They have become unavoidable. At every trade show, one or more conferences are devoted to them. Yet their legitimacy in the business travel market is still being debated, even though their business clientele continues to grow. "They" are the "new entrants", Airbnb, Uber and others, who have carved out a place for themselves in the world of business travel in just a few years. "Today's business travellers regularly book their accommodation using collaborative economy platforms. According to our study, there are 17 % [in Europe]." says David Chapple, director of the Business Travel Show.
In fact, the 'sharing economy' was named by participants at the London show as the main factor influencing business travel in 2015. After initially underestimating the impact of these new alternatives, the market is coming to terms with the fact that business travellers are genuinely attracted to these new types of offer.
STEP UP
The phenomenon is even growing, as shown by the Certify SpendSmart report on expense claims in the US market. Between the first and second quarters of 2015, requests for refunds on Airbnb bookings increased by 143 %. For its part, Uber is said to have overtaken taxis for business travel in the US. This rise in power can also be seen on the supply side. Challengers to Airbnb and Uber have successfully launched, including made-in-France solutions such as SnapCar and Marcel in the VTC (chauffeur-driven car) sector, and MagicStay and Morning Croissant in the accommodation sector. To stand shoulder to shoulder with a giant like Airbnb, the new players in the accommodation sector are taking great care to position themselves, whether exclusively for business like MagicStay, upmarket like onefinestay or designer like Sweet Inn. Accommodation and urban transport are not the only sectors affected by this trend. The world of meetings also has its innovative start-ups. Bird Office, launched in December 2013 by three young French entrepreneurs, has made a name for itself around a simple idea: to offer companies that are not making full use of their meeting spaces the chance to rent them out on an ad hoc basis to other companies looking for a change and original spaces. Other players are also contributing to the dynamism of the market, such as Captain Train, in the rail booking sector, and BusinessTable, in the business lunch sector.
GOOGLE AFTER AIRBNB AND UBER
On a completely different scale, Google could also be one of the new entrants to the business travel market. The investments made by the American giant in recent years are beginning to bear fruit in two areas: distribution and data. Lufthansa's controversial shift towards direct distribution, which began in 2015, was supported in particular by the "Book on Google" function, which enables American users to book flights via Google Flights. In addition, Google's flight comparator regularly refines its content. Type of aircraft, average legroom, whether or not there is access to a power socket or a WiFi network, even an average delay: the range of information available is constantly expanding, enabling travellers to choose a flight with full knowledge of the facts.
While each player has its own approach to seducing travellers, the pitch generally remains the same. As is often the case, the potential savings are the number one argument. When interviewed at the GBTA Europe annual conference, Marc McCabe, head of business and business travel at Airbnb, spoke of "the potential for savings".an accommodation cost of 20 % to 50 % compared with the average rate for a night in a hotel."The French platform 100 % affaires MagicStay is primarily targeting trade show attendees, with the aim of offering them a cost-effective alternative to hotel accommodation that is often saturated during major events. The authentic character of the accommodation and its practicality, particularly when it comes to accommodating several members of the same team, are other assets put forward by these competitors of the traditional hotel industry.
SEXY RATHER THAN OLD SCHOOL TOOLS
Having taken their first steps in the world of leisure, these high-tech start-ups have also, and above all, developed a mastery of the ergonomics of their websites, making the user experience a modern art of living. The contrast between 'sexy' consumer platforms and corporate tools that are often seen as too dull is apparently diminishing under the pressure of new generations of tools and users. This is what the founders of Captain Train humorously summed up at the time of the launch of the business version of the rail platform: "There used to be two worlds. On the one hand, the normal world, where you could enjoy all the technology and the best design in your daily life. On the other, the professional world, where you had to use a 7.5 kilo laptop, a CRT screen, a plastic phone barely capable of receiving text messages, and silently suffer the bugs of your email software straight out of the 80s, while your Director of Innovation wandered the corridors with his iPad. The world of business, where everything had to be old-fashioned and inappropriate, has changed recently".
For many observers, the breakthrough of Airbnb and other companies in the world of business travel remains problematic. A number of obstacles remain in the corporate world, both psychological and rational. In particular, this new kind of competition could ultimately weaken the company's hotel programme, "cannibalising" it, as Carlson Wagonlit Travel noted in its report "Faster, smarter, better". In this international study published in 2015, the business travel agency listed the fears of travellers and travel managers regarding the collaborative economy. Security, quality of service and last-minute changes appear to be the three main fears of business travellers. Travel managers, on the other hand, are most concerned about data security, traveller safety and reporting.
Aware of these limitations, the providers concerned are adapting their offerings to break down these barriers, starting with user reviews that are largely falsified, insofar as they imply having booked, paid for and therefore used the service in question. A must for separating the wheat from the chaff, at a time when the credibility of some comparators has been damaged by the discovery of false comments.
But it is also by refining the business scope of their tools that the new entrants hope to win over travel managers. Since the beginning of 2014, Uber for Business has been centralising payment and improving expense tracking within companies. For its part, Airbnb's offensive on the business segment will have taken longer. The Business Travel programme, launched in the summer of 2014, began by targeting suitable accommodation in terms of availability, Wi-Fi access and location. It has now become more consistent and relevant with the Activity Tab and Reporting Tab tools, which enable travel managers to track business travellers and manage booking data for employees entitled to book on Airbnb, and then export reports and financial data to drive travel policy. MagicStay has adopted a more or less equivalent approach with its Magic Travel Manager Tool, presented at the end of 2015.
IN THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATION
Nevertheless, the integration of new entrants requires closer relations with the heavyweights of the business travel industry. At the presentation of the Amadeus Cytric Travel & Expense self-booking tool, Georges Rudas, CEO of Amadeus France, explained that "global leaders in the sharing economy are asking us to include them in our systems, as they are targeting the B2B sector". For its part, business travel specialist Concur has stepped up its partnerships with the various players involved over the last few months: Uber and Airbnb, of course, but also BusinessTable and Captain Train, which recently launched its new Captain Train for Business portal.
In keeping with its open booking approach, Concur has set up a network enabling the company to retrieve booking data and thus regain control over business travel. "With Airbnb and Uber, we are enabling users who like to use collaborative consumption for their leisure activities to do the same for business travel."Tim MacDonald, Executive Vice-President of Concur, was delighted to announce the partnership with the two US platforms. He added that "by capturing this data, we offer companies real-time transparency on their travellers' spending and itineraries".
It remains to be seen how business travel agencies will position themselves. Almost all of them have expressed a clear interest in these platforms, but their rapid growth means that they are once again faced with the challenge of being responsive. Conversely, suppliers in the collaborative economy will also have to make the effort to integrate with TMCs, as Advito pointed out in its white paper entitled "Collaborative economy: does it have a place in your travel programme?"
Until the new entrants are fully integrated into the world of business travel, it is up to the travel manager to navigate in uncharted waters. Without giving a blank cheque to these offers or to the travellers who are campaigning for their integration; without ignoring, either, a phenomenon that is already widespread. "Now is a good time for travel managers to consider the merits of sharing economy suppliers"Advito recommended in its white paper. Turning to travel managers, BCD Travel's consulting division adds: "The collaborative economy is changing business travel, whether you like it or not. Some of your travellers want to use these suppliers, and often already do."
Once again, travel managers are under pressure from travellers and their high-tech habits. This presents them with other challenges, such as identifying the added value of these alternative platforms, assessing the risks involved depending on the type of trip and category of traveller, and finding the right balance with the traditional players. Whatever the case, given the appeal of Airbnb and Uber to new generations of travellers, it seems difficult not to give them a place in travel policies. If only on an experimental basis.
