it simple for agencies to service clients.”


Personalised retail The pressure for personalised retailing which dominates discussion of airline distribution is also felt in hospitality. Schmidt says: “Hotels would like to sell


their offering in a personalised way – for example, to offer a junior suite on the third floor, near the elevator but far from the ice room.


“That is the vision hotels like. But the industry is far away from that because of


FIGURE 43: TOURISM BEDS BY DESTINATION


% of all in EU/UK


Netherlands 4% Poland 2.5% Portugal 2% Sweden 2.5%


Croatia 3.5% Greece 4%


Austria 3% 12% UK


Other 12.5%


France 16%


31.7m BEDS IN EU/UK


Spain 11%


Source: Eurostat Number of hotels 18,100


32,400 32,900


19,700 39,700* 12,000 9,900 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 0 n/a 88% 20 40 60 80 100 0 9%


44% 43%


46% n/a 94% 20 40 60 80 100


Figures rounded *2016 figure Source: Eurostat


31%


FIGURE 44: HOTEL PROPERTIES IN BIGGEST MARKETS, 2018 % of hotels in coastal areas


23% 11% 53% 69% 22%


Germany 11%


Italy 16%


% of rooms in coastal areas


France Germany Italy Spain UK


Austria Greece


Travel Weekly Europe Report 2019 | 27


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