IT'S TIME FOR TRAVEL MANAGERS TO SWOT UP ON MOBILE

Earlier in the week, AirPlus International and ACTE published a white paper focusing on how mobile payments will change corporate travel and expense management. I read it. And I’m glad I did – it’s a really interesting insight into the future of business travel management.

There are a number of key things that come across. Firstly, forget all the scare-tactics about mobile encouraging rogue travellers. According to this white paper, mobile actually has the potential to drive compliance. Why? Because it helps to link a lot of currently disparate processes together. 

By automating the purchase of smaller trip transactions through NFC (Near Field Communication) technology (which is when you simply touch your phone against a ‘contact’ point on, for example, a rail ticket machine, hotel room door, airport check in desk), managers will win back control over expenditure. By linking it to an app for your travellers, you can also control which suppliers they use and eliminate the temptation to fiddle expenses. And linking everything to your management system makes invoicing easier, quicker and cheaper.

Secondly, mobile also has big benefits for the traveller. It means they no longer have to carry cash and credit cards makes it easier and quicker for them to account for their expenses when they return home, too.  

Yet, despite all the arguments for using mobile payment technology, we’ve been slow on the uptake, with just five per cent of companies actually using mobile payment technology in our industry. Why? Well, mainly because the technology isn’t widely rolled out yet. It is here and it will happen. It’s just a matter of when. 

And it’s also partly due to ignorance – travel managers just don’t know that much about it. If they did, they would want to embrace it and, perhaps by embracing, they could help to speed up its adoption? In the meantime, I recommend reading the white paper and getting a head start.

Posted by David Chapple, david@businesstravelshow.com - tell me what you think @btshowlondon

BUYERS ARE RELAXING THE RULES ON ROGUE TRAVELLERS

I’m at the ITM Intelligence Conference in Manchester this week and, so far, it’s been a really interesting event with some fascinating insight into the future of business travel.

Yesterday’s recurring theme was traveller empowerment. I even wrote a blog post along these lines last week. With the rise and rise of social media and mobile technology, travellers are exposed to so much choice while on the move and are frequently making bookings independently. 

You would think this would have travel managers running for the hills. How on earth are they supposed to mandate travellers to stay within policy when travellers have essentially flipped them the bird and are all doing their own thing?

But you’d be wrong. Leading travel buyers are actually relaxing policy and, instead of stamping down on rogue travellers as they would have done previously, they are giving them price parameters and more freedom than ever.

Why? It’s all thanks to new technology, that’s why. Rogue travellers can now book through public apps and websites and managers have still have visibility of all of these bookings, thanks to a number of new products (Amadeus/KDS’ Maverick) that feed all of the information back to their corporate data banks. So rogue travellers can still feel rebellious and managers can still keep them within policy.

Posted by David Chapple, event director of the Business Travel Show. Challenge him on Twitter @btshowlondon

Generating Online Travel Business

Online marketing solutions for businesses to compete more. consumers have become comfortable with buying, searching and comparing prices online travel. to expect something different.

The first task is to develop SEO "Search Engine Optimized" web site. not have to be fancy. It should be functional and have excellent content. a Web page is OK, to start, just make sure you provide excellent information on a selected destination and the services you provide. use the word goal to create one of the main keyword.

The second task will build an e-mail client database. This is one of the most important step for your online marketing program. you will need a privacy policy (keywords: privacy policies) and web based e-mail marketing.

The third task of knowing that the trip will be distributed online for free web content to the site. This is the most important task of a single online marketing.

Might expect better sales from visitors on the first or second visit them unless they are existing clients. provide new clients the time to know and trust you. do not be intimidated by mega online travel sites. if you have done your homework, then you realize that wholesale travel suppliers they use, and you can use a different one.

Tips Travel Sales Marketing

Sales representatives in the travel trade have one thing in common, that is step out and take the business through the door.
begin by first knowing your product, get to know your customers and their needs seriously.

And now I will give you some tips on how to make them feel special when they walked in.

