Has the travel agency model been weakened by the past few months?
Julien Kauffmann - On the contrary, I'd say that the current crisis has put the agency back in the spotlight. Its role has been reaffirmedThis is particularly true of its ability to reassure travellers and provide them with precise information about the conditions for travelling to a particular country. Before the crisis, there was a whole debate going on. "Can we book direct rather than through a TMC? What's the point? Paradoxically, the crisis has demonstrated our added value.
Let's look back for a moment at the period of confinement. Was your business at a standstill, like your travels?
J. K. - There has often been talk of recovery from deconfinement. But in reality, we never really stopped. Between March and May, we even had a strong activity. We had to manage a lot of requests for information on travel, but also repatriations as countries closed or companies wanted their employees to return. 35,000 repatriations were organised, although this was not always easy as some flights were cancelled or no longer available. The travel agency's added value lies in its ability to find solutions. For example, one customer had to cross a border on foot in order to catch a plane in a neighbouring country.
Trip cancellations must also have been a feature of the period?
J. K. - Indeed, managing cancellations, and then travel vouchers and refunds, was another of our major activities during this period. Which isn't necessarily the most exciting thing in the world, but it does have a significant impact on our customers. Because there were a lot of money blocked to recover on their behalf. I can only imagine the efforts made by companies that let their travellers organise their journeys directly to manage all this.
What is the current state of business travel? Is the recovery noticeable?
J. K. - We are back to levels of around 40 % compared with the same period in 2019. Most of our business is in the domestic market, which now accounts for 77 % of our business, compared with 66 % historically. In this context, rail is logically more present. As far as we're concerned, bookings are generating far more calls than before. From an average of just under one call per booking, because a lot of things are done online, in June we were receiving up to four calls. Travellers find out about travel conditions in the various destinations, whether borders are opening or closing, flight availability, and then double-check that everything is OK, etc.
We are back to levels of around 40 % compared with the same period in 2019.
So information is essential before you decide to travel?
J. K. - Absolutely. That's why this summer, in preparation for the start of the new school year in September, we introduced the Travel Vitals web platform which brings together all the information you need to travel. What borders are open or not? Under what conditions can you travel to a particular country or city? You'll also find information by airport, hotel chain, air and rail operator. This platform will be updated on a daily basis and enhanced with new features as time goes by. Currently only available in English, it should be available in several languages in the future. It's really comprehensive and accessible not only to our customers, but to all travellers. We decided to leave it open, because our role as a major player in the sector is to encourage travel.
This development strengthens your multi-channel communication strategy...
J. K. - Our aim is to make travelling as easy as possible. Everything we develop is designed for our call centres, for the web and for mobile phones. For example, the Travel Vitals platform was designed primarily for the web, but is also available in our call centres and on mobile devices. recently via the Amex GBT Mobile application. It's the continuation of a trend that already existed, that of offering travellers permanent access to travel information. Today, everything is constantly changing. The information must therefore also be in real time. When employees are planning their trip, they can access our Travel Vitals website for more information beforehand. If they decide to go, they can book online, using our tools such as Neoor on the phone. And, once the trip has been planned, they will continue to receive real-time information via the mobile app, with push functionalities if there are any changes or if regulations evolve. The idea is to reassure customers throughout the process.
More generally, will business travel soon be back in the black?
J. K. - Paradoxically, it is easier to have a long-term perspective. In this context, we are convinced that business travel will come back where it was in 2019Although it will undoubtedly take several years. All the discussions we have with our customers confirm this. The need to travel remains very strong in terms of business development, in spite of theincrease in videoconferencing. Take our own experience: since June, we've been back on the road to meet customers. Obviously, there's no substitute for face-to-face contact.
Paradoxically, it's easier to have a long-term perspective.
But what is the short-term outlook?
J. K. - That's where the uncertainties lie. The recovery will not be linear, with jolts as we saw last week with the introduction of the euro. around forty in the United Kingdom. Things will be extremely progressive. 15 days ago, more cancellationsThis is linked to changes in certain markets that were still open, but have now closed, such as the UK and Morocco. This will be our daily routine over the next few months, with both a tendency for travel to pick up and occasional cancellations.
How can companies adapt to these constant changes?
J. K. - We will have to work hand in hand with them on theevolution of travel policies to make them dynamic. Until now, it's been a bit of an all-or-nothing policy: either employees are allowed to travel, or everything is forbidden. But we're looking ahead a fragile environment for the next six to eighteen months. As a result, we need to help travel managers put in place dynamic travel policies that adapt in real time to the opening and closing of borders and to the reality of the market. We're working hard on this.
Much has been said about the use of videoconferencing during confinement. Will these virtual solutions take precedence over travel, as often announced?
J. K. - For certain types of travel, such as in-house meetings, videoconferencing is likely to play a bigger role. However, although the technology is powerful, it does not replace the need to meet customers face-to-face and partners or its teams. The two can even be combined. We have set up a programme for our customers with hybrid meetings combining both physical meetings and videoconferences. Whereas before, a company would organise a large pan-European conference for its customers, today we build conferences that are held in five or six locations in Europe with 200 or 300 participants each time and a videoconference relay. It's a real demand, and one that's tending to grow.
TMC's role is no longer simply to manage bookings, but more to support and reassure passengers.
As we've seen, a large part of your business today consists of reassuring and informing your customers. But with business travel expected to fall, what impact will the crisis have on your transaction-based business model?
J. K. - TMC's role is no longer simply to manage bookings, but more to accompany and reassure passengers. The corollary of this is the need to developing our remuneration modelinitially based on transactions, to promote these services. We need to have this dialogue with our customers and prospects to be able to invoice for these services. Being paid for the added value we provide is the basis of business, and Amex GBT has demonstrated the relevance of its advisory role during the crisis. Not all TMCs are capable of doing that.
Do you think the crisis will reshuffle the cards among travel agents?
J. K. - It's clear that the sector will be turned upside down. We are facing a crisis on an unprecedented scale. Some of our competitors have gone through periods of restructuring or refinancing. There will probably be some bankruptcy filings, some mergers. Fundamentally, the industry is changing, because the role of the TMC will require new skills and investment capacities that not everyone necessarily has. We are living a very interesting period which is forcing us to question ourselves, to invest and to develop new services. These developments would have taken place anyway, but it would probably have taken us ten years to get to where we are today. The transformation of the sector will accelerate and, ultimately, it will be to the benefit of our customers and passengers. And, I hope, for Amex GBT too.
