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  • 16 Dec 2024 13:00 | Bosco (Administrator)

    The new Business Hotel Barometer is now available! It presents current hotel data from major European cities, allowing for comparisons and providing valuable insights into the latest trends. This information is essential for strategically planning your business trips and optimizing costs more efficiently.

    Read the Barometer



  • 16 Dec 2024 12:54 | Bosco (Administrator)

    The Grand Live du Voyage d'Affaires organised by CDS in partnership with the IFTM will take place on Thursday 16 January 2025.

    CDS is proud to announce the 5th edition of the Grand Live du Voyage d'Affaires, a 100% live event which has become a must for the Business Travel sector.

    Over the years, this event has established itself as a unique opportunity for decision-makers, experts and industry players to exchange ideas and share experiences.

    This 5th edition will provide an opportunity to discuss market developments and offer high added-value content for professionals.

    The programme for this 5th edition includes:

    • Buyers/Travel Managers: What expectations for 2025?
    • The business hotel barometer
    • Consolidation: stop or stop again?
    • TMC: the threat of commoditisation
    • Train: Long live competition!
    • CSR: A Chill Over Corporate Social Responsibility?
    • What is the cost of payment in business travel?
    • Consultants: what's the outlook in 2025?


    8 hours of live coverage covering the entire business travel chain and answering listeners' questions.

    Visit the dedicated page to find out more about the event.


  • 29 Nov 2024 12:28 | Bosco (Administrator)

    The next German conference for business travel and mobility management will take place from 19 to 21 May 2025 at the Maritim Hotel Ingolstadt.

    Be part of the biggest industry get-together of the year in the DACH region! In order to welcome as many corporates from Switzerland as possible, we are offering a one-off conference price of 500 euros exclusively for Swiss participants. Register here!

    This event offers an excellent opportunity to discuss current topics and trends in the business travel industry and to exchange ideas with colleagues. In addition to exciting specialist presentations, the programme will also include interactive workshops and networking opportunities to discuss practical approaches and make valuable contacts. You can look forward to three days and over 1.200 minutes of a varied programme and networking opportunities.

    Further information on the event will be published gradually on the VDR website: Programme


  • 29 Nov 2024 11:05 | Bosco (Administrator)

    UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Nov. 20, 2024  BCD Travel recently surveyed 187 travel buyers worldwide to explore their responsibilities, interactions with company stakeholders and industry changes impacting their jobs. The survey reveals key insights into the travel managers' expanded scope, the teams they work with and the tools they need to succeed.

    Growing scope of responsibilities
    As travel managers navigate new challenges, their roles have expanded to include travel sourcing (68%) and payment and expense management (51%), with some taking on procurement or management tasks beyond travel. 

    Their biggest time investments go into managing TMC relationships (53%), followed by working on travel program strategy and communicating with travelers (47% each), as well as reporting and managing suppliers (44% each). In recent years, priorities have shifted toward cost control, data analysis, industry changes (such as NDC) and technology.

    To measure program success and prove its value to the C-suite and other stakeholders, travel managers prioritize quantifying savings, aligning travel strategy with corporate objectives and sharing KPIs.

     

    Stakeholder interaction
    Travel managers collaborate the most with finance and procurement teams, with 58% engaging with procurement and 43% connecting with finance daily or weekly. Cross-departmental collaboration is on the rise, with 71% of travel teams involved in multi-departmental projects, reflecting an expanded, strategic role in company-wide initiatives. In the past years, engagement with finance, sustainability and security teams has increased the most, aligning travel management with cost control, environmental responsibility and duty of care.

    “This survey reflects just how essential travel managers are becoming to organizational success,” said Jorge Cruz, executive vice president of Global Sales & Marketing at BCD. “They’re managing complex stakeholder relationships, driving sustainability and making data-informed decisions that align with broader business goals. At BCD, we’re committed to providing travel managers with the tools, technology, research and support they need to meet these new challenges head-on."

     

    Travel teams and reporting structure
    Over two-thirds of travel teams report to procurement (39%), finance (19%) or HR (11%), underscoring the close alignment between travel management and corporate budgeting functions. A third have between four to six people in their travel team globally, while a quarter operate with more than 10 team members. Nearly half (46%) use the service of external consultants to help manage their travel programs, highlighting the need for outside experts.

     

    Tools and job satisfaction
    While six out of 10 travel managers feel they have the necessary tools to do their job, many face budget constraints, with 46% lacking budget for travel technology and services. Despite these challenges, travel managers are most satisfied with their authority level, stakeholder support and work-life balance, though career development remains an area for improvement.

