Why has the Marietton Group chosen to join the Travel Leaders Group network ?
Arnaud Fontanille - The reason is simple: in the business travel segment, the two main brands of the Marietton Group, namely Havas and Elsewhere BusinessThe new contracts only affect the French market. Until the end of 2015, Havas belonged to CWT and therefore benefited from its international dimension, which enabled it to respond to multinational invitations to tender. At the same time, Ailleurs Business had benefited from agreements with Radius via Selectour, but this was not entirely satisfactory. When theTravel Leaders opportunity so we immediately saw a major interest in it. For us, it's just a plus, it's business that we couldn't touch until now.
What changes will there be for your customers?
A. F. - Until now, when our multinational customers expressed a need for consolidation, we couldn't meet it. That's about to change. The strength of the Travel Leaders network is that it relies on recognised local players who offer high added value in terms of proximity and quality of service.
Some people are already talking about Travel Leaders Group as a new giant that is set to turn the business travel landscape upside down. But is it really such a revolution?
A. F. - I wouldn't go that far, it's not a revolution... However, our aim is to offer something different to what is available on the market today. The large TMC all offer more or less the same standard service, with impersonal, de-localised platforms and cumbersome processes. And many customers don't find what they're looking for in this offering. We're not going to wage a price war - that's not our ambition. We are going to insist on proximitythe added valuethe quality of service. There will be no standard offer, no delocalised call centres. We will also be able to offer a leisure dimensionUnlike other TMCs, which focus exclusively on business travel. All the subsidiaries in this new network, which is in the process of being set up, include a leisure and events dimension.
What about technology?
A. F. - Travel Leaders comes with many technological solutions, in particular a very good reporting tool. We are therefore going to benefit from this power, with the necessary adaptation for all customers in non-American markets. Our offering will also be based on existing tools used by the subsidiaries of the various networks. So we're going to offer à la carte tools, according to need, taking the best from each country or proposing a more standard offering based primarily on what Travel Leaders does.
We can imagine that there were other partners for international growth: why this Travel Leaders network rather than another?
A. F. - We've been thinking about international expansion since two years. We have observed and tested many things. It's also worth noting that Marietton and Travel Leaders have the same shareholder: Certares. So there are links that simplify things... But what really made the difference was the service proposalAnd Travel Leaders faced the same problems in the United States as we did in our market. And Travel Leaders faced the same problem in the United States as we do in our market: they are very well known in their American market, but had no international offering. In fact, this is generally the profile of all the agencies that join the network. So we all have the same DNA, based on proximity and quality of service.
We don't want to enter into a logic of price wars, low-cost and low service.
So Certares is linked to Marietton, Travel Leaders and also American Express GBT: isn't that a problem?
Arnaud Fontanille - It's not an issue. There's a real dividing line between American Express GBT perimeter managed by Certares and Travel Leaders or Marietton. The offer is different, we don't target the same types of account. An agency like Amex is very focused on key accounts, whereas Travel Leaders, like Marietton, is much more focused on SMEs or the mid-market. As part of our international offering, we will be looking at a number of major accounts, but our strategy is above all to go after international SMEs rather than very large accounts, where margins are lower and expectations are not the same. We're going to arrive with a offer based on quality of service rather than cost per transactionSo we're going to close ourselves off from the top end of the market. We may be in competition with American Express GBT on some accounts, but the guideline is not the same. We don't want to enter into a logic of price war, low-cost and low service. Many of the customers of the big TMCs are in that logic, and we won't be positioning ourselves in that way.
The TMC market is consolidating, particularly under the impetus of American Express GBT. Can joining a network also help you to strengthen your position and protect yourself?
A. F. - That wasn't the original idea. It was first and foremost to go and find business that we weren't capturing. But we're in a sector based on volume, with low margins, so the race to consolidate is a challenge. The offer has indeed consolidated on the large accounts side, with fewer and fewer players, but on the segment we are targeting, SMEs, the mid-market, the market remains totally fragmented and there are opportunities. Consolidation enables us to achieve synergies in our supplier agreements: the bigger we are, the greater our negotiating power. So it can be a way of protecting ourselves against potential difficulties, but that's not the primary reason.
How long does it take to join a network like Travel Leaders?
A. F. - Six months ago, I would have said that it was a long process. In fact, everything is happening very quickly. The first discussions date back to December 2018 This is where the Travel Leaders project was launched. Our first exchanges with the network took place in the course of the year. start of 2019And we're already preparing responses to calls for tender. By the autumn, we'll be able to welcome our first new customers. On the whole, the network has been a fertile breeding ground, attracting many HRG partners which, following the buyout by American Express GBTAs a result, they found themselves in conflict with Amex's wholly-owned subsidiaries, and were looking for an alternative. This speeded things up. In five months, 50 countries have been integrated, and 30 more will be added in the next few weeks. So there will be 80 countries by the end of the year.
Have you considered bringing the Group's various brands under a single banner?
A. F. - We asked ourselves this question at the time of the takeover of HavasThis is because it is a strong brand. But our agencies do both business and leisure travel, and in some cities our different sites would have been in competition. From a business point of view, the distinction between Havas and Ailleurs Business offers us twice the chance of winning. Admittedly, there is an additional cost, with two organisations and two brands, but we can respond jointly to certain invitations to tender or share the market, depending on the characteristics of the account. So it's more of an opportunity than a problem for us today.
What is the balance between business and leisure travel within the Marietton Group, and between key accounts and SMEs?
A. F. - At the Havas and Ailleurs Business subsidiaries, business travel represents 60% of the activity. For the Marietton Group as a whole, the split is 50/50. As for major accounts, this is limited to a few calls for tender, depending on opportunities, and most often with the Ailleurs Business brand. At Havas, 99% of business is with SMEs.
What is happening with direct connections to airlines is a major issue, even more important than the Travel Leaders dossier.
What volume does business travel represent today, and what objectives have you set yourself with the integration of Travel Leaders?
A. F. - In 2018, overall business volume reached €1.4 billion at group level, including €700 million for business travel. Havas accounted for €500 million, and just over €200 million for Ailleurs Business. We haven't set ourselves any targets with the Travel Leaders network, so we're remaining cautious, but the potential is enormous. We really hope that this will boost our volume of business, probably not as early as 2019, even though there will be a few signings, but from 2020 onwards.
Are you working on any other projects in the business travel sector?
A. F. - Of course! There are many other projects, starting with the NDC. Our industry is undergoing profound changes. What is happening now, with direct connections to airlines, is a major issue, even more important than the Travel Leaders dossier. We're devoting a lot of time to it. It's an exciting subject, but a risky one. About ten years ago, the airlines decided to stop paying the agencies. But that was nothing compared to what's going to happen over the next two or three years.
