tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87840740475403662232024-03-13T18:48:04.933+00:00Business Travel Show Europe - 30 Sept - 1 Oct 2021. London ExCelPowerful content to help drive the recovery of the European business travel industry post-Covid. David Chapplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09041300988170532365noreply@blogger.comBlogger325125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-38505244543354049742020-02-27T21:24:00.001+00:002020-02-27T21:24:52.412+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Road to Rail - How changing my travel method improved my working life
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatczJfLxPHGCOWXfeWDCnn76Xurmghujx8q51U3sHJeZk3DvxcASWsD2x-RwzMiS-5cBFqLsm77VKRlyhaAdA82L4ZYemVu04xS8FJq1JM0VRQVKZvtoAODH-3XPLxrMypQY9IrhHCfNK/s1600/Seatfrog+Lifestyle+-+Bidding+Screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatczJfLxPHGCOWXfeWDCnn76Xurmghujx8q51U3sHJeZk3DvxcASWsD2x-RwzMiS-5cBFqLsm77VKRlyhaAdA82L4ZYemVu04xS8FJq1JM0VRQVKZvtoAODH-3XPLxrMypQY9IrhHCfNK/s640/Seatfrog+Lifestyle+-+Bidding+Screen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I’m three months into a new role
with Seatfrog and I’ve been reflecting on how much my work life has changed. </div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
I spent three and a half years
working in the telematics industry providing tracking devices that monitor
vehicle location and driver performance. We obsessively preached how driving
for work is the single most dangerous activity, even more dangerous than
deep-sea diving or coal mining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
Ironically, during my mission to
visit as many customers as possible, I was racking up 2,500 miles every month.
And in doing so, I spent hours of my valuable work time being behind the wheel.
Thinking back, I realise the impact this downtime had on my productivity,
work-life balance, driving quality and general well being. </div>
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<div style="line-height: normal;">
Here are some of the negative
effects:</div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Rushed meals behind the wheel</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Distracted driving, like talking on the phone or
sneaking a look at messages</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Backaches from long periods of driving </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Increased time pressure to meet deadlines </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Evenings spent catching up on emails </div>
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What’s changed?</div>
<br />
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In my new role, which encourages
train travel wherever possible, I’ve experienced a big change in my quality of
life. </div>
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<div style="line-height: normal;">
Being unshackled from the wheel
has transformed my travel time into a highly-productive part of my day or
simply an opportunity to chill out, arriving refreshed and focussed. I may
leave earlier or get home slightly later but evenings are now my own time. No
mountains of emails to trawl through.</div>
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<div style="line-height: normal;">
Other life improvements include
no more back problems, insanely reduced odds of being involved in a serious
accident and reduced travel stress. </div>
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<div style="line-height: normal;">
Compare a recent trip to Manchester
which took just over five hours by train to when I last drove which took four
and a half hours with no traffic. Imagine what you can accomplish in five hours
and the perceived benefit of arriving thirty minutes earlier becomes totally
insignificant. Yes, trains can be delayed, but the same can easily be said for
delays from roadworks and accidents whilst driving. </div>
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Summary </div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
A vast amount of the workforce
takes to the road every day particularly those working in sales or account
management. Whilst rail travel isn’t a suitable alternative for everyone, many
could benefit from leaving the car at home. In my experience switching from
road to rail could be an excellent investment in your career and yourself. </div>
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<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This blog was posted by Matthew Vass, UK Sales & Partnerships
Manager, </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seatfrog, </i><a href="https://seatfrog.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://seatfrog.com/</span></a></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-75851137280326510492020-02-25T13:13:00.000+00:002020-02-25T13:15:20.273+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Anticipating Change: Effective Business Travel Management in an Age of Uncertainty <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTS7iltswY_SHEANj7HQMM_TWCl-Ez2cXcO0X9kWUTd0s4G4DEdiFDqVf99rWRL7YSPgyz-6FnEj3XEYZl-nBPbJFPWQK1WMGcH8mv_MBz4ernu_DS2qHRQTyhaEDkPYawwdbtHSDt488x/s1600/FB_IMG_1580945675499+%2528002%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTS7iltswY_SHEANj7HQMM_TWCl-Ez2cXcO0X9kWUTd0s4G4DEdiFDqVf99rWRL7YSPgyz-6FnEj3XEYZl-nBPbJFPWQK1WMGcH8mv_MBz4ernu_DS2qHRQTyhaEDkPYawwdbtHSDt488x/s400/FB_IMG_1580945675499+%2528002%2529.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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If the past few years have taught us anything, it is that in managing
international travel, we need to expect the unexpected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shifting of political tides, increasingly
common natural disasters and quickly implemented travel bans have certainly
kept us on our toes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Immigration and travel have
moved up the political agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Protectionism in in vogue and politicians the world over are driving
huge changes in policy which are impacting the way that business must manage
their international travel.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In the United States we have
seen significant restrictions on the Visa Waiver Program, including
prohibitions by the Trump administration on an increasing number of
nationalities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the United Kingdom,
Brexit has created anxiety around the future ease of travel between Britain and
the EU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most recently, politics have
taken a backseat to public health in driving travel restrictions as we have
witnessed hastily arranged travel bans implemented with the aim of curbing the spread
of coronavirus. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">So how do we stay ahead in this
environment and ensure that we have a proactive policy approach designed to
create effective crisis management strategies?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through experiences over the past few year of this constantly changing
landscape we have learned some crucial lessons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Below are some measures that companies should take today to help to
better prepare their business for this new, changing environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Seek effective partnerships</b></div>
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Given the multitude of challenges in the industry today, companies
seeking to remain agile and forward thinking are partnering with experts to
help monitor and mitigate risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Embedding this expertise through strategic partnerships will help to
save costs and create a more reassured travel population overall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Businesses should not write policy on the basis of media
reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we have seen recently with
reporting on Brexit, conflicting information in the media can cause greater
confusion in difficult times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strategic
partnerships will help guide you by providing advice that you can rely on to
help you to achieve some stability when there is uncertainty.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Know your current policy and work toward further development</b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Understand what the policy is around business travel bookings and
ensure that the policies in place are followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Your ability to determine the potential business impact of changes and
to respond quickly is highly dependent on the quality of your policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there is no central policy for booking
travel and governance to ensure that the policy is being adhered to,
individuals could be booking and expensing travel outside of the company policy
which can complicate identifying those impacted when there is a change or
crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Know your people and populations</b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At the most basic level, it is essential to know who your business travellers
are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may seem like quite a simple
task, but it can be challenging to track without good governance in a business
travel policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing your travellers
also means knowing where they tend to travel to, what types of activities they
generally conduct when travelling to these countries and what visas or work
permits they hold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Know the pitfalls</b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Compliance with local immigration rules is crucial to effectively
managing your business traveller population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Running afoul of local immigration rules could cause unwanted exposure
to the company, your employees and potentially even your clients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One way to manage crisis is to avoid it in
the first place with good policy around business traveller compliance.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally, it is important to be flexible and alert. In this modern world
that we live in, it is impossible to plan for all eventualities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must remain educated on the landscape that
we face, maintain excellent corporate policies with good governance and partner
with providers that we trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
strategies will help us to prepare us as best as possible to face the next
inevitable curves in the road ahead.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This blog was written by Jennifer Fackelman, Senior Manager with
Fragomen LLP who will be exhibiting with Nomadic at the Business Travel Show on
the 26<sup>th</sup> and 27<sup>th</sup> of February.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come by Stand: B248 to meet the Nomadic team
and attend a mini education session on Wednesday at 14:00.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Register for FREE <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="PL" style="mso-ansi-language: PL;">Photography by Nandan Prabhu
Photography </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-54322210801165838882020-02-24T21:27:00.000+00:002020-02-24T21:27:20.223+00:00*GUEST BLOG* How Carbon Offsetting Can Work for Business Travellers
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">When work calls for
employees to travel to places unreachable by the more carbon-friendly options
of train, bus or car -- they fly. However, flights are a huge contributor to
the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere, a greenhouse gas that
leads to global warming. Carbon offsetting of flights is becoming a popular way
to understand emissions as travellers look to take action for a better future.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Several charities and
programmes are working to reduce the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere through
projects funded through donations. Now that it’s easy to generate carbon impact
data through travel management platforms, travellers and their organisations
can see their emissions in tonnes and donate the price equivalent to these
programmes to help offset their carbon footprint.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Carbon offsetting programmes
usually consist of two different kinds of projects: forestry or energy.
Forestry projects stop trees (nature’s carbon solution) from being cut down or
provide for the planting of new ones, and energy projects reduce fossil fuel
consumption by investing in energy efficient products or renewable technology.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">It’s important to remember
that donations to these programmes do not instantly offset emissions.
Understanding and utilising these environmental projects truly indicates the
slow process of resolving our carbon impact - so offsetting can serve as a
motivator to help change habits and decision making when it comes to travel.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Choosing Efficient Carbon Offset Programmes</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Technology is being improved
all the time and carbon impact data can now even live inside your corporate
travel booking platform. With this data on hand, if employees do choose to
harness that information for offsetting, it’s important to understand how to
select efficient and reliable programmes.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Efficient programmes exist,
just consider these three factors:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Additionality:
Carbon offsets must be additive to those planned or expected from existing
projects and initiatives.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">No
Leakage: The project can’t be increasing emissions somewhere else whilst it’s
reducing them in others.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Permanent:
A project where the output won’t be reversed in the future.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Why Enable Employees with Carbon Emissions Data?</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Providing your employees
with data on their individual carbon impact enables them to make
environmentally-conscious decisions that can reduce your company’s emissions
overall. It’s not hard to do with advancing travel management platforms
providing carbon impact data now. Additionally, travelling sustainably is often
more cost friendly and might positively impact your T&E spend as a
by-product.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Providing employees with
this information communicates a wider corporate social responsibility (CSR)
message from the business, gaining buy-in and contributing positively from a
company culture standpoint. It enables environmentally conscious employees to
understand the impact of their business travel decisions and gives them an
opportunity to turn that information into aid.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Learn how to make
incremental changes that work towards a sustainable future and still harnesses
the power of in-person communication with TripActions latest eBook - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Taking Steps Towards Sustainable Business
Travel. Link: </b><a href="https://tripactions.com/uk/ebook/sustainable-travel"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://tripactions.com/uk/ebook/sustainable-travel</span></a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Visit the team at Business Travel Show, stand B322. Register now <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020">www.businesstravelshow.com</a></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-35687001500976045132020-02-24T21:07:00.001+00:002020-02-24T21:07:23.408+00:00*GUEST BLOG* How to Create a Digital Persona to Protect Your Online Presence
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">By Bruce McIndoe, President and Founder of WorldAware</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</span><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">With great frequency
these days, we hear about a major data breach of a popular online merchant or
corporate behemoth such as Marriott, Macy’s, Delta, or Best Buy, and cringe. We
wonder if we will get the dreaded “Sorry for the break-in, but we are offering
you free credit monitoring for a year” email. Then, we wait to see if the
credit card we used will be compromised and, after much hassle, we go through
the process to cancel and get a new card. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We could avoid all of
this by not purchasing things online, but that is both hard and impractical as
more and more “brick and mortar” stores like Sears, Kmart, Toys ‘R’ Us, GAP and
J.C. Penney shut down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We could just carry
on, as we always have, and wait for the next data breach that leaks our
personal information and deal with the fallout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What else can we do?
We can be proactive rather than reactive. Don’t give these sites your real
personal information. Create and use a digital persona, and you will never have
to worry about your personal information again.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">How You Lose Your
Personal Information</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To register and obtain
a product or service through a web site, you are required to give the website
your personal information such as your email, phone number, address, and credit
card information. When the site gets hacked, this is the personal information
that gets stolen. Criminals use this personal information and other information
about you on the internet to recreate your real-world persona and pretend they
are you! With this persona, they can play havoc with your life and cause you to
spend untold hours dealing with the aftermath. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You can proactively
fight back by creating a digital persona that mirrors your real-world persona.
A digital persona is like having a covert identity when you go online. You
NEVER give a site all your real-world persona information. You use your digital
persona and common sense to thwart the hackers and criminals. Here is how it
works.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Creating a Digital
Persona</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To create a digital
persona, you need to create a mirror of your real-world persona. The table
below summarizes what you need to do for all your critical real-world personal
information.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-d1IsmJbqivVbG_Qe0vp94bbh9JVy08Kyorft0XO2YqkScsfRWDPKGWv2IY_pULDWjmpUh6LOzbAKexVjpeswzO3pxxsCmaZzg3cNJKMtLdEQ_mvgLbXKI4Uv7rRMCLa0ER1fnOmhGUJ-/s1600/Worldaware.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="1547" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-d1IsmJbqivVbG_Qe0vp94bbh9JVy08Kyorft0XO2YqkScsfRWDPKGWv2IY_pULDWjmpUh6LOzbAKexVjpeswzO3pxxsCmaZzg3cNJKMtLdEQ_mvgLbXKI4Uv7rRMCLa0ER1fnOmhGUJ-/s640/Worldaware.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Creating a Digital
Personal Email Address</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Creating a new email
address is a very straightforward process for any service that provides a free
email service such as Google’s Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Microsoft Outlook.com.
First, remember to create your digital persona phone number to support
two-factor authentication and password recovery.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If you just need a
temporary or perishable email address for one-time use like downloading a white
paper or a website, use a service such as 10MinuteMail.com. These services
provide you a temporary inbox that will self-destruct after 10 minutes. You can
extend the use of the mailbox in 10-minute increments if you need to.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tip: Don’t
auto-forward messages from this account to your real-world account unless you
want to deal with a lot of spam. Periodically, delete all the old messages.
