How data is changing the global travel industry...delivery of travel data, Addison Lee Group has brought together a team of global travel experts from Amadeus, Experian, Hillgate Travel,

How data is changing the global travel industry

DATA-DRIVEN TRAVEL:

Corporate travel data used to be a question

of calculating how much a business spent

on travel each financial year and using that

information to secure discounted travel

rates. But times have changed. Digital

transformation has given data a strategic role

to play in every area of the business - and the

travel management function is no exception.

Travel spend is typically one of the top five

expenditure categories in most organisations.

As a result, it’s critical for businesses to truly

understand what, why and where they are

spending that portion of their budget. The

more they understand, the more easily they

can pre-empt future expenditure and start

identifying opportunities to streamline.

While recent years have seen many travel

managers broaden their approach to data to

encompass metrics around safety, few have

been able to harness the full potential of travel

data, with only 31% stating that they have full

control over their travel data. And yet, there

has never been a better time to do so. Thanks

to advances in technology, data is now easier to

Why data -and why now?

IN TRODUC TION

2 WHITEPAPER - FEBRUARY 2018

capture and access, and the tools that empower

this are increasingly powerful and cost-effective.

Despite this, few companies have access to

solutions that can bring them the data they need

in the way they need it: cleansed, structured

and accessible. As a result, they are missing

out on opportunities to streamline their entire

approach to travel and deliver an enhanced,

consumer-style travel experience underpinned

by an efficient financial model.

This paper has been produced to help businesses

understand the challenges of travel data and

where the opportunities lie, ultimately identifying

what travel data has to offer them and how

they can harness it to the benefit of their

business. In it, we will explore the value travel

data has to offer global businesses, the trends

driving greater use of travel data, and the ways

in which use of data can help not only improve

the traveller experience, but also deliver real

strategic value that benefits the entire business.

We’ll also explore the role that corporates, Travel

Management Companies (TMCs) and travel

providers have to play in capturing, storing and

securing data to ensure global visibility and

total compliance. As well as drawing on our own

extensive experience in the management and

delivery of travel data, Addison Lee Group has

brought together a team of global travel experts

from Amadeus, Experian, Hillgate Travel, Hogg

Robinson Group, tClara and Tramada, to share

their knowledge on how corporates are using

Data has been underexploited by businesses over the years, and they are only just beginning to grasp its potential to improve service. Data is what makes it possible to connect travel to other parts of the business.

G R A E M E M C D E R M O T T,

C H I E F DATA O F F I C E R ,

A D D I S O N L E E G RO U P

Few travel managers have been able to harness the full potential of travel data, with

only 31% stating that they have full control over

their travel data.

travel data today, what they should expect from a

travel partner and how data will shape the travel

programmes of tomorrow.

The strategic power of insightHistorically, travel data has focused on

transactions and expenses - and many

companies still place a heavy emphasis on these

data sets. But the real value lies in bringing

together a far broader range of information;

one that uncovers hidden trends and helps

travel managers pinpoint what their business

needs to achieve true value.

Antoine Boatwright, CIO, Hillgate Travel,

points out that even understanding spend

requires a broader approach to data: ‘Often,

travel spend can be easily matched by other

“in travel” spend such as ancillaries, meals,

taxis, dry cleaning, seats, meal upgrades, hotel

cars, shuttles, etc. This is typically captured in

expenses as opposed to in travel data. In some

cases this is all “hidden” in a per diem, making

it difficult to get total trip cost and therefore,

in supplier negotiations, to truly understand

how much is being spent.’

The key is to look beyond the obvious.

Companies frequently make use of travel

spend data to help them achieve economies

of scale – according to JP Morgan, 39% of

travel managers cite the need to negotiate

with vendors as the primary reason for wanting

to obtain better data. But what about using

behavioural and trend data to gauge whether

a traveller policy actually suits the needs of

the travellers within an organisation? Or

incorporating travel data into projections

around how expansion into a new territory will

impact the business in terms of travel costs?

It’s in these less explored areas that the biggest

opportunities lie.

