Keep to the facts to reach your goal

In terms of business, the Dutch are very similar to Germans. You will always score with friendly, businesslike behavior. But the following rules of etiquette should be especially heeded:

• Appear punctually to your business meetings
• Prepare well
• Make sure you proceed in a well structured and goal-oriented manner
• Do not bargain when negotiating, but make clear, well founded statements
• Dress appropriately; elegant and conservative clothing is recommended for business meetings
• Distribute business cards only if requested

In addition, it should be noted that Dutch companies have flat hierarchies and that teamwork in companies is highly valued – including teamwork across hierarchical levels. This can be felt as far as the negotiating table.

Retaining the appropriate level of distance

Even the shift from a reserved to a more casual form of address – which often takes place quite early on in a business relationship – is not meant to eliminate distance in business affairs, but only to simplify communication. And invitations to a business lunch or dinner are not necessarily invitations in the sense that they may be in other countries. In the Netherlands, each person frequently pays for his or her own meal on such occasions. And small talk during meals or similar circumstances – especially when made by Germans – should skirt topics like World War II. It goes without saying that unfriendly remarks about Dutch royalty should never be made.

AirPlus-Partner Europcar has collected an overview of basic rules of etiquette when dealing with Dutch business partners. It is available under:

http://www.europcar.de/EBE/module/render/businessknigge

One could easily get the impression that the media are often linking various activities that are not really related. Business travel, for example, sometimes comes under attack in economic circles as well as general news media.  At least, this is the tone of the article “Bankers: by all means take my tax and spend it on business travel”, which was published in the online edition of the London Times on February 17, 2009. According to this article, discussion on business travel will not only increase, but demands from politics and the media could lead to further underestimation of the significance of business travel – to the detriment of the desired economic recovery. Author Mark Frary names two arguments that underscore the importance of business travel for the hoped-for economic upswing:

1) Radical limitation of business travel will damage airlines as well as the hotel branch, both of which realize a great part of their profits from just this type of travel.

2) It endangers business relationships that are essential for business because personal contact is decisive for nearly all fundamental business decisions.

As a matter of fact, the Association of German Travel Management (VDR) is reporting that the financial crisis is “massively” affecting business travel behavior. While a German survey held in October 2008 showed that only 14% of respondees said that they were cutting all travel that was not absolutely necessary, this figure jumped to 32% in January.  The cuts are particularly dramatic when one analyzes international developments: According to a current AirPlus study, circa 40% of all travel departments of European companies and over 60% of all US American companies confirm that the crisis is negatively affecting travel management. However, a current survey by the AirPlus US team shows that over 80% have already reacted and changed their travel programs

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), whose members number 230 airlines worldwide (93% of all air traffic), has announced that the “abrupt decline” of business activities and international trade has caused a “massive drop in bookings”. The German news magazine DER SPIEGEL has now published current figures. According to the article, bookings in December dropped 13% in comparison to the previous month. Asia showed the greatest losses with a reduction in demand by one quarter; premium traffic in Europe plunged by 16%.

But apparently, savings measures that are too rigid overshoot the mark. “Business travelers are an indispensable component of the success of modern companies,” declares Michael Kirnberger, President of the VDR. Limiting direct customer contact could affect business just as disastrously as the credit crunch. In addition, at a higher economic level, business travel makes a significant contribution to added value, according to Kirnberger. A 10% drop in business travel would remove some five billion euros from the German economy alone. With an 11% market share of all international business trips, Germany is considered to be the market leader in the business travel area.   

Currently – or so it appears – companies throughout the world are looking for “new equilibrium” in the area of business travel. But in doing so, they should let themselves be influenced neither by politics nor the media. If so, they could end up making the same mistakes of those managers who contributed to the economic crisis: orientation solely to balance sheets, short-term profits and savings potential. The significance of business travel is seen only in the long term.

