ABTN talks to AXA travel buyer Jérôme Drevon-Barreaux, who is also ACTE’s country champion for France about life as a buyer in Europe
Which company do you work for and how long have been involved in travel buying?
I work for AXA and I have been in travel buying since 1999
What are the three biggest travel buying challenges in your market?
The integration of new technologies including apps to make travellers, cost containment and the cost management of MICE events
What business travel trends have you noticed in your market so far in 2012?
It is mainly about cost containment this year.
Is the amount of travel you are buying increasing year-on-year?
It is pretty stable in terms of spend and there has been a slight increase in volume - mainly due to “smarter buying behaviour”.
How easy is it to get travellers to follow travel policy – particularly with the growth in mobile technology?
It has been helped by extensive internal communication and a fair travel policy so there is virtually no out-of-policy travel.
What one thing would make your job easier and explain why it would make such a difference?
Better and easier technology integration of all travel components. A lot of new technologies and providers are coming on to the market but the integration is always one step behind which makes it frustrating. Often the leisure market is ahead of the business travel too. ACTE has this topic on the agenda for several events this year to help educate and drive change innovations.
Explain your role with ACTE and what your key tasks are?
I was previously regional chair for Europe and I am now country champion for France. My tasks include: organisation of the annual ACTE event in France; being the link between French ACTE members and ACTE global/regional headquarters; I also facilitate the relationship between ACTE and AFTM, the main travel manager association in France.
acte.org