Types of business travel: An overview

Types of business travel

Travelling on business can take many forms. Individuals may be travelling to meetings, to exhibitions to make sales calls to customers.

There are also a lot of occasions when high amount of groups of people travel individually, or together, to take part in a conference or corporate. Companies that organise business travel are operating in a different market to those who organise conferences and events and are often different companies. However, overlap does occur, for example Kuoni is a well known tour operator, yet has an arm of its company which specialises in event management.

Incentive Travel

The incentive travel is offered by the employer(company) to the employee which is like a entertainment gift for them as they are travelling for free. This will make the employee very happy as they can rest at the same time as well as having fun which overall it effects the work rate of the employee when they are back as it will make them much more motivated to work harder in the future as they may gain another reward.

What effect incentive travel gives to the employee

• Facilitating communication and networking opportunities, especially in senior management
• cheering the company’s socially
• Having a better company loyalty
• Creating eagerness for upcoming company period
• Strengthening the relationship between the employee and the company

Advantages for employees

Every employee will feel very special and be satisfied in their job as the company has given them an fantastic opportunity to go for an great holiday which they have gain the award. It automatically changes the employees feelings in work by making them feel successful and thinking they are the best in that work place because they were rewarded an incentive travel. That may also mean they had one of the best performance in the sales team for that business because they were rewarded as not many people experience this trip because it’s not often many people being offered an incentive travel by their company.

Exhibitions and trade fairs

There are exhibitions and trade fairs for just about every type of product. Business people attend trade fairs to keep up-to-date on the latest development in their industry which shows they are competing with each other as the find suppliers for products and services and to network with colleagues.

There are two aspects of the organisation of fairs and exhibitions. Firstly, there are companies who organise the exhibitions and sell stands to exhibitors. An example is Reed Exhibitions. They have a division, Red Travel Exhibitions, who focus on travel events. Lastly, there are many of business to be gained in organising travel to exhibitions and accommodation for attendees.

Conferences and meetings

The meetings industry Association (MIA) is the largest association for meetings industry for the UK and Ireland, providing support for venues and suppliers in the meetings environment. A company who wants to organise a large meeting, or conference, could approach the MIA to find out about companies who can make the arrangements for them.

Corporate events

Corporate events and hospitality is a specialist industry within travel and tourism that focuses on providing events, hospitality and entertainment to business clients. It can be know as a an incentive to an consumer because they have place a business with a different employer or to persuade businesses that may have not yet customers to an arrangement with the business. It is also seen as a good way for a company to network and make new business contacts. Corporate events take many forms – from lavish events at Wimbledon or the Henley Regatta to the owner of a business inviting his or her bank manager for a meal in a local restaurant. Many corporate hospitality functions are centred on sports events, such as golf championships, cricket, tennis, rugby and football matches. There are many specialist companies that handle all the arrangements for corporate events, from sending our invitations and ‘meet and greet’ services to providing catering and entertainment.

Business Agencies

This section is the role of business travel agents and the different types of agents operating in the industry.

Role

Business travel is concerned with providing products and services for business people travelling to meetings, attending conferences and conventions, and taking part in trade fairs and exhibitions. It also includes incentive travel, where holidays, short breaks and other travel services are offered to members of staff as an incentive to reach work targets.

big business travel agencies are regularly performing on behalf of two parties when they take on their job. They are providing help needed by their customer, referred to as the consumer, on whose behalf they are making the travel schedules. They are also an agent for the corporation that is supplying the product. These companies are recognized as ‘principals’ and comprise airlines, hotels and car hire companies.

Business travel is an increasingly important industry, since it is often ‘high value tourism’, earning hoteliers, caterers, transport providers, travel agents and a host of other companies’ significant income. Business travel is considered a high value industry because:

• Clients often have to travel at short notice, meaning that they are not able to take advantage of discounted advance purchase rates;
• Business people often use high quality accommodation;
• Business travel invariably includes an element of entertaining business clients
• Travel is often in upgraded services, e.g. business class or first class.

Business travel agencies can be divided into five distinct types:

1. Independent agencies

2. National agencies

3. Global agencies

4. Implant

5. E-agent.

Each type has its own particular characteristics and products.

Independent agencies

Across the UK, there are many independent travel agents that offer business travel arrangements. They are not part of a national chain and are often managed by the owner and a small team of staff. They may be companies that deal exclusively with business travellers, but are more likely to deal with both leisure and business clients. Unlike national agents (see below), independent travel agents are free to offer their business clients travel services from a wide range of suppliers. Independent business travel agents trade on their ability to offer their clients a very personal service, relying on word-of-mouth recommendation from satisfied customers for extra business. As well as being members of ABTA – The Travel Association, many independent business agents join consortia such as Advantage Travel or World choice in order to benefit from supplier discounts, make useful business contacts and to have their voices heard.

National Agencies

These are UK-based companies that are part of a national chain of travel agencies, such as Thomas Cook, Co-op Travelcare and Thomson. These agencies deal primarily with holidays and other leisure travel products, but can meet the needs of business travellers as well. Agencies that are located in parts of the country with high concentrations of companies and a large business community often generate a sizeable proportion of their turnover from business clients. Organisations of all sizes and in all sectors of the economy often need their staff to travel on business. Sole traders, members of partnerships, company directors, public sector staff, junior and senior managers, all travel from time to time on business. This could be in their local area, elsewhere in the UK, to countries in continental Europe or further afield.

Implants

Implants are agents operating within a business premises, so that they are on hand to look after travel requirements as needed. The agent may often work alone and is employed by a business travel agency, not by the company in whose premises they are based.

E-agents

As in leisure travel, there is an expanding demand for online business travel services. Some of them may be familiar with the website offering travel services, Expedia. Expedia claims that is corporate travel business, launched in 2002, is the fifth largest by turnover worldwide.

Products and services

Business travel agents may be dealing with small companies sending individuals on business trips to corporate clients who want all of their business travel managed.

Basic services will always include:

• Accommodation bookings
• Flight bookings – either scheduled or low-cost, business, first or even economy
• Transfer
• Cars hire or rail tickets
• Ancillary sales, such as car parking or insurance.

The agency will book accommodation for a customer and that is to find where they will stay, arrange travel such as flight bookings on specific dates, transfers to the hotel etc. Ancillary services such as insurance and parking.

Management of a customer’s travel expenditures

This means analysing data so that a corporation knows exactly what is being spent on business travel and where. The travel management company manage the data and make it available to the customer 24-hours a day in a spreadsheet or database.

Negotiation with suppliers

The agent negotiates terms on the customer’s behalf with airlines, care hire companies and hotels for accommodation which this is for the agency to find the best deals for their consumers.

Products and services provided by suppliers

All hotels and airlines want to tap in to the lucrative business travel market and constantly bring out new products and services to entice business travellers.

Hotels offer Wi-Fi and business centres as a matter. Business customers may choose executive rooms. Even cheaper hotels, such as the premier Inn chain, offer wireless internet and meeting rooms which is what the business customers expects to have.