London Times: Bankers: by all means take my tax and spend it on business travel
DER SPIEGEL: current figures (German)
Current survey by the AirPlus US team

The following situation still irritates Jörg Wuttke – despite his 18 years of experience in China: at a business meeting, it was reported that a common friend had just died. His Chinese business counterpart broke into laughter. “Even though I knew,” says Wuttke, who is now the President of the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, “that laughing can be the Chinese way of expressing embarrassment, and that this man’s reaction was an honest attempt at defusing a delicate situation.”

A manager at VW tells another anecdote – this one amusing – about a meeting he had in China with some business partners five years ago. He met them in a restaurant and ordered “white wine”, or in Chinese, “bai jiu”. A major error! For one, it’s important to know that in China, a glass must always be full – i.e. it is constantly refilled. For another, one must always follow the command “peng” – roughly “cheers!” or “chin chin!” – and drink along with everyone else, in order not to offend one’s table-mates. Above all, however, one must not be deceived by the still common translation in many dictionaries of “bai jiu”: “white wine” is actually schnapps, which is drunk in great quantities especially in Northern China. And here, reports the manager, it is not unusual in the least that every Chinese person at the table wants to “peng” individually with a Westerner.

“China has a culture that – if one is unfamiliar with it – has a myriad of pitfalls that can block successful investments,” explains consultant and China-expert Engelbert Boos from The China Management Network in Beijing. In addition to formal and legal questions, table manners and negotiations are the first hurdles.

Nobody should be annoyed, for example, when Chinese slurp and chew their food loudly – while simultaneously smoking a cigarette or talking with their mouths full, for example. But they react exceptionally repulsed to see someone blowing his nose and then putting the handkerchief back in his pocket. While loud noises when eating, or the custom of filling one’s plate with so much food that it can’t possibly be finished are meant to signalize courtesy and wealth, cleaning one’s nose is considered so improper that it is best done in the bathroom. And another thing that should be avoided at all costs is crossing ones chopsticks, putting them down separately, placing them in the rice bowl – or worse – waving them.

Chinese culture is oriented to harmony. Punctuality is thus a factor that is decisive for business success. In addition, one should have an adequate excuse if one only wants to eat certain things or does not wish to drink alcohol. Reference to a medication that does not permit one to consume alcohol with, for example, is a good argument for getting around (often extensive) rounds of drinking without offending the host. Whoever smokes must never neglect to offer everyone present a cigarette before lighting up one of his own.

Drinking to the health of others – as in most cultures – also has important ritual significance. A polite person holds his own glass somewhat lower than that of his counterpart. In addition, he holds it with two hands (especially when toasting with older or superior persons). One hand holds the glass normally, while the other hand is placed underneath the bottom of the glass.

Maintaining harmony is also the reason that the Chinese will passionately discuss just about all possible subjects (except politics), but are always careful in the end to make sure that everybody is right. In addition, it is taken for granted that every form of criticism is formulated diplomatically. If the interpreter has done badly, it would be emphasized how many other responsibilities he most definitely has. If a business idea doesn’t go over well, it is accentuated how many other (good) ideas the initiator has had until now. One should generally avoid looking one’s counterpart too persistently in the eyes (as is common in Western countries), or shaking hands too forcefully. These behaviors are not considered as an expression of strength and decisiveness, but as impolite.

Normally, business cards are exchanged before the beginning of a meeting. This should be done with a slight bow while handing the business card to the partner with both hands. The lettering, incidentally, should be facing up. When taking a card, nothing should be written on it, and it should likewise not be put in a pants pocket. This could be interpreted as an insult.

It is also important to heed the symbolism of colors, objects and numbers! The number 4, for example, is associated with death, while 8 is a lucky number. Red packing or envelopes are favored because they express luck. Just as in other cultures, gifts are always welcome. No flowers should ever be presented, however, because they are only brought in cases of death.

Chinese businesspersons are very oriented to hierarchies. When one appears as a delegation, it should be clear who the group’s spokesperson is. One can generally recognize the hierarchy of a Chinese negotiating group by the order in which its members enter the room. A strong negotiator is someone who shows determination and even toughness – without risking that his counterpart loses face.

