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TRAVEL BUYERS STILL NOT EMPLOYING SMMPS; BUSINESS TRAVEL SHOW ANNOUNCES MEETINGS CONFERENCE SESSIONS
January 13, 2012
A survey of business travel buyers has revealed, while 40 per cent are now responsible for managing meetings spend, more than half (59 per cent) still do not have a strategic meetings management policy (SMMP) in place and (perhaps more worryingly) 13 per cent don’t even know if they have one.
The survey of 252 buyers was carried out by the Business Travel Show, Europe’s leading corporate travel event, which takes place 7-8 February 2012 at Earls Court in London. More than 6,000 travel and meetings buyers and over 200 exhibitors will be at the event, ranging from hotels and meetings venues, to airlines, train operators and travel technology suppliers.
Many of the suppliers exhibiting at the Business Travel Show service the meetings market, including meeting management companies, hotel booking agents and technology suppliers such as Hotelzon UK, Jigsaw Conferences, Lanyon, StarCite, Cvent, Zibrant and CWT Meetings & Events.
This year’s Business Travel Show conference (sponsored by American Express Global Business Travel, Concur, StarCite, Lanyon, Travelport and Egencia) also features four masterclasses and two case studies about SMMP. Sessions are designed exclusively to inspire and inform travel and procurement managers with presentations from the likes of Tesco, DuPont, Astra Zeneca, Blackrock and Areka Consulting.
Kevin Iwamoto, vice president for enterprise strategy at StarCite, now part of the Active Network, commented: “As more travel managers continue to take on responsibility for meetings, they should be aware of the tremendous risks that meetings present. Meetings make up a huge investment of your company’s time, resources and human capital. Plus, your company’s reputation may be at stake. We believe much of this risk can be mitigated with a strategic meetings management program and meetings approval process.”
Masterclass 1: Making the business case – driving internal buy-in to your strategic meetings programme (facilitator - Julie Adams, EMEA & APAC travel manager, Blackrock)
Buyers who start to centralise meetings management in their organisation can quickly attract hostile reactions from PAs, marketing departments and other stakeholders who think they can do the job better. Strap on your tin hat as we tiptoe through this emotive minefield and plot a triumphant exit.
Masterclass 2: Risk-managing your meetings programme (facilitator - Kevin Iwamoto, Vice President, Enterprise Strategy, StarCite and former global meetings buyer)
Employers now take good care of the health, safety and security of their regular travellers – but the same duty of care basics are sometimes overlooked when it comes to group travel. Learn how to put that right, and about mitigating other risks associated with meetings & events, including the new Bribery Act, contractual terms & conditions, and VAT compliance.
Masterclass 3: Meetings technology – what works, what doesn’t (facilitator - Carol Randall, Head of UK Consulting, Areka Consulting)
An essential advanced peer review of successes – and failures – with all aspects of meetings-related technology, including the before (booking and delegate management tools), the during (using video-conferencing and other AV gizmos during a face-to-face event) and the after (post-conference social communities).
Masterclass 4: Meetings maturity – moving up to the next level (facilitator - Danielle Bartlett, Buying Manager, Group Travel & MICE, Tesco)
You have launched a meetings programme but now you want to make it even better. What are the barriers to improvement, and how can you overcome them? Come and share best practice tips with other buyers on progressing up the evolutionary ladder, facilitated by one of the UK’s top meetings managers.
Case study: How I launched a strategic meetings management programme
Centralising meetings contracting creates major savings and boosts corporate governance, but taking control of this sensitive area of spend is a daunting task. Learn how the strategic meetings pioneers have achieved it.
Moderator: Paul Hussey, Director of Business Development – Meetings & Events, BSI
Case Study 1: Jean-Paul Vanherf, Global Travel Manager, DuPont
Case Study 2: Carole Poillerat, Global Category Leader Astra Zeneca
To register for a free entry badge and for any of the sessions outlined above, simply visit
www.businesstravelshow.com
-end-
About the Business Travel Show:
The Business Travel Show runs from 7-8 February at Earls Court in London. With in excess of 200 exhibitors and 6,000 buyers responsible for a travel purse of more than £10.3billion, the Business Travel Show is the flagship event in the European industry calendar. London is the sister show to business travel events in Dusseldorf and Dubai and runs alongside complementary event Travel Technology Europe.
For more information:
Please visit www.businesstravelshow.com or contact Charlotte Le Rougetel or Ravi Vijh at Bastion
020 7269 7900
bts@bastion.co.uk
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