TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

 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.

Hans-Ingo Biehl is Executive Director of the VDR, the German Business Travel Association. Almost 24 hours after the opening ceremony of the European Convention organised with the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) in Berlin, he talks to Voyages d'Affaires about the success of the event, the association's priorities, and his vision of tomorrow's Travel Management. 

The joint investments made by Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) and KDS as part of their door-to-door strategy will soon be rewarded by the integration of new functionalities, which should help to improve the CWT Online, powered by KDS door-to-door solution.

Capitaine Train has published an infographic listing the reasons why French travellers take the TGV. The document, based on the "National Transport and Travel Survey", estimates that 36.2% of business customers use the high-speed network.

Often referred to as the A new trend in the world of business travel, is bleisure - a neologism combining business and leisure - really practised by travelling professionals? Have companies taken steps to regulate this grey area through a dedicated policy? The latest Bleisure Report 2014 published by Bridgstreet provides relevant new data on the subject.