The BTA

The BTA held our first-ever BTA Open Mic event focused on railways for the business travel sector! We heard from members and partners who are passionate about improving the rail travel experience for travel management companies, business travel buyers and business travellers alike?

In their first conversation of the year Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the latest goings on at BTA Towers.

They discuss plans for 2024 with subject matter being generated by the BTA Manifesto. Thye look forward to up and coming webinars and events, including the BTA Accommodation Conference and the Next Gen Networking Evening. The campaign against airport drop-off charges is highlighted as well other interactions that the BTA have had in Westminster.

No mention of football on this occasion.

In their final conversation of the year Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the latest goings on at BTA Towers.

They discuss recent BTA events, the launch of the BTA Manifesto for 2024 and the recent sector conferences. Clive reviews his experience on the recent Virgin Atlantic SAF flight and of course there's always time for a little talk about football.

Finally we hear about the new arrival in the Wratten household plus the Christmas plans for both Messrs Wratten & Clarke.

The BTA were delighted to be joined by representatives from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for an engaging discussion on the latest developments and enhancements to the U.S. visa waiver program.

The webinar covered the new ESTA Mobile App and important updates concerning safe and secure travel to the United States.

The BTA were delighted to be joined by Rhys Griffiths of Fox Williams an expert in travel law who is heavily involved in dealings with Low Cost Carriers (LCC).  He provided valuable insights and guidance on navigating the complexities of selling LCC flights and the many legal considerations that many of our members could face.

Clive Wratten speaks to Kai-Gordon Weiland, Chief Sales Officer at Atriis Technologies. They delve into Atriis Technologies from its inception to where it stands today. Learn about Atriis' innovative approach to transforming managed travel for TMCs and corporates and why it is necessary, plus hear about Atriis' goals for the future.

In their latest conversation Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss what has been happening over the last 21,600 working minutes whilst the CEO has been away from BTA Towers

They discuss the travel stories hitting the headlines, from airport fires to more travel disruption and the cancellation of HS2 alongside an update of the key face-to-face activities The BTA have been up to including Breakfasts, Board Meetings & Universities.

The BTA were delighted to host a webinar which delved into the crucial realm of "General Agreements" between Travel Management Companies (TMCs) and Corporate Customers. This webinar aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the significance of these agreements in fostering strong and successful relationships, and to address the key aspects that surround them.  We were joined by Matt Gatenby and Katie Raby from BTA partners, Travlaw who provided attendees with invaluable insights into this crucial area for TMCs when providing and receiving business travel services.

In this week's episode Clive & Andrew are joined by special guest Suzanne Horner the BTA Chair. They reviewed the recent BTA Conference in Antwerp, shared ideas on how we keep the momentum of industry collaboration and discussed the latest industry news impacting business travel.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the up and coming BTA Conference which takes place next week in Antwerp. Has Andrew packed yet, what will Clive be wearing to The Big Dinner and have they checked their passports.

There's also some reflection on the ATC glitch and the impact it had on travellers, but of course recent acquisitions and Monarch Airlines, will they or won't they?

Of course there's reference to football as Clive was just about to head off and see his beloved Reading play in Cambridge (don't ask the score).

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the great work being done to ensure we continue our relationships within government and how we look forward to the upcoming political conferences where we will be sharing The BTA manifesto.

They also spend some time plugging suppliers and partners based on recent interactions and experiences,

With The BTA conference in Antwerp around the corner, they share details of our team planning day and other webinars that have been added to our events calendar.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the name of this podcast, although we're not sure a decision was made. There's also a look forward to the BTA conference in Antwerp which is fast approaching and the future conferences on Finance, Ground Transport and Accommodation. There's also some discussion on railways and the BTA's recent white paper on Best Practice. And of course, it wouldn't be the BTA Briefing/Review/Update without some reference to the new football season!

Clive Wratten speaks to Snowfall's VP Global Sales Richard Viner about Snowfall's history, growth and their solution for the TMCs.

Andrew Clarke speaks to Expedia TAAP's Senior Sales Manager Adam Reeves about Expedia TAAP as a product, the connection into the TMC community and the commercial benefits to the TMC.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss recent events including the Business Travel Show, the Next Gen Board Meeting, the huddles and the BTA conference in Antwerp. There's also some discussion on railways, new partners joining the BTA and the new football season!

