At times of economic pressure, it is often said that technology and product innovations flourish as companies fight to work creatively to distinguish themselves harder from competitors. In the case of the business travel and meetings sector it appears that an increased frequency of product changes has occurred to distinguish their creators. But product developments also assist in driving revenues through alternative streams in an attempt to establish sustainable business models in sectors challenged by chronic competitive pricing, regardless of economic conditions.

In creating product innovations, one assumes that considerable research and impact assessments are undertaken across client bases but at times of intense economic pressure the question is whether this is undertaken sufficiently. Certainly the vast majority of buyers believe that suppliers in all sectors do not consult sufficiently with their end customers before introducing product changes. As a result of this, far from providing value to the buyer, a massive 64% of buyers state that product changes often result in additional work and therefore cost. One example of this is the action by airlines to introduce new fares to the market using codes previously used for other fare types. For example, an airline may introduce a new, lower economy fare using a code previously used for a business class fare, which can result in tools used to manage policy applying rules incorrectly (22%) and the misinterpretation of data (34%).

So, when product changes mean technology and processes must change who is there to help? In theory, the intermediaries should already be engaged in the issue and be working through solutions. Our survey results would seem to indicate that in many cases the intermediary or technology provider is able to create the solution before the customer sees a negative impact, as demonstrated by the 44% of buyers who were unaware of recent issues. Unless of course these buyers had not yet picked up on the issue on which they were surveyed.

Without engagement and collaboration it is clear that the end-user will continue to be presented with issues they must deal with which undermines the work of the supplier community, and in particular the airlines, to create choice and a sustainable model. This is best illustrated by an incredible 98% of buyers who believe that airlines and technology providers need to engage with the buyer community to ensure the unbundling innovation doesn’t continue to cause comparative fare issues.

With nearly 50% of buyers disagreeing with the view that airlines are acting positively to consumer wishes, this illustrates that the opportunity to use the existing environment to make positive product changes which are in line with buyer needs is truly at hand.

The ITM Research programme is supported by AirPlus and produced independently by the Institute of Travel & Meetings (ITM) www.itm.org.uk

Paul Tilstone, Chief Executive, Institute of Travel & Meetings