The Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM) is “angry” and “frustrated” at Virgin Train’s decision to limit automatic traveller refunds to advanced tickets brought directly through their website or app.
Last week, Virgin Trains introduced the Automatic Delay Repay (ADR) system on the West Coast Mainline, which calculates the amount owed to a customer purchasing advance tickets depending on how late a train arrives. Compensation is paid directly to the card used to buy the ticket.
Virgin Trains claims it is not able to refund bookings made in any other channels, saying it does not have access to the appropriate data. This means reservations made through travel management companies (TMCs) and self booking tools (SBTs) via rail booking platforms such as Evolvi and thetrainline.com, are not recognised by the ADR system.
ITM said buyers are concerned it is yet another initiative that will encourage business travellers to book directly with a supplier, and therefore outside of company policy.
Virgin Trains has admitted to ITM that it should have had discussions with the business travel community prior to the announcement.
The organisation that represents corporate travel buyers said schemes that do not take managed travel policies into account create “major implications” for corporate cost control, compliance levels and duty of care obligations.
“This is yet another very disappointing decision. Some suppliers seem intent on muddying the waters of managed travel,” said chairman of ITM’s industry affairs group Will Hasler.
“On one hand they want our high yield business, market share and booking data, while on the other they implement schemes that damage managed travel processes.”
Late last year ITM objected to a Marriott ploy, which offered free Wi-Fi to loyalty cardholders that booked directly with the hotel group, to attract direct bookings.
Earlier this year German airline Lufthansa introduced a €16 surcharge on all bookings made through global distribution systems (GDSs), which are used for the vast majority of managed travel reservations.
ITM said it was not consulted of the move calling it a “crass attempt” to push bookings away from corporate travel policies and towards the airline’s own website.
ITM chief executive Simone Buckley said: “Traveller compliance to the managed travel programme is critical from a duty of care perspective as well as delivering market share to preferred suppliers. We condemn any practice that fragments this process, particularly in instances where no attempt has been made to collaborate with the business travel community.”