Jo-Achim Hamburger, global travel manager for Electrolux, told the Belgian Association of Travel Managers (BATM) that a deal signed by six Scandinavian countries with SN Brussels was a success.
The groundbreaking deal, which gives the companies discount of SN in return for guaranteed volume, was signed a year ago after months of negotiations.
Mr Hamburger spoke to more than 80 delegates at the BATM meeting organised with the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) in Brussels about the negotiations, how other airlines had refused to take part and the legal implications for those involved in the consortium.
He urged that other companies which had similar travel patterns should get together and think about doing something similar.
Soeren Schoedt, managing director of travelpooleurope a group of companies which has set up a centralised purchasing unit to buy travel, also spoke of the advantages of consortium buying.
* The next BATM/ACTE Forum in Belgium will be on November 24 at a venue to be confirmed.
Dutch hotels still down
The Dutch hotel industry has not yet recovered from the recession according to a new report by Horwath Consulting.
In a survey of more than 200 three- to five-star properties, the group found that while room occupancy rose from 65% to 67%, prices fell from 102 per room to 98.
The report said occupancy in 2000, before the drop in trade, was 76.4% while the average room rate in 2003 was 114.
But Horwath said the signs were that the hotel industry in the Netherlands was now beginning to recover but room rates were still under pressure.
Horwath director Ewout Hoogendoorn said: “Business guests are especially looking for ways to cut expenses. Companies that in the past guaranteed large numbers of rooms per year at a fixed price, are now asking hotels to compete against other hotels at the lowest price. Business guests also use the internet to find the lowest prices.”