Corporate Traveller joins forces with Flight Centre Business Travel to strengthen SME customer offering
1st June 2021
Corporate Traveller UK, specialists in managing travel for SMEs, is poised to grow market share and expand its offering after joining forces with fellow SME division, Flight Centre Business Travel UK.
Parent company, Flight Centre Travel Group, has taken the decision to merge Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT) with Corporate Traveller in order to maximise investment in new technology, services and customer experience specifically for the SME business travel sector.
Established in the UK in 2005, FCBT was set up to meet the increasing demand from customers of Flight Centre’s leisure agencies for personal local business travel services. In the UK, FCBT has around 2000 SME customers ranging from individual business owners to larger companies who typically spend £50K to £1M per annum on corporate travel.
Corporate Traveller launched in the UK in 1999 and has since grown to become the UK’s largest travel management company providing dedicated business travel services to 2,500 SME customers with an annual business travel spend of £50K to £4M. Corporate Traveller has 240 staff at 15 locations nationwide.
FCBT’s customers will transition to Corporate Traveller together with FCBT’s 135 employees in operations, account management and sales. FCBT staff will continue to work personally with their respective customers within Corporate Traveller’s business to ensure seamless transition of servicing.
Flight Centre Travel Group’s leisure business, including its high street stores and specialist teams, is unaffected by this change and remains a key brand within the FCTG group.
“Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel have evolved as separate business divisions within Flight Centre Travel Group over the last 15 to 20 years. Both brands had grown to become extremely successful in their own right, providing personal service from dedicated consultants and technology solutions specifically suited to their respective SME customers,” said Steve Norris, Managing Director EMEA, Flight Centre Travel Group.
“However there were also many synergies. It therefore made business sense to bring these two brands together so that we can focus on investing in our overall SME offering collectively to enrich the customer experience, as well as retain and grow market share in the post-Covid era,” said Norris.
Andy Hegley, UK General Manager Corporate Traveller added: “The integration of FCBT with Corporate Traveller, will give us greater opportunities to be the market-leading travel management specialist for the SME sector. This new direction also means that former FCBT customers will have access to innovative new technology that is being developed by Corporate Traveller, but they will still receive the same personal service from their usual FCBT travel expert.”
FCBT also merged with Corporate Traveller in Canada and South Africa. Customers handled by FCBT in Ireland will be managed by Flight Centre’s global travel management company, FCM in Dublin. FCBT continues to operate in Australia and New Zealand.
FAQ
1. Why has Flight Centre taken the decision to merge Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT) with Corporate Traveller?
The merger of FCBT with Corporate Traveller and having a single SME brand in the UK will give us a greater opportunity to be the market leading TMC for the SME sector. Flight Centre Travel Group will be able to maximise its investments in services and solutions specifically for the SME sector as one collective Corporate Traveller brand. With this new direction, it means SME customers will have access to great new technology, but they will still continue the relationships they have had with their FCBT Travel Experts.
2. Has this decision been taken due to the impact of COVID on FCBT’s business?
Like all companies and brands in the travel industry, FCBT has been affected by COVID-19. However, the decision to merge FCBT with Corporate Traveller was not as a direct result of the pandemic. COVID-19 has brought to the forefront the need to make the best investment decisions by our people and our customers. Having a single SME brand for our investments will lead to a better customer experience instead of spreading investment across two separate brands servicing similar customer types.
3. How many staff does FCBT have and in how many UK locations? Did you have to close offices due to COVID and make people redundant?
FCBT has 135 staff across 6 locations (plus remote working) with some staff currently on furlough. Redundancies were unfortunately necessary due to the downturn in trade and expected recovery timeframes. Some FCBT regional offices (Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds) have closed, but FCBT staff will be incorporated into the Corporate Traveller offices located in each of these cities. For our Irish market, FCBT customers have been incorporated within the FCM brand.
4. Will all remaining FCBT staff be retained and found roles within Corporate Traveller?
Yes, all staff are transitioning across into Corporate Traveller in their current team structure, working with the same customers but operating under the Corporate Traveller brand. All FCBT senior management have been offered alternative roles within the Flight Centre Travel Group. For all employees, both working and furloughed, it’s been important to set the foundations for a smooth transition to Corporate Traveller. This has included donating company laptops to those home-schooling children during lockdown.
5. How many clients does FCBT have in the UK? What sort of volumes were they trading at pre-COVID?
In the UK, FCBT handles business travel for around 2000 SME customers, spending £50K to £1M per annum typically on business travel. Total UK volumes pre-COVID were in the region of £185M per annum
6. How many staff and locations does Corporate Traveller currently have in the UK? How many clients does Corporate Traveller have and what is their typical business travel spend?
Corporate Traveller has 240 staff across 15 locations in the UK managing travel for some 2,500 SME customers, with annual pre-COVID business travel spends ranging from £50K to £4M
7. Will there be any changes in the way that FCBT clients are serviced, once they have moved to Corporate Traveller?
FCBT customers will still be looked after personally by the same FCBT travel consultants that they are used to working with, but now within the Corporate Traveller brand, to ensure service continuity and to maintain established client relationships. Like all Corporate Traveller customers, former FCBT customers will additionally benefit from new technology being developed by Corporate Traveller specifically for the SME market, as well as future investments in products and services.
8. What are the advantages of this merger?
The merging of two SME business models will not only streamline operational and service efficiencies, but more importantly it will enable us to enhance our customer offering for SMEs, and target further growth for Corporate Traveller as the leading TMC purely focussed on the SME sector.
9. Is FCBT merging with Corporate Traveller in any other markets where the brand operates?
FCBT merged with Corporate Traveller in South Africa in November 2020, and in Canada in March 2021. FCBT continues to operate in Australia and New Zealand.
10. What is the timeline for the merger? Are all FCBT clients transitioning in one go, or gradually?
FCBT customers and staff will begin to transition to Corporate Traveller on 1st June 2021. The merger will be completed in one go, to allow a speedy transition for all customers and staff. However, FCBT customers have been informed prior to this date of any changes they may see. To ensure minimum disruption FCBT customers will remain on their existing technology platform (HelloFCBT) until the launch of Corporate Traveller’s new technology platform later this year.
11. What is the strategy for Corporate Traveller and the SME market following the merger?
We will be launching an exciting new global travel technology platform later this year specifically designed to enhance the user experience for our SME customers. By combining this leading technology with our renowned personal dedicated service from the best people in the industry, we intend to continue dominating the SME market, provide an unrivalled customer experience and grow market share.