For Scott Gillespie, CEO of Travel Benchmarks

and Analytics company, tClara, it’s time for

travel managers to rethink their priorities:

‘None of this will happen until travel managers

reframe their goals. Savings for example, are a

keystone goal for almost every travel manager.

Yet when put into the proper strategic

perspective, it pales to insignificance. The much

larger, much more strategically valuable goal is

to create bigger, better positive outcomes from

trips taken.’

Structuring the futureSo what is driving changes in the way travel

data is approached and used? A key influence

has been the rise in concerns around traveller

safety. More frequent natural disasters and

terrorist attacks have prompted businesses

to demand visibility of where their employees

are and how they can be transported to

safety. Mary Ellen George-Hess, Head of North

America, Tramada, says: ‘9/11 was a pivotal

event in our industry. People realised they

needed access to data, dashboards and live

feeds to track people.’

9/11 revealed the shortcomings of manual data

provision from multiple sources and drove

demand for a more consolidated approach.

For some, this was an opportunity to position

themselves as a single agent who could act as

the primary source of information. For others,

it was a way to transform their capabilities.

Closely related to the issue of safety is that

of the traveller experience. Today’s business

travellers want - and demand - a consumer

grade experience and expect their travel

manager to provide it. All too often, corporate

travel and booking policies fall short of traveller

needs and preferences, and the ease of

Duty of care is always the primary consideration for any global travel manager. They always need to be aware of where people are and this is a key driver for companies starting to use data in innovative ways, for example combining travel data and credit card data to locate employees by comparing where they last travelled to with where they last used their card. Data has opened up more proactive approaches - and it has the potential to do that more widely, too.

LIZ EMMOTT

SALES DIRECTOR

AMADEUS UK & IRELAND


app-based travel provision has fuelled an

increase in off-policy travel bookings. For

travel managers, this leads to a loss of visibility

that impacts both budgets and duty of care.

By capturing more data to evaluate how

employees experience travel, travel managers

can develop policies that allow each individual

traveller to build the experience that works for

them, without resorting to rogue bookings.

Underlying all of this is the need to deliver

business value. In order to negotiate the best

prices with their suppliers, travel managers

need information that allows them to interpret

their spend - and yet few have ready access to

it. Scott Gillespie, CEO, tClara, says: ‘Travel data

by itself is largely useless to travel managers. To

become useful, the data must be transformed,

much like a chef transforms ingredients into

an attractive meal. It’s the quality of this

transformation that creates the value.’

According to JP Morgan, 39% of travel managers cite the need to negotiate with

vendors as the primary reason for wanting to obtain

better data.

Overcoming the legacy barrierWhile the use of data in the travel industry

has come a long way over the past 15 years,

there are still some barriers to overcome. Many

businesses are still taking a legacy approach

to data, relying on disparate, cumbersome

reports containing large volumes of data that

cannot easily be compared or manipulated.

Travel managers end up with lots of

information, very little of which is presented

in a meaningful way. And while cloud solutions

are empowering innovative uses of data across

many different business functions, travel

managers often find that their travel agencies

and suppliers are still working in inefficient

server-based environments that don’t give

them what they need.

Mary Ellen George-Hess, Head of North

America, Tramada, says: ‘The challenge is that

there is a lot of data, and it needs to be drawn

from a lot of sources, and it’s important to

deliver it in a structured and timely way. It’s a

huge challenge to provide that, which is why

some providers end up only providing near-time

data. And yet, to make strategic decisions, it’s

important to have access to data in real time.’

Paul Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations

and Industry Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group, adds:

‘Historical data is fine for budgets, but it doesn’t

help you identify trends, or pinpoint how projects

are affecting your travel spend or activity in

the way that real-time data does. For example,

if you’re in the oil and gas industry, you may

have pipelines and fields opening in a particular

region and you will see a surge of travel to that

area. If you can see it as it’s happening, you can

make adjustments to your travel programme to

accommodate that. If you’re in banking, the range

of locations might be fairly static, but there could

be times of year that are busier, or hotels that

are used a lot. If you’re in the media, your travel

activity is going to follow the news - and you need

to know right away how to act on that.’

