by The Focus Travel Team | Mar 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
If you hadn’t realised, the Focus central team is 86% women, and we are only a small team of 7, and to save you working it out that means that we have 1 man working in our team. This isn’t on purpose or generated it’s because we value talent, and we believe we have...
by The Focus Travel Team | Feb 16, 2022 | Uncategorized
Trading Update 2021 Summary 2021 was a year of highs and lows for the business travel sector with continual changes in entry requirements to individual countries including the UK. These changes have had massive impacts on travel plans with many short notice...
by The Focus Travel Team | Oct 27, 2021 | Uncategorized
Get to know Focus Board member Cilla Goldberger How did you get into the travel industry and how old were you? I was 26, and following years of unsociable working hours in hotels, I decided to look for a career with more earthly hours….little did I know! What is...
by The Focus Travel Team | Oct 20, 2021 | Uncategorized
by The Focus Travel Team | Aug 19, 2021 | Uncategorized
In 2020, the Corona pandemic had a severe impact on us personally, but of course had an impact on our operations too. The consequences of the pandemic will be felt for years to come. Nevertheless, despite these challenging times, sustainability has remained our...
by The Focus Travel Team | Aug 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Focus TMCs benefit from having a secret weapon in the Focus Fares Desk. This desk answers all fares related queries and is included in your Focus Partnership membership. We asked Laura Currie, who manages this helpdesk, what is a typical query.. We had one TMC Partner...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jun 30, 2021 | Uncategorized
Focus Travel Partnership has launched ‘Focus Innovations’ – a new division and hub for travel management technology products specialising in the latest innovations for the sector. The division allows the partnership to retain a vital interest in the intellectual...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jun 29, 2021 | Uncategorized
If you type ‘Why Millennials’ into Google you get this lovely response: From looking at this you would think millennials are some sort of alien species which shouldn’t grace our planet. But first things first, I am a millennial, born right smack bang in the middle in...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jun 28, 2021 | Uncategorized
We are absolutely delighted to share that The Focus Travel Partnership has been shortlisted in three categories for The Business Travel People Awards. The ‘helping you get home programme’ showed the true spirit of ‘Partnership’. The concept and roll out...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jun 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
Working part time through the Government furlough scheme during the pandemic has really brought home to me how much things have changed in the world of airfares and especially managing existing tickets that need exchanged or refunded as each airline has had different...
by The Focus Travel Team | May 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
Focus Travel Partnership, the leading business travel consortium for the independent and SME sector, has confirmed that Total Management Travel, part of Total Management Group will become a new Focus Travel Partnership TMC partner. Total Management Travel spans...
by The Focus Travel Team | May 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Abby Penston, CEO of Focus Travel Partnership has won the Institute of Travel Management Resilience Award for pivoting the business travel consortium during the COVID-19 pandemic to a bridging strategy to improve business connections, efficiencies and resilience to...
by The Focus Travel Team | Feb 15, 2021 | Uncategorized
Covid……we all know how hard it has hit the travel industry and how we have been facing this ‘new normal’ for nearly a year now. So what does it mean for the TMC and their clients when it comes to airfares? Airfares are available to everyone with an...
by The Focus Travel Team | Dec 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
Over the last few weeks, with the introduction of reduced quarantine and the vaccine programme being launched, we had hoped that things would start looking up for suppliers in general as well as for those travellers who wanted to get away for some winter sun. But...
by The Focus Travel Team | Dec 23, 2020 | Uncategorized
Focus Travel Partnership are very pleased to announce an exciting collaboration with Trees4Travel. The Trees4Travel proposition is simple but highly effective. If any of you watched the recent, truly moving and inspiring Sir David Attenborough film “A life on our...
by The Focus Travel Team | Dec 8, 2020 | Uncategorized
EFR Travel, a Focus Travel Partner, have been mighty busy over the past year examining their processes and reinventing themselves as a truly slick tech-first business. EFR Travel have been trading for the past eighteen years and are a growing business. Last year their...
by The Focus Travel Team | Oct 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
We have your tech needs covered at Focus, our TMC Partners benefit from a wide range of technology, some of it built specifically for Focus and others contracted from our strategic suppliers at preferential rates. We have relationships with a multitude of suppliers...
by The Focus Travel Team | Oct 14, 2020 | Uncategorized
NO REASSURANCE FROM TEST & TRACE BOSS THAT TESTING AT BORDERS WILL BE IN PLACE BY BREXIT Baroness Harding, head of NHS Test and Trace gave no reassurance to the travel industry today that testing at borders will be in place by the end of the Brexit transition...
by The Focus Travel Team | Oct 14, 2020 | Uncategorized
The Focus Travel Partnership has strong relationships with our preferred airline suppliers and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic have been ensuring that all relevant information about policies and programmes are communicated to our Partners via a variety of channels...
by The Focus Travel Team | Sep 21, 2020 | Uncategorized
Best in market airfares are critical to TMCs in the SME market – without these, they cannot compete with either larger or specialist agencies. Focus Travel Partnership’s programme provides the best corporate fares including private fares with over 60...
