2016 WILL BE A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL BUYERS

For the seventh year now, we’ve carried out in-depth research into travel buyers about the issues and opportunities that they expect to face in the year ahead. This week we released the results of this survey for 2016 and the big news is that buyers are expecting the next 12 months to be challenging.

Why? Budgets are increasing at a slower rate. Half of buyers are worried about rising travel costs. Compliance, new distribution methods and traveller wellbeing are causing them concern.

The good news is that it’s not doom and gloom for everyone: 29 per cent of buyers will have more money to spend in 2016 but this compares to 32 per cent last year. At the same time, 25 per cent expect budgets to drop. Just 20 per cent had less money last year.

The pressure on buying more for less seems to have lessened for 2016, though, with 44 per cent of buyers arranging more trips this year, a drop of 6 per cent on 2015, and 19 per cent arranging fewer trips compared to 14 per cent last year.

AIRLINE SPEND

Three quarters of buyers will have the same or more to spend on airline travel in 2016. For one third, budgets will increase, the same as in 2015. One quarter (24 per cent) expect budgets to shrink. Last year, just one fifth had less to spend.

• The use of low cost carries remains unchanged at 86 per cent
• In 2015, 26% booked more low cost flights, this year it rises to 27 per cent.
• The number of buyers booking fewer business class flights increased again, from 38 per cent in 2015 to 42 per cent this year.
•  The number of buyers operating no time threshold for business flights dropped slightly from 33 per cent to 28 per cent.  

ACCOMMODATION SPEND
One third of buyers will have more to spend on accommodation in 2016, the same as last year. The use of budget hotels dropped slightly. They now account for fewer than 25 per cent of bookings for three quarters (78 per cent) of buyers; down from 70 per cent in 2015.   

TOP ISSUES FACING BUYERS

More than half of buyers (51 per cent) worry that travel costs will rise this year, which explains why cutting costs is their number one concern (moving up five spots since last year’s top 20). The following were given in response to an open question: What will be the biggest issue facing you as a buyer in 2016?

2015/2016	2014/2015	2013/2014
Cutting costs while maintaining quality	Airline pricing – increases, lack of transparency and negotiation concerns	NDC
Increasing compliance	Controlling costs and managing spend	Travel management 2.0
GDS content	Compliance and enforcing policy adherence	Data
Risk management vs costs savings	Increased hotel rates	Sustainability
Increasing hotel rates	Traveller safety	Meetings management
Airline pricing	Cost savings	Mobile apps
Supplier negotiations	Ancillary fees	Technological developments
Securing value for money	The role of the TMC	Free Wi-Fi in hotels and on airlines
Online adoption/booking	Online adoption	CSR
Mobile apps	Cost increases	Terrorism
Data and how to use it	Balancing traveller needs while staying within budget	Gamification
Russia	Online vs TMC pricing	Relaxation of policy
Changing traveller profiles	Sustainability	Airline bankruptcy
Global purchasing responsibility	GDS content	Integration of social and travel tools
Cost increases	Supplier consolidation	Ancillary fees
Supplier consolidation	Mobile technology & solutions	Airline consolidation
NDC	Airline consolidation	Risk management
Discovering new destinations	Availability and variety of low cost leisure tools	Virtual meetings
Last minute bookings	The move towards traveller management	Fuel increases
Stakeholder management	Stakeholder management	Less reliance on TMCs

       

Buyers were also asked how they plan to change the way they manage travel this year:

1	Increasing use of online booking	53%
2	Increasing compliance	31%
3	Changing relationship with TMC	22%
4	Improved focus on traveller wellbeing and communication	9%
5	Use of data	9%

182 travel buyers took part in the seventh Business Travel Show annual survey in November 2015. 72 per cent of respondents worked in the UK and the remaining 28 per cent in continental Europe.

This post was written by David Chapple, director, Business Travel Show, which takes place at Olympia Grand in London on 24-25 February 2016. It is Europe’s leading event for corporate travel buyers and registration is free at www.businesstravelshow.com.

TRENDING IN TRAVEL FOR 2016

Trends. They come and go. Well, some do. And others linger to the point of outstaying their welcome. So which will be keeping travel managers on their toes in 2016? 

For the last six years, the Business Travel Show has surveyed travel bookers, buyers and managers from all over Europe to unravel the trends for the forthcoming 12 months; innovation that will make their jobs easier and more interesting and issues that will challenge them.

This time last year, the sharing economy took the award for ‘principal disruptor most likely to impact the world of business travel’ and it’s still causing delight and despair in equal measure.

Two years ago the words ‘Airbnb’ and ‘Uber’ were just creeping into the English lexicon. Now, business travellers are regularly booking hotel accommodation using sharing economy providers, attracted by their convenience and value. According to our survey, 17 per cent of them, in fact.

But the sharing economy continues to cause headaches for travel managers, who are unsure whether suppliers comply with duty of care legislation and their overall travel programmes. In fact, when asked whether suppliers from within the sharing economy were considered a threat or benefit to their travel programme, nearly half of buyers declared they were still undecided.

So the sharing economy will continue to be big news in 2016, as will technology-driven services generally, which are now being developed with the travel managers’ interests at heart. TripBam, for example, allows travel managers to drive compliance by controlling which hotels travellers can book and Cytere scrapes social media channels to gauge the riskiness of a location, allowing travel managers to analyse local sentiment and assess the safety of an area.

