News

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Apartments offer alternative

THE WORLDWIDE SERVICED APARTMENT sector is now estimated to be worth around US$17.5 billion annually. According to The Apartment Service's Global Survey 2008, there are reckoned to be just over 400,000 apartments in more than 6,700 locations.

Research by the Institute of Travel Management (ITM) in April last year found that the majority of UK corporate buyers had reacted to rising hotel rates by seeking alternative accommodation programmes. At one end of the spectrum, 71 per cent of corporate buyers had increased their usage of traditional budget hotels, while at the other, 48 per cent reported greater use of serviced apartments.

As the ITM survey highlighted, serviced apartments' share of the corporate accommodation (as opposed to relocation) budget was on the up. In many organisations, apartments now handle half of all bed nights generated for stays of seven nights or more.

The popularity of apartments for long stays peaks at one to three months, where serviced apartments enjoy 87 per cent of the global market, compared to just under 25 per cent for stays of six nights or less.

RYANAIR RAISES BID

RYANAIR last month raised the stakes in its bid for Aer Lingus, offering to provide €200 million in bank guarantees as a mark of its commitment to reducing fares. The carrier has also said it will hand control of Aer Lingus' Heathrow slots to the Irish government.

STOBART SNAPS UP SOUTHEND

TRUCKING COMPANY Stobart Group is paying up to £21 million to buy London Southend Airport with the aim of turning it into a major regional gateway. Plans, including a dedicated new-build rail station, will be implemented "as soon as possible", says the company.

Stobart also has an option - which expires this month - to buy Carlisle Airport, where it also has plans to develop passenger as well as freight services.

MORE RUNWAY DELAYS

THE FUTURE OF HEATHROW'S third runway remains in the balance at least until the end of this month, following a U-turn by transport secretary Geoff Hoon. In early December Hoon said he needed more time to consider the 70,000 "for" and "against" representations.

There is considerable opposition to the scheme within the government's own ranks, and both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have come out against the third runway.

HRG AND CWT WIN BIG PITCHES

HOGG ROBINSON GROUP (HRG) and Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) have both reported big account wins. HRG will manage travel on a multinational basis for FKI Logistex, described as "a worldwide leader in automated material handling solutions", while CWT has won the Tarmac account.

HRG's three-year FKIL contract starts with the UK, and then rolls out across Europe and Asia/Pacific over the next 12 months. The contract came after an eight-way pitch. FKIL will also be implementing HRG's i-Suite, the web-based portal that acts as a personalised electronic travel assistant.

CWT's win covers Tarmac's £2 million annual spend on corporate travel, meetings and events. Tarmac is the UK's largest quarrying company and leading supplier of building materials.

HRG EXPANDS IN AFRICA ...

HOGG ROBINSON GROUP (HRG) has signed two more African partners, which means it has appointed 10 from the continent this year. With the acquisition of Mozambique-based business travel company Aquarium and STMB Tours, of Burkina Faso, HRG is currently represented in 25 countries in the region.

Established in 1999, Aquarium has "significant" business travel interests and represents three international airlines in Mozambique, while STMB - just five years old - has a business travel centre in the heart of the capital, Ouagadougou, and another at the city's international airport.

... AND FCM GAINS A NEW PARTNER

FCM TRAVEL SOLUTIONS has a new partner in Tunisia. Take Off Travel's clients include Playtex Essel, the German Embassy, Carthago Clothing Company, the JAL Group and Crestal. Welcoming the partnership deal, FCm's EMEA general manager, Brian Donnelly, said: "Tunisia has a diverse economy and the growing privatisation, trade and tourism that have occurred here over the past decade have made Tunisia an important market for corporate travel.

"With further liberalisation to open the way for increased foreign investment in the years ahead, FCm sees a signifi cant growth opportunity in the Tunisian business travel industry."

EXPOTEL WINS VIRGIN MEDIA ACCOUNT

VIRGIN MEDIA has named Expotel as its hotel reservations and conference supplier. The UK's largest residential broadband provider and biggest virtual mobile network operator, Virgin Media is also the second-largest provider of pay TV and home phone services.

