welcome the nominations panel how to get there 2008 sponsors sponsorship this year's winners last year's winners Buying Business Travel magazine the Hurlingham Club last year's winners DIAMOND AWARD WINNERS 2006 Best Car Rental Company OUR customers tell us they want easy contact and fast collection and return, so we have 24-hour reservations and an extensive network of 24-hour locations. They say time is money, so we have introduced mobile servicing through our Mobile Fleet Support Service as well as fast, paper-free car pick-up for Hertz#1 Club members, and Instant Return allowing the driver to be gone in less than 60 seconds! This award means our efforts are appreciated by the people who matter most – our customers. We are delighted to be a Diamond Award winner and thank all those who voted for us. Best Corporate Card Provider THESE awards recognise quality products and superior service – all core to American Express Commercial Card‘s offering. Our business encompasses Corporate Cards, Corporate Purchasing Solutions, Business Travel Accounts and Corporate Meeting Cards. It provides expense management and purchasing solutions to many of the world’s largest organisations, along with tens of thousands of mid-sized companies. Our solutions simplify the expense management process, providing companies with savings, control and peace of mind. American Express Commercial Card is delighted to have won Buying Business Travel’s Best Corporate Card Provider category in the 2006 awards. Best Domestic Rail Operator VIRGIN Trains is delighted to have won this key category in the Diamond Awards for the second year running. Since launching the West Coast Pendolino service in September 2004 to complement the already successful CrossCountry Voyager service, the company has progressed in leaps and bounds. Business travellers are turning to Virgin Trains in increasing numbers as they discover the benefits of using the train as a virtual office while journeying to their next meeting. Fast, frequent and comfortable services add up to the ideal product for the business traveller, with even more exciting developments to come. Best International Rail Operator EUROSTAR is the fast train service linking London, Ashford, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Avignon, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris and the French Alps. In the first nine months of 2005, Eurostar carried 5.63 million passengers and saw a 15% rise in business travellers. Its share of the rail/air market on its main routes has also risen to record levels: Eurostar has 71% of the London-Paris market and 64% of the London-Brussels market. In 2007, with the completion of the UK high-speed line to St Pancras International, journey times will be reduced further. London to Paris will be 2hrs15mins, London to Brussels 1hr51mins and London to Lille 1hr20mins. Best Hotel Booking Agent EXPOTEL is the UK’s leading independent agency providing a hotel reservations, travel and conference and event management service to our customers. Our client portfolio comprises many major blue chip names and, in addition, we are the largest single supplier to HM Government departments and agencies. We offer our client base a customised service to meet their specific travel objectives. Our expertise lies in listening to our clients, identifying their needs and customising the service to meet their individual requirements. Expotel is proud to be a Buying Business Travel Diamond award winner in 2006. Best Hotel Group UK and Best Hotel Group for Meetings & Conferences FROM the tranquillity of the countryside to the buzz of the city centre, and from intimate townhouses to impressive conference venues – whatever your plans are in the UK and Ireland, you’ll find a Hilton to suit your needs. By understanding our customers’ ever-changing expectations, coupled with ongoing reviews of our impeccable, business-focussed service, Hilton regularly updates its business products to remain fresh and innovative, with a true drive to meet the needs of our customers. Hilton Meetings, Executive Floor and Hilton Connections have all recently been refreshed with this in mind. Best Hotel Group Worldwide MARRIOTT International is a leading lodging company with more than 2,700 properties in the United States and 65 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Bulgari, Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites and Fairfield Inn brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, The Ritz-Carlton Club, Grand Residences by Marriott and Horizons brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through Marriott ExecuStay; operates conference centres; and manages golf courses. Best UK Airport BAA London Heathrow Best Worldwide Airport AMSTERDAM Airport Schiphol will handle 45 million passengers this year, of which one out of every five is flying to or from the UK. There are dedicated facilities for business travellers at Amsterdam Schiphol and the one-terminal concept makes it exceptionally easy to transfer from one flight to another. In 2006 more than 250 destinations are being offered worldwide with special high frequency services to all UK airports. Best Low-Cost Carrier for Business easyJet Best Executive Aviation Provider PREMIAIR is the UK’s leading executive charter company, operating a fleet of twin-engined helicopters for business customers. It is the ultimate in time-efficiency, travelling from point-to-point at speeds of up to 170mph. Our team operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. PremiAir‘s success in the Buying Business Travel Diamond Awards is indicative of the growing popularity of helicopters as a cost-effective and flexible mode of business travel. Formal recognition by the travel management industry of executive helicopters alongside business jets is a significant advancement for this specialised sector of the transport industry. Best Technology Provider AS a global technology leader, Galileo works in partnership with business travel agents to offer leading-edge technology solutions to enable them to increase sales, offer an efficient service to their clients and improve their own profitability. Galileo offers agents access to extensive travel inventory designed to support their needs and, through them, to expand choice for their customers. Content on the GDS includes scheduled and low-cost carriers, hotels, car rental, airport car parking and rail. In addition, Galileo offers numerous tools to increase efficiency and add value to the corporate market, such as service fee