Harmony is decisive in negotiations as well. Businesspersons should thus avoid saying “no”, and first answer by emphasizing the positive. Smiling can be classified at most as a signal for listening; it does not necessarily indicate assent.

And one last tip: anyone to talks to Chinese business partners must have a lot of patience. Because directness is disapproved of, managers must frequently put up with torturously slow negotiating rounds.

Some 32% of all travel planners consider it to be reasonable to use carbon-offset programs, which offset CO2 emissions through compensation payments. Another 39% want to wait for corresponding offers when costs for environmental impact between airlines and travelers are split. This is the result of a current survey of AirPlus Community members that was completed yesterday.

The results show that only 29% of those who responded do not consider carbon offsetting to be necessary or do not feel that it is part of their area of responsibility.
For additional information on carbon offsetting programs, please see
How to travel “environmentally friendly”?

Further current surveys can be found in the “Poll” section in the right-hand column.

It is apparently neither the desire to follow in the tracks of Santa Claus nor the inclination to view New Year’s Eve fireworks from high in the sky that kept many business travelers in action during the holiday season. The AirPlus Business Travel Index shows that nearly 5,000 AirPlus customers took care of business between December 24th and 31th in Germany alone last year. Although the number of business trips during this period is distinctly lower than on classical working days – when up to 30,000 German customers begin a business trip daily – the figures are still surprisingly high.

But the fact that hundreds of business trips are booked during the holidays does not necessarily indicate selflessness on the part of employees. After all, 40% of all employees in Germany try to avoid their company Christmas party¹  and only every third employee is really excited about Christmas Eve² . But it may well be that many a business trip is scheduled in order to combine the useful with the enjoyable.

¹ FORSA survey 2008, commissioned by Stern; © Statista.org 2009
² EMNID survey 2008 © Statista.org 2009

It’s a neck-and-neck race between travel agency, reseller and online booking. When it comes to the question of where travelers like to book their business trips, there are no clear favorites: 37% go to a travel agency, 32% use their company’s “reseller,” and 31% turn to their computer to book their flights online themselves. Those are the results of a recent AirPlus survey of readers of this blog. For around two months they had the opportunity to take part in the survey “How do you book your business trips” under the heading of “polls”.

Even though travel agencies are still (slightly) in the lead, the survey demonstrates a trend: travel agencies no longer hold as strong a lead as they did even a few years ago. Results from an “AirPlus International Travel Management Study“ from 2005 showed that almost 90 percent of all company representatives chose to book their flights with a travel agent.

“Do you want to bet?” The most famous travel bet in the literary world was made in a lounge in the London “Reform Club.” In Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days,“ the British gentleman Philias Fogg bets that he can travel completely around the world in 80 days. Clubs like this aren’t necessary meant to have their visitors leave again so quickly, though. Their purpose is more to make the visitors be able to feel at home, switch off and let their minds drift to different or new thoughts. In this way lounges, which are now available for business travelers in almost every airport, are comparable to clubs: you do not have to travel around the world after leaving them.

Business travelers find a lot of what they need to relax in airport lounges: they offer an important and generally also an exclusive place to get away. That’s why it is just as common in the world’s more than 1,000 airport lounges to find businesspeople who are preparing a presentation as it is to find those who want to just put their feet up, relax, and have a drink while reading a book. A relaxed atmosphere, good service, and (depending on the lounge and access authorization) free refreshments and snacks are the little amenities that can take on great significance in a hectic schedule.

Here business travelers can find a safe haven where they can “breathe and work,” even as outside chaos reigns in the form of canceled and delayed flights or overcrowded departure terminals – alone, with colleagues, or increasingly with business partners. Because they have access to copy machines, PC’s with internet connection, W-lan, fax machines or sometimes even flip charts, businesspeople can conduct meetings that would have been canceled due to inclement weather.

