Corporate travel policy

Additional charges allow travellers to improve the comfort of their journeys by opting for à la carte services. By constantly adding little extras to their offers, suppliers are challenging companies and travel agencies to keep pace and keep spending under control.

To coincide with the global conference organised by ACTE in Paris this week, the association, in partnership with American Express Business Travel, is publishing a study dedicated to the evolution of travel policies, from the perspective of a "global vision of the future". The survey, conducted on a global scale, highlights the main trends that are changing the way business travel is managed, with a greater focus on the business traveller.

"The market is still looking for the right structure".

On Thursday, FCm Travel Solutions and 3mundi finalised a merger that was agreed in January and will make the French business travel agency the Australian giant's exclusive partner in the French and Swiss markets from 1 October. The Flight Centre group's business travel arm is aiming to raise its profile in France, while 3mundi is opening the door to international business and attractive growth prospects.

More and more business travellers are combining tourism with business trips. This phenomenon presents companies with the challenge of managing these hybrid trips and clarifying the responsibilities of each party.

With a plethora of hotels to choose from and booking solutions that are not entirely effective, companies have long found it difficult to control their hotel expenditure. But the sector is changing fast. And, above all, it's moving in the right direction.

Under the influence of consumer usage and the low-cost model, the world of business travel is now turning its attention to the quest for the best rates. With a great deal of energy, but without abandoning the traditional framework contracts.

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.

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.

Driven by younger business travellers, travel management is now turning to new methods derived from video games and social networks. The aim is to promote best practice, optimise experience sharing and create a virtuous circle. A promising trend, as long as you play the game and master the rules.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) and Travelport have just signed a "strengthened multi-year global agreement", giving the business travel agency access to Travelport content, which in turn enables it to target new markets.

At Univ'AriPlus 2014 on Thursday, the AFTM presented its sixth white paper, on the theme of "Structuring Travel Management within SMEs and SMIs". This is a crucial issue for the French business travel market, and is tackled through three fundamental objectives: promoting travel efficiency, controlling expenditure and professionalising internal players.

Alongside the hotel and airline budgets, companies are now paying particular attention to 'secondary' expenses. This interest is supported by the emergence of management tools dedicated to business meals and taxis. But mentalities still need to change if these fringe costs are to be integrated into an overall mobility policy...

The online shift has marked a turning point in the history of the major TMCs. These leading travel agencies have succeeded in adapting their organisation and their product at the cost of internal restructuring and investment in new technologies.