Fifty per cent of organisations have begun travelling again, but with stipulations, according to the third phase of the State of the Market survey by FCM Travel Solutions.
Conducted by FCM’s consulting arm 4th Dimension (4D), the final phase of the survey consisted of one-to-one interviews in August 2020 with 250 of FCM’s multinational large-scale clients globally in over 60 countries.
The workshops examined a new path forward for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021, as corporate travel resumes amid new safety and hygiene requirements and protocols. It follows on from the results of two State of the Market surveys released in May and June, both conducted among 2,320 business travel managers, bookers and travellers in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, EMEA and the Americas, to gauge their sentiments on business travel during the Covid-19 crisis.
While 50% of respondents said they have employees already travelling or booking reservations to travel in the near future, resuming travel will be different for everyone.
The combined results of the State of the Market research (April to August 2020) shows that over 90% of businesses indicated that they planned to travel domestically and shorthaul international flights, within three months of government re-opening borders and lifting restrictions such as quarantine.
Yet the number of trips taken will likely be lower, as only 26% of businesses are planning to return to their pre-Covid-19 levels for domestic travel during 2021. The remaining 74% of businesses predict reduced domestic travel for the immediate year ahead. The average number of business trips per traveller pre-Covid, was six to eight per year; this number is likely to fall between three and four trips per person, per year until 2023.
Clients still have longhaul travel plans on hold indefinitely, as they assess the balance between need and safety. In particular, national businesses in China, Australia, New Zealand and US were less likely to have longhaul international plans for 2021, indicating only domestic and shorthaul international travel will be planned for next year. Meanwhile, 29% of respondents from China said they won’t be travelling longhaul, and 16% of respondents in Australia, 22% in New Zealand and 7% in the US indicated the same.
The below provides a snapshot of professionals currently travelling globally:
- Industries who continued to travel or recommenced travel the fastest were Mining & Wholesale, with approximately 40% of respondents from those businesses saying they continued travelling throughout the global shutdown, with 80% having resumed travel at this point.
- Construction and food services follow closely behind with approximately 70% of respondents indicating that they’ve started travelling again.
- In Asia, the financial services, science and technology, education and training, mining and construction sectors were one of the first to resume travel. Across all industries, the first groups of people to travel will be/have been sales, client management and project workforce who are focused on business growth, customer retention and the resumption of projects. Nineteen per cent of respondents agree that administration and internal support staff are the least likely to travel in the near future as they are not client-facing.
The top two priorities for many respondents across Asia were budget and risk management also known as Duty of Care. FCM also remains cognisant of the fact that triggers for business travel include travelling when safe (vaccine or virus eradicated), borders reopening, increase in traveller confidence and the ability to appropriately track travellers.
Moreover, the study revealed that the future of travel buying behaviour will be influenced by:
- Airline, hotel, car/ground Covid-safety protocols (37% of respondents are reviewing their hotel suppliers to ensure they are Covid-safe and 25% of respondents rate Duty of Care their number one focus as travel resumes in their business)
- Shortened purchase window (the average purchase window for domestic travel has dropped from seven to 10 days (pre-Covid) to three to four days post-Covid)
- Flexible fares
- Avoidance of overnight requirements
- Virtual meetings as a back-up
In addition to focusing on budgets, traveller confidence and safety procedures, businesses large and small are re-evaluating their travel policies in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, more than ever before, a travel policy ensures businesses have set guidelines around traveller safety, budgets, required documentation and purpose for travel, while empowering employees to use careful judgement when booking and incurring travels expenses. Currently, 84% of businesses interviewed have active travel policies, either at a national or global level.
During Covid-19, 40% of respondents who had existing policies introduced interim travel policies, providing more restrictive guidelines for travellers. Interim policies include varying definitions of indefinite travel bans, classifications for business-critical travel (where safe), new approval procedures, general guidelines for changed supplier services and also procedures for business meetings. 50% of customers are making further changes to their policy as travel resumes.
Priorities of revised policies include health & hygiene; pre-trip approval; business class travel approval; whether the business is essential; journey changes; adhering to Covid conduct; using preferred and Covid safe suppliers.
The full State of the Market report with a comprehensive analysis of the survey results and market overview is available here.
Low Kiang Wei is medical director at International SOS, where he oversees all Medical Services and Health Consulting projects in Singapore.