Duty of care and traveller risk are also still very high on the agenda, particularly after the terrorist attacks in Paris and the Russian airline explosion over the Sinai Peninsula in October, explaining why 92 per cent of buyers accept that the duty of care of their travellers is their responsibility.

Other trends that will impact travel managers in 2016? The continuing evolution in travel distribution, supplier consolidation, the increasing demand on buyers to provide travellers with tailored solutions, the changing demographic and needs of travellers and the ongoing pressure to communicate and enforce compliance.

All of these and more will be unpicked, discussed and debated in the 60 sessions at the Business Travel Show conference – all free for buyers to attend and designed to help them survive everything this industry will throw at them for the next 12 months.

This post was written by David Chapple, group director, Business Travel Show, for Travel Daily. The Business Travel Show takes place on 24-25 February, Olympia Grand, London, and is attended by 250 exhibitors and 7,500 business travel professionals. Register for a free visitor pass at www.businesstravelshow.com.  

ONE FIFTH OF BUYERS BOOK MORE SERVICED APARTMENT NIGHTS

The Business Travel Show's annual buyer survey is hot off the press and the first stats to be revealed tie into the serviced apartment sector, which has been growing consistently for a number of years now. 

Skyline Worldwide. A Business Travel Show exhibitor.

The survey revealed that nearly one fifth (19 per cent) of travel managers booked more serviced apartment accommodation this year, an increase of 4 per cent on 2014. The number of buyers whose programmes consist of more than 50% of serviced apartment rooms doubled from 1 to 2 per cent, though for 89 per cent of buyers they account for 10 per cent or less (84 per cent in 2014).

We revealed these stats to tie in with The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers’ (ASAP) annual convention, which took place in London on 3 December. The Business Travel Show exhibited for the first time.

182 European buyers took part in the survey, 72 per cent from the UK:

• 19 per cent booked more, or significantly more, serviced apartment rooms this year compared with 2014
• 73 per cent booked the same
• 8 per cent booked fewer
• Serviced apartments account for more than 50 per cent of room nights for 2 per cent of buyers (1 per cent in 2014)
• 89 per cent of buyers’ accommodation programmes include up to 10 per cent of serviced apartments (84 per cent in 2014)

Nearly half (48 per cent) of buyers insist travellers stay in serviced apartments when their trip exceeds a certain duration:

• Three nights or more – 16 per cent of buyers (11 per cent in 2014)
• One to two weeks - 12 per cent (22 per cent in 2014)
• Two to four weeks – 11 per cent (8 per cent in 2014)
• Over one month – 9 per cent (6 per cent in 2014)

Thirty-eight per cent of respondents had more money to spend on accommodation this year, compared to 30 per cent in 2014. One third will have more budget again in 2016. Over half (51 per cent) of buyers will book in excess of 5,000 room nights during 2015, an increase of 12 per cent on last year.  

Serviced apartments have been a familiar sight at the Business Travel Show since 2010 and we have some great exhibitors again this year, including: 

• Apple Apartments
• Berkshire Rooms
• BRG Hospitality – new exhibitor
• Bridge Street Accommodation
• Brussels Business Flats
• Cheval Group of Serviced Apartments
• Cotels Serviced Apartments
• City Apartments
• City Marque
• Dreamhouse Apartments
• Frasers Hospitality UK
• Go Native
• Knightly Apartments
• Marlin Apartments
• Oakwood Worldwide
• Premier Apartments
• Roomspace – new exhibitor
• stayCity Apartments
• The Apartment Service
• The Serviced Apartment Company.

This post was written by Sam Cande, group commercial director, Business Travel Show. 

The Business Travel Show takes place at Olympia Grand from 24-25 February in London. Register for free at http://goo.gl/F55mKX If you're a serviced apartment company and you'd like to exhibit, please contact Sam at sam.cande@centaurmedia.com. 

GUEST BLOG: Don't let airport parking for your business users leave you red faced.

Some official airport car parks have continued to raise their prices over several years causing an opportunity for non-official airport car parks to offer an attractive alternative. With airport parking there is more choice then ever to offer your clients. However, as is often the case when it comes to business travel, the price shouldn’t be the only thing you consider.

Look for the Park Mark security logo

The Park Mark® Safer Parking Scheme is an initiative of the Associations of Chief Police Officers (ACPO/S) and is aimed at reducing both crime and the fear of crime in parking facilities.

Look for the Park Mark® tick to ensure safer parking. Safer parking status, Park Mark®, is awarded to parking facilities that have met the requirements of a risk assessment conducted by the police.

Read independent reviews

Ratings and reviews are best managed by an independent, third-party service, signalled by a public Trustmark. It is the most open, transparent and trusted way to find out true customers’ experiences.

How do you compare prices, reviews, security and location of several airport car parks quickly?

If you are looking for a quick way to find secure airport parking that will also meet your client’s requirements for budget, location and service then our SkyParkSecure Business Account may be an ideal solution for you.

SkyParkSecure offers the ability to compare and book both the official and non-official airport car parks through our powerful booking engine whilst also carrying out the security checking for you. Our product approval system, in addition to price and security checks for each car park, adheres to strict requirements on independent customer reviews collected by Reevoo for every car park. If the car park falls below a certain level it is removed as an option.

This post was written by Brent Starkie at SkyParkSecure (www.skyparksecure.com). SkyParkSecure is exhibiting at the Business Travel Show in Olympia, London on 24-25 February 2016. For more information, please visit the company's business website http://www.business.skyparksecure.com