If you do not have the information your customers want at the destination they want to travel, you should find the information and send it to them. using writing and deliver to the post or delivered by courier to send the information to them with a brochure or price quotation is attached,
pay attention to your customers. hold all calls, and do not make eye contact with another customer while attending one in front of you, there's nothing wrong with acknowledging them with a nod and a smile, but do not spoil them. concentrate on the person sitting in front of you, and ask them to remain calm. you must appear to control for them to have confidence in the way they are dealing rep.
So? when you get all the stress of your work in the trade trip, remember to stay calm and put your customers first. prospecting for new customers, in this industry in particular, is not as simple as ABC. find the angle you have not cottoned competitors and exploit to your advantage. but remember? personal touch and attention to detail is absolutely critical to your success in the travel industry.

How To Start Marketing A Journey Through Facebook

Are you aware of the advantages of the social media? Social media has become the talk of the town these days. Previously people had an idea that these websites helped you to connect yourself with people from all over the world.

Right now everyone knows that social media websites can be used for a number of other purposes as well. various types of industries that developed in the world today and the tremendous workload has forced people to stay connected at all times. among the various industries that are available today tourism is a growing industry.

Many people have already joined in the industry and more people are willing to do so. if you have a hotel or travel agent so you need to make sure you do your marketing properly. only with the help of a great marketing you can reach the top in any business.
You will be pleased to learn that you can pick up marketing for your business with the help of social media applications. you would probably realize the popularity of facebook.

Facebook has a broad market and can help you to reach a wider customer. with the help of these social networking you can do your business reservation and travel booking.
there are certain companies that can help you to start marketing for your tourism business with the help of facebook. you just need to identify the best companies in the market and start taking your business to a new level.
With the help of companies and bidding on facebook, you'll be able to create a new page on facebook where you can enter all the details of your business for customers. with can include information about all your products, rooms, rates and booking options.

With the help of a marketing strategy you can reach almost the entire world. visitors to the page you will be interested in taking a tour to learn about you and your quotes and book a hotel and travel tickets from your page. If you can use the application effectively then you will definitely get great results.
The first thing you need to do is begin to explore the positive side of facebook. add a few friends who can help your business. You can also invite guests to check out your profile. to attract visitors you must always keep your page active.

Keep updating the page from time to time. It would be helpful if you start interacting with your visitors as soon as possible. to make your pages more attractive you can start uploading pictures and videos related to your business.
Marketing is one of the most important tasks in any business. If you can successfully market your business through Facebook then you can certainly be successful in your endeavors. Facebook also will help you be at the top of search engines.

Guidelines For The International Golf Travel Market

International Golf Travel Market is one of the major golf events each year and an exciting one golf tour operators and exhibitors from around the world. based on the excellent results of the event,

Journey International Golf Market (IGTM) is a world-class event with more than a decade of experience in the field of golf tourism. while IGTM is the perfect platform for golf resorts, golf hotels and tour operators to create an international appeal, the most valid reason for its popularity is the fact that it allows only pre-registered buyers and qualify to participate in exclusive events. however, despite its limitations and filtration buyers, the show still see the flood of more than 350 qualified international buyers from all 40 major markets in Asia, Europe, America and Australia.

International Golf Travel Market is an important platform for buyers and exhibitors. the buyer can use this event as an opportunity to review the more than 400 golf courses, resorts, hotels and tourist boards in different global objectives, they also can be part of a gala dinner at the prestigious awards ceremony last night.

The selected venue, Marbella Conference and Exhibition Centre provides easy access for international visitors. While Andalucia has six international airports, the airport closest to the center of malaga marbella. Bus trip from the airport to the venue takes about 45 minutes, at a cost of about EUR4. Visitors can also use the taxi services are relatively cheap in Spain, however, take a taxi to the center will still be charged up to EUR50.

Accommodation is easily available in many hotels, guesthouses and inns that provide visitors with many options to suit all budgets and needs. while the international golf travel market easier for visitors to choose their accommodation with a list of nine hotels that can meet different demands, there is another option for visitors right from the expensive and luxurious suite for cost-friendly, hygienic rooms that the city can offer.

Four days before placing a trade show IGTM exhibitors a great opportunity to develop their international clients, while visitors can benefit from information about the best golf destination, resort vacations and getaways all promoted on a single platform.