Some airport lounges even offer more than the standard equipment of a bar, stools, smoking rooms, small tables, TV’s and a wide assortment of current magazines and newspapers; nowadays it is not uncommon to find a laundry service, prayer room, showers and even places to sleep as well. And unlike a club, hotel or conference center meeting rooms, the departure gates are always close by so that the distance to the plane is minimal and most people can stay in the lounge until their boarding is called.

For the most part, the only passengers who can gain entrance to airport lounges are those who have booked a higher-class ticket, have earned a high status in a frequent flyers program, or have an exclusive membership in a credit card program or an “Airport Lounge Program” that must be paid into, such as the one from “Priority Pass” www.prioritypass.com.Some lounges charge an additional entrance fee.

For those who are interested, a current overview of offers at airport lounges can be found among other places at loungeguide.net (a wiki guide for worldwide airport lounges), airlinequality.com (which contains discussions about lounges), lounges.net (mainly for the USA and the UK) or staralliance.com (for StarAlliance lounges).

The “Burj Dubai”: at a height of over 800 meters and circa 175 floors, this skyscraper is the highest building in the world. Although the “Tower of Dubai”, which was erected by an international consortium, will not open until next year, it is already a symbol for the economic attractiveness of the United Arab Emirates and the chances that could develop from business relationships between the Arabic and Western worlds – if businesspeople on both sides learn to accept the cultural differences of the other. Even though partners in the Gulf region are considered to be particularly enterprising, they want to discover personal commonalities with Western businesspeople and expect at least basic knowledge of their country and its history. Those who wish to develop or expand commercial relationships in the United Arab Emirates have the advantage that English is widely spoken in the business world, in addition to Arabic. Furthermore, the Emirates – as opposed to their neighbor Saudi Arabia – tend to be oriented to the West.

It is still important to know about the Arabic culture and at least learn a few words of the language. The standard greeting formula (may peace be with you) is “As-salaam alaikum”. It is answered with “Va alaikum as-salaam” (and may peace be with you). It is important to address business partners with the formal correctness they deserve, because business and professional status play an important role. Take time well before your visit to find out how to pronounce your contact’s name and whether he holds a title, such as is the case with those who belong to ruling families, or who are diplomats or other dignitaries. One greets one’s contact partner by first name (Good morning, Mr. >>first name<<) – which should not be misunderstood as a too friendly or even casual level of communication. Shaking hands is the usual form of greeting between men. Handshakes should not be too firm, however, because it would be considered unpleasant. Arabic women – depending on the environment – must be greeted with exceptional restraint. Avoid all bodily contact with them!

In the United Arab Emirates, great significance is assigned to family cohesion and the private sphere. This can be evidenced by a surprisingly personal tone in regard to business partners. Arabic businesspeople tend to foster the tradition of the “house with an open door” and generally prove themselves to be very hospitable and generous hosts. Above all, private invitations should by no means be turned down. However, it is entirely customary not to accept an invitation the first time it is offered, but to refuse it twice with an answer such as “that is really not necessary”.

At business dinners, comparatively little in the way of business is discussed. Kabsa and mandi are popular lamb and rice dishes in the Emirates. They are mostly served with bread, which is used as a “shovel” that replaces the fork and knife. Make sure not to drink any alcohol if your hosts do not do this. Discussion of unpleasant subjects is avoided during dinner (and often in general as well). At best, metaphors are used to convey negative facts. It is thus advisable to read between the lines to find out if there is dissatisfaction with a business transaction.

It is also important to dress conservatively. Designer labels are in demand and show the wearer’s social background. Men always wear suits to business meetings. One should only take off one’s jacket at the host’s invitation. As a rule, office buildings are so well air-conditioned that this is not a problem. Foreign women may walk the streets unveiled, but they should clothe themselves conservatively. Businesswomen who show too much leg, shoulder or arm do not endanger only their business. Their behavior will be generally considered as rude and offensive.