They should all be spam or old transaction messages. If you want to keep a
message, manually forward it to your real-world email.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Creating a Digital
Personal Phone Number</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There are several
online phone services that enable you to create a virtual phone number and link
it to your real-world phone or phones. The one that we have used with great
success is Google Voice. You can try other free virtual phone number or voice
over IP (VOIP) services such as iNum and CallCentric. Skype and others can
provide this capability as well, but for a fee. You will want to make
sure that the virtual phone number will support both traditional phone calls
(POTS) and mobile texting. The mobile text is important for sites that want to
text you a one-time access code in addition to your password.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tip: If the service
supports it, try to pick a phone number that you can easily remember. Use an
obscure area code with lots of options for the last 7 digits. You really only
need inbound call support. If you want to make calls on this number, you will
typically have to pay a fee.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Creating a Digital
Personal Credit Card Number</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Many credit card
providers, such as Citi, Bank of America and Capital One, provide you the
ability to create a one-time use credit card number or virtual credit card
number that can only be used for that transaction. This is great, but the
process of using them can be cumbersome. Most browsers provide add-ons to be able
to create these virtual credit card numbers easily when you are going through
checkout on a site. There are online services, like Privacy.com, that can make
the process easier and provide more features and options around the use of
virtual credit cards to support recurring subscriptions (you specify the
vendor, maximum amount, expiration) and can set up multiple funding sources. To
use this service, you need to link the virtual credit card, which is more like
a debit card, to a checking account. If you are not comfortable with using
virtual credit cards, you can just open a credit card account specifically for
online and other situations, like restaurants, where the number is potentially
exposed. If it gets compromised, you just get a new card and pick up from
there.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There are also digital
wallet services such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Chase Pay that are
supported widely and can be used to protect your real-world credit card(s).
However, you do ultimately have to enter a username/password to use these
services which can be stolen. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tip: It is easier to
pick one virtual credit card or digital wallet service and stick with it —
possibly two if you are doing more sophisticated payment options with one.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Creating a Digital
Persona Mailing Address</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Traditionally, people
have used a post office box service to have a fixed mailing address. However, a
post office box requires you or someone to go and open the box to get the mail
physically. In addition, many sites require a physical mailing address to a home
or office and will not accept a post office box. Many options are available for
creating a digital persona mailing address.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Want a Laguna Beach,
CA or Wall Street address? Services like virtualpostmail.com and
PhysicalAddress.com allow you to pick an address location and various service
options for a monthly fee ranging from $7 to $15 per month. Typically, a basic
service will receive mail and packages and scan the outside of the item. You
will get a notification and look at the scans online. For each item, you will
tell the service to destroy the item, scan the contents or forward the item to
another address.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There are services
like Viabox that charge no monthly fee. You only pay for shipping to get your
package. However, do your research on these services; the reviews of these
services are typically either excellent or “never use them.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tip: In the US and
other countries, you must formally authorize a 3rd party to open your mail. In
the US, you need to fill out a USPS Form 1583 and have it notarized.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Protecting your
Real-World Name</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It is generally
against the law to use a false name with the intent to defraud someone. Defraud
means to induce someone to surrender something of value relying on a
misrepresentation. For many sites like FaceBook, using a false name violates
its Terms of Service (ToS). However, if you are just trying to protect your
identity, the use of a pseudonym generally is acceptable unless it violates the
site ToS. Check the site and verify their terms. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Never provide fake
name information where financial transactions are involved, such as selling
goods on eBay or Amazon, opening a bank account or applying for a credit card
or loan. This constitutes fraud, and the digital persona is intended to help
you avoid being defrauded rather than becoming a criminal yourself.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tip: As with all
things on the internet, “there is an app for that.” If you are going to use a
fake name, then use a service like Fake Name Generator (fakenamegenerator.com).
You can specify your sex, country and your name set (heritage); the service
will then generate a complete profile - name, address, height, weight, and
much, much more.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Purge Your On-Line
Real-World Personas </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Once you have your new
digital persona, you can systematically update your existing online profiles to
your virtual personal information. This is also a good time to cancel and
delete any services that you no longer use. There is no sense having your
personal information sitting out there for someone to buy or trade when the
company is sold or goes out of business. You should start with any sites that
store your credit card information and replace it with your digital persona
virtual credit card. This is also a good opportunity to update your password
for the site. Think about using a password manager such as LastPass or Keeper
as you go through this process. Using a tool like this can make life much
easier than trying to remember your usernames/passwords for multiple sites or,
worse, using the same passwords for all or most sites and/or writing them down.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tip: Pick and use the
same “clean” browser for all your online accounts and transactions. There is no
sense having your access history, site cookies and possibly stored
usernames/passwords in multiple browsers. Don’t use this browser to surf the
web or access sites with which you are not familiar. You do not want malware or
other hacks of your protected browser that may compromise data stored or
entered. When using a password manager, always use multi-factor authentication
and increase the length and complexity requirements of passwords to reduce the
chance of a successful brute force attack. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Once Your Digital
Persona is Live – Relax but Be Vigilant</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It goes without saying
that anytime you interact with a new website registration or make online
purchases, you will only want to use your new digital persona. Once you are
comfortable using a digital persona, you can create multiple digital personas
for different activities such as gaming sites, video & music services, and
online purchasing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By making an effort
to remove your real-world persona information from the web, you can sit back
and relax when the next cyber-attack happens.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Meet the WorldAware
Team at BTS</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Listen to Bruce
McIndoe share additional personal protective measures for your travellers at one
of two informational sessions: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">February 26 at 11am and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">February 27 at 11am. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Learn more about
WorldAware and set up your personalized session with our team of experts: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://info.worldaware.com/bts-2020">See Schedule</a> and register for FREE <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020">www.businesstravelshow.com</a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">About WorldAware</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">WorldAware, Inc.
provides intelligence-driven, integrated risk management solutions that enable
multinational organizations to operate globally with confidence. WorldAware’s
end-to-end, tailored solutions integrate world-class threat intelligence,
innovative technology, and response services to help organizations avoid
threats, mitigate risk and protect their people, assets, and reputation.
Founded in 1999, WorldAware is a privately held company headquartered in
Annapolis, US with offices in London, Cape Town, and Singapore. For more
information, visit <a href="https://www.worldaware.com/">WorldAware.com</a>.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-47740473990628897522020-02-24T09:58:00.000+00:002020-02-24T09:58:55.447+00:00*GUEST BLOG* The fastest and slowest airports to exit worldwide <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveJ8WmXiU6v4amXQSLeqPI1CcwLjPn7DSeM_PG2DBJ07G4NBXrljQxdPn51ILWE2xpDVtpr2a1XAGhRqjxiMENlT1_NhSGw6gqUC-kzFCFnqAshu1uD2LVLCDWLH39Vpu7MSqCLp96Ass/s1600/BTS%252720_Cover+pic+%2528Blacklane_Airport+exit+data+blog+post%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1600" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveJ8WmXiU6v4amXQSLeqPI1CcwLjPn7DSeM_PG2DBJ07G4NBXrljQxdPn51ILWE2xpDVtpr2a1XAGhRqjxiMENlT1_NhSGw6gqUC-kzFCFnqAshu1uD2LVLCDWLH39Vpu7MSqCLp96Ass/s640/BTS%252720_Cover+pic+%2528Blacklane_Airport+exit+data+blog+post%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Time is a precious commodity for travellers, especially at airports. From immigration lines in unfamiliar terminals to queues at baggage collection, it can be difficult to guess how long it will take to get out of the airport. Until now. <br /><br />Blacklane analysed thousands of its airport pickups around the world to take the guesswork out of your airport experience. <br /><br />Worldwide, travellers’ median time from a plane’s arrival until they are on their way is 23 minutes after domestic flights and 38 minutes — a 65 percent increase— after international flights. <br /><br />Blacklane broke down the data further to reveal the <b>top 20 fastest and slowest airports to exit from around the world</b>, both internationally and domestically. It also produced regional and metro-area comparisons across international airports and discerned the exit speed of business vs. individual travellers and smaller vs. larger groups. <br /><br />And for those heading to BTS this year, Blacklane provided a breakdown of median exit times across the five airports servicing London. <br /><br />Here are a few highlights: <br /><br />● <b>The fastest airports to exit from worldwide</b>: Luxembourg is the fastest airport for international flights. The median time from the airplane seat to the departing vehicle is 15.5 minutes. Coming in second is Rotterdam at 16 minutes. It’s also the only other airport to come in under 21 minutes. <br /><br />● <b>The slowest airports to exit from worldwide</b>: Many of the world’s slowest airports for arriving international travellers can be found in the largest cities. The slowest airport is Kansai International Airport, serving Osaka. This is likely due, in part, to having the longest airport terminal in the world at 1.1 miles (1.7 kilometers). Coming in second is Tokyo Narita Airport followed up by Santiago Airport in Chile. <br /><br />● <b>London metro area comparison</b>: For those flying internationally into BTS in London, let’s hope you’re landing in London City. It takes nearly half the time of the other four airports and its central location makes it much more desirable. The median time there from when your plane lands to curbside is 21 minutes, compared to 39 minutes at Heathrow and 40 minutes at Gatwick.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UA0B8rksCkCbpZa3JhpbCYw_fjn2yTTTeX1OyQNN9d6ETCvorQzG73EVglerYNRRsG_DSn6f1zzzu1iojVWTJ6RihboPkRvp6VBSBKoXn07vMw4yFAZTVJg4xq0B8kIgGgT28_6SRETJ/s1600/BTS%252720_London+pic+%2528Blacklane_Airport+exit+data+blog+post%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1600" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UA0B8rksCkCbpZa3JhpbCYw_fjn2yTTTeX1OyQNN9d6ETCvorQzG73EVglerYNRRsG_DSn6f1zzzu1iojVWTJ6RihboPkRvp6VBSBKoXn07vMw4yFAZTVJg4xq0B8kIgGgT28_6SRETJ/s640/BTS%252720_London+pic+%2528Blacklane_Airport+exit+data+blog+post%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /> ● <b>Business travellers are experts at saving time</b>: It turns out that constantly being on the move has made business travellers pros at navigating airports. All other travellers take 41 percent longer to exit airports after domestic flights and 30 percent longer after international flights. Frequent business travellers are more likely to only have carry-on luggage and Global Entry to help speed U.S. immigration. <br /><br />This blog was posted by Sascha Meskendahl, Chief Revenue Officer of <a href="https://www.blacklane.com/en/"><span style="color: blue;">Blacklane</span></a>. The company is exhibiting its global chauffeur service at the Business Travel Show 2020 at stand B310, register for FREE at <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a>. For detailed findings of our airport exit data, download <a href="https://blog.blacklane.com/news/airport-exit-index/"><span style="color: blue;">Blacklane’s whitepaper.</span></a> <div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-82661277025776459312020-02-23T18:04:00.000+00:002020-02-23T18:04:34.474+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Planning for a short business trip<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As
the world becomes ever “flatter” and globalization determines more aspects of
our lives, business travel becomes ever more prevalent. Travel is getting
cheaper and easier, and now it costs almost nothing to send an employee over to
some foreign locale for a day or three, get work done, and bring them back home
without losing any of their productivity. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Is
it That Easy?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">No,
it really isn’t. There are obviously a number of headaches associated with
sending your employees – or flying out yourself – for business travel. But
there are a few clever hacks you can do to make it all go a touch more smoothly
and easier. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Luggage
Hacks</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Pass
on to your employees the importance of packing light. Remember that as the
world is globalized, that also means that anything you could possibly need is
actually available at your destination as well, on the off-chance you forget
something or something unexpected happens. That means you need to double,
triple-check that you have your wallet, your devices (more on them later), and
your documents plus one change of clothes. Most business trips are short, you
really rarely need more than two changes of clothing, which can all fit in a
simple carry-on so you’re in and out.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLy_qY5xXI8d2LMvH1a9IbrYCGf3duBmElgxnpm4uvK_cGFs1o0zywOMUXVb8o75sDiYi1Lq5Y-kr2P0yvIJLEXQc07-1dWmfqHIHb77-NkBuCcmyH0uPnPLxRFzGRZZgUl2GBMY1_Ebv/s1600/RnC+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="975" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLy_qY5xXI8d2LMvH1a9IbrYCGf3duBmElgxnpm4uvK_cGFs1o0zywOMUXVb8o75sDiYi1Lq5Y-kr2P0yvIJLEXQc07-1dWmfqHIHb77-NkBuCcmyH0uPnPLxRFzGRZZgUl2GBMY1_Ebv/s640/RnC+3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tech
Hacks</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You
need to make sure your employees always have their electronic devices and
documents, updated and able to get online. Booking a mobile hotspot platform
like Rent ‘n Connect makes sure they can get online right away, and connected
across all their devices. Today, being online is like breathing, and each
second offline is a second you might not know everything you’re supposed
to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means, in addition to a
hotspot, you should make sure that they’ve got a powerbank and a local power
adaptor so they’ve always got the ability to get charged at the drop of a hat.
Make sure roaming is disabled from their phones, particularly if the company is
going to get charged, so that their hotspot can handle all the work for them!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOBNAzWzQiu-uOEoLF-Cf4KKVWI6L0Pe9db4zK4spcNkHCY2xFwIIuQ2SXwYQ1ZrNCtEHJ06g-EOcdohpnpNJzuedEjehac_RHSH0-M2_jSi6LE3V7DSkyQVb5IKvAPBPN8jZyAJeGy2b/s1600/RnC+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="975" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOBNAzWzQiu-uOEoLF-Cf4KKVWI6L0Pe9db4zK4spcNkHCY2xFwIIuQ2SXwYQ1ZrNCtEHJ06g-EOcdohpnpNJzuedEjehac_RHSH0-M2_jSi6LE3V7DSkyQVb5IKvAPBPN8jZyAJeGy2b/s640/RnC+4.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Other
Tips</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Are
you travelling by air, train, car, or boat? What’s your company’s corporate
travel policy for business travellers, are there restrictions you should know
about? What’s your budget like, does the airline have Wifi, and so on. The more
you have planned in advance, obviously the more relaxed and in-control you’ll
feel once you’re in your destination. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To
Conclude: You can Always Do More!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There
are thousands of other potential business travel tips, of course. Wherever
you’re from, say a business traveller from the UK, there are some things you’ll
know in advance (like that you already speak the world’s “Lingua Franca”) and
can take for granted. But being prepared in advance is worth its weight in gold,
and here’s a great start for you!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">*This
blog was posted by Orkun Acikgoz, UK Country Manager of Rent 'n Connect, who is
exhibiting at the Business Travel Show next week. Please register for your free
visitor pass at <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a> and visit us at our stand LP6.</span></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-64678493005339627912020-02-21T14:25:00.001+00:002020-02-21T14:25:38.262+00:00*GUEST BLOG* What is the Government’s approach to sustainability and what impact can it have on travel management?