For Scott Gillespie, CEO, tClara, the greatest

value comes from combining traditional travel

data with other data, and performing more

sophisticated analysis: ‘There is a new frontier


for travel managers who can use travel data,

properly analysed and placed into the right

context, to answer much more strategically

valuable questions around how to design

and manage a travel program that prioritizes

business outcomes over savings; traveller health

and safety over policy compliance, recruiting

and retention over hotel attachment rates.’

No business can achieve this scale of travel insight

alone. It’s time for corporate travel managers to

start demanding more of their travel partners

when it comes to data - beginning with access to

multi-layered, targeted data.

Creating a data-driven experienceAccording to Business Travel News, only half of

travel managers incorporate traveller survey

data into their strategy. And yet, the most

obvious and immediate benefits the data-driven

approach can bring to corporate travel relate to

traveller experience. But is that a strong enough

motivation for businesses to invest? It is when

you take into consideration the impact of rogue

bookings, especially in terms of cost - which

is often hidden from the travel budget as it is

processed as expenses – and obscured visibility.

The driving force behind such rogue bookings

is a desire for a more consumer-like experience.

And the only way corporate travel managers can

deliver this is by employing the same tactics as

consumer travel providers: many of which are

based on the sophisticated use of data. Mary Ellen

George-Hess, Head of North America, Tramada,

says: ‘Rich data gives you the ability to deliver a

greater experience by providing travellers with

content customised to their interests and needs.’

For Jonny Cowlin, Commercial Director, EMEA at

Experian, data is the missing element required

to deliver a seamless traveller experience:

‘Typically, travellers receive little intelligence

to help them plan their trip: which airport they

should fly to, which ground transportation

firm to use, which train to take. As consumers,

we are used to a seamless, end to end service,

but when we are visiting a client in another

country, we don’t get it. And that’s where travel

managers should be looking to next.’

One of the experience-based developments we’re looking at with Addison Lee Group is delivering an on-demand service for travellers who can’t plan. If you have access to traveller data, it becomes easier to offer services that cater to those clients.

PAU L D E A R , D I R E C T O R O F G L O B A L S U P P L I E R R E L AT I O N S

A N D I N D U S T RY A F FA I R S , H O G G R O B I N S O N G R O U P

It sounds like a daunting task - but the technology

to support it is already here. Using data-powered

solutions, much of this customisation can be

automated - helping increase savings as well

as delivering an enhanced experience. Paul

Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations and

Industry Affairs says: ‘At Hogg Robinson Group,

our approach is driven by client behaviour,

which is one of the hardest elements of travel

to track - but which has huge strategic potential.

For example, what is the trigger for travel? Is

it an external factor such as a client, or is it

something internal like a global sales meet? The

internal type of travel will be more planned, more

controlled, and the client-driven travel will be

more spontaneous. If you have insight into the

behaviour of the traveller group, you can ensure

they get the best prices/packages.’

Looking beyond the immediate to enrich dataTo achieve this, travel managers need access

to more data: starting with traveller profiles

that provide insights into their habits, and

extending into behavioural data and even peer

and community data, such as hotel, airline and

travel provider reviews to help avoid recreating

experiences that have proved disappointing. To

gain access to even a fraction of this information,

they need the support of their travel partners.


Once again, this is an area where travel managers

should be putting pressure on travel providers

and TMCs - demanding access to the information

they need to deliver value. Graeme McDermott,

Chief Data Officer, Addison Lee Group, points

out the importance of connectivity between

providers to help deliver this: ‘The data-driven

approach allows you to connect different travel

modes. If you plug all your travel data into one

place, you have the ability to construct a complex

journey from a single app. That’s what people

want and one provider can’t deliver it – you need

partnerships. And that’s a need that’s driving

our roadmap here at Addison Lee Group. We are

actively working to forge those partnerships with

other travel providers and TMCs so we can deliver

that wider view with consolidated data.’

Increasingly, the more strategic approaches to

traveller experience are not just about creating

experiences, but about moulding business

models to behaviour - and at the heart of this lies

the ability to access third party data flows.