by The Focus Travel Team | Aug 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
It seems a long time ago looking back to the early part of the year where all was ticking along in the world. In my role I see all news updates sent from our airline suppliers, which in early March 2020 were ever increasing. On flight cancellations and introduction of...
by The Focus Travel Team | Aug 10, 2020 | Uncategorized
I’m a sixties child and I love my music – I listen to music everywhere I go. I have access to music in every room of my house so that I can switch on the radio, listen to CDs, or downloaded music wherever and whenever I want – simply put, it’s my calming...
by The Focus Travel Team | Aug 3, 2020 | Uncategorized
I was asked to write a blog about my experiences of working through the Covid crisis, however I am not sure about you, but personally at times I am a little done with reading about Covid and hearing about it. Therefore, I will introduce a couple of other areas of...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jul 27, 2020 | Uncategorized
When an invite for an Airport tour pops into your inbox in July 2020 you don’t turn it down, through our membership with the BTA I was lucky enough to be invited by BA to have a walkthrough of their operations from landside to airside at T5 LHR. For many reasons I...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jul 3, 2020 | Uncategorized
I have overcome a lot in the last few years, but the storm that we all find ourselves in at the moment is nothing short of being surreal, and personally one of the most challenging I’ve had to face. We quickly learned that not everyone is in the same boat – the...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jun 8, 2020 | Uncategorized
We have your tech needs covered at Focus, our TMC Partners benefit from a wide range of technology, some of it built specifically for Focus and others contracted from our strategic suppliers at preferential rates. We have relationships with a multitude of suppliers...
by The Focus Travel Team | Jun 2, 2020 | Uncategorized
It is now ten months since I semi-retired from daily involvement in this compelling, complex and often challenging business travel industry. During a very long career in the sector, I like many, probably thought we had seen and experienced every potential threat to...
by The Focus Travel Team | May 26, 2020 | Uncategorized
“Where should I go?” – Alice. “That depends on where you want to end up.” – The Cheshire Cat. ― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass We currently find ourselves in unchartered waters trying...
by The Focus Travel Team | May 17, 2020 | Uncategorized
The events industry has been one of the toughest hit through Covid-19. Events are about being together, networking, learning and socialising, but in a world where social distancing and staying at home is the new normal, how and when will we see recovery start to...
by The Focus Travel Team | May 11, 2020 | Uncategorized
In the role of Commercial Manager for the Focus Travel Partnership, I work as the intermediary between our members and our travel suppliers, providing support and guidance to our 60 partner TMCs but also continuing to drive the relationship with our travel suppliers...
by The Focus Travel Team | May 4, 2020 | Uncategorized
Our industry has faced many crises before, but the current situation is unlike any other. Never before have we faced a global and highly sustained shutdown of travel with no clear view as to the future. Whilst the situation is bleak, I find it fascinating and am so...
by The Focus Travel Team | Apr 17, 2020 | Uncategorized
The last month has seen unprecedented changes to our lives and industry. At Focus it has been our top priority to support and guide our partners during this time. We asked our CEO Abby Penston what the team has been up to and what their key objectives are during this...
by The Focus Travel Team | Apr 9, 2020 | Uncategorized
Over the last month we have all faced many trials and tribulations, sadly many of us personally and most of us professionally. When reflecting on this crisis so far and all the challenges that it has bought to our Business Travel community in particular, it has also...
by The Focus Travel Team | Apr 1, 2020 | Uncategorized
In response to the global Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic, Focus Travel Partnership set up a short-term repatriation project aimed at bringing British nationals home. Abby Penston, CEO at Focus said: “During March we realised that people were stuck overseas and we had...
by The Focus Travel Team | Mar 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
“In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.” John F. Kennedy The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked our worlds to such an extent that it has forced everyone to think, behave and work...
by The Focus Travel Team | Mar 18, 2020 | Uncategorized
Barry Higgott, from Focus Technical Support has put together some software solutions to help with working from home. Microsoft Teams Microsoft are offering a 6 month trial via Office 365. This platform has loads of features and really helps remote workers feel...
by The Focus Travel Team | Mar 17, 2020 | Uncategorized
I started working from home 2 months ago when I joined Focus Travel Partnership. Previously I had never worked from home, apart from the odd day and the thought of it scared me if I’m being honest, so here are a few things that have helped me 2 months in. 1) Wake up...
by The Focus Travel Team | Nov 1, 2019 | Uncategorized
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Abby Penston as our new Managing Director. As the Focus Travel Partnership embarks on its latest chapter as a Limited Company Abby brings to the role the experience to drive the Partnership forward into a new era. FTP...
by The Focus Travel Team | Oct 1, 2019 | Uncategorized
Focus Travel Partnership are excited to announce Pascal Benn has joined the team as Business Solutions Manager. With 25 years’ experience in the travel industry behind him, Pascal will no doubt be an asset to the partnership. Commenting on the appointment Abby...