Jamie Gallagher, Expotel's head of corporate and conference and event sales, says: "We have been through the implementation phase which allows the client to fully understand all the booking procedures and ensures all their accommodation and conference needs are understood properly by us."

BATH BUSINESS TRAVEL GRABS CAPITAL OPPORTUNITY

IN ITS FIRST-EVER foray into the capital, Bath Business Travel has bought London Bridge-based Baxter Hoare Travel for an undisclosed sum.

The Bath Travel Group, which now has 70 retail outlets across south and south-west England, has been steadily developing its business travel division over the past year. Baxter Hoare has an annual turnover of around £6 million, £3.5 million of which is generated from around 100 business travel clients from the SME sector.

It also has a strong reputation in the events and exhibitions industry - booking accommodation for shows such as Hotelympia, the International Food & Drink Exhibition (IFE), and the London Furniture Exhibition.

Originally founded in 1883, the company was the subject of a management buyout in 1996, when managing director Colin Saunders bought it from Wembley (London) Ltd.

Bath Business Travel managing director Adam White said the company would continue to trade under the Baxter Hoare name as an autonomous entity.

MICE IS THE WAY FORWARD, SAYS ITP

THE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL Partnership's mid-sized travel management company members have been urged to tap into the "huge potential" of the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) market.

Speaking at the consortium's annual conference in Cairo, ITP's director of partnership relations, Ian Epps, said: "A lot of corporations do not manage this area very well. This is an area of huge potential for you.

They don't know what they have spent, so how can they possibly measure their return on investment?" He also advised TMCs to help their clients through the economic crisis with a view to making later gains. In tough trading times, Epps said, corporates needed more TMC support. "Above all, they want management information to achieve travel policy compliance so they can know what is being spent, who is spending it and what they are spending in each country."

If travel management companies can provide that, he implied, grateful corporates might award them more business.

MICROSOFT AND TRAVELPORT TEAM UP

MICROSOFT AND TRAVELPORT have embarked on a joint project to help travel suppliers and intermediaries anticipate and respond to traveller preferences. The two organisations say "an integrated set of services" should be available in the first quarter of this year. The aim is to reduce costs, increase revenue opportunities, extend distribution, and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Microsoft's worldwide managing director, hospitality, Geoff Cairns, says the companies are creating "a completely innovative solution" that will "improve the traveller experience".

Keith Woodcock, Travelport's senior vice-president, says: "Like other ground-breaking solutions we have developed with Microsoft, this is a result of listening to our customers' needs."

TICKET MATCHING

GETTHERE this month rolls out a range of improvements to its Travel Arranger portal, which provides travel bookers with a 'library' of unused tickets.

GetThere is making it easier to match tickets with travellers at the time of booking, so that available tickets are flagged up.

Later this year, the Sabre-owned company will also upgrade its online ticket exchange to give bookers who are changing itineraries access to a full range of available options.

CWT offers a green solution

CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL (CWT) clients are now being offered emissions management services thanks to a global agreement with The CarbonNeutral Company.

Carlson's Sustainable Solutions service now includes a pre-trip carbon calculator, post-trip emissions management reporting, and a range of services designed to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Luton Airport

Luton Airport has introduced a priority security lane, enabling passengers to bypass queues for a payment of £3. Tickets can be purchased from special Priority Pass kiosks.

PremiAir

PremiAir, the von Essenowned executive helicopter operator, has established a new fixed-wing maintenance base at Oxford Airport. The company's existing facilities at Blackbushe Airport, in Surrey, are now exclusively for its helicopter activities.

BAA makes deal with Crossrail

AIRPORTS OPERATOR BAA has agreed a £230 million funding package for Crossrail in return for a guaranteed four-an-hour fast train link to Heathrow.

The £16 billion Crossrail project involves a new link from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west through new tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

New Crossrail stations will be built at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel and Canary Wharf, with completion scheduled for 2017.

Although much of the money to pay for the scheme is coming from public coffers, businesses which will benefit from the new link are being asked to chip in.