A single point of visibilityThe problem most corporates face is that they

have no single window into their travel data. Most

will have relationships with multiple providers,

each of whom provides access to a single part of

the puzzle. As a result, the focus tends to always

be on travel bookings, but this lacks the depth

required to profile individual travellers and their

specific needs. As the need to provide travellers

with maximum choice increases, the number

of providers companies often need to use also

increases - finding a way to access a single view

of why and how travel happens within their

organisation will become critical.

Mary Ellen George-Hess, Head of North

America, Tramada, says: ‘A lot of companies

suddenly have a greater compliance burden to

deal with, and they need to maintain audit trails

that allow them to show everything - from an

overview of their entire travel programme, to

individual traveller requiremesnts. And that’s

impossible if they’re bringing together out of

date information from separate systems.’

Combining multiple data sources into a single,

structured stream, is also the key to ensuring a

The more data sources a travel manager can use – booking data, expenses data – and integrate with other streams of data to analyse trends and inform their policies, the greater the value they can deliver, the better the outcome for the traveller and the business.

J O N N Y C OW L I N ,

C O M M E RC I A L D I R E C T O R ,

E X P E R I A N

What travel managers lack is a single system, a single data set, and a single database that will

allow them to identify trends and pinpoint efficiencies at a global,

local, and individual level.


A SECURITY-INFORMED APPROACH

So why aren’t more businesses already doing

more with travel data? A key factor is the

growing concern around compliance. With

the arrival of GDPR, data security is high on

the agenda of most organisations - and will

inform their approach to travel data. For

global travel providers and TMCs, this means

both a responsibility to show that they can

keep data secure, and an opportunity to

provide their clients with a single, secure

view of their travel programme.

Liz Emmott, Sales Director, Amadeus UK &

Ireland, says: ‘The issue of how to protect

sensitive data while still gaining the access and

functionality they need to manage the business

and protect the workforce is really at the

forefront of travel managers’ minds. There is so

much talk at the moment around GDPR and so

much going on in terms of regulation, and every

time I speak with a TMC there are questions

around this area because they’re aware that

they need to do their best to protect their client

data and ensure their suppliers have relevant

safeguards in place for that as well.’

Mary Ellen George, Head of North America,

Tramada, says: ‘Corporates are obviously

very keen to ensure there aren’t security

breaches. As a result, we will start seeing an

increase in companies asking more questions

about data security and data compliance,

and proactively asking agencies to provide

evidence that they are secure.’

While this may sound intimidating, it represents

a significant opportunity for TMCs and travel

providers to distinguish themselves by providing

corporates with a unique combination of choice

and security. Premium players with a global

presence have the potential to make their

mark by deploying solutions to parse data and

ensure that third parties only have access to the

information they need to provide their service.

value-driven experience, both to the individual

traveller and the business as a whole. Antoine

Boatwright, Chief Information Officer, Hillgate

Travel, says: ‘There is a lot that can be done

with data to deliver strategic value to travel

managers, for example augmenting trip data

with other datasets, such as punctuality,

cancellations, expenses in order to give a more

rounded view.’

Once again, the burden for delivering this lies

not with the travel managers themselves, but

with the partners who work alongside them, and

they should be taking the lead when it comes to

serving up travel data in a digestible format. Paul

Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations and

Industry Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group, says: ‘Our

model is based around matching behaviour and

opportunities and you need maximum visibility

to achieve that. We have live data across the

global network, and with client permission we

have access to hierarchies and job roles, so we

can give them greater insight into the needs of

different travellers. Each client is very different,

so it’s important to understand their trigger

points and to understand things such as types of

travellers who need to book the day before, and

who need lots of changes to their itinerary. And

with that data to hand so you can understand the

elements which can and can’t be controlled.’

To deliver this to their corporate clients, TMCs

will have to broaden their focus. Paul Dear,

Director of Global Supplier Relations and Industry

Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group, says: ‘TMCs

often focus on flights and hotels - but if you’re

creating a data-driven model, you need to work

with industry experts in each area of travel to

extract relevant data and provide that complete,

360-degree view. And that isn’t happening quite

yet. Ground transportation, for example, hasn’t

had the biggest investment in data, so partnering

with a company that is globalising and delivering

global digital service and has that data to offer is

something TMCs haven’t explored yet, but which

will become important in future.’

of your travel dataMAKING T HE MOS T

According to Forrester, 24% of financial decision makers rank travel as one of the most difficult

operating expenses to control . This difficulty represents a huge opportunity for travel managers

looking to increase the strategic value they offer. But what do they need to do to get there?

