ABTN speaks to Paul Tilstone for an update on GBTA Europe ahead of the Third Dimension Conference in Amsterdam this September.
GBTA Europe is now preparing for its second conference, some 18 months after its launch. Is all going to plan?
It’s going very well. I think when you’re setting up an organisation from scratch you’ve got to expect it takes a lot of hard work and things don’t necessarily turn out as you would expect. But, I would have to say we’ve been blessed with a very hard working team, some great partners and excellent support from GBTA centrally. They see Europe as one of their key areas to turn what was NBTA into a global association. We’ve achieved everything we set out to do in 2010 and we are on target to achieve all our objectives for 2011, so you can’t really ask for better than that.
What are some of the difficulties you’ve faced?
When you’re communicating with partner organisations, overcoming data privacy legislation or restrictions to try and bring people and partner associations into the communication mix. Also, there are some economic difficulties in some partner countries that just provide challenges to sponsorship and membership and those sorts of things. But, in the grand scheme of things most of the challenges have been operational, not through a lack of requirement for what we’re trying to do. There is a definite support throughout all of our partner countries, and outside of the partner countries, for what we’re trying to achieve, so it’s really positive.
The European conference is coming up – how are preparations going?
We’ve sold a lot of places, and we’re a long way down the speaker contracting process. We’ve also got far greater sponsor support for the event this year than we had last year. That’s natural. Event people want to kick the tyres and see what it’s like.
What will be new this year?
We want to try and create something different for Europe, and our “Give and Take” mechanism that we’ve created is an example. When every delegate registers for the conference, there is a list of 48 issues within our industry from which they have to pick a minimum of two that they feel they could benefit from getting information about, or assistance or knowledge. Then the list is repeated and the delegates pick another two topics on which they can provide information or knowledge.
The idea is that we all go to these events and the sum total of the knowledge in the room is far greater than the exchange of knowledge that occurs. In most events we sit down and listen to a speaker and the knowledge that is imparted by one person is across 400 delegates in the audience. So we thought, actually, wouldn’t it be great to create a format that allowed you to decide what it was you wanted to learn and to be presented with a bunch of people who have the knowledge that will help you learn.
In theory it should be a new style of conferencing. It depends how successful it is and we’ve got to create the right environment for people, but it’s not been done in our industry before in such a structured way. And yet it is the value everyone gets from face-to-face networking which really people talk about when they go to these conferences and events.
Are you keen to trial new ideas at GBTA’s conferences?
Yes. Another really good example is the meetings lab, our European Meetings and Events Forum in November. In that particular event we’ve got different styles of sessions, one of which is the “Freudian Walk”. It is where after lunch instead of going back into a room and sitting round a table, we form into small groups and discuss contentious issues while walking through the woodlands of the chateau in France. It’s just to try and create a different way if interacting.
That’s a very small example and "Give and Take" is a very big example. But also, if you look at the European conference and this third dimensional aspect, the fact that we’ve got people from ITM, HR and sustainability within businesses coming to talk to people shows that we recognise that it’s not just about business travel people exchanging or talking to business travel people, it’s understanding all the other stakeholders in this process.
There seem to be a lot of events in the business travel sector in Europe, though. Do we really need any more?
There are a lot, and it’s often something that is levelled at us when we create a new event. But, I think a lot, if not most, of the events out there are run by commercial organisations, not organisations which have the members’ interests at heart. That does put a different spin on what you do at an event. We’re not just after financial success, although of course that is important because it underpins other services that you provide the members. We’re also not just repeating events that are already in place. We are trying different styles of events and different styles of content.
A really good example of that is the Oil, Gas and Marine Forum on October 19 in Aberdeen. We don’t think this type of event has ever been done before, not by an independent organisation. You may have had the oil, gas and marine suppliers running their own client events. The interest we’ve had in the forum has been phenomenal, because to our knowledge nobody has brought lots of different people together – suppliers and buyers – to look into the particular issues that affect people who manage travel in that sector.