     This latest survey highlights the evolving, strategic role travel managers play and underscores the need for advanced tools, technology and services. For companies that need support to navigate the complexities of modern corporate travel, BCD’s digital solutions can help. From business intelligence and spend management automation to experiences that drive traveler engagement and satisfaction to our  new sustainability offering to manage carbon reduction goals – BCD’s solutions and expertise can benefit any travel program.

    To view the full survey results, click here.

  • 29 Nov 2024 11:03 | Bosco (Administrator)

    Zurich, November 28, 2024 – Kuoni Business Travel reports a successful participation at the GBTA + VDR Conference 2024, Europe’s leading event for business travel and mobility management. This year’s conference not only provided a platform for innovation and networking but also placed a significant focus on sustainability and action-driven solutions for the travel industry.

     

    Driving Sustainability and Innovation in business travel

    Bringing together over 850 industry professionals, the GBTA + VDR Conference provided a unique opportunity to explore pivotal topics, including digital transformation, automation, and sustainable travel management. Kuoni Business Travel actively contributed to discussions aimed at empowering organizations to embed sustainability into their corporate travel programs.

     

    Andreas Schneider, Head of Business Travel Switzerland at Kuoni Business Travel, commented:
    “I really enjoyed attending the conference—it provided valuable insights, practical tools, and innovative strategies for our business travel management. Connecting with experts and peers from around the world was an excellent opportunity to address current challenges and shape the future.”

     

    The event underscored the travel industry’s collective responsibility to advance toward Net Zero goals, emphasizing the importance of data-driven strategies, collaboration, and action-oriented approaches. Topics such as the integration of AI in travel management, CO₂ reduction strategies, and the use of analytics to refine travel policies took center stage, providing actionable insights for participants.

     

    The combination of high-profile keynote speeches, hands-on workshops, and interactive panel discussions made the GBTA + VDR Europe Conference a vital platform for exploring future trends and solutions. A standout moment was the debate on the future of business travel in an increasingly hybrid working environment.

     

    Valuable networking

    The conference also facilitated meaningful conversations with existing partners and the establishment of new collaborations. In numerous discussions and networking sessions, current challenges were addressed, and forward-thinking solutions were explored.

     

  • 29 Nov 2024 11:01 | Bosco (Administrator)

    Buchs, Switzerland – November 2024 – Limos4, a globally renowned provider of chauffeured ground transportation services, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with United Limousines, Germany's leading chauffeured service provider. The partnership was unveiled at this year’s GBTA Conference in Copenhagen, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of ground transportation services in Germany and beyond.

    The collaboration between Limos4 and United Limousines brings together two industry leaders with distinct strengths: Limos4’s advanced technological solutions and United Limousines’ extensive fleet and operational excellence. Together, the companies aim to enhance service standards by streamlining operations, optimizing efficiencies, and expanding the reach of their premium service offerings.

    This alliance grants United Limousines access to Limos4's proprietary software platform, LimoCockpit, along with support from Limos4’s dedicated reservations and dispatch teams. This integration is set to refine United Limousines’ operational capacity by enabling seamless real-time updates, more efficient communications, and a user-friendly booking experience for clients. The deployment of LimoCockpit will allow United Limousines to further optimize service efficiency and ensure the highest levels of quality in every ride.

    In turn, Limos4 will benefit from United Limousines’ vast fleet and strong presence across Germany, providing an expanded service footprint and access to a diverse range of vehicles. By combining Limos4’s technological prowess with United Limousines’ local expertise, the partnership is positioned to deliver an unparalleled travel experience throughout Germany, setting new benchmarks in availability, flexibility, and service quality.

    For travel buyers and clients, this collaboration promises a streamlined booking experience, expanded vehicle availability, and consistently high-quality service across Germany. The integration of LimoCockpit simplifies reservations, offering real-time visibility and enhancing communication to provide clients with a superior, reliable service. Clients will benefit from expanded fleet availability, especially during peak times, while enjoying the peace of mind that every ride is backed by the highest quality standards.

    “This partnership signifies a transformative step forward in chauffeured services in Germany and is an incredible opportunity for both companies to enrich their offerings,” said Dr. Vojkan Tasic, CEO of Limos4. “By using our respective strengths, we are setting a new standard in the ground transportation industry, ensuring that our clients experience excellence at every turn.”

    Through the partnership, Limos4 and United Limousines are jointly committed to raising the bar in the chauffeured ground transportation industry, strengthening convenience, consistency, and service reliability for clients worldwide. Together, they are crafting a new era of ground transportation, delivering unmatched value to clients across Germany and beyond.