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHU2aqH86tqTDMeK_siMUXnPvk9KJmaQdXRp9b2P2H8nBlR50vWooh7bU3hyiSdEPmJMLcqM_DHBPR23wz2Tt9BIpn70EjMDY_Hrsq88GukE9HV6v_AWyP9xD9UkSsQeGAFe7MySyoQTE/s1600/hands-1222866_1920+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1600" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHU2aqH86tqTDMeK_siMUXnPvk9KJmaQdXRp9b2P2H8nBlR50vWooh7bU3hyiSdEPmJMLcqM_DHBPR23wz2Tt9BIpn70EjMDY_Hrsq88GukE9HV6v_AWyP9xD9UkSsQeGAFe7MySyoQTE/s640/hands-1222866_1920+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">There has
been much written about national and global targets to manage carbon emissions
and the best route forward to support a more sustainable future. So what is the
current situation and how can businesses and travel management professionals
work with TMC’s to apply these directives to achieve a more sustainable
approach to travel? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Currently
the UK has a target to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050. This was first detailed
in the 2008 Climate Change Act and is often defined as achieving “net zero”
greenhouse gases in the next 30 years. In short, emissions from homes, industry
and transport must either be avoided completely or offset by planting trees. To
continue its efforts to realise this ambition, the government has committed
over £3bn to support Research & Development for low carbon projects until
next year as part of the Clean Growth Strategy. This has also been supported by
investment in the development of offshore wind capacity and solar power. <br />
<br />
In more recent times there have been calls for a more practical approach that
extends beyond simply planting tress - namely investment in environmental
projects aimed at reducing future emissions, such as the development of clean
energy technology. From a fiscal point of view it is also possible to claim
capital allowances when you buy energy efficient or low carbon technology for
your business, so it’s worth bearing in mind as a tax incentive. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan: progress report highlights the advances
made as part of its commitment to a clear and transparent reporting of progress
to Parliament. Key developments have included minimising waste and action on plastics,
which is important to bear in mind for companies keen to implement their own
sustainability policies and KPIs. <br />
<br />
From April this year the Government’s new controls on plastics come into
effect. This will apply to plastic straws, drinks stirrers and plastic cotton
buds. This is in addition to the EU’s own plan to place a wider ban on plastic
items, including cutlery and plates, by next year. Many businesses have
adopted their own policies as a result and the launch of the UK Plastics Pact
in 2018 included a number of household names such as Sainsbury’s, Coca Cola,
John Lewis and Unilever, all committing to delivering real change in the way
plastics are produced and used. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So what does this mean for business and business
travel? Such government policies and pledges can certainly act as signposts to
inform how to implement sustainability policies – both from an operational as
well as a travel point of view. The key is to stay informed. If you are looking
to invest in a carbon off-setting scheme do your due diligence into its
operations and deliverables, ask your supply chain what steps they are taking
to reduce their impact on the environment and inform your travellers of the
options available for a more sustainable trip so they can feel confident in the
travel choices being made. And all that starts with an effective travel policy
that balances the scales of environmental consciousness and the commercial
needs of an organisation, without overlooking traveller wellbeing.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Such
approach to your travel policy can take many forms: favouring the use of public
transport rather than private transfers, only permitting hire of electric
vehicles or considering mixed mode itineraries, can prove fruitful to
companies’ endeavouring towards a more sustainable operation.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Blog post written by Direct ATPI. Register for FREE and visit them at stand B440 - <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-61495971849045610922020-02-20T22:15:00.000+00:002020-02-20T22:17:13.250+00:00*GUEST BLOG* How travellers will use technology in 2020?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sKuUNJgxvkAVEOCjacUOIK_aXxSxJB16R7my8U8pcbMgLS5w-6c6bd1CelzfLVQuIWSrZt9ZzVw6BMHqiBkrGl5Ohn6w1NetWwU0_Kn0Q2GPB3CqQZPFwLZpdndY6qWUP-7XgaPa-shb/s1600/travelport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sKuUNJgxvkAVEOCjacUOIK_aXxSxJB16R7my8U8pcbMgLS5w-6c6bd1CelzfLVQuIWSrZt9ZzVw6BMHqiBkrGl5Ohn6w1NetWwU0_Kn0Q2GPB3CqQZPFwLZpdndY6qWUP-7XgaPa-shb/s320/travelport.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">By <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiona-shanley/?originalSubdomain=ie">Fiona
Shanley</a>, Chief Customer & Marketing Officer, <a href="https://www.travelport.com/">Travelport</a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If you’re a
member of Generation X, as I am, you probably remember making phone calls from your
hallway at home and only sending emails from the office. We read travel
inspiration catalogues and reserved our trip on a Saturday morning trip to the
local High Street. While it’s easy to take for granted the devices almost all
of us now carry 24/7, the continued advancement of mobile connectivity in the
last few years means more of us than ever are now being inspired, planning,
booking and managing travel through our mobile phones. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">With this in
mind, we’re looking at the trends shaping mobile travel at the start of a new
decade and the traveller behaviour that’s shaping how our industry works. Here
are the findings of our recent research and the 9 things you need to know about
consumer-facing travel technology as we start the 2020s. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Researching your
trip </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Peer to peer
recommendations remain the most influential source of information for
consumers. The same behaviour occurs in the travel industry with review sites
(such as TripAdvisor) the ‘go-to’ research resource for over 80% of travellers.
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We’re also using
the capability of our mobile devices to find new ways to research travel
options, including voice search, which will increasingly be available within
your favourite travel apps through the next decade: </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1. Voice search
continues to gain traction as a research method with 40% of travellers using
it, up from 23% in 2018. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2. Voice search is
even more widely used by business travellers, with almost 60% using it in 2019.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Booking on mobile </span></b><b><span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Booking travel is
quite a fractured experience for the majority of travellers. Only 36% of
respondents said they booked their whole trip through one website or mobile
app. When you factor in research the number of touchpoints grows. A clear trend
we are seeing is a willingness to book on mobile if the content is right for
the traveller.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3. The vast majority of travellers
(~75% of Leisure and ~80% of Business) have booked and paid for travel on their
mobile. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This trend is
unlikely to change. Over the next 10 years, mobile will become increasingly
prevalent as a travel booking method. Our research highlighted
that the over 55s are the only age group not to have embraced booking on
mobile. As the population gradually gets older the majority of travellers
will be the digital natives of today (current 18-40-year olds) and more likely
to continue their current behaviour of booking through their mobile</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4. 84% of Gen Z and
Gen Y respondents have booked and paid for a trip on mobile versus only 40% of
the over 55s.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Communication
creates connection</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As we’ve shown,
lots of travellers are already booking online and through their mobiles. What their
travel agencies do after a person has made a booking will be the key to building
loyalty with that customer. Offering a discount or sending special
offers is the minimum consumers expect from any retailer. Added information and
relevant, timely customer service are likely to take that relationship a lot
further.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The biggest frustration travellers
have is getting access to new information once their trip is booked. Our
research shows many travellers are open to hearing about opportunities to
enhance their travel experience through adding ancillaries like in-flight wi-fi
or checking an extra bag after making their original booking.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5. 56% of travellers
want to see the availability and cost of extras such as the ability
to choose your seat, look at the menu, check if wi-fi is
available and what the baggage allowance is </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Over 80% of
travellers using apps said an update on the trip status is the most important
notification they could receive. However, push notifications can play a
role in the sales process too. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6. 82% of app users
want to receive push notifications about changes to
the price of a flight they had been considering and reminders
about flights they had left abandoned in their cart. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This shows travel
brands that travellers are always open to relevant communication while they’re
planning their trips, before and after booking.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Time to get
personal</span></b><b><span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We live in a
world of big data. Our ability to understand huge data sets in order to gain
insights about the people represented within them is growing thanks to AI and
machine learning. Personalization as a trend will continue to grow in
importance, whether it’s tailored offers or the ability to self-serve, travellers
want more control over their trips.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7. 82% of
respondents said they were in favour of receiving a shortlist of branded
offers, being able to purchase add-ons, and to give airlines more access to
your data to facilitate more personalization.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">8. 35% of
travellers said they get annoyed if companies they use
regularly do not remember their preferences. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">While a little
over a third might not seem that significant, in an industry the size of ours
that is a lot of people and these people are likely to be regular travellers.
Think about a CFO who travels first class to regional offices every
quarter, who likes to stay in the same suite in the office-adjacent hotel and
prefers to drive themselves to and from the airport in 7-series BMW. This is a
high value traveller and well worth remembering. If you can communicate with
her before she comes to you and let her know these preferred services have been
booked and confirmed, you make her PA’s life easier and her trip less
stressful.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">App, app and away</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As you may
expect, younger travellers are more likely to use apps. The range of activities
covers all aspects of the trip including flights, accommodation, car, and
bleisure. Regardless of how the booking took place, approximately 40% of travellers
want to be able to manage all aspects of their flight from an app.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9. 87% of travellers
have the same or more travel apps on their smartphone in 2019, a 5% increase on
the previous year.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The internet is
becoming increasingly ‘mobile-first’. The amount of traffic from mobile has
overtaken that from desktops in recent years and smartphone sales have been a
multiple of PC sales for a long time. In the eyes of Google, how your websites
look on mobile is more important than how it looks on a desktop. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A lot of the
stats uncovered in our research back up the move to mobile by consumers and
particularly travellers. Creating a digital travel experience through mobile
communication should be a priority for travel agencies in 2020. </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">To find out more,
download our </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Consumer Trends Report. You can also download our <a href="http://travelport.com/trends2020">Mobile Trends Report 2020</a> and our <a href="http://travelport.com/trends2020">Online Trends Report</a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> <span lang="EN-US">for even more information.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Visitors can reserve
a meeting with the Travelport team or request an NDC demo at BTS here: <a href="https://marketing.cloud.travelport.com/bts-2020">https://marketing.cloud.travelport.com/bts-2020</a> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Register for FREE and visit the team on stand B1400 now <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-49038194165277293282020-02-20T09:16:00.000+00:002020-02-20T09:16:38.393+00:00*GUEST BLOG* How Carbon Offsetting Can Work for Business Travellers
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEygdygsL5EiZjo16Ek18wO_8iCOHZJTo5oe7KMUnJYXeCVxCBUrpaRU-eC64HOdMB5fpvCSXlFp95gc4gF2e-ByP1Yul8CoDuTNb6Y3_ZG_ltQFNwC_f5-p9lVJ3Gn8TbWs9lDPocEaX/s1600/environmental-protection-683437_1280+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEygdygsL5EiZjo16Ek18wO_8iCOHZJTo5oe7KMUnJYXeCVxCBUrpaRU-eC64HOdMB5fpvCSXlFp95gc4gF2e-ByP1Yul8CoDuTNb6Y3_ZG_ltQFNwC_f5-p9lVJ3Gn8TbWs9lDPocEaX/s640/environmental-protection-683437_1280+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When work calls for employees to travel to places unreachable by the
more carbon-friendly options of train, bus or car -- they fly. However, flights
are a huge contributor to the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere,
a greenhouse gas that leads to global warming. Carbon offsetting of flights is
becoming a popular way to understand emissions as travellers look to take
action for a better future.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Several charities and programmes are working to reduce the amount of
CO₂ in the atmosphere through projects funded through donations. Now that it’s
easy to generate carbon impact data through travel management platforms,
travellers and their organisations can see their emissions in tonnes and donate
the price equivalent to these programmes to help offset their carbon footprint.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Carbon offsetting programmes usually consist of two different kinds of
projects: forestry or energy. Forestry projects stop trees (nature’s carbon
solution) from being cut down or provide for the planting of new ones, and
energy projects reduce fossil fuel consumption by investing in energy efficient
products or renewable technology.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It’s important to remember that donations to these programmes do not
instantly offset emissions. Understanding and utilising these environmental
projects truly indicates the slow process of resolving our carbon impact - so
offsetting can serve as a motivator to help change habits and decision making
when it comes to travel.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Choosing Efficient Carbon Offset Programmes</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Technology is being improved all the time and carbon impact data can
now even live inside your corporate travel booking platform. With this data on
hand, if employees do choose to harness that information for offsetting, it’s
important to understand how to select efficient and reliable programmes.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Efficient programmes exist, just consider these three factors:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Additionality: Carbon offsets must be additive
to those planned or expected from existing projects and initiatives.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>No Leakage: The project can’t be increasing
emissions somewhere else whilst it’s reducing them in others.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Permanent: A project where the output won’t be
reversed in the future.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Why Enable Employees with Carbon Emissions Data?</b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Providing your employees with data on their individual carbon impact
enables them to make environmentally-conscious decisions that can reduce your
company’s emissions overall. It’s not hard to do with advancing travel
management platforms providing carbon impact data now. Additionally, travelling
sustainably is often more cost friendly and might positively impact your
T&E spend as a by-product.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Providing employees with this information communicates a wider
corporate social responsibility (CSR) message from the business, gaining buy-in
and contributing positively from a company culture standpoint. It enables
environmentally conscious employees to understand the impact of their business
travel decisions and gives them an opportunity to turn that information into
aid.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Learn how to make incremental changes that work towards a sustainable
future and still harnesses the power of in-person communication with
TripActions latest eBoo<a href="https://tripactions.com/uk/ebook/sustainable-travel" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a>k - <a href="https://tripactions.com/uk/ebook/sustainable-travel"><span style="color: blue;">Taking Steps Towards Sustainable Business Travel.</span></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
TripActions are exhibiting at Business Travel Show. Register for FREE and visit them at stand B322, <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-78385593715712535452020-02-19T18:59:00.000+00:002020-02-19T19:00:46.063+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Mix people and platforms to build a high-performance travel programme<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI56S0G-xWQ4rfFntMuEibi3rXaHLOuYAB791d-sb1NRvb2FwSrtxKUHqJ6eFdcsCoG2HIio8qZRzDlE9a5nvbrjsBa0yLC2QxLys5bA2MeXbiMaL6bT8KFyOZjiw1tYQpiJBZq-CDiGM/s1600/GettyImages-863497498.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI56S0G-xWQ4rfFntMuEibi3rXaHLOuYAB791d-sb1NRvb2FwSrtxKUHqJ6eFdcsCoG2HIio8qZRzDlE9a5nvbrjsBa0yLC2QxLys5bA2MeXbiMaL6bT8KFyOZjiw1tYQpiJBZq-CDiGM/s400/GettyImages-863497498.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">No matter how many objectives you’ve mapped out
for business travel in 2020, you’ve only got one goal: to run a successful
corporate programme. I’m here to tell you that four managed travel strategies
will get you there, no matter what success looks like for your company and
programme.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Engage
your travellers.</span></div>
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<div style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Take
good care of them.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Let data
drive your decisions.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Create a
scalable programme.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">These four strategies require both great people
and innovative technology. That’s not news to travel buyers. A recent survey by
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://interactive.thebeat.travel/TMC-Structure-Sourcing-Satisfaction-January-2020?oly_enc_id=7110A6527389F2R"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Beat</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> shows 87%
of travel buyers value professional and responsive agents above all else. But
digital capabilities aren’t far behind: 85% of travel buyers say getting
accurate and timely programme data from their travel management company is
critical.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">At BCD Travel we’re constantly thinking about
how best to configure the talents of our people and the ingenuity of our
technology to meet corporate travel programmes changing needs. Those four
strategies are at the heart of everything we do.</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Engage
your travellers</span></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Traveller engagement is about balancing
business objectives with traveller-friendly booking options and frictionless trip
experiences. The aim is to gain travellers trust, inform their choices and,
ultimately, increase traveller productivity while cutting programme costs.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Strong engagement tactics treat travellers like
the consumers they are—reaching them with targeted </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/move-global/transform-your-obt-into-a-merchandising-machine/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">merchandising</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> and