Tips Qualified Marketing for Travel

The present generation has seen the entry of graduates, who walked from their school portal and find a job that they can not only make life itself, but also enjoy. work travel management, travel and marketing work is an example of them. graduate and go to look for a job that we want, we offer things that are young and eager to please the most desirable or a good income, and feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.

The competition for this job though, is stiff. and, if you are one of many that after positions in the executive work of the trip, you should be able to meet the demands of the job calls for.

If you are thinking of becoming one of the many fortunate to work in industrial jobs travel marketing and travel management jobs, find out what people expect of you may be able to guide you toward what you need to do, so you can set about giving them. it is as follows:

1.Expert Knowledge. travel jobs dealing with the favorite being the majority of people in the world or tourists. These people choose to travel because they want a break from normal routines of daily life and want to experience something they can look back to be reminded of the beauty of life.
If you are traveling executive positions, it is your duty to provide restorative and refreshing feeling to people. This means that you have to know the inner workings of your industry well chosen, so that you will successfully direct people to places and goals that will make them love their lives.

2.Dedicated Service. other than a gold mine of information you can provide for your clients, another thing you have to be good is to understand what they need from you. there are a lot of info on the internet that can help you get a better gauge on how you can provide special services. however, one of the simplest but most effective is still standing to this: to provide services that you, yourself, would want to experience.

In terms of marketing jobs travel and travel management jobs, what is your dedication and kindness can produce, will result which will allow you to succeed more in the field that you choose to participate in.

Tips are just some of what you will be dealing with when you decide to make a career out of work trip travel management and marketing jobs. if you want to make sure that you will be able to handle things properly, you need to invest time and effort in incorporating them into your life and learn to hone. Another good choice would seek help from a professional recruiting firm so that your trip will be guided towards what you have to work on for the traveling professional executives of the best you can, and one that the world will be grateful to have.

TRAVELLERS PREFER TO TRAVEL OUT OF POLICY. NO SURPRISE THERE, THEN.

I’ve just finished reading a news story in the LA Times based on a survey by Concur Technologies. The survey found that business travellers believe the success of their trips is inversely proportional to the number of travel restrictions laid down by their employers.

Business travellers on trips with strict travel policies score them as 73 per cent successful in achieving all of their goals; when travellers are given only guidelines and recommendations, the score rises to 76 per cent; and when an employee travels with no policy at all, that score jumps another three per cent.

Surveys like this are undoubtedly useful and interesting, particularly for HR and senior management, even though I’m not 100 per cent sure you could call the results surprising. I mean, wouldn’t we all prefer to choose our own flights and hotels when travelling on business? I know I would.

But they must also be downright frustrating for travel departments, managers and bookers who put so much effort into creating travel policy, securing management buy in and support, and enforcing that policy to ensure they are getting the best for their business. 

Posted by David Chapple - david@businesstravelshow.com 

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GUEST BLOG: ITM INTELLIGENCE 2012 JUST ONE WEEK AWAY

It’s exactly one week until the ITM’s ‘Intelligence2012’ conference takes place in Manchester and we’re really looking forward to it. Not only is it an excellent annual networking opportunity for the travel and meetings industry, it’s a valuable platform for learning about and debating the hot issues of the day, including APD, risk management, continuing airline consolidations and the Bribery Act.  

Moderated by BBC News anchorman Huw Edwards and attended by 350 senior professionals in the travel and meetings industry the ITM Conference to be held at the Palace Hotel in Manchester from 21^stto 23^rd May. It promises to be an unmissable event.

Educational streams include ‘In the Round’ with an ‘In the Hot seat’ session and a gadget review on new business innovations. ‘The Learning Lab’ with educational workshops offering practical advice and take away tools and the ‘Directors Roundtable’, for buyers only to debate challenging topics such as Industry Affairs, Managing Risk and the Bribery Act.

The opening plenary Breaking News, Sharing Views will see our expert panel put to the test on topics such as APD, access to content and data sharing plus the BA/bmi merger. Frank Dick, Olympic Coach will offer some inspirational advice on performance management. Travel’s sassiest women will interview industry guests in the Loose Women session and Steve Cram MBE will close the event with his stories of his competitive past and his experiences on being part of the winning bid for London2012 as the country gears up to the Olympics in July.

