"We need to be able to identify displacements that are justifiable."

Business Travel Consultant with long professional experience,Scott Gillespie Scott Gillespie is one of the leading theorists on the return on investment in business travel, as well as the concept of traveler friction. Author of Gillespie's Guide to Travel Innovation, he is the founder of tClara, a Cleveland-based consulting firm specializing in supplier negotiation and training.

The interview was conducted via videoconference by Óscar García, co-founding partner of Forum Business Travel, and retransmitted in the session last March 11, from the hotel Meliá Valencia Oceanic.

?Cuál is his vision of business travel for the next two years?

The importance of the ‘duty of care’ will continue to be essential. In addition to the traditional strategy of knowing where we travel, the industry is aligned around the concept of where and how we will be able to travel and the risks involved in doing so. There will be some travelers who will find it sufficient to travel two or three times a month, and we will have to take that into account. For their part, TMCs will have to add more value to their function to make the traveler feel comfortable and protected. Airlines and airports, too, will have to do their part to make travel safe, as will hotels. We are going to continue to see great efforts by all parties involved to ensure that employees travel in the best conditions.

To what extent are suppliers paying attention to the new demands of business travel?

The point is that in Europe and the United States we will continue to see a reduction in business travel for a long time to come. Virtual meetings are somehow proving to work, if not in all cases, then for many purposes. That means suppliers are going to have a lower volume of business. Somehow they will have to raise prices to compensate. For the airlines it will be easier. Not so much for hotels if they want to continue to attract tourists and business travelers.

What are the main changes companies have made to their travel policies?

Companies are being very cautious about authorizing travel, as well as the conditions under which travel takes place. They are also focusing their efforts on ensuring that travelers are well informed about where they are traveling and the risks they are taking. Travel managers have to adapt policies to take these aspects into account and make recommendations on the most suitable suppliers for safety, hygiene or travel experience. As a result, there will be less emphasis on companies to find the best prices. It certainly won't be the most important thing.

 

How to motivate staff to go out again without fear?

It's no longer just a question of the road warriors, but of the people they meet. Many of them will say “well, we don&quo;t need to have a face-to-face meeting if we can do it by videoconference”. Here's the thing. Many travelers are also thinking about reducing outings, even if the conditions are safe.

What are the principles on which the new travel policy should be based?

The purpose of the meeting matters more than the trip. It is what really energizes the interaction between the parties. That's where the need or not to have face-to-face contact comes from. Now more than ever we need to be able to identify the trips that are justifiable. Companies have to establish mechanisms to be able to evaluate each case. On the other hand, travel has to provide more value than it costs. This seems obvious. What the spread of technology and videoconferencing platforms is giving us is the ability to analyze it in advance. Business travelers need to be able to analyze the value of the trip for themselves.

"What"importance should sustainability have in corporate travel programs?

Something we are seeing more and more strongly, both in the U.S. and in Europe, is the importance of sustainability. We have to place this variable, as well as traveler comfort, above cost or savings in the travel program. Just as you have to have a good reason to travel from a business point of view, you also have to have a good reason to travel from an environmental conservation perspective. This aspect is entering strongly into travel policy strategies. Companies have to contract with suppliers that carry out best practices in this regard, as is the case of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) in airlines. It is the future.