informative messages that show up at the right time. Engagement influences travellers
booking and spending decisions, and it gets results. In just three months, our
client </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/move-global/u-k-firm-saves-over-us650000-in-three-months-after-boosting-traveler-awareness/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Finastra</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">, a
U.K.-based financial technology firm, saved more than US$650,000 through traveller
engagement.</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Take
care of your travellers</span></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The coronavirus, Brexit and the wildfires in
Australia all serve as timely reminders that we can’t eliminate hazards faced
by business travellers. But we can mitigate them with a modern risk-management
model. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">On the people side, providing travellers with emergency
numbers answered 24/7/365 is invaluable in building traveller confidence that
you’ll take care of them. But you can’t just wait for that call. You must leverage
digitalisation to locate and communicate with travellers in a crisis.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/move-global/dominosbcdkeephktravelerssafe/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Domino’s</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">
harnesses the capabilities of BCD’s </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/decisionsource/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">DecisionSource</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">®, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/tripsource/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">TripSource</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">® and </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/solutionsource/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">SolutionSource</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">® platforms
to increase the safety of employees, whether they're traveling for business or
commuting to the office. A bonus: Duty of care improvements boosted booking
compliance by 21 percentage points in one year.</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Drive better
programme performance with data</span></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Any decisions you make for your programme
should be backed by data. Period. That’s why we care so much about the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/move-global/qa-bcd-travels-commitment-to-data-security/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">quality
of the data</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> we collect and consolidate. It’s
also why we make booked data available to our clients in just 30 minutes. That
ensures your dashboards and reports are accurate and actionable in the moment. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">RELX, a global information and analytics firm headquartered
in London, relies on BCD to consolidate third-party data worldwide. </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/corporate-travel-programs-innovate-faster-with-bcd-travel/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Hear
from</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> RELX’s travel leader about how high-quality
data enables insights and innovation.</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Build a
tailored programme with scalable platforms</span></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Your business is unique. Your travel programme
should be, too. What if you could create a programme tailored to your company
culture and policies? One that offers:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The best travel content
available, at the best rates, from multiple sources</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">A consumer-grade traveller
experience driven by profile-based recommendations and service</span></div>
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</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Reporting and intelligence
that allows you to make quick, informed decisions</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">A platform approach makes all of this possible
by allowing you to integrate and distribute new technologies, content and
suppliers with agility.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">BCD is a full-service digital provider. Over
the past five years, we have put 35% to 40% of our earnings back into the
company to invest in our people, technology and infrastructure. That enables us
to build </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/move-global/bcds-new-developer-hub-is-a-catalyst-for-business-travel-innovation/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">flexible,
open platforms</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> primed for what’s next;
partner on </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bcdtravel.com/move-global/bcdtravel-ibm-travelport-partner-up-on-blockchain/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">industry
advancements</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">; and meet clients’ changing
needs without ever losing sight of what really matters: running a successful
programme that keeps your travellers moving safely and smoothly so your business
grows.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">I’d love to talk about how your travel programme
is adapting to change. Meet me at the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Business Travel Show</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">, 26-27
February, Booth B320. See you there! Register for a free visitor pass <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">This
blog was posted by Heather Wright, vice president of Global Product Marketing
at BCD Travel.</span></i><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-87840144178700897712020-02-19T10:44:00.000+00:002020-02-19T10:47:12.396+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Please Sir, I Want To Take A Business Trip<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfrSeKk8eWAMgGXwkXvUHiqufbGYSPtdNsicgjAz7yGalt1Ye7FvEbM_HhvfJ2D_t80gfu-fDqAEuICCi0PUz5r_p0G1DpsGnQ8CnQoIIuN_wmT_szaSl-2sQr_75pGoXwdgpmST-6EDh/s1600/cwt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfrSeKk8eWAMgGXwkXvUHiqufbGYSPtdNsicgjAz7yGalt1Ye7FvEbM_HhvfJ2D_t80gfu-fDqAEuICCi0PUz5r_p0G1DpsGnQ8CnQoIIuN_wmT_szaSl-2sQr_75pGoXwdgpmST-6EDh/s640/cwt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
How the tedium of approval stresses travellers out – and inflates costs<br />
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People often have a romantic view of business travel – flying business
class, five-star hotels, lobster dinners, piling up the points, cutting epic
deals. And sure, it has its perks! But ask anyone who travels more than three
or four times a year, and they’ll tell you it can be stressful too.</div>
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For many travellers, the stress begins long before they board the plane.
Getting approvals, for example, can be a soul-cleaving experience.</div>
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Most companies demand employees seek approval before booking. And in
theory, this makes sense. Companies don’t want employees booking trips
willy-nilly, racking up costs.</div>
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But pre-trip approval processes have become so onerous that the booking
experience is about as streamlined as a Lego bulldozer.</div>
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This applies across Asia. In India and China, travellers can require
four or five levels of approval before booking. Even in Singapore, that beacon
of efficiency, travellers may require two or three. So, they typically wait
around three days – sometimes even a week – before booking.</div>
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<b>As mortals wait, airfares rise.</b></div>
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In Asia, business trips are usually booked two to four weeks in
advance. Waiting three days bumps airfares up four per cent on average. A week?
Seven per cent.</div>
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Worse, if the fare goes up in the interim, it can be back to square one
– the company’s travel policy might require the traveller to restart the entire
approval process all over again.</div>
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You might ask: “Isn’t the ability to hold a booking one of the benefits
of using a travel management company?”</div>
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And the answer is yes – but only for certain fares. It doesn’t apply to
cheaper fares, which are ticketed instantly. Consider China, where
approximately half of all airline seats are ticketed instantly, and these are
around 30 per cent cheaper than the flexible seats.</div>
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It seems absurd to waste your travellers’ time – while costing the
company money. Particularly since a whopping 98 per cent of trips are approved
in the end. For domestic travel, approval rates are even higher.</div>
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<b>What to do?</b></div>
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Start by identifying which trips require approval. Then set thresholds.
For example, you can modify your policy to auto-approve any flights under
US$500. And for flights over US$500, if fares increase only 10-12 per cent
while you’re waiting for approval, you’re good to go.</div>
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Next, consider post-trip instead of pre-trip travel approval. Since
almost all trips get approved anyway, just trust your employees to do the right
thing. Deal with issues when they file their expenses after the trip.</div>
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And of course, use technology. Some apps send push notifications when a
trip needs approval. This can cuts approval times massively. Technology can also auto-approve trips if the approver
doesn’t approve them in time.</div>
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We’ve worked with our clients to find savings of up to five per cent.
That might seem piffling, but when you’re spending US$5 million a year on
flights – not uncommon for mid-to-large sized companies in Asia – that’s a
quarter of a million dollars. Plus you have happier and more productive
travellers. Result!</div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Blog Author: Akshay Kapoor, Senior Director, Multinational Sales, Asia
Pacific, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. CWT are exhibiting at Business Travel Show, register for FREE now and visit the team on stand B230 <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-91160406861405988172020-02-18T18:55:00.000+00:002020-02-18T18:55:54.041+00:00*EXCLUSIVE Q&A* Business Travel Wellbeing Community
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Business Travel Wellbeing Community was started by a group of
like-minded people who wanted to change business travel for the better, and who
felt that the best way to go about this was to focus on helping people with
their mental health, physical health, jet-lag, sleep management, recovery,
thriving and calm mind-sets and cultural intelligence. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We find out more in this exclusive Q&A with <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">co-founders of Business Travel
Wellbeing Community; Dr. Lucy Rattrie, John Lee, Katie Virtue and Matthew Holman.</span></span><br />
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</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What inspired you to co-found BTWC?</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We are business travellers, love
working in the industry and are passionate about people doing incredible work. We
have been frustrated that wellness challenges are not being addressed, despite
statistics and anecdotal reports emphasising the importance of wellbeing. We
want to enable people, organisations, and the industry to flourish, so <span style="background: white;">collectively founded a global community with no hidden
agenda and a values-based purpose</span>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thankfully, traveller
wellbeing is a topic gaining momentum, confirmed with a 2019 report revealing 89 % of
organisations polled will increase their approach to wellbeing in 2020. We
realised the people who matter (that’s the business travellers btw!) were not
being asked what they want, need, think, so felt the need for something
different, radical, right. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What excites you most about BTWBC?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Harnessing our collective energy to
make a difference in the industry, speaking as a single voice that puts people
at the heart of actions! A central point will bring together opinions,
insights, knowledge to address challenges faced, guide people, organisations,
suppliers, and professional bodies in decision making and action, bringing
sustainability and putting people first. </span></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What will make traveller wellbeing front and centre for the next ten
years?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The increasing impact to travel programmes, high
turnover, absenteeism, increasing fears around risk (amongst other factors) are
causing travel managers and HR to take ownership. We expect the travel-HR
conversations to become status-quo, driven by internal advocates, willingness
to allocate budget and resources to help travellers, and suppliers who up their
game. It’s been accepted for a long time that people are the heart of HR, and
we feel people will soon be viewed as the heart of travel management – taking a
balanced view and stopping a dominant default to savings, compliance, cost etc.
We expect a change in travel policies to become more people-centric, with a
degree of flexibility to enhance wellbeing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Building a global community around wellbeing is a
crucial first step, but ultimately, the leaders will make a difference and be
recognised as first movers, courageous in taking a holistic business metric
view. Wellbeing is not an easy topic as the KPIs and business metrics to
follow can be difficult to measure or take time to emerge. They don't
appear in any profit and loss account, but they do have a considerable business
impact. Losing a talented employee to anxiety, stress or burn-out can
cause a ripple across an organisation beyond just their direct salary. Some are
leading the way and we’re looking forward to seeing how things develop.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Business Travel
Wellbeing Community are exhibiting at BTS wellness retreat. Register for FREE now <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<br />
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-62129959170107976302020-02-17T22:08:00.000+00:002020-02-17T22:13:43.321+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Flexible Mental Health Support - a Must for Business Travellers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIWWNkxNyOBGQQHOiNt19DSew7xygewB4nIh-ty5sk9MmsPkwwXWs2W7oXISSPXHvcPp2aX6jLPF68BZBIgULucqLEuxBixnhXBLjpRJ_L0Ae2ZLC7XQpOHM6iPa1RYQgK8gPTwIyrzC5/s1600/13104A91-AFAB-759E-3529A477F5D0924B-cover_image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="900" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIWWNkxNyOBGQQHOiNt19DSew7xygewB4nIh-ty5sk9MmsPkwwXWs2W7oXISSPXHvcPp2aX6jLPF68BZBIgULucqLEuxBixnhXBLjpRJ_L0Ae2ZLC7XQpOHM6iPa1RYQgK8gPTwIyrzC5/s640/13104A91-AFAB-759E-3529A477F5D0924B-cover_image.png" width="640" /></a></div>
There are few who would criticise
moves towards ending the shame and secrecy surrounding mental health. The
change in how we perceive and talk about mental health has come quickly. Even
five years ago those unfamiliar with mental ill-health were to some extent
sheltered from others’ reality. Now we can all readily absorb the newly shared
private tortures of people experiencing depression, anxiety, self-harm or any
other mental health issue or condition. <br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
And as the extent to which mental
health is affecting all of us becomes clear, so too has the need to address
what is a growing and unmet demand for support. </div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
Employers are no exception here.
They bear a moral and legal responsibility for employees who are increasingly
demanding support. Financially too there is reason to review existing
provision: Deloitte and Mind estimate that poor mental health provision costs
UK companies more than £43 billion annually.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
For employers with staff who
travel extensively, the picture becomes ever more complex. Not only do those
employees need access to the same benefit package as their counterparts in the
office, but they need a huge degree of flexibility and scope in the type of
mental health support service they can access.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
A recent survey by Capita showed
that 33% of business travellers said that travelling to meetings has affected
their sleep, with almost a quarter saying that their early start or late finish
caused by travel has resulted in an argument with a partner. A significant 41%
of respondents said they worked beyond their core hours when travelling for
work.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
A paper published in the Journal
of Occupational and Environmental Medicine looking at business travel and
behavioural and mental health stated: “...business travel is...associated with
jetlag, sleep disorders, stress and anxiety, increased alcohol consumption,
exposure to high energy density ‘‘fast’’ foods, and long periods of sedentary
behaviour.” </div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
Our own survey found almost half
of business travellers feel that their employer does not provide them with the
right type of mental health support. </div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
But what support does this cohort
of workers need?</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
Interestingly, we also found that
demand for online chat-based mental health support was twice as high amongst
business travellers (41%) compared to office based workers. And one of the top
reasons cited by business travellers as an important aspect of a mental health
support service was out-of-hours availability.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
So while we know that stigma is a
significant barrier to getting help, there are practical reasons too why some
people can’t or don’t get the support they need. The demand for a flexible
support service which can work alongside travelling workers is clear. </div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
According to Dr Lynne Green,
Chief Clinical Director at Kooth Work, tractability is key: “Employees across
the world are increasingly flexible and don’t all conform to the traditional
nine to five pattern of work. Staff therefore need flexibility in terms of
mental health and wellbeing support. They need something they can access
whether at the airport at 9pm or sitting at their kitchen table with jetlag at
three in the morning. Easy and early access to support is key for all of us.”</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
So while we welcome anti-stigma
campaigns as critical in helping as many people as possible to get help, we
know we must turn our attention to the support that is available when and if
they decide to talk. For employers of business travellers, this means ensuring
you have a flexible service which allows staff to use it on their terms. One
that means they can get the help they need when they need it - wherever they
might be.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
Kooth Work are this year's Wellness Retreat sponsor. Register for FREE and visit them at the Wellness Retreat where they'll be presenting their recent findings on mental health in travel <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-89000521779615371172020-02-17T20:56:00.001+00:002020-02-17T20:56:32.816+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Top 5 ways to deal with business travel stress
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG2m9kA0meZMByOT9VdNx1MHWBMhejDllLPTT0kfn3RzmcbOxhomPKEpDOPk4NqKFIyLar1c1abMcYYVcMo_jdZUjCX_MF6cIyyFzt26RLz1aGxhcx1R3SlEDVxjepyFa14IuROFIICOK/s1600/balance-2686214_1920+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG2m9kA0meZMByOT9VdNx1MHWBMhejDllLPTT0kfn3RzmcbOxhomPKEpDOPk4NqKFIyLar1c1abMcYYVcMo_jdZUjCX_MF6cIyyFzt26RLz1aGxhcx1R3SlEDVxjepyFa14IuROFIICOK/s400/balance-2686214_1920+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Business
travel can be stressful. One of the ways to monitor the travel worries of
employees is through regular surveys about their views of business travel. In a
recent survey, over 100 points of potential anxiety for
travellers <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1f497d; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">was identified</span>, ranging from planning a trip, not knowing the location well,
delays, cancellations, language and culture to home-related stresses including
childcare, pet cover and personal social commitments.<br />
<br />
To achieve a less stressful travel experience, travellers<span style="background-color: white;"> are<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #1f497d; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> encouraged </span></span>to
embrace ‘Smarter working’ – a unique approach to booking and travelling.