Find out more at www.itmconference.org, and if you're attending, please use our hashtag, it's #itmconference. 

Posted by Diane Steed, head of sales and marketing, ITM

ARE BUSINESS TRAVELLERS PREPARED FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES?

From my window, I can see the WaterTower in east London, which is likely to become home to an arsenal of surface to air missiles during the 2012 Olympic games. It really brought home a) how close the games are now – less than three months away, and the sheer disruption the Games will cause for business travellers.

Throughout June, July and August, London will be awash with tourists thanks to the Olympics, Paralympics and Diamond Jubilee. This influx of people will be filling up hotel rooms, serviced apartments, tube trains and taxis to bursting point, which is great for the London economy, but not so wonderful for the business traveller.

Stanley Slaughter wrote about the likely disruption in ABTNrecently, highlighting that hotel prices are up 7.6% year on year (according to consultants PKF) and booking rates up by more than 5% due to our summer of fun and London’s recent poll topping of the best cities in the world. What this means is that those rooms needed for last minute trips are going to be hard to find and, if they can be found, come with a premium price tag. But, he claims, it is transport that is likely to prove the more crucial problem: both getting into London and getting around it.

From a local’s point of view, the reminders from Transport for London to consider alternative routes to work – or better still – working from home, are omnipresent and more than a little annoying. So I do worry how the business traveller will cope, with their lack of local knowledge and reliance on local service providers. One solution could be to avoid London altogether, which means the sun could be about to shine very brightly on video conference providers this summer.

Posted by Daniela Reck - daniela.reck@centaur.co.uk  

HOSTED WITH THE MOSTED

Exhibition News ran a Food For Thought column in this month’s issue with three event organisers explaining why and how they run hosted programmes. As the Hosted Buyer Manager on the Business Travel Show it was particularly interesting for me to read and, I have to admit, hard to disagree with anything they said.

Hosted programmes are not the answer for every exhibition. But for the Business Travel Show, they work. Like the other commentators’ shows, we introduced our programme to guarantee the highest quality buyers in Europe attend our event each February and that they also attend a set number of appointments with our exhibitors over the two days. The result is exposure to more business opportunities for our exhibitors and a much, much higher ROI for them, which is increasingly important given the economic environment we are all operating in.

We believe so strongly that hosted buyer programmes are the way forward for the Business Travel Show that last year we invested heavily in bringing nearly 800 to our event from the likes of Nike, Sony, Jaguar Land Rover, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, 02, British Gas, Aviva and Bridgestone. For 2013, we are investing heavily again. In fact, work’s already started on refining the programme and working with our European partners to expand our database. I’m already looking forward to it.

Posted by Graham Angus - graham.angus@centaur.co.uk 

IS THE DREAMLINER THE KING OF GREEN?

In February 2008, we were lucky enough to unveil the Dreamliner to business travel buyers at the Business Travel Show in London. Four years on and it has finally taken to the skies, as reported recently on BBC Breakfast. The impact it will have on the business traveller has been widely reported, but I’m more interested in what the launch means to the business travel buyer, particularly on an environmental level.

The Dreamliner is often compared to the Airbus A380, simply because they are the two most recent long-haul launches. But while Airbus has focused on increasing capacity to reduce environmental impact by creating the lowest fuel-burn-per-seat ratio, Boeing has achieved its environmental credentials in an entirely different way altogether.

Boeing has created a medium sized plane with two engine platforms (Airbus has four) and engineers have also used the highest carbon composite to date resulting in a plan that’s 20 per cent lighter and, as a result, 20 per cent more fuel efficient than existing planes of the same size.

With 821 orders for Boeing compared to 236 for the Airbus, the market seems to be voting for the Dreamliner, but it will be interesting to see how the travel buyers vote. But comparisons aside, the fact that both airlines are now entering the design process with ‘green’ at the top of the agenda, is surely a good move for everyone. 

Posted by David Chapple