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss recent events including the Business Travel Show, the BTA's Planet Plan Conference, the IATA CO2 webinar and BEAM Conference in Bournemouth.  They look ahead to the Amadeus/British Airways NDC webinar, the next Generation BTA Board Meeting and the BTA conference in Antwerp.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss recent award and conference as well as reflecting on the BTA Parliamentary Dinner which took place last week. They also look forward to this weeks Business Travel Show and the BTA's Planet Plan Conference which takes place next Wednesday. There's also time to discuss the weather and offer advice to anyone planning to use the London Underground.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the recent M&E Conference and look ahead to forthcoming events including the next APPG, the Parliamentary Dinner, Planet Plan Conference and the Autumn Conference taking place in the beautiful city of Antwerp. There's also an update on Clive's numerous meetings with various MPs and Lords in Westminster as well as surprise for Andrew that whilst he was in Istanbul watching the Champions League Final, Clive was meeting up with his wife at a hotel in Heathrow.

The BTA were delighted to be joined by Alessandra Alonso from Women in Travel CIC and Christina Lawford of DiamondAir International. They discussed why allyship matters and how men can become allies to women and other diverse groups in the travel and tourism industry and how we can all work together to create a more inclusive future. 

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the BTA Team Away Days and its benefits. They all look back at the recent webinars which focused on Revenue Management, Sustainability from the Flightdeck, Tax Implications for Overseas Staff and Neurodiversity. They were also joined by the Chair of the BTA Partner Board, Christina Lawford who gave an updates from the board as well as the development of services being offered by her company DiamondAir International.

We were delighted to hear from Captain Lorna Hutchings, Deputy Chief Pilot at Virgin Atlantic Airways with over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry.

As a long haul commercial pilot for 20 years with a wealth of intrinsic knowledge of Airline Flight Operations and Management, Lorna has been working within Flight Operations for the last 10 years, the last three and a half as Route Operations Captain and previously 7 years as Fuel Efficiency Pilot.

She is currently studying for an MSc in Applied Neuroscience at King's College London, tapping into academic and research areas that can benefit aviation; fatigue, nutrition, sleep disruption, and mental health angles.

In this webinar with Clive Wratten she gave her thoughts on flying aircraft and the pilots role in sustainability.

Our final session on Neurodiversity took place during Mental Health Awareness week. Mental health can be impacted by neurodiversity, as some neurodivergent individuals may experience mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and mood disorders. However, it is important to note that being neurodivergent does not necessarily mean that an individual will have mental health issues. Our experts discussed how you gain or offer the right support and help when needed.

With the way we traditionally work changing, more employees are requesting or opting to have the opportunity to work remotely from another country on a temporary basis. Whilst increasing employee satisfaction and loyalty, there are also several issues employers need to consider. 

We were pleased to discuss the need to have the appropriate policies in place and the legal and tax implications around remote working abroad with our guests Ami Naru, Head of Employment at TravLaw and Davyd Fisher Director, Tax at Grant Thornton. 

They were also able to answer several questions from the audience.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the recent BTA Breakfast, Big Futures Event, Leisure & Tourism Course Funding, the recent Revenue Management webinar, rail strikes and the four day week. Of course there's a brief mention about football and the great British weather gets an opinion.

We were joined Chris Graham, Director of Revenue at Travelodge and Jenny McGowan, Head of Revenue Performance and Strategy at Virgin Atlantic who shared their insights on revenue management and how it has changed post-pandemic.

The discussion covered cover topics such as the relationship between revenue management and sales teams and how data-based decisions are made in conjunction with sales input and customer feedback.

In addition, they discussed the changing trends in business travel booking since the pandemic and shared their insights on price volatility for corporate travellers for the rest of 2023.

Our last neurodiversity webinar offered an insightful exploration of how businesses can support neurodiversity in the workplace. 
 
In the second instalment of our three-part series, we explored the experiences of neurodivergent individuals and provided practical strategies for living and working with neurodiversity.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the recent BTA Breakfast, Next Gen Board Meeting and the APPG meeting at Portcullis House. There's an update on the BTA Autumn Conference and this week's latest webinar focusing on Neurodiversity. They also speak about annual leave, out of offices and full English breakfasts!

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the recent Technology Conference, the APPG at Portcullis House, DFT Meetings, Next Gen Board, Grant Thornton Data Academy, Airline Retailing, Manchester City Tax, the new BTA Training Platform, Person of Interest on Alibi and the weather!

The BTA were delighted to have Sean Doyle, British Airways CEO join us to talk about BA’s & the aviation sector’s recovery in 2023.

He also discussed his plans for BA in 2023, sustainability, the importance of corporate travel to BA & aviation, their approach to TMCs in 2023 and plans for airline retailing.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the BTA Spring Conference, the Autumn Conference, Neurodiversity, the BTA/CBI Report, Date Skills and Belgium Beers.