Avani Hotels & Resorts has welcomed six new general managers to its team, who will head up properties in Asia and the Middle East.
Slated to open early 2021, Avani Doc Let Resort in Vietnam has welcomed Dennis Gordienko to the role of general manager.
Gordienko first joined the Minor group in 2015 as cluster resident manager at Anantara Maldives. Prior to that, he was executive assistant manager leading the pre-opening of Amari Dhaka in Bangladesh. In 2019, he took the pre-opening helm at FCC Angkor by Avani prior to being reassigned to Avani Doc Let Resort.
The Ukrainian started his hospitality career as an F&B intern in Antalya, Turkey, with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts in 2003. Since then, he has worked in London and also his native country within F&B and rooms departments with international brands such as Radisson, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
He then moved to YTL Hotels – Small Luxury Hotels, where he was general manager of Gaya Island Resort, before moving to Vistana Penang Bukit Jambul in the same capacity.
In another Vietnam appointment, Beatrice Ellis has taken the helm at Avani Hai Phong Harbour View Hotel.
Ellis joins the hotel in a newly-promoted role from Anantara Hoi An Resort, where she has been based since 2017, starting as executive assistant manager and, for the last year, as the resort manager.
The South African brings more than 18 years of international experience in the hospitality industry, spending the previous six years with Minor Hotels in both the Maldives and Vietnam.
Over in Cambodia, Michael Robinson has been named the new general manager of FCC Angkor by Avani.
Robinson’s decade-long career in hospitality has seen him work across the US, Middle East and Asia, starting with a trainee role with Hyatt Regency La Jolla in San Diego. In 2009, he moved to the Middle East as pre-opening assistant manager – front office with Grand Hyatt Doha in Qatar.
In 2011, Robinson joined Park Hyatt Dubai as assistant front office manager, followed by a promotion to the role of front office manager a couple of years later. The New Zealand national then relocated to Vietnam in 2016 to work as director of rooms for Caravelle Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City. Later in the year, he was promoted to his first general manager role for the same property – his last assignment prior to joining Minor Hotels.
Moving onto Malaysia, Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort has welcomed Yogeswaran Veerasamy as its new general manager.
A Malaysian national, Veerasamy brings over two decades of hospitality experience across Asia and the Middle East. A seasoned hotelier with a strong background in F&B, he began his hospitality career in 1996 at the Raffles Hotel Singapore. Between 1999 and 2008, he held various F&B leadership roles at hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; The Fullerton Hotel Singapore; and Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Cambodia.
Veerasamy was subsequently promoted to executive assistant manager of F&B at The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace in India in 2008. Between 2012 and 2017, he held hotel manager roles at W Singapore Sentosa Cove and The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Singapore, before taking on a general manager role in 2017 at The Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast.
Before joining Minor Hotels, Veerasamy was general manager for M Social Hotel Singapore.
Next up in South Korea, Avani Central Busan Hotel has appointed BK Kwon as the property’s general manager.
The South Korean has worked across Europe, Asia and Australia over a career spanning 15 years. Starting as a trainee with Conrad Hotel Bangkok in Thailand, he was promoted to assistant F&B manager in 2006. Between 2008 and 2011, he was based at Parmelia Hilton Perth Hotel in Australia serving as conference & banqueting operations manager, before being promoted to executive housekeeper, and finally, hotel operations manager.
In 2011, Kwon relocated back to South Korea to join Hilton Namhae Golf & Spa Resort as director of operations, followed by a stint at Haevichi Hotel and Resort Jeju as general manager from 2014. Prior to joining Minor Hotels, he was executive director – hotel business division for Haevichi Hotel & Resort Corporation.
Lastly, in the UAE, Georges Farhat has been appointed as general manager for the Avani Palm View Dubai Hotel & Suites, slated to open in 4Q2020.
With more than 25 years of hospitality experience and a strong background in operations, Farhat brings a wealth of knowledge to this role from his previous positions with InterContinental Hotel Group.
Farhat’s first foray into hospitality was in 1994 with the Crown Plaza Dubai Hotel as a management trainee, and he rose through the ranks in both commercial and rooms division. In 2007, he was appointed the property’s hotel manager, followed by his first general manager assignment in 2014. Most recently, Farhat was the opening general manager for the Crown Plaza Dubai Marina.