TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

The new white paper published by Advito, "Sharing Economy: Does it have a place in your managed travel programme?" looks at a topical issue that is reshuffling the cards in business travel and travel management. By comparing the solutions proposed by the two giants of the sharing economy - Airbnb and Uber, not to mention them by name - with the imperatives of business, the BCD Travel subsidiary points out both the potential and the limits of these new alternatives. 

Low-cost air travel in Germany is costing passengers more because of the rise of airlines offering a more upmarket service.

Meetings booking site book2Meet has published a white paper entitled "2015 Buying Meetings As Easy As Buying Travel? The paper, written by Sam Versele, provides an interesting analysis of the situation and attempts to identify the keys to achieving this "new frontier" in travel management.

Torn between their international ambitions and the need to save money, SMEs are finding it relatively easy to reduce the cost of their business travel. Provided they identify the right partners.

 The Global Business Travel Association and Concur have jointly published a White Paper dedicated to the issue of open booking. "The Future of Business Travel Management Solutions" attempts to outline an "ideal solution", while advocating the integration of open booking with new tools.

The 24th edition of the EVP barometer, unveiled on Thursday at the Palais Brongniart in Paris, confirmed the slight upturn in the European business travel economy. On average, business travel expenditure rose by 0.9% in 2014 across the 10 European countries surveyed. This slight upward trend is expected to continue this year (+0.7%).

Of course, contactless payment methods are not yet part of everyday business travel. But that horizon is getting closer. In the meantime, companies are working on efficient, paperless solutions. Our survey.

Munich Airport recorded the best punctuality rate for 2014, according to the "OAG Punctuality League 2014" ranking published by the aviation statistics specialist. Air Baltic came out on top in the large airline category. 

Less expensive and more reliable than in its early days, videoconferencing is gaining ground in the workplace. All that remains is to identify the solution best suited to your needs from among the ever-expanding range on offer.

Multimodal travel platform GoEuro has published an Accommodation Price Index, comparing prices in the world's main business and leisure destinations, including Airbnb. 

This week, accounting departments are facing the busiest period of the year in terms of expense reports. That, at least, is the analysis published on Tuesday by Concur, based on an analysis of Travel & Expense data from 2013. Friday 19 December is expected to see a doubling of the average daily number of claims in France and other key business travel markets. 

An infographic published by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) draws on the day-to-day experience of its travel advisors to shed light on the habits, preferences and even quirks of US business travellers.

Rajeev Singh is Chairman of Concur, the travel and expense (T&E) solutions specialist he co-founded 21 years ago. On the eve of Concur's acquisition by SAP, this business travel specialist talks about the changes to be expected within the company and its offerings, but also and above all at the level of the business travel market. In this interview.

A majority of business travellers (62%) can now - or will be able to in the near future - book their business trips independently, according to a survey of 179 travel buyers carried out last October by the Business Travel Show. This figure represents a significant increase on the previous survey carried out by the London-based show, which will be held on 25 and 26 February.

Business travel agency 3mundi is setting up a subsidiary in Barcelona dedicated to innovation. The new branch, called Business Travel Lab, aims to "reinvent the way business travel is done", according to its directors.

The Compagnie des Acheteurs de France (CDAF) and the Global Business Travel Association France (GBTA France) have formalised their partnership as part of a "privileged relationship for the purchase of business travel and meetings". 

2015 will not be a good year for French MICE professionals. That's the view of American Express Meetings & Events, which forecasts a decline in the market in its "Global Meetings Forecast 2015" study published on 18 November.

Kayak.fr tried its hand at a tedious but extremely useful exercise for these business traveller-sprinters, whose busy schedules limit the margin for error at the airport to the bare minimum. The travel comparison website has published a table comparing the average walking time between security checkpoints and boarding gates at several major European airports. 

The European Business Travel Convention drew to a close on Friday at the Maritim Hotel in Berlin, at the end of three days of exchanges, meetings and training dedicated to business travel. Mike McCormick, Executive Director & COO of the international association, took the opportunity to give an initial assessment of the event, as well as giving his analysis of the role of the GBTA and its priorities in the market. Interview.