Shorthaul business will go online
GBTA Conference special: Travel management companies face more competition than ever before and are set to lose their short-haul business to online companies, according to Opodo chief executive David Scowsill.
The website chief told delegates at the Guild of Business Travel Agents’ conference in Shanghai that hotels were keen to drive bookings through their own websites and encourage business travellers to bypass agents.
“Hoteliers want to encourage self booking and build business through their own sites because it saves money,” he said.
“So travel management companies need to show that they can add value and, for example, know where their executives are at all times.
“Increasingly, short-haul business and simple itineraries will go through online agencies.”
Mr Scowsill pointed out that in the US, Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity already have a 25 per cent share of the business travel market.
He said the growth of no-frills airlines was also a problem for business travel agents.
“Ryanair and easyJet demand people book online and refuse to work with GDSs, so the travel management companies are unable to offer their clients the full range of fares.”
But Mr Scowsill said TMCs still had a big role to play, particularly in organising complex, long-haul trips.
“TMCs will be used for more complicated itineraries, but they must evolve fast or risk being wiped out by online agencies.”
Opodo, which is part-owned by Amadeus and nine airlines, is rumoured to be going through a change of ownership with Amadeus planning to take full control and inject cash into the ailing website.
In response to a question on ownership, Mr Scowsill said: “We clearly need to grow and we’re discussing ways in which we can do that, but I can’t say any more at this stage.”
Report by Jeremy Skidmore from the GBTA Conference, Shanghai
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