    About Limos4

    Limos4 sets the gold standard in global chauffeured ground transportation, offering tailored solutions for corporate, executive and event transportation needs in over 200 cities worldwide. Driven by innovation and sustainability, Limos4 combines cutting-edge technology with a rigorous five-step quality control process to deliver a consistently seamless experience. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, prominent institutions, and high-end leisure travelers, Limos4 is known for its strong commitment to safety, efficiency, and client satisfaction. Discover more at www.limos4.com.

    About United Limousines

    As Germany’s leading name in chauffeured ground transportation, United Limousines combines an extensive fleet with a focus on seamless quality. Valued for its dependable, high-caliber service, United Limousines is the choice for clients who expect excellence across Germany.

  • 4 Nov 2024 13:22 | Bosco (Administrator)

    UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Nov. 4, 2024 BCD Travel’s latest innovation enables customers to set sustainability goals and carbon targets, drive traveler behavior change, apply carbon tax or allocate carbon emissions reduction and removal project costs at the point of sale, and report on emissions and progress. BCD’s sustainability offering will be available and relevant to all clients, regardless of their progress in sustainable business travel.

    For clients that desire sustainability strategy and change management support as well as more sophisticated analytics tools, BCD’s consulting division, Advito and their sustainability experts are there to help.

    “BCD Travel prioritizes sustainability. Yet, it has been challenging for our customers to make their travel programs more sustainable,” said April Bridgeman, senior vice president at BCD Travel and managing director at Advito. “Until now, our clients have had to spend significant time and energy identifying, selecting and deploying a range of sustainability providers that aren’t easy to integrate together or into their programs. Along with SQUAKE and Advito, we decided to help by bringing what was once a fragmented set of features and suppliers together to simplify the process. And, we added some new features along the way.

    How it works

    BCD partnered with SQUAKE, a leading climate-tech company, to streamline carbon emission related action across the various tools and touchpoints in the travel industry. This allows corporate travel programs to centrally set targets, decide upon sustainability policies to achieve them, and distribute these across online and offline booking channels for each employee.

    The technology provider established tooling to provide active nudging and steering tools within BCD agent frontends and online booking tools (OBTs). The tool encourages travelers to travel less and travel better. In addition to making travelers aware of air, train, hotel and ground transportation emissions using one of multiple calculation methodologies, the tool displays the carbon cost of each trip.

    While CO2 emissions consumption of different travel options have been visible to travelers in OBTs for some time, it’s been difficult to use the same methodology across the point of sale, itineraries and invoices, and reporting. That challenge is solved by this offering.

    For companies that have decided to allocate an actual carbon tax or require a traveler to invest in a carbon reduction project or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for each trip, BCD now has automated solutions. The offering includes both point of sale and aggregated fee allocation options including SAF procurement or CO2 compensation certificates.

    In addition to driving traveler behavior change, BCD and SQUAKE will provide carbon budgeting, forecasting and reporting tools to help clients set and manage carbon targets. This is key to comply with regulatory reporting requirements like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

    “Our goal is to embed carbon emission related action into the core processes and reduce the execution complexity of sustainability policies by our industry leading technology,” said Philipp von Lamezan, CEO of SQUAKE. “SQUAKE is proud to partner with BCD Travel, a reputable company that

    shares our mindset to bring sustainability to the forefront and solve carbon emissions challenges for more customers, ensuring a brighter future.”

    Benefits

    The business travel industry’s first comprehensive and fully integrated TMC sustainability offering provides complete transparency at point of sale whether the booking is online or through a travel consultant. Travelers will have a consistent experience and sustainability guidance at every step of their journey. Through robust data and behavior changes, companies can reduce emissions related to business travel.

    BCD’s sustainability offering aids compliance with CSRD which requires setting and monitoring progress against targets as well as basic CO2 reporting. Travel managers can set the parameters for their policy and track and report their progress.

    Availability

    BCD’s sustainability solution is currently being piloted with Siemens and will be available to customers in the first quarter of 2025.

  • 31 Oct 2024 21:49 | Bosco (Administrator)

    The new Business Hotel Barometer is now available! It presents current hotel data from major European cities, allowing for comparisons and providing valuable insights into the latest trends. This information is essential for strategically planning your business trips and optimizing costs more efficiently.

    Read the Barometer

  • 31 Oct 2024 21:27 | Bosco (Administrator)

    BCD Travel survey identifies challenges, influences and satisfaction related to air travel 

    Convenience and pricing are among the top factors shaping traveler behavior

     

    UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Oct. 22, 2024  BCD Travel’s recent survey examines corporate air travel, focusing on traveler behavior, challenges and satisfaction. Convenience is a key driver throughout the travel stages, underscoring the importance of simplifying business travel. The results are based on a survey from August of over 1,300 business travelers who traveled via plane in the past 12 months. 