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Matthew
Holman, Head of Traveller Wellbeing at Capita Travel and Events, shares his
top five tips to dealing with business travel stress:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Book Smarter</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Changes
to the way we plan travel and book, such as advance booking as well as
integrated itinerary information, a traveller can prepare mentally for it.
When changes happen during the trip, travellers benefit from our support
and our technology, which has been developed to provide relevant and timely
communications to help them. After the trip, we encourage the traveller
to take time to recover and prepare for their next activities.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sleep is key</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">When
travellers fly long-haul, their circadian rhythm is disrupted. On average,
it takes one day for each one-hour time zone change to reset your circadian
rhythm to its home settings. We encourage travellers to sleep well and avoid
stimulants, such as caffeine after lunch or alcohol in the evening. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Educate on coping strategies?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">One of
the best coping strategies I recommend for travellers is to practice
mindfulness and breathing exercises. When travelling, try to stay
connected with home and your normal routines. If you use the gym at home,
make sure to pack your kit so you use the gym when travelling.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Understanding of individuals’ needs</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Managers
need to seek deeper and more-connected relationships with their employees. They
should focus on understanding what the challenges are for the individuals and,
where they see something that they are worried about, they should be open to
having a discussion to understand the employee’s issues. The best leaders
are the ones who show their employees empathy and compassion. Simple
steps, such as making sure travellers are fit to travel before their trip,
making sure the traveller has downtime when they travel and are allowed the
time to recover make a difference.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Not travel</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">It may
sound obvious, but travellers should really question whether they need to
travel in the first instance. Is the trip necessary and how can it be as
efficient and effective as possible? Is there an alternative to being
their physically? Employees should look attending meetings via video call or
conference call.</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">We have hosted numerous ‘Smarter working’ workshops with
customers and our own travellers, as well as steering groups with suppliers so
we can enhance the overall traveller experience and continue to improve
traveller wellbeing. If you are interested in finding out more about Smarter
working and want to speak to our wellbeing experts, Matthew will be on our
stand (B140) at various times throughout the show. If you want to book a
specific appointment, please contact </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/2/null"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Matthew.Holman@capita.com</span></span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">This blog was posted by Matthew Holman, Head of Traveller
Wellbeing at Capita Travel and Events, who are exhibiting on stand B140 at the
Business Travel Show over 26 – 27 February. Register for a FREE visitor pass now <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-48142422175642384922020-02-17T11:31:00.000+00:002020-02-17T11:31:12.800+00:00*GUEST BLOG* 8 Mobile Trends You Must Know About For 2020 <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZbXrZxyLwo0fKJpDcnDce6IDsN4-tNzjkyj8z6sssro8wn8CNjzUav2gxWRAhoSJNIIACR6dhLIObSTybLRyQeTtmulVhrcQPhdExH3LDbwB8fAWgJPu70VLzXUWfBtUYmgnImcy8D9l/s1600/travelport+travel+trends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1441" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZbXrZxyLwo0fKJpDcnDce6IDsN4-tNzjkyj8z6sssro8wn8CNjzUav2gxWRAhoSJNIIACR6dhLIObSTybLRyQeTtmulVhrcQPhdExH3LDbwB8fAWgJPu70VLzXUWfBtUYmgnImcy8D9l/s400/travelport+travel+trends.jpg" width="360" /></a><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The only thing faster than the rate at which the months fly by is the pace of
change in technology. Each year travel companies are adopting more advanced
technological solutions to try and eke out some competitive gains. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s encouraging to see the travel industry being early adopters
of initiatives like voice search and artificial intelligence technologies.
Though their application is still in its infancy it will be exciting watching
these initiatives evolve. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">In this blog, we showcase our Mobile Travel Trends for 2020. I’ve
compiled a summary of each trend from our eight experts. You can download the
full report here. </span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Super Apps</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Did you
ever reach for your smartphone to search, compare and book or buy something?
Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could perform all these tasks in one place?
</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">This may
be a relatively new concept to consumers in the west, but Asian mobile users
have become accustomed to using a super app to manage lots of different types
of tasks. Our own Niall Minihan, Senior Commercial Manager at Travelport, gave
us the low down.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">WeChat is
the origin of the species and has evolved into a quasi-operating system. It
pioneered the use of mini-programs (millions of them within the WeChat app).
For many Chinese users, WeChat is the internet with 1 billion active users
logging on every month. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></b><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">For travel
brands, delivering a frictionless experience from the beginning to the end of
the traveler’s journey has always been the holy grail. The super app may just
be the solution.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">To get
Niall’s full take on the impact of super apps, download the full </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mobile
Travel Trends 2020 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">report.</span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>View from the big TMCs: BCD Travel</span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Following
on from our super app trend we looked around the industry to see if companies were
looking to streamline the digital experience for travelers. We spoke to a leader
in the TMC space, Will Pinnell, Vice President, Digital & Product Strategy,
from BCD Travel. Will gave us some insights into BCD's strategy for 2020,
specifically looking at how to deliver a frictionless experience for travelers.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">To read
more from Will on BCD Travel’s digital strategy, download the full </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mobile
Travel Trends 2020 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">report.</span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rise of the machine(s) </span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Spotify,
Amazon, and YouTube use machine learning to pick and serve content that we are
most likely to engage with. A corporate travel booking solution combined with
machine learning could achieve the same engaging results. Mike Wake, VP of
Technology at Travelport provides some great examples of how this trend will
develop in 2020.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">To get the
full story on the machine learning trend, download the full </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mobile
Travel Trends 2020</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> report.</span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Business travel ROI – The data revolution</span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">A simple booking process with a
single user will generate a vast amount of data from at least 10 different data
sources. Most companies are failing to leverage these data points to improve
traveler experiences. Sijia Li, Senior Data Analyst at Travelport, explores how
data is going to help develop the travel industry in 2020.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">One trend for travel brands in
2020 will be to switch from traditional statistic-based reporting solutions to
more advanced analytics solutions that can process all forms of data. The benefits
of doing this include:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Personalization:
</span></b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Big data can help travel brands understand
what an individual traveler wants. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Predictive:</span></b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Using data collected from the traveler's
history to display preferred content<span style="color: red;">. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Spend:</span></b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Using the data can change the way the organization
sees travel, from an unmanageable cost to a tracked KPI. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Sustainable
data lake: </span></b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">New
travel data lake architecture should take a more sustainable approach, led by
business requirements that the technology is then built to follow. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we’re talking business</span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">For a time, the travel industry
would jealously eye some latest development in consumer tech and hope for the
day that a similar feature would be available to travelers. Glenville Morris,
Product Director – Digital Insights at Travelport, believes airport mapping,
augmented reality bag scanning, and live chat are shining examples of just how
quickly these once ‘consumer only’ mobile experiences are flowing into the
business traveler apps. It’s this rapid absorption that is seeing even infant
technologies like voice move into the corporate space in a matter of months
now, not years. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reimagining the business travel experience</span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Business
travellers need a consumer-like experience. There is increasing value in
agencies thinking more like retail giants such as Amazon, known for their
exceptional user experience<span style="color: #333333;">. </span>Julie
O’Sullivan, Head of Digital – Business Travel at Travelport, believes 2020 will
be the year we reimagine the digital traveler experience.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Today’s
travellers want an experience that is as easy and engaging as the best retailers
in the world. End-to-end traveller self-service functionality is now the ‘north
star’ of the biggest travel brands. Because we live in a mobile, ‘always-on’ culture,
the ability to self-serve is what travellers want and expect. At the same time,
we must recognize that there are times when the traveller will need to reach out
to a human agent and it’s about providing the ability to do that in one tap. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">To read Julie’s
full description of how BCD reimagined the digital traveller experience, download
the full </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mobile Travel Trends 2020 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">report.</span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fourth industrial revolution</span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Every few decades we can look back
and pinpoint a step change that moved us from one era to the next. Today, as we
transform into the digital era Sharon Doyle, Global VP Product Management at
Travelport, reflects on the changes the travel industry has made and looks
forward to the next era.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">We are
already seeing companies offer ways of discovering and experiencing travel
through virtual and augmented reality. With the emergence of 5G, travel brands
will be able to create more immersive digital experiences. Furthermore,
blockchain is likely to redefine the nature of the business itself. This will
see contracts and payments become digitally secured which reduces much of the
manual processing of travel transactions.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Read the
full article from Sharon on the digital era for travel in the full </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mobile
Travel Trends 2020</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> report.</span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is your TMC ready for Gen Z</span></h2>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Gen Z (18-24-year
old’s) were born into a digital world and when it comes to connected
experiences, this generation has high expectations. Travel brands who think
that having a sizeable social following and a mobile app prepares
them for Gen Z… need to think again. </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Aisling White, Senior Marketing Manager at Travelport, explains
how this </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">generation
of travellers are about to change the game once more for what innovation means
in business travel.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">One aspect
of Gen Z being so reliant on digital is their need to communicate in real-time,
in the now. Real</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">time alerts can be made easier with the help of
automation by anticipatory and predictive artificial intelligence programs. As
these programs become smarter, automation will be enabled even earlier in the
booking process meaning everything will be done for the Gen
Z traveller via predictive analytics, rich personas, preferences, and
anticipatory AI.<b> </b></span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Download
the full </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mobile Travel Trends 2020 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">report now for all the
analysis and research data. Travelport are exhibiting at this year's Business Travel Show, register for FREE and visit the team on stand B1400 <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-53196554813967411612020-02-14T13:51:00.002+00:002020-02-14T13:51:22.489+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Robotic Process Automation eases expense management<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3u5vJkC0MMKG44A7_t-IXhvaY2MVlXcKeSvPFKQo589HLjD9KXE385qCjihZU7_w_ILxIddEqxI26bmrTO0QA5GgfO81DxXhrsk-KXIsRSMWDRdD5C4IkYq7-ZzBG6AekUcFzKuU1R4hyphenhyphen/s1600/article-rpa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="1149" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3u5vJkC0MMKG44A7_t-IXhvaY2MVlXcKeSvPFKQo589HLjD9KXE385qCjihZU7_w_ILxIddEqxI26bmrTO0QA5GgfO81DxXhrsk-KXIsRSMWDRdD5C4IkYq7-ZzBG6AekUcFzKuU1R4hyphenhyphen/s640/article-rpa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Most business owners and senior managers would agree that in order to
both survive and thrive in business in 2020, it’s critical that organisations continually
evaluate their practices, maximise efficiencies and look for new, better ways
of operating. This doesn’t mean the way things have been done previously
doesn’t work; in some organisations it may well be that’s how things have
always been done; it simply means as the business landscape changes there are
greater opportunities for businesses to adopt new ways of working in order to
achieve greater business outcomes.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Technology of course plays a huge role in the development of best
practice. Its advancements mean businesses can operate 24 hours a day, 365
years a day, on every continent around the globe, all with relative ease. The
challenge can come in selecting the technology that is best fit for your
business needs.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>What is Robotic Process Automation?</b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b></b><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As its name suggests Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology
that can automate business processes in a very simple and efficient way.
Governed by business logic and a structured set of rules, RPA has emerged over
the last few years to remove some of the monotony of manual management of
business operations; it processes transactions and then seamlessly manipulates
and interprets data from said transaction. From there, the technology triggers
a response, set out by the rules it’s programmed to follow, before finally
communicating with other digital platforms to record the transaction and all
relevant data.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>How is it applied to expense management?</b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b></b><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When it comes to expense management, there are very evident ways the
implementation of RPA technology might make life easier for both traveller and
approver, as well as organisations’ respective finance departments.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Traveldoo Expense app is a mobile application that not only utilises
RPA but also has OCR functionality. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) allows
digital devices to turn photos of handwritten or printed paper documents into
machine-readable text. Coupled with RPA technology the app automates the
creation of expense reports by scanning receipts and automatically fulfilling
the relevant fields with the right data. It speeds up the process and perhaps
most helpfully, means all of this can be done ‘on-the-run’.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This integrated functionality uses machine learning to continually
enhance performance; the more you use the technology, the better the robot will
recognise the right information and in turn, the greater it will perform. It
will in a few months, for example, identify the VAT element from the receipt as
it scans, and automatically files this in the relevant place on your business
expense reports.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Time is money. This isn’t a new concept. But what is new is what we can
do about giving more time back to employees and thus back to the business.