We’ve identified five crucial steps that should form the basis of every travel manager’s approach

to travel data.

COMBINING DATA STREAMS

The secret to releasing the strategic power of data lies in combining and

comparing different data sets. For example, combining expenses data with

travel booking data can help provide greater visibility over the differences

between travel booked by travel managers and travel booked by travellers

themselves. It can help give a clearer picture of the most popular ground

transportation providers and the opportunity to accurately compare costs –

something booking data alone cannot provide. For a more forward-looking

approach, combining sales forecast data with travel data can help travel

managers predict how sales activity will affect travel spend – empowering

finance directors to see the overall effect on profit margins. As Scott Gillespie,

CEO of Travel Benchmarks and Analytics company, tClara, says: ‘Real value

comes from combining traditional travel data with other data, and performing

more sophisticated analysis. A good example is benchmarking of airfares,

which can be done by almost any analyst, assuming they have access to relevant

benchmark data. But they need to know how to create like-for-like comparisons

as well, because it does no manager any good to have a benchmark that isn’t

truly comparable.’

TRAVEL PROGRAMME ASSESSMENT

Data is meaningless unless it has context. To start harnessing its power, travel

managers need to thoroughly examine their travel programme to identify areas

where access to richer data might help iron out challenges. Whether that’s

improving customer experience, managing costs, or being able to predict where

the biggest travel spend will be next year, identifying high priority areas is a

valuable way to help businesses focus their efforts.


By addressing these five areas, travel managers can start transforming their travel

data from an underused and overwhelming pool of information into a powerful

strategic resource that benefits the whole of their business.

ENGAGE YOUR TRAVEL PARTNERS

The most important step is for travel managers to realise that they don’t have all the

tools and capabilities needed to make the most of their data – and to forge better

communication with the partners who do. Global travel providers and TMCs have the

benefit of global data streams, powerful tools and access to third-party providers.

And many of them are already working on ways to deliver relevant, useful data to

their clients. Mary Ellen George says: ‘Businesses should be looking to their travel

partners to offer a single point of visibility. That means bringing everything into one

platform – data from corporate travellers and third party providers, storing it in a

secure way, and serving up what is relevant to the right people.’

PRIORITISE SECURITY

Compliance around data security can often be seen as a stumbling block – but it can

also be an advantage, giving businesses access to greater choice without having to

worry about security. Graeme McDermott says: ‘Businesses are having to reexamine

how they use and store data because of GDPR, and naturally larger organisations

are far more aware and have been working on this for longer. If you are working

with a global TMC or travel provider, securing your data is built into their business

model, and they can make it easier, especially for SMEs, to confidently access third-

party services without having to worry about data security.’ The key lies in initiating

conversations with travel providers and TMCs about the data security they offer and

how they complement the organisation’s own policies.

PROFILING TRAVELLERS

To deliver a consumer-like experience, travel managers need access to the types

of data consumers typically give away. Encouraging travellers to share their data

– including travel preferences such as their favourite locations and hotels, airport

and air carrier preferences, most frequent journeys etc. This level of data equips

travel managers so they can create personalised experiences which helps reduce

the time spent planning, booking, and resolving issues. Having an understanding of

the entire travel package can also be a great negotiating tool with vendors. Data

around traveller behaviour and preferences can also be used to identify trends

and influence policies to ensure they are always relevant to current needs. Jonny

Cowlin says: ‘Data allows you to learn more about the traveller and what they

expect. By knowing which hotels they gave bad feedback on so you can provide

packages based on their most frequent travel, or even to offer more flight and

hotel upgrades – which can help people be more productive by sharing information

about which colleagues are travelling through the same city or airport at the same

time so you can schedule time together if you need it.’


of tomorrowT HE E XPERIENCE

So, what will the data-driven corporate travel

centre of tomorrow look and feel like? For the

individual traveller, it will be an alignment of

corporate travel requirements with consumer

expectations to create a seamless, end-to-end

experience that incorporates user-friendly

apps, smart bookings and consumer-style

profiling and user recommendations, with

the ability to make changes to your plans

seamlessly and on the go.