management, reporting and online itineraries. Best Business Travel Management Company (turnover up to £50m) BTM is ecstatic about the award and would like to thank our staff for their dedication and commitment to providing the highest levels of customer service. BTM is dedicated to providing business travellers with the best possible price, choice and service when making travel arrangements. Today it is vital to be more than a travel agent taking flight bookings. With so many avenues open to everyone to book their travel, BTM provides a tailored package that manages complete travel spend on or off line. BTM would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for voting for us. Best Business Travel Management Company (turnover above £50m) BTI UK is renowned for delivering innovative and effective corporate travel management solutions, combining a first class service with the knowledge and expertise of our people, and the versatility of our technology. We pride ourselves on the ability to listen and understand the needs of our clients and their travellers. Everything we do is driven by the need to maximise the value delivered to them. Many organisations make this claim, but we deliver against this promise on a daily basis. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all Buying Business Travel readers who voted for us. Best Website for Business Travel EXPEDIA Corporate Travel is the UK’s leading combined technology and service provider. Our award-winning platforms and process efficiencies ensure that our clients enjoy a market leading, average online adoption rate of 75%. ECT’s unique portal enables our clients to access private inventory, such as 75,000 hotels, all at negotiated rates, as well as on-demand tools to drive travel policy compliance with real-time control and monitoring. Our dedicated teams of experienced travel consultants are on hand to provide superior service, ensuring complete traveller satisfaction both online and offline. Best Ancillary Business Travel Supplier AIRPORT parking specialist PurpleParking offers facilities at 20 airports across the UK. Its services include chauffeur meet-and-greet, park-and-ride, and one-way chauffeur meet-and-greet, and the success of its operation is down to excellent customer service. The PurpleParking name is synonymous with reliability and dependability as it delivers an unrivalled consistency for the business traveller. A simple service that exceeds expectation is why PurpleParking has been recognised for the second year running at the Buying Business Travel Diamond Awards. Best Transatlantic Airline SINCE it was founded in 1984, Virgin Atlantic Airways has become Britain’s second largest carrier serving the world’s major cities and business destinations. Based at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports, it operates long-haul services to 26 destinations, as far apart as Shanghai, Las Vegas, Sydney and Mumbai. Virgin Atlantic has enjoyed huge popularity, winning top business, consumer and trade awards from around the globe, including this latest accolade. The airline has pioneered a range of innovations, setting new standards of service, which its competitors have subsequently sought to follow. Despite Virgin Atlantic’s growth, the service still remains customer-driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovation. Best Airline to Asia Pacific SINGAPORE Airlines is recognised as one of the world’s leading airlines, known for product innovation and quality service standards. Flying from the UK to Singapore, and onwards to Asia and Australasia, it operates a modern fleet across a route network spanning 90 destinations in almost 40 countries. World gourmet cuisine is served in all classes, created by an international culinary panel. Passengers’ in-flight dining experience is complemented by fine wines, while over 500 entertainment options are offered in every class on individual screens. Capping it all, Singapore Airlines will be the first airline to fly the ground-breaking Airbus A380 super-jumbo. Best Airline to Middle East/Africa EMIRATES is one of the fastest growing and most successful airlines in the world, and has won more than 250 international awards for excellence. Based in the thriving commercial and tourist centre of Dubai, it flies to 78 destinations in 55 countries in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Indian sub-continent, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Emirates has 13 daily departures from the UK to Dubai: five from Heathrow, three from London Gatwick, twice-daily from Manchester and Birmingham, and a daily flight from Glasgow. Best Airline to Europe British Airways Best Domestic Airline bmi has been a favourite choice among business travellers for many years. It is reassuring to see this acknowledged in the Buying Business Travel Diamond Awards. bmi plans to go from strength to strength in 2006 with the changes and improvements made as a result of talking to 10,000 of our customers. With online check-in and print-your-own boarding card being introduced in January, bmi will be ensuring its corporate customers spend less time in the airport and more time on their business. Best Business Airline British Airways Travel Arranger of the Year Melanie Manning of SERCO Travel Team of the Year Led by Mark Avery of PWC Travel Buyer of the Year Roger Peters of Thales GOLD AWARD 2006 Only a few votes separated the first-and second-placed companies, and we wanted to recognise this by creating a Gold Award for those companies who, though they didn't top their respective categories, are clearly held in very high regard by their customers. Category GOLD AWARD winner Car Rental Company Avis Corporate Card Provider Mastercard Domestic Rail Operator GNER International Rail Operator Deutsche Bahn Hotel Booking Agent Hotelscene Hotel Group UK Radisson SAS Hotel Group Worldwide InterContinental Hotel Group for Meetings & Conferences Marriott UK Airport BAA Gatwick Worldwide Airport Dubai International Low-Cost Carrier for Business Flybe Executive Jet / Helicoptor Provider Air Partner Technology Provider Amadeus Business Travel Management Company (turnover up to £50m) Eton Travel Business Travel Management Company (turnover above £50m) Carlson Wagonlit Travel Website for Business Travel ba.com Ancillary Business Travel Supplier Priority Pass Transatlantic Airline British Airways Airline to Asia Pacific British Airways Airline to Middle East/Africa Gulf Air Airline to Europe bmi Domestic Airline British Airways Business Airline Virgin Atlantic