     

    Convenience

    The survey shows that many travelers opt for convenience. Almost half of the business travelers surveyed pay for seat selection. Others pay for checked and carry-on luggage if that’s not included in the air fare. Priority boarding, extra legroom and fast-tracked security are other ancillary services travelers like to opt for. When it comes to cancelations and exchanges, half of travelers typically purchase fully or partially refundable tickets. This offers travelers more flexibility when faced with travel disruptions or changed plans. However, the ticket price still plays a large role in the traveler’s decision with four out of 10 choosing the cheapest available option, regardless of the cancelation or exchange policy.

     

    Factors of influence

    Price remains a major influence when selecting a flight for business travel, 51% agree. However, the biggest influence is the arrival/departure time or flight duration according to 71%, and the employer’s policy influences 49%.

     

    Trip duration and service class

    The majority of travelers use air travel for trips between two and six days long. Only 3% fly for one-day trips. 

     

    On short-haul flights (under six hours), 88% of travelers fly economy class, while premium economy and business class make up for only 9% and 3%, respectively. On long-haul routes, less than half travel economy, two out of 10 fly premium economy and three out of 10 use business class.

     

    Sustainability

    The top behavior travelers engage in when traveling by air is flying direct (66%). Around three out of 10 visit multiple destinations in one trip, use public transportation to or from the airport, and refill their own water bottle. These behaviors happen to have a positive impact on the environment by reducing emissions and waste. Conversely, very few travelers select flights that generate the lowest carbon emissions, and only 16% try to fly less. Two thirds of travelers admit they never or rarely consider environmental factors if sustainable choices come at a higher cost.

     

    “From our last buyer survey on travel policy, we saw that nearly a quarter of buyers rank making their policy more sustainable as a top priority,” said Olivia Ruggles-Brise, vice president of Sustainability at BCD. “However, this research shows that travelers themselves are not prioritizing sustainability in the same way. Travel managers can influence their travelers’ behavior through encouraging or mandating sustainable measures, which often go hand in hand with traveler wellness. Direct flights, for instance, are more sustainable and less stressful for travelers. Though they may come at a higher cost, direct flights result in less emissions than indirect or stopover flights. On the other hand, while business class is better for traveler comfort, it may not be the most sustainable option. Prioritizing only trips that are vital and choosing business class for those trips can strike a balance, benefiting both traveler wellness and sustainability.”

     

    Traveler satisfaction

    Over two thirds are extremely or somewhat satisfied with their company’s travel policy and preferred suppliers. 

     

    When booking air, three out of 10 don’t report any challenges. However, a similar share isn’t satisfied with additional services (like seat selection or priority boarding) being excluded from their travel policy or requiring employer’s approval. A fifth report user-unfriendly booking tools, low service class allowed or low-cost airlines encouraged among their top challenges. One out of six mention lack of consideration for traveler wellbeing (e.g. overnight flights).

     

    When flying, travelers are most upset about delays and cancelations, inconvenient schedules and uncomfortable seats. Only few are unhappy about lack of attention to sustainability or accessibility restrictions.

     

    Uncomfortable situations

    The most common uncomfortable situations that business travelers experience during a trip are no room for carry-on bags in overhead bins and technical issues with the aircraft. Other unpleasant situations include flying in adverse weather, going to work after an overnight flight and driving after a long-haul flight. While some situations are unavoidable or out of anyone’s control, employers can improve the employee experience by making adjustments to their travel policy.

     

    “A travel policy has the potential to drastically influence employee wellbeing and satisfaction,” said Teri Miller, executive vice president, Global Client Team at BCD. “Adding ancillaries covered by the company like priority boarding or lounge access can make traveling for work more enjoyable and less stressful for employees. Allowing a flexible schedule, work from home or time off after a business trip can also help your employees adjust after returning home.” 

     

    By understanding their travelers’ needs and preferences, businesses can adapt their travel programs, ensuring a balance between cost control, traveler care and sustainable practices for the future. BCD’s Program Managers can help customers review their current travel policy, and the TMC’s consulting division Advito, also specializes in assessing, benchmarking and rewriting policies. Once updates are in place, it’s crucial to have a communications strategy that engages and educates travelers. Advito’s Engage experts can help craft a communication strategy that uses cutting-edge marketing tactics to ensure travelers are getting the message.

     

    To view the traveler survey report, click here.

     

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