Making strong headway
We check in with Paul Spencer, Managing Director of Focus Travel Partnership, a year after he took over the helm of the consortium
How has the first year gone?
I said last year that I’m here to create some stability for our partners, to grow the partnership, and develop the services we provide to our TMCs – ultimately strengthening their position in an increasingly competitive market and cementing Focus as the UK’s leading SME business travel consortium. A year on, I’m pleased to say, I’m still here and we’ve delivered against the priorities set by the Board, strengthened our commercial proposition and continued to invest in the business solutions designed to help partners operate more efficiently, reduce costs, and create new revenue opportunities.
If we were a boat, I’d say previously we had lots of captains. Things have settled down and we now have stability, solidity and a real sense of direction. This is partly down to the fact that we now have a smooth, strong operating board for TMCs, all with different characters and style.
When I joined Adrian Parkes was the temporary Chair. We’ve now brought in Neil Armorgie as the Chair to help spearhead growth. He’s from the perfect background and is the final piece of the current jigsaw.
We’re building our three- to five-year strategy, figuring out what we’re good at, moving forward and heading in a positive direction. I’m really pleased with the strategic alliances and the technology that’s being developed.
Our mission is to improve partners profitability, reduce operational risks and compete against the large mega agents. Everything we do is now measured against these three factors.
What have been the biggest challenges in the past year?
Apart from the Middle East crisis, it’s been about determining our future strategy. We launched in 1999 and at times it’s felt like we were not very out there in the market. We intend to move the brand forward – building on the Focus Champions Conference, our programme for frontline staff, that will focus on education, retention and training.
Technology has been a challenge because not everyone knows how to use it to its best effect. There are so many AI automation opportunities coming but a lot of TMCs don’t know which direction to go.
With Focused Minds, our new IT AI-focused initiative, we will have a panel of AI experts that can help support TMCs with how to run a business, business development, banking services and other tasks. It will also help enhance the traveller experience.
What’s been a stand-out moment?
Convening and settling on a Focus board with the aim of getting everyone behind the business and moving towards growth and owning the SME space. On a more personal level, five months into the job I had a call with an owner of a TMC Partner and it was a very frank discussion. He told me that he felt like he could have an honest, open discussion with me and I really appreciated that.
That slight change in culture really helps and as I come from a TMC background, as well as a buyer, I know some of the pain points. I’ve always believed that Focus should be open to challenge and willing to listen. It’s good to be able to have proper conversations with everyone because all partners are shareholders and they need to be involved in the business. I feel like they are now.
Where do you see the company in another year?
I expect to welcome more partners, to bring in additional services to SME TMCS, and for Focus to be recognised within the corporate sector as the programme they want to belong to.
By combining our team’s expertise with stronger partnerships and insight, we’ll continue to evolve and deliver even more opportunities and value. I want more brand awareness. I’ll be out there reaching out to TMCs building referral and partner networks within the UK. We operate as a not for profit so we can’t go on the acquisition trail or go global. So we’ll be more present on LinkedIn, approaching other organisations, spreading the word, making things happen.
We can’t move too far away from our core Focus Air programme – and we wouldn’t want to – but we’ll continue to push initiatives such as Focus Minds and to publish industry-respected White Papers.
Our White Paper initiative is a good indicator of how we’re breaking new ground and every couple of months we’ll tackle a topic that’s relevant from an SME perspective. We have the expertise, so let’s share it with each other.
