Advantage appoints global business travel director

The Advantage Travel Partnership has appointed a global business travel director to support the growth of business travel for the agency consortium.

Guy Snelgar joins the 12-strong board, which includes chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said, leisure director Kelly Cookes and operations director Paul Nunn, as well as elected Advantage members, from June 1.

He joins from consultancy Barndello, which he set up in 2019 to support corporations, travel management companies and technology suppliers. He has previously held senior roles at Travelport, Getthere, part of sabre Holdings, Diners Club and Amadeus.

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Lo Bue-Said said the new role supported the growing importance of the consortium’s business travel operations, which now account for more than 50% of members’ annual turnover, to the tune of £3bn per year.

During her opening speech at this Advantage’s conference in Madeira, she said the pandemic had resulted in the consortium aligning and rebranding its global, leisure and business travel divisions under the Advantage brand.

She added: “As part of our continued investment the rebranding of our global business travel division has seen our business travel proposition significantly increase.”

Snelgar’s appointment will help the consortium to deliver “even greater value to members”, she said, adding: “I have great confidence that he will be a driving force behind our ambitious growth plans for this important part of our business.”