IS THIS THE COMING OF AGE FOR VIDEOCONFERENCING?

Has the time finally come, I ask myself, for videoconferencing to go mainstream?

Videoconferencing, or VC, has been talked about for many, many years as a cost effective alternative to intercompany travel. Not only does it save money it also saves on time. Yet it’s never fully caught on. Why? Well predominantly because of cost – VC and telepresence kit has just been too expensive for many companies to consider as a viable option. But perhaps also because of the way – and to whom – it’s been marketed.

The good news is things are changing – enough for, in my opinion, the next 12 months to be a potential tipping point for the videoconferencing industry.

The up-front cost of buying in the technology is now significantly reduced and travel technology providers such as Sabre and GlobalVideoconferencing Network have both launched virtual meetings platforms that directly target TMCs.

GVN recently announced the launch of its new online booking platform that allows the direct bookings of virtual meeting rooms. The ability to rent public rooms and book VC facilities on a pay as you go basis may not be new – but where GVN differs from the likes of Whygo (which was launched to make booking public video conferencing facilities around the world simple and easy) or inetwork.com (which provides VOIP networking) is that it enables TMCs and buyers to book through self booking tools (SBTs) and, tying this facility into the distribution channel in the corporate space, is definitely new.

The fact that VC suppliers have woken up to the business potential of talking directly to TMCs and are creating technology that is accessible and relevant to them is a wise move. Given the squeeze on corporate travel budgets over the last few years, many corporates are only too eager to consider cost-saving alternatives intercompany travel.

David Chapple is the event director of The Business Travel Show. You can contact him virtually on Twitter @btshowlondon

SMARTPHONES = SMARTTRAVELLERS

Recent research has shown that smartphones really are a traveller’s best friend and, thanks to recent advancements in technology, organisations are also befriending them more than ever.

Last week, a survey from TripIt, the leading mobile travel organiser from Concur, has shown that travellers find it much easier, and are more comfortable, staying in touch with their partners back home thanks to the variety of technology that’s accessible through their smartphones.

Just 17% of TripIt respondents said they still found it difficult to stay in touch with home when travelling on business. And just 8% continue to find it stressful to say goodbye to their partners. Instead they are finding comfort in their smartphones, which allow them to stay in constant contact whether through regular phone calls, video calls, email, text messages and social networking.

88% of travellers make phone calls to stay in touch with back home, 47% use video calls, 85% texts and 72% email. Despite having the same access to technology, those staying put don’t seem to have embraced technology in quite the same way with 95% sticking to phone calls and just 37% using video calls, 78% texts and 45% email.

I think what’s important about these figures, which, to some degree, seem to state the obvious, is that connected travellers are no doubt happier, less-stressed travellers, which means their productivity and wellbeing will be leaps and bounds ahead of those travellers who are home sick and suffering because of it and companies will save money as a result.

Mobile technology is not only proving its worth for staying in touch at home, but also when travellers are away. Social media tools, in particular, enable travellers to stay in touch with their community of trusted contacts and also enable them to hook up with fellow travellers. These can be wide or niche communities, for example, MaidenVoyage.com for women travelling alone.

The next smartphone technology to make a huge impact on travellers’ lives is undoubtedly NFC (near field communication):  contactless payments. This is increasingly available and soon it won’t feel strange to make payments through a mobile phone with a chip in it instead of using a credit card. It will, for example, automatically do travel expenses, open hotel room doors and start cars.

And for organisations, smartphone technology is also proving to be worth its weight in gold. NFC, for example, has the potential to save money – lots of money – by encouraging traveller compliance. For example, suggesting you take the underground from the hotel instead of a cab (together with the route), or instead of taking a taxi to a favourite bistro, travellers will be directed towards restaurants in the hotel’s vicinity that are within budget.

The smartphone is already a must-have travelling gadget, over the next 12 months it will become the traveller’s companion. The technology to make that happen already exists – it is just a matter of time before it becomes standard.

David Chapple is event director of the Business Travel Show and is already planning his trip to the GBTA Conference in the UK this August using TripIt and will be glued to his smartphone before, during and after his travels.

TO NDC OR NOT TO NDC? THAT REALLY IS THE QUESTION

Not since APD has a three letter acronym caused such a stir in the business travel industry. And those three letters? N, D and C, of course.

