Volker Huber

The Asia-Pacific region is home to the markets of the future.
Travel managers should diligently follow regional developments. According to experts’ forecasts, the region will experience a monumental upswing after the global economy has recovered.

So far, however, travel managers around the world are hesitant to approach this region because it is so foreign and different. The study conducted by ACTE and AirPlus shows that 72 percent of the interviewees assume that travel managers lack understanding for this region. Due to the different cultures of the individual countries, they said, it is impossible to implement measures that have proven successful in Europe or America (68 percent). In Asia, status and service, for example, are often closely connected. While in western countries, companies save by booking lower service classes, in Asia this means weakening the travel manager’s position.

However, it is not only cultural diversities that require heeding in the region. Travel management in Asia-Pacific is a young discipline and, just like a tender plant, it calls for careful cultivation.

The survey results of the latest ACTE/AirPlus White Paper show that modern travel management is still in the fledgling stages. A mere 34.5 percent of those interviewed in the Asia-Pacific region stated that they are using cost control as a basis for negotiating with service providers. In Europe, this share is 53.6 percent; in North America it is as high as 73.2 percent. The difference in online booking tools is equally as large: 13.5 percent in Asia-Pacific, 26.4 percent in Europe and 64.3 percent in North America.

Nevertheless, we should keep an eye on the region’s power of innovation and use it for our undertakings.

If you wish to establish effective business-travel management in Asia-Pacific, you must know the region’s peculiarities. The following factors are important:

• developing an understanding of its cultures;
• differentiating when addressing people; and
• being patient when changes need to be implemented.

In addition, we should not believe that we know better than them. With the required attention to details, we can contribute to overcoming distances.

Downloads:

AirPlus International / ACTE Whitepaper

PDF Download (1 MB)
EPUB Download (257 KB)
MOBI Download (672 KB)
How-to download e-books

Author: Volker Huber, Executive Director & Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Solutions at AirPlus

The ACTE conference in Prague, Czech Republic, October 25-27 was a hot spot for highly interesting discussions. Will there be a need for a business class on continental flights in the future? Business travel by train is already a well accepted alternative to flight in some European countries! It is not only all about “how to travel” – more than ever travel management stands for demand management. These were some of the current issues which were discussed by travel managers after the release of the latest ACTE/AirPlus White Paper last week titled “Post Recession – Has the Travel Management Landscape
Changed Permanently?”.

Now you can read the Whitepaper also with eBook or Blackberry: Please click on ‘Research Center’.

Volker Huber

Corporate travel has certainly changed over the past two years, but are these changes permanent? 

This AirPlus International/ACTE whitepaper examines the current travel management landscape, whether it will return to where it was before the recession started or if it will be forever changed. Further explored are the implications for travel managers today and in the future.

A few questions explored in the whitepaper:

• Will travel volumes recover?
• Is virtual conferencing here to stay?
• How has traveler behavior changed?
• Have companies cut travel too far?

Download:
AirPlus International / ACTE Whitepaper (PDF, 1 MB)

Author: Volker Huber, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Solutions, AirPlus

John Kwong

Join travel management experts from China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia as they discuss the differences in business, cultures and economic structures in the Asia-Pacific region. In an effort to bring the West and East closer together, they will talk about trends, challenges and opportunities for managing travel in the different Asian countries.

Your questions are encouraged and will be addressed during the webinar.

13 October 2009 – 09:00 Singapore time (GMT +8 hours)
(12 October 2009 – 21:00 Washington, DC time (GMT -5 hours))

With Moderator:
Greeley Koch (Acquis Consulting Group)

And Speakers:
Lucy Wang (AirPlus International, China)
John Kwong (AirPlus International, Singapore)
Savin Ma (AirPlus International, Hong Kong)
Andreas Wellauer (Galiant TM-Consultant, Australia)

Topics include:

• Top ways to improve travel management in the Asia-Pacific marketplace
• How travel management varies between different countries within Asia-Pacific
• What will be the biggest challenge for TM in the Asian countries?
• Where do you see chances and opportunities for the national TM?

Registration for travel managers is complimentary. Please register here

For your complimentary copy of the corresponding white paper “Successful Travel Management in Asia Pacific – Challenges and Solutions in a fast changing Region”, simply click on the Research Center

John Kwong

Singapore 12-13 August 2009
Redefining Travel Management is the title of the ACTE conference coming up next week in Singapore. The current business environment redefines not only the travel management landscape but also the role of the travel manager himself. With AirPlus you can find out what’s next for the business travel industry.

Key topics are:

• The Business Case for Managed Travel: Measuring the Return on Investment (ROI)
• Is There Room on Your Plate for More? The Evolving Roles of Travel Procurement and Sourcing Professionals
• Integrating Videoconferencing with Your Demand Management Goals
• Two Sides to Every Story: How Outsourcing Can Affect the Travel Programme

Now in its 8th year, the 2009 ACTE Asia-Pacific Education Conference is the primary source for education and networking in the region. Travel buyers, procurement specialists, and meeting planners will have the opportunity to learn the industry trends and best-practices that will enable them to increase the value of their travel, procurement, and meetings programmes; network with the most senior-level industry executives; and help their companies get back on top.

