TMC

BCD Travel is preparing for the arrival of the BCD Pay solution in the business travel sector, expected by 2022 in certain markets. TMC surveyed around a hundred international travel buyers last October. The aim was to identify their travel & expense practices, issues and expectations. According to the survey...

"Global security doesn't stop at 5 o'clock in the afternoon": this is the relentless premise behind the launch of BCD Alert on 17 November by the business travel agency. A new mobile application targeting duty of care, offering an additional solution for travel managers and security officers....

Things have come full circle: no less than five years after announcing its acquisition of KDS, American Express GBT can now boast that it is "the only TMC to offer a proprietary mobile solution that brings together all [its] functionalities in a single application", as announced on 16 November. Not only does this mean...

The IFTM Top Resa event provided an opportunity to take the temperature of the business travel market: how do you feel about it? Yorick Charveriat - As far as TMCs are concerned, we're all in the same boat: there's some kind of recovery, and that's good. We were expecting to see 20% of business in the...

What changes in the market should the partnership announced on 5 October between SAP Concur and VoyagExpert address? Sébastien Delannoy - A few years ago, two distinct models coexisted within organisations: on the one hand, there was travel, with travel agencies and purchasing departments managing this activity internally, and on the other hand, there was...

CWT has announced that it has completed its recapitalisation with its main financial partners, in particular Barings LCC. These partners will become "the new majority owners of CWT", said Michelle McKinney Frymire, CEO of the business travel agency. This operation should result in the addition of 350 million dollars of equity capital in CWT.

It was to be expected that the acquisition of Reed & Mackay in May 2021 would push TripActions into the high-end segment. But for the business travel start-up to announce the launch of a new VIP department just four months later is clearly a rush... " TripActions and the team at Reed &...

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is undoubtedly one of the major issues for the future of business travel. And if it is to be properly managed, it requires accurate information to help managers steer their travel policies accordingly. As far as hotel reservations are concerned, one of the main players, HRS, presented its...

American Express GBT's objective is to provide information to reassure business travellers and get their travel plans moving again, with the integration of new functionalities unveiled on 29 June. The TMC has enhanced its booking and reporting tools by integrating more information to provide business travellers with a better roadmap. Business travellers will be able to contribute...

With some two billion users every month, and global coverage in 180 countries, WhatsApp has long been the go-to communications tool for the general public and many professionals alike. So it's no surprise that American Express GBT has given in to the temptations of the mobile application, integrating it into its chat functions....

Bringing together a large proportion of the world's rail services in a single technological solution was already one of Trainline's strong points. Via its website and mobile app, this independent platform brings together the offerings of 270 rail and bus operators in 45 countries. That's millions of routes, fares and times...

Could this be the start of a vast domino effect in the business travel sector, and in particular the TMC sector? A few hours after the announcement of the takeover of Egencia by American Express GBT, another deal was unveiled by TripActions. The start-up specialising in business travel management is acquiring the services of Reed & Mackay, a prestigious...

Not surprisingly, the health crisis is accelerating the trend towards consolidation in the business travel sector. It was still necessary to identify the players involved. Unsurprisingly, American Express GBT is once again at the helm of these major manoeuvres: the TMC had already distinguished itself three years earlier by...

How did you experience the EVP 2021, converted to hybrid? Yorick Charveriat - The teams did a great job. The Meetings & Events division had already organised several virtual events, but following the new restrictions, we had to decide whether or not to continue with this EVP 2021. The participants and panellists were almost...

TMC "alternative": this is the new positioning advocated by FCM at the launch of its new visual identity on 10 March. The business travel agency's aim is to underline the flexibility it offers its customers in managing their business travel. The new technological platform currently under development will provide this flexibility. FCM...

American Express GBT is continuing its consolidation drive in the business travel market. The TMC has just acquired the Ovation Travel Group, for an undisclosed sum. Present in around a hundred countries around the world - and with 30 offices in the United States and the United Kingdom - the Ovation Travel...

How is a player like American Express GBT looking ahead to 2021? Despite the current climate, are there any sources of optimism or certainty? Yorick Charveriat - 2021 is fast approaching and the outlook is of course linked to the pandemic and the treatments and vaccines that will be introduced. The only thing...

On 30 September, business travel professionals were invited to attend the 29th EVP in digital format. Although they were unable to reveal the data from the traditional EVP barometer - an exercise made virtually impossible by the health and economic context - the American Express GBT managers did release a few figures. These are...

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 centre stage. Its role has been reaffirmed, in particular through its ability to reassure travellers, to give them precise information on the conditions of their...

As part of its multi-channel strategy, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is enhancing both its instant messaging service and its Amex GBT Mobile application. Messaging on the Amex GBT mobile application, which enables travellers to chat with a travel adviser, has now gone live in more than 24 countries....