For travel managers, the future lies in taking

a more proactive approach by analysing

travel data and identifying patterns. But to

make this truly effective, there has to be a

shift in the type of data being used.

Consumer brands are already making

extensive use of predictive data, and as Paul

Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations

and Industry Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group,

says, this is where corporate travel providers

should look to next: ‘The predictive model

is not just about making recommendations,

but recognising that you fly from London to

New York once a fortnight and holding seats

proactively for you. Capturing information

about the searches you make that don’t lead

to a purchase, and identifying what you need

to make that purchase. This is where things

are headed, but the first step is to establish

that direct data flow from the traveller to

their TMC and to the provider.’

For Jonny Cowlin, Commercial Director,

Experian, predictive analytics have the power

to remove much of the stress that comes with

business travel: ‘The technology exists already

to make global travel a far less stressful and

more seamless experience. Automatically

extending a traveller’s hotel and rebooking

their flights if they are delayed somewhere,

for example, eliminates stress points and

makes the experience easier. And people are

more productive if they feel well looked after.’

Using such predictive models, travel

managers can become empowered to take a

more proactive approach - one that will make

it easier for them to extract the right data to

inform their policy and to influence decisions.

One of the issues with data of any kind is that it is always in the past, and there is only so much you can do with historical information. So one of the capabilities everyone needs to think about improving is predictive data because that is where the most exciting opportunities will arise.

L I Z E M M O T T, S A L E S D I R E C T O R , A M A D E U S U K & I R E L A N D

CONTRIBUTORS

ADDISON LEE GROUP

We’re committed to transforming

and shaping the future of global

ground transportation by

bringing the levels of service we’ve always

delivered locally to customers across the world.

It’s because of our service reputation that

we’re the number one trusted ground

transportation provider for journeys that

matter, be it a critical business meeting,

airport transfer or event. Service is our

hallmark – consistent, safe and ethical.

We have been spearheading global travel safety

using the same award-winning, industry-leading

standards for over 40 years.

We combine exceptional reliability, a high

level of safety and sophisticated in-car

technology and work with approximately

270 service partners around the world,

covering 280 airports in 350+ major business

destinations in 83 countries. Our 24/7 support

teams are on hand to ensure our clients

receive a safe, secure, first-class service. We

are proud to be a transparent and reputable

company complying with all Government

legislation. We have our own in-house

Enterprise grade technology which is robust,

reliable and secure.

As we expand globally, we’re committed to

taking those principles with us. Our approach

is simple: wherever we operate, we work to

contributorsABOU T THE


give our clients peace of mind that when

it comes to safety, they’ll receive a high

standard of service from us in every location.

We acquire an in-depth understanding

of local requirements so we can define a

solution that addresses the unique and

specific challenges each region brings and

always operate in line with local standards

for driver, vehicle and customer safety. This

commitment extends beyond our own fleet

to include working with partners who share

similar values around standards and actively

work towards improving travel for everyone.

PAUL DEAR, DIRECTOR OF

GLOBAL SUPPLIER RELATIONS

AND INDUSTRY AFFAIRS,

HOGG ROBINSON GROUP

Paul Dear was appointed to the role of

Director of Supplier and Industry Affairs in

January 2014. In this role, Paul has

responsibility for coordinating relationships

and deals with HRG’s non-technology

suppliers, together with recommending and

managing HRG’s strategy for industry relations

with most trade organisations.

His career in the business travel industry began

in 1995 when he joined the Credit Control team

for HRG. Since then he has held a number of

different roles with the company in which he

has demonstrated his impressive consultative

and reporting skills.

Prior to his appointment as Director of

Supplier and Industry Affairs, Paul was

Director of Client Consultancy. In this role,

he managed the Global Consulting division

to support clients who wish to implement

savings and optimize their Travel and

Entertainment (T&E) programmes globally.

Paul enjoys football and sport in general and

is married with two children.