Andrew Clarke is joined by JetBlue's VP Revenue Management & Sales. Jonathan Weiner.  The pair discuss JetBlue's effect and positive disruption.

In  Neurodiversity Celebration week the BTA was delighted to host a podcast to look at how Neurodiversity impacts your business and what are some of the best practices to support your teams.  

The panellists discussed the positives, unique strengths, talents and perspectives that come from thinking differently, helping organisations understand and offering ideas of what could be done better, if they were more inclusive of diverse thinkers.

Hear the latest update from the BTA Team.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke discuss the BTA Spring Conference, the CBI Conference, Careers Fairs, the BTA Careers Brochure, Virgin Atlantic and Ken Bruce.

Hear the latest update from the BTA Team.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke are joined by the chair of the Generation BTA Board, Aron Jameson from ATPI.

Hear the latest update from the BTA Team.

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke chat about what the BTA has been up to, including generation BTA, new partners joining, up and coming events and the BTAs work with government.  After recent results there's no surprise that football is off the agenda, however sport does feature as the Five Nations gets a mention.

How confident are you that your business is protected from fraud & cyber crime? Did you know that 52% of all crime is cyber related.  Listen to our panel of experts discussing best practices to protect you, your business, employees & customers.

Hear the latest update from the BTA Team.  

In this episode Clive Wratten and Andrew Clarke chat about the busy start of the year, what the BTA have been up to, what’s coming up and you can get involved.

A look back to 2022 and a look forwards to 2023 with the BTA team.

Clive Wratten, CEO of the BTA is joined be Steven Love of Amadeus who gave us an insight into his northern roots & background, what it means to have been appointed to the BTA Industry Partner Board and what to expect from Amadeus as a leading technology provider in 2023 and beyond.

After a year of staffing challenges, what can we learn from other industry sectors in the way that they are tackling the recruitment challenges, has there been a noticeable change in the calibre of candidates on the market, what new challenges are recruiters facing in 2023 and how can we evolve to continue to attract new talent?

Since the earliest trade routes between towns and cities, there have been business travellers. But who is the modern day Business Traveller and what do they want? Living in an era where technology has taken us to new levels of communication, some people question the need for business travel at all. The BTA was joined by a group of regular business travellers who spoke about why business travel is still important, how they perceive the travel eco system, what frictionless travel means to them and what is important to them in relation to the service providers?

How do we attract new talent into business travel and where should our messaging be aimed? Do we need to do more to educate 'the Educators' that there is far more to a career in travel than cabin crew or a resort rep? Listen to the latest BTA Podcast when we are joined by careers advisors from colleges and universities to hear how they think the business travel industry can raise awareness for the next generation.

Airports have taken a lot of stick over the summer, but was it all justified? The BTA speaks to a couple of airline airport managers and an airport to discuss what has happened, what's changed and how the future looks for those travelling from our UK airports.

Has the summer recruitment gone to plan for the industry? Where did we find people to fill the vacancies, was it skills or attitude that got positions filled and what are we still missing to promote our industry as a career option?

Our panel offer their thoughts and advice in the first in a series of three sessions.

 Travel tech: what’s next for TMCs?

Earlier this week The BTA held second Planet Plan Council meeting of 2022 with over 40 members and partners joining the call. We heard from leaders of the four working parties that have now been created.  Once again there was agreement that as an industry we must work together on this issue, to ensure best practice and joint learning.

With big changes planned for the way the rail industry is managed and delivered within The UK, what does this mean for The TMC? In this session we were joined by Jacqueline Starr Chief Executive at Rail Delivery Group, James Parkhouse CEO at Agiito and Raj Sachdave Managing Partner at Black Box Partnerships who discussed the impacts and opportunities as well as other areas of changes being discussed within the GBR transformation.  

As we emerge from the toughest two years the TMC sector has ever experienced the financial requirements around IATA have never been more relevant to our sector. The BTA were delighted to be joined by Chris Photi & Jake Cohen, our industry partners and experts from White Hart Associates,  They gave an update on the current financial expectations, the bonding requirements and much more.

Last week The BTA held our first Planet Plan Council meeting of 2022 with over 40 members and partners joining the call. We established that the industry must work together on this issue, to ensure best practice and joint learning so true progress can be achieved. It was a very motivating call to be on as I saw first hand representatives from across the entire business travel supply chain and from all levels within those organisations sharing ideas, best practice and areas of concern.