We caught up with Focus CEO Steve Banks ahead of this year’s milestone Partners Conference and the 25th anniversary of Focus Travel Partnership.
It’s coming up to 5 months in your role as Focus CEO, how would you describe your experience in leading Focus Travel Partnership so far?
It’s been an overwhelming positive experience so far. From a TMC Partner perspective its fantastic to see lots of different Partners of varying size and shape, all benefiting commercially from our market leading deals, knowledge and expertise. And from a Supplier perspective, its gratifying to see us as an extension of their teams, helping to promote and drive business and facilitating innovative solutions in an agile, tailored way.
As Focus approaches its milestone 25th anniversary, what is your long-term vision for the Partnership?
Well as a minimum, we want to nurture and grow our core propositions in the air and tech markets. We’ll continue to explore further opportunities where we can add value to the vast majority, if not all of our Partners, and as importantly, ensure being a Focus TMC and a Focus Supplier is recognised in the sector as a badge of authenticity as a market-leading air programme primarily.
And has this vision evolved since you initially took on the role?
It has certainly made me think that we should not take for granted the commercial return on investment we provide, so we never want to dilute this or the values on how we work in a truly transparent way. As a relatively small team, we need to ensure we use our resource effectively on behalf of our Partners, and as a not for profit led organisation continue to invest our revenue in the right solutions and in a cost effective manner.
What opportunities do you see for Focus TMC’s and the business travel industry over the next couple of years?
The beauty of business travel is that it is an ever changing landscape and as such we want to ensure our Partners are in a position to take advantages of opportunities in the market, particularly the SME sector. Acquisitions at the top end of the market will prompt more customers to look at the TMC and potentially choose providers who combine great service, technology and commercial leverage, and I see our role in helping articulate the value of being a Focus Partner in a competitive market.
Can you give us a sneak peek into some of the Focus Partners Conference sessions or speakers that you’re looking forward to the most?
I’m really looking forward to the keynote from Ben Kentish as that should be very topical following The Budget from the previous day, but the agenda has been curated and designed that there is something for everyone, so the breakout sessions also stand out as bite-sized forums with a variety of content and learning. The conference plans reflect many of the topical trends and prevailing themes in the business travel sector, plus the opportunity for good quality networking, and a bit of fun at the dynamic venues of Mercedes Benz World and the Brooklands Hotel.
What key take-aways do you hope our TMC Partners and Supplier Partners will leave with?
For me, it’s important that a key takeaway is that we’re doubling down on the value and commercial benefit we provide to Partners and Suppliers and that we remain agile to respond to market conditions, technologies and distribution, and opportunities.
And, what do you admire most about Focus Travel Partnership?
The maturity of the programmes and commercial return are testimony to the longevity of Focus Travel Partnership, and the role we play in our Partner’s businesses, and the aggregated volume we push in a very profound and agile environment. It doesn’t work by luck, but by a well established tri-partner approach to ensure the value is optimised to our Partners and Suppliers. And, we have a fantastic and highly dedicated team to boot.

Focus CEO Steve Banks