Richard Crum

By Richard Crum, President, AirPlus International, Inc.

In the current economic climate, Travel Management is more important than ever. It’s improving the role and status of travel managers in one very notable way. Last year’s AirPlus International Travel Management Study of 1,500 travel managers in 15 countries provided significant evidence that lack of time, resources and status was preventing them from optimizing the power of their travel programs. Fast forward to 2009 and there appears to have been a change. Several travel managers have been quoted in industry publications as saying that senior management is finally giving them the support to make the radical changes to travel programs for which they had been pleading for years.

AirPlus and ACTE decided to put these claims to the test in a survey of the ACTE buyer membership, and the results are startling. No fewer than 62% of respondents say the economic downturn has made senior management more receptive to their ideas for managing the company travel program.

The jointly released whitepaper is entitled: Empowered employees – how travel managers are adapting and thriving in the global recession and examines why the situation has changed and how travel managers are taking advantage of their newly gained empowerment to transforming their travel programs. It also gives travel managers tips on how they can maximize the opportunity they have been given, not only to improve their travel programs but to consolidate their enhanced status within the organization.

Additional resource:
Empowered Employees. How Travel Managers are Adapting and Thriving in the Global Recession.
(PDF, 593.5 KB)

“Trust is good, control is better” – this saying also clearly applies to travel management. But it only becomes meaningful if the control is systematic and if sanctions are consistent against those in the company who don’t comply with travel regulations.

A recently released white paper from the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) and AirPlus International demonstrates not only how expensive noncompliance with travel regulations can be; the “Best Practices Guide to Corporate Travel Policy Compliance” also describes ways to monitor travel costs and uses case studies to report on the methods used by companies that have improved their regulations.

The guide provides a simple list of the most popular rules used to lower travel costs:

1. All travel costs have to be booked on the company credit card.
2. If the company has installed its own online booking tool or an ‘internal travel office’, then these have to be used in order to take advantage of preferred hotels and airlines.
3. Business travelers have to consult a list of low-cost partner hotels when booking. Staying in 5 star hotels is not allowed.
4. Hotels have to be booked as early as possible in order to avoid any price increases due to trade shows or events.
5. Booking a business class flight is only allowed in exceptional cases.
6. Trips should be planned in a strategically inexpensive manner: if possible, appointments should be set close together so that they can be taken care of in one trip instead of several small ones.

Over 130 travel managers and other experts were interviewed in March for the white paper. More than half of them confirmed a positive trend of increasing willingness of business travelers to comply with travel guidelines. The use of preset credit cards, conducting business with certain travel agencies and the use of do-it-yourself tools have all become more common – as has the consistent use of contractual partners when booking flights, hotels or rental cars.

This trend has been observed above all in European companies and large corporations with high amounts of travel. Its cause has been attributed to “stricter” behavior of travel managers. This relates to setting and controlling deadlines as well as consultations with employees who need to be put back in their place when it comes to their business travel expenses. The survey also notes the growing trend of travel managers to be as flexible as possible regarding meeting the needs of business travelers and respecting their previous experiences.

The white paper can be ordered for free at the following adress:

Whitepaper ACTE AirPlus Compliance

During recent years, many companies have come to the conclusion that business travel is an area in which costs must be controlled, processes optimized and a central travel management function established.

But how? Whereever you are located, you can find help and support from the following organizations:

ACTE – Association of Corporate Travel Executives

ACTE is active throughout the world and advocates the development of internationally recognized travel practices. This approach is expanded through the specific experiences of its regional members. ACTE correspondingly develops relevant and feasible programs and events.

In recent years, the ACTE model has become an industrial standard.

(www.acte.org)

VDR – Verband deutsches Reisemanagement e.V.

This German association includes over 500 members and providers from renowned companies in all branches. Its primary purpose is representing member interests at the national and international levels.

The VDR also wants to create a framework that simplifies travel management for its members. It thus promotes dialog between members as well as knowledge-transfer from company to company.

(www.vdr-service.de)

Travel Industry Club

This club is not an organization as are the two above-mentioned associations. Rather, it is a business club that sees its task as enabling networking among its members and serving as a communications and knowledge platform.

Its “unique selling point” is the diversity of its members. These members contribute to strengthening the significance of the “travel management” field through their personal commitment.

(www.travelindustryclub.de)

NBTA – National Business Travel Association

This organization connects the business travel world. Its aim is to support – similarly to the Travel Industry Club - strengthening the significance of travel management. The NBTA creates a forum where members can exchange constructive ideas and information.

The NBTA likewise offers numerous educational and training opportunities and holds an annual International Convention and Exposition.

(www.nbta.org)