Come fly with us: How Brussels Airport is becoming a hub for businesses

Plenty of business trips begin with a journey to the airport, but Brussels Airport wants Zaventem to become a business destination in its own right. Major office developments are under way in the heart of the airport, and the first corporate resident has already moved in.

That resident is international consultancy Deloitte, which moved its Belgian headquarters, with more than 2,000 staff, to the airport in January this year. It now occupies the Gateway building, a 12-floor block in the middle of the airport, with stunning views over the runways. Deloitte will be joined in 2018 by KPMG and Microsoft, who will move into the PassPort building, currently under construction next door.

The Gateway building was part of the original airport, constructed in 1958, and later housed the offices of Belgian national airline Sabena, among other organisations. Substantially redeveloped over the past few years, the U-shaped building has now been closed with a fourth wing, creating a large atrium at its heart.

The location is a good fit for Deloitte, because it shares the airport’s interest in people and their mobility. “We are in the professional services business, so our only real asset is our people,” explains Piet Vandendriessche, chief executive officer of Deloitte Belgium.

Sometimes these people work at the office, sometimes with clients around the country, sometimes from home. “From that perspective our needs are driven by where the clients are, on the one hand, and on the other by where our people live and where they need to come together to form teams, to share experiences, to learn and so on.”

Having the headquarters at a transport hub is a huge advantage, both for national and international business. “It’s quite convenient for a client to come here just before taking a plane, or for international clients to come here to have a meeting for a day and fly back in the evening. So from that angle it really connects people.”

Meanwhile, the transport connections on the ground help Deloitte’s people move easily between clients and the office. There is plenty of parking, and bus and train connections to all of the country’s major cities.

With all these transport possibilities, the company is working hard to ensure people make choices that are good for the environment and for business. “We want to contribute to a sustainable society, and also to reduce the time that people lose in traffic jams, so we encourage people who need to come to the office regularly to think about taking public transport.”

This mobility campaign includes financial incentives for people who want to switch from cars to public transport for some or all of their journeys, and apps that help people assess options for their journeys or take part in car-pooling. There are also subsidies for people who want to try an electric bicycle, and a dedicated bicycle garage under the building. “Mobility is part of a sustainability programme that is reducing our carbon emissions,” Vandendriessche explains.

“Just by moving offices we have reduced the carbon emissions of our buildings by 40%.” Deloitte’s previous headquarters were in nearby Diegem, where it occupied four buildings. “Being in one building creates a whole new dynamic in an organisation like ours. With the central atrium and all the facilities, the connectivity between people has increased massively, and since we are a people business that is so important.”

You currently reach the Gateway building from the airport terminal by walking through the departure lounge and along the outside concourse. Like the airport it also has an ‘airside’ facing the runways and a ‘landside’ with views back to the Brussels skyline.

“Our visitors are fascinated by our magnificent view over the tarmac,” says Vandendriessche. “But I now see more planes than I’ve seen in my whole life, and you just get used to it.” Surprisingly, noise is not a problem. “It’s unbelievably quiet. You see the planes, you don’t hear them.”

As for security, which is a priority for the airport after the terrorist attacks of March 2016, there are no concerns. “We had very few questions from our people about whether we should come to the airport. It hasn’t changed our strategic vision about where we want to be, and the place now is safer than ever.”

Office on the move

The arrival of more companies at the airport is good news for Regus, which has a meeting room centre in the main terminal building. “More development means more traffic, which means more people coming to meet here, so the development of the airport is positive for us,” says William Willems, CEO of Regus Belgium.

He believes this is part of a broader trend that will see transport hubs such as airports and major railway stations becoming more attractive locations to do business. “People will fly more and more, while accessing facilities by car will get more and more complicated. Sooner or later people will have to take public transport if they want to come together and meet.”

Roughly half the customers for Regus’s 10 meeting spaces at Zaventem are local, attracted by the simplicity of organising a meeting at the airport, its accessibility and ease of parking. The other half are people flying in, who also value the convenience and prefer not to travel into the city.

“Sometimes international CEOs coming over don’t want to spend too much time in Brussels, so they ask their local team to meet them at the airport and use our facilities,” Willems says.

Meanwhile, the business lounge offers Regus customers somewhere to work between flights or appointments, with free wifi and coffee. “People are on the move more and more, and it’s always very difficult to find somewhere to work between two meetings. In that context, locations in transport hubs are a real added value for our customers.”

Naturally, the terrorist attacks were very close to home for Regus. “It has had an impact on our business, as it has on all business at the airport,” says Willems. “We are now slowly recovering from it. There are still some companies that have a travel ban for Brussels, but we expect these to be lifted in the coming months.”

Easy and convenient

The Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel is just a short walk from the departure
hall, and is the only hotel in the heart of the airport. As well as offering travellers a room for the night, it also has facilities for business meetings.

“We host many smaller, daily meetings for those flying to Belgium to meet local companies, and to gain time they organise their full day’s meeting with us,” explains hotel manager Ingrid Roekens. “We also host numerous larger residential meetings with local and international guests that span two or three days and arrange for all the meeting activities to take place in the hotel.”

In recent years, increasing numbers of companies have moved their smaller, shorter meetings to the airport. “It’s easy and convenient. We have also seen an increase in last-minute inquiries, which means a meeting space is requested within 24 hours of, or even the same day as, the meeting.”

Larger meetings, with more than 150 people, are also working with shorter lead-times. “Some big groups confirm the same month as their event is scheduled to take place,” Roekens says. “They are sending their enquiry to multiple destinations, which wasn’t so much the case before, and picking the ones that still have availability and good flight connections.”

Of course, the Sheraton was affected by the terrorist attacks. “We are now slowly getting back on track and have the advantage of being at such a supreme location.” The hotel’s own car park had to close after the attacks, but reopened in July.

This article first appeared in ING Expat Time