Technology allows us to do this better. It allows us to reduce the time
employees spend on processes that don’t need such level of staffing resource
dedicated to them.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Alain Lefeuvre, head of digitalisation of finance at Groupe Rocher
pointed out that it’s not only the amount of time it saves employees and
organisations but it gives a much greater opportunity of when and where staff
can get a handle on their expense management:</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>“Thanks to the Traveldoo Expense mobile application, employees can take
advantage of ‘hidden time’, such as train or air travel, to manage expenses.”</i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i></i><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
RPA technology also increases efficiency, not only efficiency of
employees who have more time to dedicate to other tasks, but because it almost
completely removes the opportunity for human error, saving the business even
more time, money and resource. </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A barrier to introducing new technologies for organisations can often
be the cost of implementation. It’s absolutely a factor any savvy business
decision maker needs to consider. But with low implementation costs, leveraging
RPA technology quickly delivers a return on the investment and one that is fast
becoming a popular choice in the world of expense management. </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Register for Business Travel Show for FREE and visit Traveldoo on stand B940 - <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020">www.businesstravelshow.com</a> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;"></span><span style="color: blue;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-58552076840128408522020-02-13T19:02:00.000+00:002020-02-13T19:02:06.542+00:00*GUEST BLOG* How SMEs can enhance employee retention though a traveller-centric travel policy <span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"></span>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfM6noadjxUrhKHzOCPMOoTJuw-dSV6T4-kj2prCBH8HR6QRcr1mHbSQd_vFaq_cfRJDDgx7sKs-Jf7RUmbAnfj16qfpkquGS7_squi72KyGO1SMBvtWu6-rRf2Fyy1ktCt_GAwp67OlIw/s1600/aircraft-3702676_1920+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1600" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfM6noadjxUrhKHzOCPMOoTJuw-dSV6T4-kj2prCBH8HR6QRcr1mHbSQd_vFaq_cfRJDDgx7sKs-Jf7RUmbAnfj16qfpkquGS7_squi72KyGO1SMBvtWu6-rRf2Fyy1ktCt_GAwp67OlIw/s400/aircraft-3702676_1920+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Ninety-nine per cent of the time, travelling for business
isn’t fun. Anybody who has ever travelled for business will contest. It can be
stressful, long, tiring and lonely, but seldom fun. These days there is so much
businesses can do to make sure the travel element of an employee’s role isn’t
having a detrimental impact on them - and in turn, on the organisation.<br />
<br />
There is so much focus these days on employee wellbeing and
with good reason. As the most important asset an organisation has, negative
impact on employees can have an adverse effect to the business as a whole, that
is felt particularly strongly in SMEs where workforces are inevitably smaller.
Businesses are becoming ever more aware of the need to take care of their
employees for the greater good of them as people and in terms of their impact
on business performance.<br />
<br />
It isn’t unrealistic to think if people aren’t happy in
their roles, they’ll leave. Gone are the days of staying in the same job for
twenty years. If there are factors that negatively impact on your life and
lifestyle, you can move on, and find something that you have a much more
positive experience with.<br />
<br />
Building a travel policy that puts the traveller at the
centre of that and considers the traveller experience as well as their needs
and wants first, can be a great thing in keeping these travellers – a
business’s employees – happy.<br />
<br />
At taptrip, that’s exactly what we try help businesses
achieve. We offer an omnichannel, easy-to-use solution for travellers that
takes some of the pain out of travel and frees up more time for some of the fun
stuff. We try take that one step further in not only taking away the chore of
booking travel, or filing expenses, with AI machine learning, the more a
traveller uses the taptrip app, the better it gets to know their interests and
tastes, and can make suggestions to nearby attractions, events, even restaurant
recommendations. It puts the traveller back in control of their travel and
means any down time they get when travelling for business, doesn’t need to be
spent inside the four walls of their hotel room.<br />
<br />
With every five bookings, it also rewards the traveller with
things like free coffees and discounts at various retail brands, or a traveller
can decide to offset these rewards against their carbon footprint by donating
them to a relevant charity that plants trees and works towards more sustainable
business travel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
There are so many ways that a traveller-centric travel
policy can impact in a positive way for employees and that knock on is felt
across an organisation. If employees are happy, they’re less likely to look
elsewhere for employment meaning a positive effect on employee retention is
almost a certainty. Employees are less likely to suffer with burn-out and it
can reduce the number of sick days taken too.<br />
<br />
There’s no doubt that it can also create a desirability
factor in attracting new talent as well – if the perception of employee
happiness in an organisation is strong, and the business’s policies put its
employees first, people are more likely to want to work with that business.<br />
<br />
We know that for a lot of SMEs – some 92% in fact - are
unfamiliar with travel policies; establishing them, enforcing them, evaluating
them, and this creates an unnecessary amount of work in booking and managing
employee travel. It means the booking process is disparate, fragmented and
causes so much more hassle than necessary for both the traveller and the
organisation – and inevitable costs the business more money too. With a better,
traveller-centric solution this cost saving is felt by the organisation and
allows for better visibility on travel spend as a whole. It’s a win-win for the
traveller and the organisation they work for.<br />
<br />
Neil Ruth, chief commercial officer, taptrip. taptrip are exhibiting at this year's Business Travel Show, register for FREE and visit them on stand B3204 <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-19318326079793894962020-02-13T09:01:00.001+00:002020-02-13T09:01:35.940+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Hotel Sourcing in 2020: What’s Really Changing? <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46ie3RK2A5C8clxTJf-XFh2BzIfiurq-rgTxSvUSIByUuoJI6pUpkc4bmv74uADHBN9KQokyQb-N94oJgn3BAPzLEkDohQZDEAEvO7M7324Rw5kW9aSHLFgxcfi7EDsbfdZk1ydhDhunD/s1600/cwt+hotel+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46ie3RK2A5C8clxTJf-XFh2BzIfiurq-rgTxSvUSIByUuoJI6pUpkc4bmv74uADHBN9KQokyQb-N94oJgn3BAPzLEkDohQZDEAEvO7M7324Rw5kW9aSHLFgxcfi7EDsbfdZk1ydhDhunD/s400/cwt+hotel+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Sourcing was a hot topic
at this year’s GBTA convention with education sessions like, “Ditch the Annual
RFP (request for proposal) Process for Dynamic Programme Management” and “Point
Counterpoint – Who Wins the Dynamic Pricing Battle?” Some companies have made
headlines recently by declaring traditional sourcing models dead, and news
articles consistently boast about sourcing enhancements that may or may not be
arriving in the near future.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The reality is there are
exciting new advances in technology that can make the RFP - or bidding - season
more efficient and create better results. But there are still some practices
that will remain the same. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">What will change?</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Spend Analysis</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Travellers booking outside
of policy remains high (around 40% for most companies), which means agency data
alone isn’t enough to fully understand your travel spend. Yet, reconciling and
analysing data – an important first step in supplier negotiations – is
challenging for 73% of travel buyers. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Thanks to advances in
technology, algorithms can now clean and reconcile multiple data sources and
present them visually, making it easier to uncover insights into the total cost
of a trip. This data can also be used to negotiate everything from room rates
to F&B discounts.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Intuitive sourcing
tools</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Wouldn’t it be nice if a
tool could analyse your data and market trends in order to indicate how likely
you are to secure a discount before you spend hours negotiating for it?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">CWT Solutions Group is
capable of analysing supply and demand at a market level in order to understand
city occupancy rates and room inventory. They combine these findings with
client travel patterns, supplier usage (hotel volume, market share, etc.) and
change capacity.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The resulting Negotiation
Power Index© helps you pinpoint where you should invest sourcing resources and
where you should rely on other rate sources. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwtaC7B3SHPiYV2zbutp-O-ZaGS_gDcPwOvdfEVhwF7VSHGKPGIMukwmM6-VDaC131mBDuygOZsjnLjCPeYwyY0YgwiIH6fIkWk0rB2JN3OQjdxdBkXn6IP51nKndC7l5RvqSQnL1XHeq/s1600/cwt+hotel+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwtaC7B3SHPiYV2zbutp-O-ZaGS_gDcPwOvdfEVhwF7VSHGKPGIMukwmM6-VDaC131mBDuygOZsjnLjCPeYwyY0YgwiIH6fIkWk0rB2JN3OQjdxdBkXn6IP51nKndC7l5RvqSQnL1XHeq/s400/cwt+hotel+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Reliance on additional
rates</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Dynamic pricing is not
completely overtaking your fixed negotiated rates but they should account for
10-20% of your hotel programme.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Additionally, you should
rely on rates from your TMC (travel management company) for any property that
receives roughly 150 room nights or less, as the discount secured will not be
enough to justify the effort spent negotiating. RoomIt Rates offer up to 20%
off and a minimum of six amenities.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">More companies will be
utilizing third-party hotel rates, like those from Booking.com and Expedia
Partner Solutions, in their booking tools. These rates act as a gap filler,
ensuring you have coverage all over the world, in case of compression, or for
those one-off trips your programme doesn’t account for. They can also be priced
below your client negotiated rate (CNR) depending on fluctuations in BAR.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">To meet this growing need,
more TMCs are offering third-party rates alongside GDS rates, making it easy
for travellers to book a wide variety of content sources via corporate booking
channels.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Greater mix of rates</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Beyond providing optimal
availability, a well-diversified rate mix also ensures optimal savings
opportunities as well. A mix of negotiated rates, TMC unique rates, consortia
rates, third-party rates and public rates is the best way to ensure the lowest
rate is available to travellers. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Even in a company’s top
ten destinations, RoomIt has discovered that the lowest rate can be spread
between negotiated rates, RoomIt Rates (our unique business rate), CWT Hotel
Programme rates (our consortia rate) and third-party rates.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Additional negotiating
tactics</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">For global programmes,
there may be more emphasis on some additional tactics that help increase
efficiency and decrease costs. For example, more hotels are open to two-year
deals. Pursuing a two- year deal with core hotels can significantly reduce
sourcing time and cost in consecutive RFP seasons. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In regions where discounts
are limited, you may also want to start utilising other forms of hotel spend,
such as F&B. These discounts can come about in two different ways. You may
be able to justify the expense as reason to receive deeper room rate discounts,
or hotels may provide discounts directly to F&B.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Predictive analytics</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">One of the newest and most
exciting developments is the ability to make forward-looking predictions,
rather than only looking at historical data. Data scientists can now build
predictive models that look at a large list of factors to help predict future
rates for preferred suppliers. If your preferred supplier rates are expected to
increase more than similar suppliers in their market, you </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">can add challengers to
your RFP solicitation list.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Jzc1WJPkWN4oTGjADwl-fcDPpWqVoKihTUkTDPBXARjLqRogz_grIHqs9vTgV-b_PkvNAf1dmhWKZ8mlre13Cm7Ly5VYfdvKvloZOlm07t1dsPo3bOThlDNLPKQac2RlePzNWdcPCTVq/s1600/cwt+hotel+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1000" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Jzc1WJPkWN4oTGjADwl-fcDPpWqVoKihTUkTDPBXARjLqRogz_grIHqs9vTgV-b_PkvNAf1dmhWKZ8mlre13Cm7Ly5VYfdvKvloZOlm07t1dsPo3bOThlDNLPKQac2RlePzNWdcPCTVq/s400/cwt+hotel+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">What Will Stay the
Same?</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">RFP Process </span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Negotiating with major
properties via the RFP process is not going away. All the hours spent
negotiating via RFPs can make us daydream about a new, innovative process, but
the reality is this tried and true method still delivers the deepest discounts
for clients with significant hotel volume. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">However, one thing you can
do to ease the burden is offload some of the work on a trusted consultant.
These experts negotiate rates for the world’s leading travel programmes and
have all the data necessary to make well-substantiated decisions.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Dynamic rate share</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As mentioned before,
another exciting concept is that of dynamic pricing. The reality is companies
are still capable of receiving 20%-49% off BAR with fixed negotiated rates. No
other rate, including dynamic rates, can provide the same upper limit. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It’s best to save dynamic
pricing for areas where you have less buying power, or for when you need a
quick win – like when adding a new market partway through the year.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Rate errors</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Rate loading errors are
still going to be an issue, because the rate loading process is still very
manual. Luckily, however, automatic rate auditing tools are more common now.
Your travel agency or consultants have technology capable of ensuring rates are
loaded accurately, will verify availability, and can see if breakfast,
internet, parking, and cancellation policies are correct. Be sure any
technology used can detect squatter rates too.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">There are exciting changes
coming to the sourcing world in 2020 including new rates worth exploring, tools
that will make data collection and analysis easier, and methods that will
improve negotiations. Despite all this innovation, traditional sourcing methods
won’t suddenly disappear with the changing of your calendars.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Click here to read the
2020 <a href="http://images.transform.mycwt.com/Web/CWT/%7Bddb17078-4193-4c5b-95db-a44411f16ed4%7D_Sourcing_eBook_8.19.19_Almost_Final.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">sourcing eBook</span></a>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Blog author: Eric
Jongeling, Director, Solutions Group, CWT. Register for Business Travel Show for FREE and visit CWT at stand B230 <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-90791675423380857172020-02-13T09:01:00.000+00:002020-02-13T09:01:09.223+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Designing events for Millennials, Gen Z and below
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4AyoDX9kdg3jVUCfanFK01LM7THLXB5CRB-tJKv6nrcD6z2QVxCKqTTNG4_nz_UsnmL9JntFVk3nBpe4A-mp84Zq3vx9Xhnv_Xyxoct3mZZrDXWRIQKvW8sLpynCiEo0G41Btg3_L0rC/s1600/james-kent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="494" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4AyoDX9kdg3jVUCfanFK01LM7THLXB5CRB-tJKv6nrcD6z2QVxCKqTTNG4_nz_UsnmL9JntFVk3nBpe4A-mp84Zq3vx9Xhnv_Xyxoct3mZZrDXWRIQKvW8sLpynCiEo0G41Btg3_L0rC/s320/james-kent.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By the end of 2020, Millennials are expected to dominate the global
workforce (35%), while in the UK we are already seeing them reach this status
(50%). Not far behind, Gen Z (mid-1990s – 2010s) are already having an impact
on the way we structure our working lives, with their new-age mindset
influencing business decisions such as hyper-connectivity and reassessing
company ethics. </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
With generational change, comes a responsibility for event planners to
consider new event formats and activities to align with their evolving demographic.
