CAPA Corporate Travel Innovation Day 2014 Agenda

• Business travel is most often viewed as a ‘controllable expense’. But some companies have adopted a new paradigm and see the importance of business travel for organisational growth and development, as well as talent retention and attraction – and the results are staggering.
• Have the new communications technologies actually reinforced the need for face-to-face meetings?
• How are the new generation of CEOs, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, viewing travel and a presence with customers and staff? And what are companies looking for in a ‘globalised’ leader?
• Are airlines leaving money on the table by not grasping opportunities around travellers’ itineraries? 

• Are businesses paying more for their air travel in 2014 than in 2013? Will they pay more again in 2015?
  
• What will be the future for IATA's NDC?
• The role of the TMC in enabling corporates to have a "Single Source Gateway" or "One Stop Shop" booking channel. With the advent of Open Travel, NDC, etc it is harder and harder for corporates to believe the TMC can be a single solution. What are the views of the panel – can the TMC remain as a primary contractor – yes or no? How should corporates address the challenge of acquiring full content, whilst fulfilling their duty of care obligations?
• Will it get harder and harder for companies to keep their travellers compliant with corporate travel policy?
  
• Will LCCs continue to increase their share of the corporate market in 2014?
• As Qantas continues to restructure, how should corporates manage their programmes through a period of change?
  
• Will consolidation of airline suppliers through mergers and joint ventures force up negotiated fares in the remainder of 2014 and into 2015?
• A discussion about Big Data.
  

• Commercial deal models: revenue vs marketshare vs segments – what’s the right formula for mutual success?
• Sourcing vs negotiating: are RFPs the path forward, or can ongoing dialogue and negotiation provide better results?
• Alliance contracts: are they relevant and useful for both buyers and airlines?
• What alternatives to traditional corporate deals are buyers exploring – LCCs, spot-purchase, cheapest available?

A fast-moving debate about the latest ideas, concepts & innovations in technologies, strategies & solutions to the evolving challenges of effectively managing corporate travel. This panel based approach includes an engaging line-up of the best corporate travel innovations on (or soon to be on) the market.

This 75-minute session features a panel of luminaries involved in buying, managing and supplying solutions to managed travel, and comprises representatives from: 

• Travel Managers / Buyers 
• TMCs / HBAs 
• GDS 
• Disrupters and New Entrants 
• Payment Solutions 
• Consultants  

Each panellist will introduce themselves and relate to the audience what they have innovated, changed or brought to market in the last year, and what is in the immediate future pipeline. 

We will ask questions of the panellists about their views and approach to a number of the latest hot topics and opportunities in the corporate travel space around finding new and more effective solutions to help those that travel and those that manage corporate travel. We’ll focus on the realistic potential of such solutions being successful in Australia and the Pacific. The subjects for debate include:

The role of the TMC

• Is the TMC still in pole position to be the primary contractor, or has that position been lost and replaced by other tech/solutions providers or disruptive new entrants who serve to relegate the TMC to a low-cost fulfilment provider?
• Do buyers want to commoditise the TMC in the role of fulfilment, buying other solutions to effectively modernise their programme by buying multiple products and services from one or more companies other than the TMC?
• What impact does the concept of “Open Travel” have?
• How are the TMCs responding to the threat to their relevance and their profits?
• What options are there in Australia?
  

What is Open Travel?

• Is it a threat, a fashion, a necessary opportunity, does it have a realistic future?
• How are buyers, TMCs and others providing value and content to their customers – the travellers and the people who use their services? 

Are US style CTDs a possible option for buyers in Australia?

• Who has taken this step and what do they see as the benefits? 

Safety, Security & Duty of Care

• This year saw the dreadful loss of MH370 and Australia played a central role in the (as yet) futile search. 
• Has this year’s event changed the approach to ‘Duty of Care” for travellers by their companies?
  
• And what have we learnt from the incident?
• What are the latest developments in terms of safety & security when it comes to air travel?
• Is there a measure of investment in safety & security made by airlines that can be used to evaluate risk of flying with certain airlines? 

Payments & Expense Technologies

• Finally, we will follow up on last year’s discussion about latest developments in the area of hotel programmes, their content and the use of virtual cards in the Corporate Travel space.
• Per diems have not been used by companies for many years now, however they still exist in the Government space. This year NSWG made a bold move to shift from per diems to actuals. What has been the benefit, and what technologies have supported that move?

Moderator: MW Travel Consultancy, Principal, Martin Warner

Panellists:
TravelEdge/CommunicoServices, MD, Sue Hollis
Concur, Business Development Manager, Simone Court
Amadeus IT Pacific, Managing Director, Tony Carter
Locomote, Co-Founder & CEO, Ross Fastuca
Intelligent Travel, CEO, Tony Ridley
Leighton Holdings (Nexus Point Travel), General Manager - Travel, James Highsted
AirPlus International, Country Manager - Australia, David Newington
SimPPLY, Director, Harry Banga
Air Canada, General Manager Australia and New Zealand, Paul McLean

• GDSs, TMCs, HBAs. Will all these types of companies still be here in five years and in 10 years? Will travel managers and airline corporate sales teams still exist in five and 10 years? Will agency deregulation speed up this evolution?
• Is managed corporate travel as we understand it today – policy, booking through GDS-powered TMCs, negotiation of discounts with suppliers etc – dying?
• Do the panellists see each other as competitors or partners – or both?
• Is the idea of using one mega-TMC in all markets and for all travel requirements becoming old-fashioned?
• And what’s keeping corporate travel executives awake at night – NDC? Open bookings?

Moderator: ACTE | The Association of Corporate Travel Executives, Regional Director, Andrew Kelly