Summary of the conference on synergies between business travel and meetings_Madrid
Under the title "Together, but not mixed up: Synergies between business travel and meetings", Forum Business Travel held on June 16, at the Hotel Meli & aacute; Avenida de Am & eacute; rica de Madrid, the training session prior to the summer break. Although the management of both areas is becoming more and more coordinated within companies, the fact is that it is not easy to combine needs.
The day began with a presentation by Margarita Algaba, head of the Delegate Service Department of Laboratorios Rovi. Based on her company's experience, she defended the usefulness of having at least two agencies, one for corporate travel and the other for MICE activity. There are agencies that are very efficient in business travel, but they do not have the creativity and flexibility that meetings and events require, Algaba explained.
The search for synergies is expressed above all in a common supplier policy, as far as possible, because the needs of the two areas are not the same. It is also complicated to establish homogeneous levels of comparison of prices, services and quality indicators, but suppliers are making progress in this direction, according to the expert.
Although the processes in MICE planning are still very manual, the existence of tools related to customer management (CRM), which are sometimes connected to self-booking solutions, is greatly improving the management of this department.
On the other hand, Margarita Algaba pointed out that measuring return on investment (ROI) for meetings and events is complicated: “The only way to calculate it is to compare it to sales, but in this case there is no direct relationship. Moreover, a short-sighted ROI policy is a mistake. There are other parameters, such as brand projection, customer satisfaction, quality…”
AGENCY VIEWING;N DE LA AGENCIA
The vision from the agency came from Alberto Mestre, director of the Meetings & Events of American Express Global Business Travel, who emphasized that there is an evolution of the travel managers towards a greater participation in the organization of events, due to the synergies that occur in both areas.
In his opinion, it is necessary to look for meeting points, but be careful with purchasing policies: the same suppliers are not always the most efficient for each purpose. Mestre also warned of the complexity of applying the transaction fee model to events, given the variety of products and services involved.
Another aspect of MICE management is the levels of quality of service. According to the American Express GBT executive, each company must set its own indicators according to its needs and interests. Business travel is more evolved in reporting processes, while in the meetings and events area, technology is just starting to arrive now. Mestre linked this issue with return on investment to admit that measurement tools must also take into account aspects other than savings.
TRAVEL FRICTION
Forum Business Travel ended the day with a presentation by its co-founding partner Óscar García entitled "The concept of Traveler Friction and Traveler Experience". The speech started with a strong conclusion: “Travel conditions have a financial impact on companies”.
Garcóa argued this by pointing out that comfort and positive experiences while on the road are important to travelers' productivity, and that companies that neglect this aspect may miss out on business opportunities and expansion. In relation to human resources policy, care must also be taken because talented employees may leave if conditions are not good. Salary is not everything”.
It is the concept of travel friction: “Traveling generates stress, there is lack of oxygen in airplanes, you eat worse and at the wrong time, business travelers do not usually go to the hotel gym, nor relax visiting the city after the meeting.... It is a matter of quality of life and this is also part of the total cost of the trip, the human cost, not just the cost of transportation, hotel or extra expenses. In my opinion, it is necessary to look for a balance between the two.