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Having only known a highly connected world, Gen Z expect to consume
information quickly and conveniently. Detailed presentations and lengthy
meetings aren’t going to cut it, so event planners need to think creatively to
maintain the quality of information absorbed without increasing the quantity. </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is what we call the ‘Experience Effect’. No longer will events be
reviewed by the excess of their giveaways or the amount of information shared,
but by the experience attendees had from pre-arrival to post-event. Greater
attendee engagement leads to higher output, and a higher output leads to a
greater return on investment.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Recognising these evolving changes, at ETM, we take these
considerations seriously, which is why we map out the delegate experience from
the very first touchpoint to the very last. </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We incorporate meaningful, high impact, technology such as customisable
event apps, live streaming and digital walls into the overall event strategy, as
an effort to drive engagement and improve efficiency. </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
App technology is becoming increasingly popular, with buyers recognising
the value of connecting their delegates before they set foot at the venue. From
instant messaging and social walls, through to gamification and pre-event
information, apps can be used as the event’s foundation and provide a great
source of digital information for effective ROI measurement. </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For example, at the request of one customer to facilitate a more social
environment for staff from various offices meeting for the first time, ETM
developed a ‘social wall’ within the customer’s event app. Delegates were able
to share photos throughout the three-day conference, and engage with others by
liking or commenting. By replicating their usual social media habits, the
delegates began to get to know colleagues in a way that felt familiar and
un-forced.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
App technology also encourages audience participation during speaker
sessions, mitigating the issue of audience stage-fright, by allowing delegates
to ask anonymised questions or provide comments. There’s also opportunity for
speakers to upload FAQs prior to sessions to assist with any pre-empted
questions. By doing so, event organisers can reduce the length of sessions,
resulting in higher levels of engagement throughout.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But what about the other elements of an event? We are also observing new
trends emerge in the format and theme of events, as businesses adhere to a heightened
consideration of CSR. Afterall, studies show that societal impact and ethics are
the most common reasons why Millennials change their relationship with
businesses. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Increasingly we are asked by customers to report on the environmental impact
of their events, and to recommend a strategy to minimise this impact. In
response, our travel analysis provides a carbon calculation so we can work out
the most sustainable way for your delegates to travel. We also propose venues
that are forward thinking and evidence their initiatives to becoming more
sustainable.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Customers are also requesting that team-builds include activities with
a charitable or ethical element. For example, organising plant-based cooking
classes for your delegates could educate them on more sustainable food options
that still taste great. If it’s good enough for the 2020 Oscars Ceremony, it’s
likely to go down well for your delegates too. By using locally sourced
ingredients from the area your event is hosted in, you are also supporting the
local economy and giving delegates an authentic cultural experience. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While incorporating ethical elements into your event activities is a
great way to engage your Millennial and Gen Z audience, it often involves a lot
of time and effort. That’s why it’s important to partner with an event agency
that has experience in creating tailored event solutions, recommending suppliers
that align to your company’s values and initiatives, whilst considerately managing
your budget. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Meet ETM on the CTM stand (B620) at Business Travel Show in London next month register for a FREE visitor pass <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To
find out more about ETM, their services and the events industry horizon, register below to meet a senior member of the team or contact James Kent on
07384816638 <a href="https://info.travelctm.co.uk/business-travel-show-2020-book-a-meeting-with-etm"><span style="color: blue;">https://info.travelctm.co.uk/business-travel-show-2020-book-a-meeting-with-etm</span></a>
</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-74968320175597382312020-02-12T10:31:00.000+00:002020-02-12T10:31:47.676+00:00*GUEST BLOG* The evolving role of the travel professional<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOZjBx8sIbc5G2TDpkmRQc-uUNd788MtmN0nropT5idO4AtvxCw8IkjBkybiUE_dvycZ3_LUDsIzkIR90FcTiSv8W3LjTCvNjYoyErNgYUI2BeBEXGgmsDrAFDjqy31SG-eZMweqpUeB_/s1600/APPROVED+ALISTAIR+RODGER+Colour+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOZjBx8sIbc5G2TDpkmRQc-uUNd788MtmN0nropT5idO4AtvxCw8IkjBkybiUE_dvycZ3_LUDsIzkIR90FcTiSv8W3LjTCvNjYoyErNgYUI2BeBEXGgmsDrAFDjqy31SG-eZMweqpUeB_/s400/APPROVED+ALISTAIR+RODGER+Colour+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The storm in a teacup that gripped
the travel industry after the collapse of Thomas Cook last year was swift and
merciless. The transformation that followed has been equally so. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hays Travel have already started to
realise their ambitions for the assets, stores and staff the company acquired,
saving hundreds of jobs. Others have followed suit, silencing the naysayers
that had pointed to the failure of the British brand as a sign of the impending
doom of the high-street travel agent.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.tts.com/blog/the-impact-of-technology-on-travel-agencies/">Travel
& Technology Solutions</a> have also reported how travel agents are
responsible for 77% of global cruise bookings, 73% of travel package bookings
and 55% of air travel bookings. Despite reports to the contrary, many travel agents
are also embracing new technologies to ensure that they strike a healthy
balance between maintaining long-term relevance without compromising financial viability.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Such technologies can be a
catalyst for the evolution of the agency business, with our research having
shown that <span style="color: black;">the standard of digital experience offered
by airlines, hotels and travel agents now carries a significant influence over
the booking decisions of young travellers. At the same time, young people are
also increasingly seeking advice from travel professionals—much more than older
generations.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Among the 23,000 people in 20
countries we surveyed as part of the Travelport Global Digital Traveller
Research 2019, the majority said a good digital experience is a vital component
in the battle for their bookings. Likewise, access to a real person was deemed
equally important in the age of the chat bot. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This demand for high quality
digital experiences with integrated customer services shouldn’t come as a
surprise, bearing in mind how high the bar has been set by trailblazers in
travel and other industries. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Demand for good digital
experiences means businesses should really be offering them as standard; with
differentiation and the deepening of engagement with customers achieved through
excellence—whether online or face-to-face. Ensuring user experiences and
customer services maintain pace with expectations will also require a sound investment
strategy and disciplined financial management.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The good news is technology is
already central to many travel agency businesses—Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
were one of the early innovations in the industry and helped travel agents to aggregate
travel options, giving consumers more choice. Today, booking, payments and
confirmations can all be managed quickly online, while mobile tech has enabled
travel agents to become more productive.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Travelport has had a
transformation year in 2019 and moving into 2020, one of our top priorities has
been the development of a suite of solutions that allow agencies to better
manage travel experiences while building deeper relationships with their customers
by being able to offer personalized and timely advice on the channels they use
most. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some of our mobile innovations,
for example, include efforts to liberate travel agents from restricted
operating hours and terminals in fixed locations by providing remote access to GDS
through their various mobile devices.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The changes currently sweeping the
travel industry offer a further timely reminder of the need to be able to adapt,
with NDC just one example of how the industry is helping to bring the benefits
of online travel purchases to in-person exchanges with travel agents. Travelport
Smartpoint and other similar technologies have also brought an end to the days
of the ‘green screen’ interface that left too much to the imagination for too
long. In each case, the promise of greener pastures necessitated change.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We’ve also been pioneering a much
richer merchandising experience through Travelport Rich Content and Branding since
2014. More than 270 airlines benefit from this solution, which offers agencies
the brand and ancillary data will agencies need to help travellers make more informed
travel decisions.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These tools have proven crucial
in helping our travel partners realize the opportunities presented by emerging
travel trends and as the market evolves, travel agents will need to keep working
with their technology partners to identify the most appropriate technologies
for their business and budget.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Forging such partnerships and
remaining agile will be crucial in determining which travel agents rise from
the ashes of the collapse of Thomas Cook and create their own two-centuries-long
legacies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This blog was written by <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Alistair Rodger, Global Vice
President, Agency Sales</span>—<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Europe at
Travelport. Register now and meet them at stand B1400 </span><a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-35705072524868871422020-02-10T22:17:00.000+00:002020-02-10T22:17:17.884+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Lost in translation…<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdk2q8SEWc5VaYa6FQUWlKY0rbpOc97UFBXy1dBNmRYOLAnj1u8pISmS0910Nk7apd7BrspbUWvkeEeLtzpoWsaYrexyu2l3ahm4vpjo5WtOQv1fb92pPEWy-RvOxKDC112-cUVm9Kl8p/s1600/safeture+baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="725" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdk2q8SEWc5VaYa6FQUWlKY0rbpOc97UFBXy1dBNmRYOLAnj1u8pISmS0910Nk7apd7BrspbUWvkeEeLtzpoWsaYrexyu2l3ahm4vpjo5WtOQv1fb92pPEWy-RvOxKDC112-cUVm9Kl8p/s400/safeture+baby.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #43404d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;"><br /></span></b></div>
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #43404d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;">Learning to speak </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #43404d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;">a language that’s
not your native is fun but can be challenging. At first you feel the thrill of
learning new expressions and words and get excited when you can write or
pronounce a whole sentence using the correct grammar.<br />
<br />
As you learn more, you begin to understand that you actually know less. At
least if you are willing to try to “feel” the language and the expressions its
culture is built on. If you are a business traveller and often meet people from
other countries, speaking in a language that is not your native one can be
challenging.<br />
<br />
<b>I remember </b>an international conference in Sweden when one of the
delegates asked the Swedish hostess where the restrooms were. She looked devastated
and apologized and told the gentleman that unfortunately there are no restrooms
at the venue. Obviously, this wasn’t the case. She thought he wanted to rest
his legs. If he were Swedish, he would have simply asked for the toilets. The
man looked a bit shocked that he was to spend his next 48 hours at a place with
no restrooms. Fortunately, other people who heard the conversation solved the
situation.<br />
<br />
Another time I used the old English expression “never look a gift horse in the
mouth” (an old English saying </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">said to </span><span lang="SV"><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/advise" title="advise"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">advise</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">someone not to </span><span lang="SV"><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/refuse" title="refuse"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">refuse</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">something good that is being </span><span lang="SV"><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/offer" title="offered"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1d2a57; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">offered</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #43404d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;">while talking to a friend who was not from Britain.
She totally misunderstood me and thought I meant she looked like a horse. This
was cleared up between us once I managed to get through to her and explain what
it meant and my love for expressions and idioms from other languages.<br />
<br />
<b>They say </b>that all great relationships are based on dialog and
empathy. Proper communication is key. When you watch the news and see reports
from conflict areas such as the middle east and in this case Iran, you see
clips where people are on the street screaming, burning flags and yelling
“death to this” or “death to that”. As an outsider it looks terrifying and
strange. Most of the time it is, both from a communication point of view and considering
the victims and casualties. But I want to leave the subject of politics and
focus on language and expressions.<br />
<br />
</span><span lang="SV"><a href="https://www.mypersiancorner.com/death-to-america-explained-other-persian-phrases-related-to-death/" target="_blank"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;">Pontia Fallahi </span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #43404d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;">an American
Iranian writer and travel blogger explains: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #43404d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;"><br />
<br />
“In this case saying “death to” anything sounds strange and flat out awful in
English. Instead, English tends to damn people or send them to hell. Iranians,
on the other hand, go straight for death, and these expressions just fit with
Persian. Coming from an ancient poetic culture you’d think
that we’d find a more lyrical way of expressions, but I guess
death is, after all, the ultimate sacrifice. One minute we’re willing to die
for you with phrases like (ghorbonet beram) and (<i>fadât besham) </i>(let
me sacrifice myself for you),<i> mimiram barât </i>(“I love you”;
literally “I’ll die for you”), or <i>elâhi bemiram barât! </i>(“I
feel so bad for you”; literally “Oh God, may I die for you”). But if you get on
their bad side, we will just as soon wish for your death”<br />
<br />
And this is something that families and close friends can say to each other
during an argument without really meaning it.<br />
<br />
<b>Understanding </b>a language and getting the context will not bring
world peace but trying to really listen and get the message from the other
person’s point of view – whether you are a tourist, or a business traveller –
would definitely facilitate many situations and improve relations.<br />
<br />
<b>Travel risk management </b>is not just about physical safety. It’s also
emotional and cultural. About understanding the context where the individual or
group comes from or belongs to, regardless of whether it is from the Middle
East or Scandinavia. That way you hopefully avoid frustrations, confrontations
and genuine misunderstandings. All cultures and languages have examples of, or
situations where, context is important, but I thought to mention this one since
it is highly relevant now.<br /><br />
</span><span lang="SV"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/2/null" target="_blank"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #8cc144; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;">Jamie Tagharobi</span></b></a> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #43404d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: SV;">Product Marketing Manager</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="SV"><a href="https://www.safeture.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Safeture</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stand B224: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #4c4549; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">provides a Duty of Care solution tailored to suit your needs. We provide
you with a <strong><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">360-degree approach</span></strong> to employee safety by supporting
all aspects related to international business travel,
including travel policies, communication processes, travel risk
management and travel tracking solutions, as well as emergency response and
evacuation plans. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #4c4549; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some of the key
features: Travel data, Risk Intelligence, Mass communication, Alerts, Exact
positioning, E-learning. Register now <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-73658911682009276962020-02-10T07:44:00.000+00:002020-02-10T07:44:08.175+00:00Q&A with Peter Frankental, Economic Relations Programme Director at Amnesty International<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnzMTSveLKviOd5gaw_mhbsKHJQ6gQ0Ku7JYkdGDgUobtFUe27oeufsxMCD75IGzGo_EbV8orDljsFKO_qWLidTg75TVB289BiNe_2SQIWbvQ_m5oNSvkYW4mg6lIuVIY3nJWyu3x7kwE/s1600/peter+frankental.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnzMTSveLKviOd5gaw_mhbsKHJQ6gQ0Ku7JYkdGDgUobtFUe27oeufsxMCD75IGzGo_EbV8orDljsFKO_qWLidTg75TVB289BiNe_2SQIWbvQ_m5oNSvkYW4mg6lIuVIY3nJWyu3x7kwE/s400/peter+frankental.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">We found out a little more about Peter Frankental, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Economic Relations Programme Director at Amnesty
International</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">, ahead of his Business Travel Show session - Is it
time to introduce an ethical travel programme?</span><br />
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</div>
<br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Work Amnesty International does?</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of
ordinary people standing up for human rights. We undertake research and
advocacy to help bring about a world in which everyone enjoys all the rights
set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty’s work has
expanded continuously from its foundation in 1961 by a British lawyer who
wanted to advocate for the release of Prisoners of Conscience. Today the scope
of our work includes torture, the death penalty, disappearances, the rights of
indigenous peoples, refugees, women and those who identify themselves as LGBTI.