New Distribution Capability is a new business model proposed by IATA member airlines that – if approved by the US Department of Transport – will allow greater visibility of the airlines’ products at point of sale. Seats will no longer be distinguishable purely by price and carrier alone. Consumers will be able to compare class, seat type, service levels and ancillary costs, as well, in the same way that hotels are sourced and booked.   

The introduction of greater visibility means that airlines will no longer compete on price and brand awareness, but rather on a more accurate like-for-like product basis. The travel industry understands the need for this change and agrees it is a good thing for the airline industry, the manager and the consumer.

However, the NDC proposition is also stirring up a cloud of controversy in the travel industry. Why? For two reasons. Firstly, IATA has excluded travel managers, travel agencies and trade organisations from strategy meetings. And secondly, because the new technology gives airlines the capability to ask buyers to input demographic passenger profiles pre-search.

All airlines already hold extensive amounts of passenger data, which is used in targeted marketing campaigns, competitive intelligence and to establish the viability of new routes, which is essential for opening up emerging markets.

But none asks for that information pre-search. Doing this means the airlines could – note, not would – discriminate based on the pre-search data, raise prices artificially and charge higher prices to those travellers they feel are able to pay more: corporates. And in a time when managing costs is still very high on the travel managers’ agenda, the possibility of paying more – and artificially so – is understandably grating.

By David Chapple

David Chapple is event director of the Business Travel Show, which takes place each February in London. Find out more at www.businesstravelshow.com. Comment on this blog below, or contact David on Twitter @btshowlondon 

THE HEATHROW DEBATE - WHAT'S THE ANSWER?

We posted a news story on our LinkedIn page yesterday about business travellers wanting another runway at Heathrow Airport. Richard Charman, research manager at HRG, posted a reply. See below. Food for thought, isn't it? We'd love to hear what you think - @btshowlondon or Business Travel Show group on LinkedIn. 

If you look at the IoD's own member research - it shows a significant regional split on where expansion should be focused. Having read numerous submissions my gut feeling is that Gatwick may be given an additional runway, Manchester Airport will get an additional runway, Birmingham Airport will have a significantly expanded runway by the end of 2014, Boris Island or similar will be promoted as a long term alternative to Heathrow, by the Government, whilst expansion at a number of other airports will also be permitted. It is already happening at Llydd Airport.  Personally, I would like Heathrow Airport expanded to accommodate two more runways but, I do not see how the Government can get that through Parliament or the courts because of the environmental impact. The promotion of one additional runway might be acceptable - but some argue that is only an interim not, a long-term solution. The likely outcome of the Davis Commission exercise is an attempt to direct development to a number of airports around the country to try and encourage balanced airport expansion because this implies balanced economic development - such simplistic logic ignores failed attempts to get airlines to use Stansted which is currently a white elephant used many by low cost airlines. Such a scenario could do a great deal of harm to UK earnings from aviation and encourage expansion at airports outside the UK. We are already suffering significant political and economic damage as a result of the imposition of Air Passenger Duty which should be abolished or as a minimum reduced significantly.

By Richard Charman

DEAR PATRICK MCLOUGHLIN, PLEASE PUT PARTY POLITICS TO ONE SIDE FOR THE SAKE OF UK PLC

In the first cabinet reshuffle since the Coalition Government took power, anti-third runway Transport Secretary Justine Greening has been ousted and Patrick McLoughlin has taken her place. Not much is known about Mr McLoughlin transport-wise, apart from the fact he has a fear of flying and he represents the most landlocked constituency in the UK.

 

No doubt, airport expansion, and the issue of a third runway at Heathrow in particular, will be top of his agenda this morning. Speaking on behalf of the business travel industry – if I may – I urge Mr McLoughlin to use this opportunity to put party politics to one side, to not succumb to the NIMBYs (not in my backyards) who will fight against expansion at whichever airport affects them most, and to focus solely on what’s good for UK PLC.

As the Government continues to dither and decisions are delayed, cities like Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris – all with world-class, well-connected hubs – continue to attract global corporations and the UK continues to slide down the scale as a centre of global commerce. 

Our lack of airport capacity is also preventing us from introducing new routes to the BRIC countries, which is essential to fuel economic growth long term.

