THE SMART MONEY IS ON SMART PHONES: BUYERS NEED TO GET A GRIP ON APPS

Last week’s eighth Ofcom Communications Market Report revealed that 27 per cent of all adults now own a smart phone. 59 per cent of these were bought in the last year. Oh, and we’re addicted to them. In fact, 37 per cent of adult smart phone owners have admitted as much.

In the business travel market, smart phones are beyond useful. TMCs use them to deliver information to travellers (itineraries, for example) as well as pulling data back (travellers can use phones to scan in expense receipts).

However, the smart phone epidemic has also seen an increasing number of business travellers use apps as though they were leisure travellers (which they’re not). And it’s this use of apps ‘out of policy’ that’s now a major cause for concern among corporate travel managers who are being warned that, unless they take back control, their policies are under threat of being compromised. 

My belief is that travel managers shouldn’t ‘ban’ travellers from using smart phones. Instead, they should find technology solutions with similar (or better) mobile applications attached that will keep travellers happy AND compliant. It’s essential that, when choosing these applications, managers opt for a platform-inclusive solution that’s also content rich, stable and fit for purpose.

Travel managers also need to embrace mobile communications as a tool to manage policy compliance in the same way they have harnessed self booking tools, pre-trip authorisation. Reports have indicated that use of mobile strategies can reduce the number of calls made to TMCs, in some cases by as much as 40 per cent, so making a considerable saving for organisations.

Technology has always been a key issue within the business travel industry and a focus for the travel shows at Centaur Travel Group. For 2012, we’re going one step further and launching a Technology Zone at our London and Dusseldorf shows. The zone is being introduced as a platform for technology providers who appeal to both travel and technology buyers, and will be a fantastic place for buyers to discover suppliers with smart phone applications, receive hands on demos, attend education sessions and network with new contacts. The smart money, in my opinion, is on the smart phone. 

Posted by David Chapple, event director, Centaur Travel Group. 

BTMS Bucks the Trend

With some shows losing visitors, others being cancelled and organisers closing, the exhibitions industry is a tricky market for many of those currently operating within it. This is no truer than in the travel sector. Luckily, at Centaur Travel Group, we are bucking this trend and have two successful events under our belts in the last four months alone.

The most recent was the Business Travel & Meetings Show, which took place last month in Dusseldorf, Germany, attracting 76 exhibitors and 2019 visitors. A brand new hosted buyer programme delivered 150 key purse-holders to suppliers and we curated 30 top class conference sessions. The event was such a success that more than eight out of every 10 (84 per cent) exhibitors rebooked their stand in situ.

At the Business Travel & Meetings Show in London this February, there was an equally excitable buzz of business in the air. More than 5,000 business travel industry professionals from all over Europe poured into the halls to meet around 200 world-leading suppliers, enjoy unrivalled networking opportunities and access to the best free to attend educational programme for the business travel and meetings markets in Europe.

So what did we do right to allow us to buck the trend? Well, I mentioned luck in my opening paragraph, but actually in this industry luck has a very small part to play. The Business Travel & Meetings Shows have been a success in 2011 thanks to experience and significant investment over a number of years, which have allowed us to keep track of who our customers are, who our customers’ customers are, the state of the market they are operating in, and what they need from us to help them to do business better.

This means we’ve been able to evolve the show over the years – and that means every year - to ensure we continue delivering the buyers who mean business to our suppliers. It also means we can continue to provide market-leading content to help buyers improve their programmes and policies in a way that actually translates into increased efficiency and reduced costs.

What you’ll never find us doing, though, is sitting on our laurels. We’re already working hard to ensure we continue to deliver strong products in 2011 and beyond. Over the summer we’ll be conducting in-depth buyer research, strengthening our partnerships, building our databases, hosting the BT Club in June and launching the 2012 European Travel Buyer Awards in July. And – time to take a deep breath here – I’m excited to say that’s just for starters.

If you think we’re missing something, though, then please tell us – all feedback is gratefully received, whether as a comment on this blog, by email (david.chapple@centaur.co.uk) or over a glass of wine at the BT Club on June 14th. I shall look forward to hearing from you.

by David Chapple, BTMS event director