We work on the frontline in many countries to bear witness to human rights
violations and take testimonies from those affected. These form the basis of
our global advocacy, which is directed at national, regional and
inter-governmental levels.</span><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">While States are the main focus of Amnesty’s work,
increasingly non-State actors come into play, including companies, warlords and
armed opposition groups. </span><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">My role</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">I work for the British Section of Amnesty
International on the human rights impacts of corporations, which is a growing
area of activity. Bad business behaviour, driven by economic interests and
commercial gain, is a cause of injustice and suffering in many parts of the
world. Even in the UK, moderns forms of slavery have been documented in
the construction, care and hospitality industries, in fruit picking and
car-washing, and in the processing of fish and meat.</span><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">How does the topic of human rights tie
into the corporate world?</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">National and international laws have not kept pace
with the power and global reach of today’s companies. States remain unwilling
or unable to hold companies to account. That is why we are calling for
legislation to create a new corporate duty to prevent human rights and
environmental abuses. Such laws would require companies to take action to
prevent harm arising from their global products, services, operations,
investments and value chains. This is known as <i>Human Rights Due
Diligence. </i>It is a concept embodied in the </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"> which
were adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. These have the support of
governments, industry bodies, trade unions and civil society organisations.</span><br />
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</div>
<br />
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</div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Could that apply to business travel
too?</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Any form of travel could put individuals and
communities at risk? The hotels in which business travellers are
staying could be built on land from which local people have been forcibly
evicted in violation of their rights. The water consumed by hotel guests,
including for watering golf courses, could be depriving local farmers of their
livelihoods. The staff serving business travellers, in particular chambermaids,
could be victims of modern forms of slavery. The aircraft on which they travel
could contain refugees suffering panic attacks as a consequence of being
deported to countries where they would be in danger. Or the hotels they
stay in could be locations where children are sexually exploited. In reality,
there are numerous situations where business travel could contribute to human
rights violations or be linked to these in some way.</span><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Why should Business Travel Show
attendees carve out time for your session?</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Forewarned is forearmed! The sands are
shifting rapidly with regard to business ethics, which means that companies
that ignore the human rights context of their operations could be snared by
issues they weren’t aware of. The more that norms of acceptable business
behaviour change, the more risk to companies that take a ‘business as usual’
approach. </span><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Peter’s session – Is it time to introduce an ethical
travel programme? takes place on Tuesday 25<sup>th</sup> February, 13.30-15.00.
Register for a FREE visitor pass and join us at Olympia London <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-45523402966882043822020-02-07T12:27:00.000+00:002020-02-07T12:27:02.409+00:00*GUEST BLOG* People First: Can you get more value from your travel spend by putting employees first?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZNFJyYpQMj5Ky557yQ40s7myJKM9zi8ERSmnh9a9JqVbJHFH22IvOJs_aXey1Jqar-bBZGR9W0rHwXd_UADdtxisVJCM4GwoDth3HCfoox5YYyw0lpH7ceKD4SOAYwn-Mm13cNCDPCeM/s1600/scvrwuadujjwx6rueiw0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZNFJyYpQMj5Ky557yQ40s7myJKM9zi8ERSmnh9a9JqVbJHFH22IvOJs_aXey1Jqar-bBZGR9W0rHwXd_UADdtxisVJCM4GwoDth3HCfoox5YYyw0lpH7ceKD4SOAYwn-Mm13cNCDPCeM/s640/scvrwuadujjwx6rueiw0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Japan office of
a global technology company recently tested a four-day working week
and found it led to happier workers and a big jump in productivity of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/04/microsoft-japan-four-day-work-week-productivity" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_top"><span style="color: #1f5f7f;">40
percent</span></a>. They’re not the first company to trial new ways to retain a
largely-Millennial workforce, who identify flexibility and well-being as top
priorities when job hunting.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">A move away from
seeing return-on-investment from a savings and compliance perspective, to
understanding the value that employees bring, is emerging more often. Savvy
companies are putting their employees well-being at the core of their travel
program. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Maintaining healthy
habits while travelling is nearing the top of the priority list for travellers
around the world,” says Niklas Andreen, CWT’s Chief Traveller Experience
Officer. “Being in tune with what matters to your employees is indispensable
for retaining and attracting the best talent.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">So how do you make
your travel program work for your staff and therefore your business?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">1. Different folks, different strokes – </span></strong><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Your workforce will have differing needs from their business
travel. Some want their <a href="https://www.roomit.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_top"><span style="color: #1f5f7f;">pick of hotel rooms</span></a>
worthy of featuring on their Instagram grid. Others have small children at home
and are attracted to family-friendly options like same-day trips. It isn’t
about offering luxuries but truly understanding what individuals value and
giving them personally-relevant choices.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. Always Connected - “</span></strong><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">There is a generation of people that are always connected” says
Niklas Andreen, “It raises people’s stress levels not being able to connect. It
has become a comfort factor. The tempo of business has sped up so much
that people will send an email and expect a response within 30 minutes.” It’s
critical to consider whether transport options, lounges and hotel rooms are
equipped with strong connectivity. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">3. Tool up - </span></strong><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Providing your
employees with modern tools like a <a href="https://www.mycwt.com/uk/en/travel-technology/mycwt/" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_top"><span style="color: #1f5f7f;">mobile app</span></a>
makes it easy and even enjoyable during the booking process. If you want your
employees to stick to your policy, the tools and services you
provide must be on par to what they use in their everyday
lives. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s natural to want
business travellers to stay within policy but some of the limitations compromise
the success of their trip. Looking at ways to build your travel program
around their needs will benefit your company. After all, what's better for your
people is what's best for your business. Find more ways to build a travel
program equipped for the future in the <a href="https://cwt.turtl.co/story/2020forecast_gated" style="box-sizing: border-box;" target="_top"><span style="color: #1f5f7f;">2020 Global Travel
Forecast.</span></a> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: normal;">This blog was written by Emma Woodhouse, Global Corporate
Communications, CWT. Register for FREE and visit them at stand B230 <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020">www.businesstravelshow.com</a> </span></span></em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-65021081301708218512020-02-06T10:33:00.000+00:002020-02-06T10:33:55.544+00:00*GUEST BLOG* Changes in the way we travel can help reduce the impact on the planet <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirzmGaBxiZzEzAhO9LATbks_d3lGVX2Sd9CmTEoc72S9TUZGq4sFAX_jQZ4ZT8dU00hSL6zUsLCGiGIm6pyRACFs5jSHwRE6ee8PzOFb4S120RVN0nPmemwOezP_VWJoxnnualCssQ_pr/s1600/Greener+Travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="1000" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirzmGaBxiZzEzAhO9LATbks_d3lGVX2Sd9CmTEoc72S9TUZGq4sFAX_jQZ4ZT8dU00hSL6zUsLCGiGIm6pyRACFs5jSHwRE6ee8PzOFb4S120RVN0nPmemwOezP_VWJoxnnualCssQ_pr/s640/Greener+Travel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Air travel underpins the
business travel industry. Each trip – whether it’s a transatlantic flight for a
week-long conference or a day spent flying back and forth from London to
Glasgow – generates carbon emissions. Every trip can therefore swiftly increase
your company’s carbon footprint. That London to Glasgow return trip for
example, generates an estimated 75kg of carbon dioxide per traveller.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Whilst aviation isn’t the
biggest culprit when it comes to carbon emissions, with carbon dioxide emitted
from planes representing 2% of all global man-made carbon emissions (livestock
accounts for 14.5-18%, electricity and heat for 31%), that’s no excuse to be
complacent. If air travel continues to grow as predicted, it could contribute
to a considerably higher proportion by 2050. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The greenest thing to do
would be not to fly at all, but this isn’t always possible – especially when it
comes to business. We know that often contracts need to be signed in person,
clients need to be met face-to-face and sometimes, the only way to familiarise
yourself with a new market is to explore the area yourself. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">However, there are things
you can do to lessen your impact on the planet and that of your company. Here
are a few tips to consider the next time you board a plane – whether for
business or pleasure: </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Travel
light</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> - the more weight
a plane has, the more fuel it has to use. Every kilogram saved means 80 metric
tonnes less CO² pumped out by that plane each year. Depending on the length of
your trip, maybe you could manage with carry-on baggage? If you need to check a
bag, pack as light as possible. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Choose
a ‘greener’ airline</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> - no
airline offers completely zero-carbon flights at present, but when looking at
flight options, check out airlines’ green credentials. Some operate more
fuel-efficient planes than others. For example, British Airways has 18 new
aircraft, which are up to 20% more efficient; Cathay Pacific is aiming for 50%
reduction in net CO2 emissions by 2050. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Fly
direct</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> - since planes
burn the most fuel during take-off, limiting the number of flights you take by
choosing direct routes is an easy way to reduce emission levels. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Use
a local airport</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> - getting
to the airport adds emissions to the trip. Reduce the level of emissions by
flying from the closest airport and use public transport or electric cabs/hire
cars for transfers if possible. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Zero-waste </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">– reduce the amount of waste you produce
on a trip. Instead of single-use items like water bottles, coffee cups and
cutlery, could you use reusable alternatives? Avoid printing travel documents
by storing them on your mobile.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Offsetting
Emissions - </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">one of the
biggest ways a business can decrease the size of its carbon footprint is by
“offsetting” its emissions. The money is then invested in environmental
projects, such as planting trees, sponsoring carbon neutral projects or
installing solar panels.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Getting
the facts – </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">work with
your TMC to ensure booking travel is as cost-effective and as environmentally
friendly as possible. Using calculations based on route, carrier, travel type
and travel class from our sustainability partner Susterra, Corporate
Traveller’s clients receive an in-depth analysis on the CO² emissions generated
from their travel programme, with highlighted areas where journeys with a
smaller footprint could be made.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-prop-change: "Bonnie Simpson" 20200202T1905; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This blogpost was written
by Andy Hegley, UK General Manager, Corporate Traveller
(<a href="http://www.corptraveller.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">www.corptraveller.co.uk</span></a>). Corporate Traveller has produced a White Paper
‘Reducing Carbon Emissions when Flying for Business.’ Register for FREE and
visit them on stand B30 <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-prop-change: "Bonnie Simpson" 20200202T1905; text-align: justify;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: blue;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8784074047540366223.post-17134670631810519382020-02-05T11:53:00.000+00:002020-02-05T11:53:45.992+00:00*GUEST BLOG* A step-by-step guide to choosing the right travel management company<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz0ovo5RihmLBvNyBSG_R-pUwHnveF3bGGwp8VD463fX6t2IxKxRXC9_rOSjIF7n8anDvtGjoCZQCDL4pz7Eb5_paOp_Siie16ndmGXDD1_ba7MryWx9GV9g8uPeKO6znpFKe7jSPpVpV/s1600/FCM+-+RFP+-+choosing+a+TMC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz0ovo5RihmLBvNyBSG_R-pUwHnveF3bGGwp8VD463fX6t2IxKxRXC9_rOSjIF7n8anDvtGjoCZQCDL4pz7Eb5_paOp_Siie16ndmGXDD1_ba7MryWx9GV9g8uPeKO6znpFKe7jSPpVpV/s640/FCM+-+RFP+-+choosing+a+TMC.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Finding the best travel
management company (TMC) for your business can seem very challenging. Getting
the right outcome is crucial for tackling your second largest controllable
expense and looking after your travelling employees. It’s an emotive subject. Employees
don’t care about what printer they use, but they really care about how they
travel on business. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Successful TMC selection
is all about following a series of basic but critical steps. Just like anything
else, preparation is key. Time invested up front will save more time and money
in the end. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Before the RFP</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Step 1 – Get to know
the TMC players</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> in the
market before the big game – don’t wait until the day before you go to tender.
Meet each one over the previous 18 months, attend business travel conferences,
read the business travel press. Consider organising a pre-RFP ‘open day’.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Step 2 – Make sure you
really want to go to RFP</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">.
Think carefully before you go to market. Most companies aren’t obliged to
tender for their TMC regularly. If your travellers and stakeholders are happy,
there’s a strong case for sticking with your current TMC. If they’re not, try
fixing the problem less disruptively by identifying the root cause. That way
you will avoid the upheaval and substantial expense of a nine-month-plus tender
process. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Step 3 – Lay the
groundwork for your RFP.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">
One of the best ways to save yourself a mountain of work is to conduct an RFI
(request for information) before you go to RFP. At this point you are looking
for simple yes/no answers from potential TMCs, e.g. Do you offer local services
in countries where we need TMC coverage? Do you offer an out-of-hours service?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The RFP</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Step 4 – Build a killer
RFP</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">: state your
objectives clearly – the more details you provide about your programme goals
and what you want from a TMC the better; focus on questions that prompt
creative answers, that each TMC will answer differently; include all the bid
information ensuring TMCs have the full picture such as timelines, SLA,
responses, compliance; get the structure right and sense check your RFP – does
it have a logical narrative? Avoid using a standard procurement portal or
template for TMC responses – a good old-fashioned Microsoft Word document often
works best!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Post RFP</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Step 5 – Make your TMC
Selection</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> – obtain
impartial references from other travel buyers and industry associations; and
beware of live price comparisons as variations can still be wide-ranging
particularly on international air and hotel rates; get the financials right;
listen to your people again once you reach the shortlist stage and don’t rush
to make a decision. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Follow these guidelines
and you will get a great result – and a much more pain-free process to help
drive the right choice.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This blogpost was
written by Graham Ross, UK General Manager, FCM Travel Solutions (stand B130)
who is taking part in a panel session at the BTShow discussing: ‘Are travel
suppliers choosing their clients instead of the other way around?’ on Thursday
27 February at 11.30-12.30. Register for FREE at <a href="https://www.businesstravelshow.com/register?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=Blog&utm_content=PRblogpost&utm_campaign=BTS2020"><span style="color: blue;">www.businesstravelshow.com</span></a>. FCM
has also produced <a href="https://www.fcmtravel.com/en-uk/resources/white-papers/choosing-a-tmc"><span style="color: blue;">White
Paper</span></a> ‘How to choose the right travel management company’ <a href="http://www.fcmtravel.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">www.fcmtravel.co.uk</span></a> </span></i></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Business Travel Show is Europe's leading specialised event for corporate travel buyers, bookers and managers. It takes place at Olympia London from 26-27 February 2020. Register for a free pass at www.businesstravelshow.com </div>Charlie Le Rougetelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065438378956192868noreply@blogger.com0