Especially in the Arabic world, mutual give and take is an important component of every relationship. This includes often renewing and strengthening the relationship with presents. Recommended are illustrated books or highly symbolic porcelain figures. But of course, one must take care not to violate religious taboos (as would be the case with exposed bodies, for example). Gifts should be of high quality and must always be handed to the recipient with the right hand. The left hand – as in other Arabic countries – is used only for going to the toilet.

Do you remember? As a rule, it’s probably been one to two years – possibly even sometime in the last few months – since you’ve stood at the airline ticket counter with a many-page paper ticket, waiting until it’s finally your turn. Or since you lost sleep (or gained a few new gray hairs) over a misplaced ticket and had to deal with the all-powerful travel-bureaucracy gods. Today – unless you have to check larger pieces of luggage – longer waits at the check-in desk ought to be a thing of the past, just like fears of missing a flight because you’ve lost or forgotten your ticket.

Since January 1, 2008, thanks to the introduction of “electronic ticketing”, a new age has begun. Passengers now reach their airplanes faster, tickets can no longer get lost and money is saved. An e-ticket is a paperless electronic ticket that is stored in the airline company’s computer system. In order that travelers have a secure backup, they are sent e-mail confirmation about their reservation, but this is purely informative. On the day of their flights, they only need to identify themselves with their passport or ID card and are given a boarding card that allows them to go directly to the gate. In effect, this makes the passenger his or her own ticket!

Virtual tickets are also highly advantageous for airline companies. “On average, an airline company pays nine euros for a paper ticket – and only one euro for an electronic one,” says Bryan Wilson, project manager for electronic ticketing at the global air association IATA. If the airline industry exclusively used electronic tickets, it would save over three billion euros annually. It’s no wonder that according to IATA, 93% of all globally issued flight tickets are now issued electronically.

According to aviation experts, however, this is only one step towards significantly increasing the efficiency of air traffic. Just like the electronic ticket, comprehensive automatic check-in systems, radio systems for every piece of luggage and passenger controls using biometric data will soon increase overall airport efficiency. Until then, however, 30 million paper tickets that have not yet been issued must be collected and turned into recycling paper. And that will certainly be a great deal of work: they are stored at over 60,000 travel agencies in 200 countries.

8.8 x 5.4 cm: those are the exact measurements of a credit card. Its small size offers not only an easy target for thieves, but it’s also generally a symbol of the tremendous convenience made possible by cashless payments. For it’s not without reason that every year in Europe alone around 17 trillion euros worth of transactions are made in the private and public sector;  MasterCard and VISA credit cards are accepted at over 25 million different sales locations around the world. And if you do happen to need cash, over 900,000 ATMs are available to make a withdrawal.

But your flat little friend offers even more advantages: when you use it, you in effect receive an interest-free loan between the time of purchasing your item and the balancing of the credit. In addition, credit card users are often offered special services. Above all, though, the credit card offers a relatively high amount of security, since the liability is generally limited to 50 euros.

Nevertheless, you should pay attention when someone handles your card. Keep an eye on the person who books your payment and make sure a total is entered before you sign your bill. Hold on to your credit card receipts on your trip and compare your purchases later with your monthly statement. If there are any inconsistencies, you can still stop a payment at your credit card company within four weeks of receiving your statement. Before a trip, make sure to note down your credit card number and the number to call your credit card company (this is often printed on the card) and keep them in a separate place from where you keep your card. If your card is lost or stolen, you can then inform the credit card company immediately. Naturally it goes without saying that you should also keep your PIN in a separate location, and never write it on the card itself – also, do make sure to sign the back of the card immediately when you first receive it.

If you note these few security measures, you’ll be so thrilled at the simple use and high flexibility a card can offer when paying in foreign currencies that you can stop carrying large amounts of cash and still have a guarantee that you always have enough money on you. You can therefore avoid the embarrassment that Frank McNamara, an American, experienced when he noticed at a dinner in 1950 that he had forgotten his wallet and had to borrow money from a woman who happened to be at his table. In order to make sure this never happened again, he founded the world’s first credit card company – the “Diners Club”.