Business travel is not under 'significant threat' - Amadeus

Technology is unlikely to end the need for face-to-face meetings according to a new Amadeus report. But it could help to take the stress out of the travel experience. Rob Gill reports

Technology giant Amadeus has moved to challenge predictions that business travel is set for a major decline in the next decade due to the pressure of weak economic growth, improved technology and more expensive air travel.

The global distribution system (GDS) says that the “need for travel will never go away” in its latest report looking at how technology will shape both business and leisure travel in the next 10 years.

The report, entitled ‘From Chaos to Collaboration’, takes a positive view of the future of business travel arguing that while technology will allow more use of virtual meetings, there remains the need for physical meetings to “build trust and relationships” – particularly when business partners are beginning to work together.

“Research continually reinforces the value of face-to-face meetings in business to build trust and encourage effective collaboration – particularly when people and companies are working with each other for the first time,” says Amadeus in the new report which also surveyed more than 1,400 business and leisure travellers in seven developed and emerging economies including the UK, US, China, Brazil and Russia.

“Technology will replace the routine kind of meeting – typically, between people who already know each other – but it will be no substitute for those that introduce new business partners and co-workers to each other, or those designed to resolve complex issues and set the parameters for complex tasks.”

So while technology is unlikely to lay waste to business travel in the near future, Amadeus is predicting that it will lead to major changes in the way people travel while on business.

Eberhard Haag, Amadeus’ executive vice-president for global operations, said: “We are convinced that the travel industry will still grow significantly but I think that the whole environment will change because of the environmental situation because of carbon trading and also because of technology.

“We want to get a clear vision of where we should go in the future and spend our investment. I think Amadeus is in a strong position to facilitate these changes to help airlines, travel providers and travel agents to participate positively from this technology change and from these new opportunities.”

Business tourist

Amadeus’ research predicts that more business trips will be combined with holidays as firms become increasingly willing to allow employees to take time off either side of their corporate travel.

“As the boundary between travel for leisure and travel for work will blur, this collaborative experience of travel will impact on business travel as well,” says the report. “Continued emphasis on work-life balance and well-being at work may mean employers increasingly allow people to take time off either side of a business trip. The business traveller could, in other words, become the business tourist.”

According to the report, one of the main ways that technology may help business travellers is by creating a ‘home away from home’ with the hotel or apartment providing the ability for guests to access work files through cloud computing as well as their own personal entertainment while in their room.

The key to improving the overall experience for business travellers is for them to be willing to share more information with travel providers – something which may also help to speed up passengers’ progress through airport security and allow easier payments of expenses through mobile technology.

Business travellers seem much more relaxed about sharing this kind of information according to the survey with 60% of them prepared to do this if they get “more streamlined and efficient travel” – compared to only 43% of holidaymakers.

Andrew Curry, director of The Futures Company which helped Amadeus put together the report, added: “Business travellers want more of a home from home. They want to have a richer experience. When they cross the threshold, they want to be back in a place which is relatively familiar and where they have access to work files. This will require a change from hotels and could see more demand for more apartment-type properties with a different revenue model.”

The report predicts that there will be “less need for hotels to provide – or charge for – tools in the hotel room” which would probably come as unwelcome news for many hotel chains. But Amadeus said there could be ways for hotels to replace this revenue stream with other technology such as offering pre-arrival services such as a smartphone app to help travellers to find their way around the airport.

Joining up travel

Using technology to take away many of the stresses and strains of travel - such as getting around an unfamiliar airport or combining flights with rail journeys – is another way that technology can help, according to the report.

Amadeus has identified that one of the areas where the travel experience has the potential to go awry is during the transition between different parts of the journey such as going from the flight through the arrival airport, or the trip from the airport to the hotel.

“Airports and airlines spend lots of money to upstream their systems but the problem is between the two,” said Haag. “They need to find a way to use technology to improve this. It’s a challenge to join them up and that’s where Amadeus is in a unique position because we can develop such a technology and offer it to customers.”

Curry added: “One high stress point for travellers is leaving the aircraft when they don’t know the airport. Technology can be used to show where you have to go, rather than having to work it out yourself. Business travellers expect to be take care of and technology can allow you to manage the most stressful part of the journey.

“One of the other challenges is that airline and rail systems do not connect, which is becoming more important because fast rail is increasingly replacing short-haul flying.”

Haag said that Amadeus could already combine airline and train tickets using technology which could be rolled out across the industry and make life easier for business travellers.

“We have a rail system already implemented where we can integrate train tickets with airlines. This is like interlining between airlines and railways,” he added. “We already do it for Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa. We can roll it out as far as companies are willing to take it. The investment is just a minimal charge based on the booking.”