ANTOINE BOATWRIGHT,

CIO, HILLGATE TRAVEL

Antoine Boatwright joined

Hillgate Travel in early 2014 and is

responsible for the broader IT & Change

Management function. This includes IT

infrastructure, internal and external application

development, and the new project

management and business process

improvement practice. Antoine has 20+ years of

global experience with Logica, Dell and Oracle

worldwide in such diverse industries as space,

energy, utilities, telecoms and manufacturing.

His roles have spanned technology, sales,

marketing and operations. As such, he brings

more than just technology thought leadership

to his current role. He brings a knowledge of

what it takes to win and keep business globally.

Antoine Boatwright holds degrees from the

London School of Economics (BSc, MSc) and the

University of Reading (MBA) and is fluent in four

European languages (English, French, German

and Spanish).

LIZ EMMOTT, SALES DIRECTOR,

AMADEUS UK & IRELAND

Liz joined Amadeus in 2016 as

part of the senior management

team and is responsible for delivering the

technology company’s commercial strategy

and leading its expanding new sales division.

Liz’s role is designed to enable travel

companies across the leisure and business

sectors to achieve competitive advantage by

deploying technology that drives productivity

gains as well as growing revenues by adopting

best practice travel retailing. Prior to joining

Amadeus, Liz has held senior VP positions at

American Express Europe across the payments,

financial services, and corporate business

travel sectors.

MARY ELLEN GEORGE-HESS,

HEAD OF NORTH AMERICA,

TRAMADA

Mary Ellen George is an

accomplished travel industry professional, with

a proven track record in launching and

sustaining profitable travel enterprises for

Fortune Global 500 companies. By leading

high-performance teams and creating high-

energy environments for talent development,

she has achieved superior results in bringing

new solutions to the travel industry. Currently,

Mary Ellen is Head of North America for

Tramada, an Australian-based travel technology

leader now available in the US. Tramada’s

modern platform and revolutionary front-to-

back office automation solutions are becoming

adopted and implemented by travel agencies of

all sizes. Mary Ellen’s past experience includes

time on HRG’s North America executive

committee leading the regions commercial

team, with American Express in a Global Business

Development role, and with BCD Travel’s global

management board in General Management,

Consulting and Sales leadership roles.

SCOTT GILLESPIE, CEO, TCLARA

Scott often breaks new ground

– and a bit of glass - in the

corporate travel industry. Scott is

a leading authority on travel procurement,

travel friction and the total cost of travel. As

Managing Director of tClara, he is developing

the next generation of benchmarking for

airfares and traveller friction He is the author

of a U.S. patent, has been named one of

Business Travel News Top 25 Executives, and a

Thought Leader by Buying Business Travel Scott

writes the popular blog “Gillespie’s Guide to

Travel+Procurement”, and speaks at travel

industry conferences around the world. Scott

holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

He and his family reside near Cleveland.

JONNY COWLIN, COMMERCIAL

DIRECTOR, EXPERIAN

Jonny Cowlin joined Experian as

their EMEA Commercial Director

in 2016, in this role he leads the sales and

commercial functions across the region which

spans 11 major markets and over 25 countries.

Jonny’s responsibility includes the go to

market strategy, accelerating business

growth and driving higher levels of service

experience for Experian’s clients in the EMEA

region. Jonny has 18 years of global sales and

commercial experience having worked for

companies such as Orange Business Services,

AT&T Global Business and BT Global Services.

Most recently he served in BTGS as Vice-

President – Energy, Infrastructure &

Manufacturing. Jonny has a BA (Hons) degree

from London Metropolitan University in

Business & Media and attended school at

Stonyhurst College in the North West of

England where he excelled in sports. Jonny is

married to Heather and lives in Godalming,

Surrey. An avid sports enthusiast, Jonny enjoy

the challenge of marathons, ultra-marathons

and triathlons; Jonny completed the 2017

Marathon Des Sables which took place in the

Sahara Desert.

CONTRIBUTORS


NOTES

W W W. A D D I S O N L E E G R O U P. C O M

[email protected]

Documents

How data is changing the global travel industry...delivery of travel data, Addison Lee Group has brought together a team of global travel experts from Amadeus, Experian, Hillgate Travel,