There are incredibly specific issues. You’ve only got to look at the substantial use of helicopters and the potential dangers of helicopter flights as one particular example. Or the mass movement of crews. Or the issue of the locations of risk that they fly to and what happens if an airline is blacklisted because of its quality of provision for that route, but you don’t have any alternative. That is on October 19 in Aberdeen. Next year it will probably be in Norway.
GBTA Europe has also set up an advocacy group. How is that going?
Advocacy is obviously one of the primary objectives of any organisation or association. We don’t refer to it as lobbying.
Why not?
Because as an association or member organisation that has government departments as members, it’s not appropriate to lobby government when you have governmental members. That’s the first thing. The second thing is that we don’t actually take a lobbying position. The position that we take is to be recognised by the European Commission (EC) as the representation of the business travel buyer, the consumer. That means that really the relationship should be that we’re consulted on issues and changes to legislation within Europe, rather than lobbying on a particular point. The ancillary fees situation at the moment is a perfect example of that, where the EC wants to speak to us about how travel buyers are coping with ancillary fees and what’s their perspective on the situation. That’s why we don’t refer to it as lobbying.
What are the current targets of the European GBTA Advocacy Group?
At the moment our priorities are understanding the EC’s perspective on data privacy and how that’s being managed in the exchange of data within the business travel process. For example, that can be how an airline uses data that’s provided to it as part of the contractual agreement, right the way through to how data is passed between countries on individual travellers, and how long the data is kept for and how it is disposed of.
Then there seems to be quite an important issue with buyers around contracting with alliances and airlines. The terms of contracts between alliance partners, and also to reiterate the use of data as a result of that contracting process. And ancillary fees. They’re probably our three biggest targets.
And what do you hope to achieve with those issues?
We want to make sure that the buyer voice is heard. There isn’t a pan-European voice in Europe and there really should be. It’s been an objective of ours for a long time.
Education and training is also a focus for GBTA – what are you doing Europe-wide?
We rolled out a fundamentals programme, so all the basic building blocks of business travel management. That’s been very successful in France, less successful in the UK, although reasonable numbers, and we’re rolling it out in the Netherlands and Scandinavia at the end of this year. We’re also running the global leadership programme, which is the masters level programme, in Amsterdam this year.
I think there could be more interest in the education and training, and I think this industry needs it. I think because of that we know that it will grow, and those that have taken it are very pleased with the content and the approach that we’ve taken.
But, GBTA is totally revamping its training and certification programme this year and launching it at the convention in Denver. I think for me that is going to be the kick-off for wider interest in education and training, because it will actually set global standards in recognition. So, if you achieve certification in the UK, it will be recognised if you meet people from all over the world that you are qualified to a particular level.
You’ve recently announced your decision to step down as the head of ITM and to move into an as yet unannounced full time role with GBTA. How do you see the relationship between ITM and GBTA developing?
Yes. My new position will be announced at the GBTA conference in Denver later this month.
With regards to ITM, most of the ITM team have dual roles, but ITM still operates independently, and that’s key to the forward relationship. I suppose the important things are that ITM is a key supporting partner for GBTA Europe, and there is no question we see the close established relationship beginning to develop more.
ITM is adding value to GBTA Europe, and by return ITM’s own membership is receiving value from the relationship it has with GBTA Europe and all the tools and services that are being created. The advocacy is a perfect example.
It’s ITM’s intention to continue to offer membership of GBTA Europe as an added value to all of our ITM business members, and it’s GBTA’s intention to still retain ITM as the contracted resource to run Europe.
Some people may be worried about ITM being swallowed up by GBTA Europe. What would you say to them?
I would say if there’s one thing that GBTA has recognised over the past 18 to 24 months, to run a global association you have to operate off local expertise and knowledge. ITM is a really good example of an incredibly successful, creative and independent organisation. It’s in GBTA’s interests that ITM remains strong and grows. As it does, then GBTA’s strength grows in Europe as well. The two are directly interlinked.