GUEST BLOG: 2018 Outlook – the impact of Brexit, traveller safety and geopolitical

Brexit will have positive effect on business travel

Travel managers need to start focusing on the direction their company’s business may have to move towards in terms of trading post-Brexit. Now is the time to start reviewing their travel programmes and think about how they will look at the end of 2018.  They need to be asking questions about which markets their company will be able to sell in, should they be opening up new markets, can we sell in existing markets? 

However, after a slow start to the year, once major decisions concerning borders and ‘passporting’ have been confirmed, Brexit will have a positive effect on global business travel as companies consider new markets, or seek to bolster existing contracts. UK domestic travel also has potential to increase off the back of the government’s plans to establish technology, research and development projects post-Brexit. Many UK manufacturers are looking at potentially expanding their exports in the USA and China, or they will need to meet face to face with current clients to ensure business continuity. Corporates need to cover all bases which potentially means more business travel. As decisions are made by the government and plans become clearer, we could see business travel growth in the second half of 2018.

Even greater focus on traveller safety

The business travel sector will see an even greater emphasis on traveller safety not only due to the ongoing threat of terrorism, but also geopolitical instability which will add to the complexities of business travel in 2018, making personal safety and duty of care a top priority for companies. The recent laptop ban on certain flights to the US, for example, and increased border controls, all make business travel more challenging for the traveller and could make companies think twice about whether an employee really needs to make a trip. Personal safety will also be an increased priority for corporates if they are having to travel to new markets in order to generate new business deals post-Brexit. Hence we are encouraging clients to make use of traveller safety solutions such as our goSecure risk management technology and VIMA mobile app.

Oil prices will continue to climb meaning more travel in energy sector

In the UK, around 20% of our clients are in the energy sector, so we are keeping a close eye on oil prices. Barring any major disruptive geopolitical influences, we are forecasting that oil prices will continue to climb steadily in 2018. This would reignite investment in oil and gas exploration, which our energy clients put on hold at the start of the energy sector downturn in 2014. As a result, travel spend by oil and gas clients should increase by 2019. President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement could also impact on refineries in the US. With less of a priority on greener energy, production by refineries could increase, impacting on supply and demand. In addition, Trump has controversially signed executive orders to allow the construction of new pipelines, creating more jobs in the oil sector. Whilst these are unpopular in terms of their impact on the environment and climate change, ultimately they could create more jobs in the oil sector, and generate more business travel.

This post was written by Paul East, chief operating officer, UK/Europe & Americas, Wings Travel Management (www.wings.travel). The TMC is unveiling additional travel risk management services at the Business Travel Show, including traveller evacuation and disaster response support.

Guest Blog: Travel technology for SMEs must be right for their business needs

Does your company have an SME business travel spend of £50K to £2M? Have you thought about implementing an online booking tool or other travel technology solutions, but are not sure if they would be right for your business or type of travel?

SME-spend clients have very different travel and servicing needs compared to large corporates. Personal, offline service is frequently the best way to manage an SME client’s travel programme in order to drive cost savings. But a service-based business model can be complemented by technology in order to drive further efficiencies. However, that technology needs to be tailored specifically to SME clients’ needs. Complex systems and tools are worth little if they’re not adopted by your travellers, bookers and managers.  It’s about blending the appropriate mix of expert offline service, with technology solutions that are right for each client’s business.

If you’re considering use of travel technology or online booking tools, bear these five points in mind first:

1 Types of Travel – Every company’s business travel habits are different. The focus of your company’s business travel will determine whether an online booking tool is best suited for you, so you should discuss your requirements and preferences with your travel management company (TMC)

2 Adoption levels and usage –  use of an online booking tool by your bookers and travellers will be higher if your company books a large volume of domestic and European point to point travel. If your travel is predominantly worldwide or multi-stop, then you are likely to experience lower adoption rates because the booking tools aren’t yet flexible enough to process complex airfares. If this is the case, you’d be better off using the services of your TMC’s consultants to book your business travel.

3  Profile Management - creating staff traveller profiles, including passport details, frequent flyer numbers and dietary preferences, saves your travel bookers from requesting the same information each time they make a booking. When you work with a TMC, they’ll set up traveller profiles for you as standard. Think about how you’d like to keep these profiles up to date; perhaps it would be easier to allow your travellers to amend their own profiles online. Even if your business travel patterns don’t warrant having an online booking tool, ask your TMC if they can provide a technology platform that can just be used for profile management.

       4  Policy Management - when your staff travel for business, implementing a company travel policy is essential. This should include guidelines on the booking process, budget restrictions and booking permissions, as well as listing preferred airlines, hotels and transport suppliers. Once it’s been drawn up, the travel policy should be available to all staff – convenient access via your travel technology platform will help drive policy understanding and compliance.

       5  Duty of Care - Safety has always been an important aspect of business travel, but as terrorist attacks become more indiscriminate, traveller security has become even more of an issue for businesses of all sizes. In the event of an emergency SMEs need to be able to track their employees quickly. Real time traveller tracking technology, alert tools and traveller mobile apps can provide critical duty of care support. Ask your TMC for advice about whether you need to invest in this type of technology, depending on how many people you have travelling at any one time, and the type of destinations.   

It’s essential, even for SMEs, to keep abreast of the latest developments in travel technology, as these could be your gateway to arranging travel more efficiently and cost-effectively. But one size doesn’t fit all. Make sure the technology ticks the right boxes for your business.

This post was written by Andy Hegley, UK General Manager, Corporate Traveller, specialist TMC for companies with an SME business travel spend. Corporate Traveller is launching its new travel technology platform ‘YOUR.CT’ at the Business Travel Show.www.corptraveller.co.uk.   

The Business Travel Show, in association with Corporate Traveller, will also be offering the two dedicated workshops for PAs on the topic “Creating the Building Blocks for a Better Travel Programme”