Plane taking off at airport with the terminal in the foreground

GBTA Chicago delivers broad insight into industry trends

From new distribution capability (NDC) to global risk management, program consolidation to virtual payments, strategic meetings management and all the newest corporate travel technology, apps and programs for gamification … the 2019 Global Business Travel Association conference presented a feast of topics covering all the latest and greatest from around the corporate travel sector.

FCM Travel Solutions exhibited at this year’s event with the team showcasing our AI-powered mobile travel assistant app Sam. They also partnered with SolarBuddy, offering participants the opportunity to build a solar-powered light to donate to towns with no access to electricity.

FCM’s USA team participated in numerous sessions at the event including -:

  • Taking the headache out of change management
  • The changing workforce and emerging technologies
  • The top three practices for global risk management
  • Dashboard dilemmas: Creating value in C-Level reporting

FCM also had representation in several educational sessions on NDC with Marcus Ekland, FCM’s Global General Manager and Nicola Ping, from British Airways, who joined Marcus on an NDC panel. Nicola is also a member of Flight Centre Travel Group’s Global Air Distribution team working on NDC with other industry partners such as IATA.

FCM Australia also had a number of representatives attending.

Renos Rologas, FCM Australia’s Head of Account Management, said delegates he spoke to at the FCM stand were interested in range of topics including FCM’s consolidation capabilities and Sam functionality.

“With almost 8,000 people at the event, delegates are interested in a range of topics,” Renos said. “FCM’s capabilities and experience in consolidating multinational client travel programs was a recurring conversation. Visitors were keen to learn what the consolidation process looked like, the approach and the technology that sits behind a globally consolidated program.

“We had some excellent feedback about our award-winning travel app Sam. People were particularly interested in the Sam for Travel Arrangers module. The fact that travel bookers can be notified of traveller delays, allowing them to proactively make alternate arrangements for their people when delays or cancellations occur, was a talking point for many who came by to see demonstrations of the app.  

“The Hub, ClientBank and Secure was also being discussed frequently.”

Renos said for him personally, the highlight was hearing about the new technologies that were being promoted as ‘disruptors’ to the traditional travel management model including many solutions for gamification where compliant travellers are rewarded with cash or other incentives.

A snapshot of the some of the key themes covered at GBTA include:

 

The here and now: New Distribution Capability

Globally only 12 airlines are currently Level 4 (highest certification) NDC Certified despite IATA having a target of 20% of transactions to be facilitated by NDC channels by 31 December 2020. Additionally, there was talk around the customer benefits from NDC including the opportunities for tapping into different corporate product bundles, access to more dynamic content and customised deals. Marcus Ekland provided a status update on how the current NDC pilot with FCM customers in Europe was tracking with GDS provider Amadeus.

 

Changing workforce and emerging technologies

This session covered the opportunities that travel managers can leverage to ensure their programs were future proof. It also touched on artificial intelligence (AI) and how AI was enhancing the user experience for travellers and travel bookers. Technology developments are being shaped by the changing workforce and how different customers like to interact and communicate with technology.


Virtual payments gaining momentum

Sessions about virtual payments reiterated the growing shift of customers moving to virtual payment solutions, mobile wallets (eg Apple Pay) and fully automated expense management platforms. Conversation also covered where virtual payment solutions weren’t the best payment options such as in China.

 

New technologies: problem solving or disruptor

New technologies were displayed at GBTA for monitoring travel bookings made outside a program, booking capability for corporate housing options, quote automation technology for the meetings, conference and events space, gamification platforms and hotel aggregation tools.

 

Diversity and inclusion

This year’s event also included several sessions on catering for the growing diversity of corporate travellers with reference to multi-generational and LGBTQ travellers. How organisations can better develop travel programs and policies that connect with and provide complete security and protection for all employees including transgender and non-binary travellers. Sessions touched on the need to educate travellers on other countries' social attitudes towards LGBTQ people to mitigate potential risk.

 

Interested in hearing more about the future of the corporate travel industry? 

Register for Illuminate 2019 by 30 August 2019.

Illuminate 2019 offers procurement professionals, travel bookers, travel decision-makers and c-suite executives the opportunity to network with peers and hear the latest news and insights from key travel industry influencers and thought leaders. Supported by some of the industry’s leading suppliers and backed by the strength of the Flight Centre Travel Group, the event will also be curated by the world’s leading event management company, cievents.