In my opinion, that means putting a plan in place to create a long term transport strategy that will support the UK as a centre for business and fuel its economy over the next 20-30 years. And in the short-medium term look to airports such as Gatwick, Luton and Stansted to ease the capacity issues at Heathrow that everyone is getting so blindsided by.

As event director of the Business Travel Show, I’d like to extend an invitation to Mr McLoughlin to address the business travel industry at our event in London next February where he will meet a very eager audience keen to question him about the issues affecting our business including airport expansion, APD, green taxes, and high speed rail and franchises.

David Chapple, event director Business Travel Show, david@businesstravelshow.com

VIRGIN TAKES OFF AT HOME

Richard Branson and Virgin have somewhat hijacked the news over the last two weeks, haven’t they?

It started with Virgin being outbid by FirstGroup for the West Coast Mainline franchise that it has been running for the last 12 years. You can read our blog post with the details of FirstGroup’s bid here. Branson, it was reported, was livid, issuing an aggressive statement questioning the Government’s decision and FirstGroup’s competence almost immediately. This was followed by the announcement of an appeal and the launch of an online petition, which garnered 150,000 signatures. Branson even offered to run the service on a not-for-profit basis if the Government agreed to postpone the contract signing for two months.

Yesterday (28 August 2012) it was reported that Virgin had its lawyers working over the Bank Holiday weekend and is now planning a last minute legal challenge to prevent the Government from signing the contract, which is due to happen tomorrow and, which, according to the Transport Secretary Justine Keeling, is going ahead.

It’s all very gung-ho for the transport industry and I’m genuinely looking forward to the outcome. But what I find really interesting is the surprise announcement – released in the midst of this melee -that Virgin is proposing a three-times-daily airline service from London Heathrow to Manchester from next March.

When it was announced, many assumed Branson was simply throwing his toys out of the pram having lost West Coast Mainline. But I doubt this very much. I think the domestic airline has been part of the Virgin plan for some time and the timing of the announcement was merely coincidental.

The airline lost £80.2m last year. It has also lost its code share deal with BMI following BMI’s acquisition by IAG and its alignment with BA, which means it’s lost a significant chunk of its feeder routes, so something had to be done. And that something, it would seem, is the launch of a UK domestic network.

My question is: “Does this signal more of a strategic change in direction for Virgin Altantic, or will the IAG competition trustees charged with reallocating the BMI Heathrow slots see it as nothing more than smoke and mirrors to make them look like more of a credible option for those slots?”

The trustees will award these slots from summer 2013 and the decision will be made in the next couple of months, which also makes me think twice about the timing of the announcement.

Whatever the reason, though, the move by Virgin is potentially good news for the corporate travel buyer, as the likes of Virgin and BA start competing on value, service and price leading to increased frequencies and flight options, as well as better value for money.

David Chapple is event director of the Business Travel Show – you can challenge him on Twitter @btshowlondon or at david@businesstravelshow.com  

TRAVEL BUYERS HAVE TO BE TRAINED NEGOTIATORS TOO

I was at an ITM meeting last week and one of the topics that came up was air fares or, more specifically, how buyers can and need to negotiate their way around them. We discussed how, before business travel buyers even attempt to start negotiations with airlines, they have to dig deeper to find out what makes up that fare. Some airlines, for instance, include ancillary fees and fuel surcharges in the fare. Others don’t.

Travel managers have to know what the ancillary fees are (seat allocation, baggage allowance, and so on) so they can unravel the real cost of the ticket. Only then, are they in a position to start negotiating with the airlines. And negotiate they must given that, at around half of the total travel budget, air represents the largest spending category in nearly all travel programmes.

CWT – the UK’s largest travel management company – understands this and agrees. This week, the company announced its new report, Mastering the Maze: a Practical Guide to Air and Ground Savings, which takes travel managers on a tour of savings opportunities in 20 different areas, including negotiating fuel surcharges and ancillary fees. Well worth downloading.

Being transparent when it comes to real cost and added costs is a win win situation between buyers and suppliers – it encourages loyalty among buyers and, by staying loyal, buyers will be better placed to achieve a volume discount. What’s not to like?

Posted by David Chapple, event director of the Business Travel Show. You can get in touch at david@businesstravelshow.com or on Twitter @btshowlondon