Week in Review

In business travel news this week, the Chicago Tribune reported that Senator Charles Schumer wants to require the FAA to establish seat-size standards for commercial airlines to keep passengers from being packed in like sardines. Also according to the Chicago Tribune, the U.S. has banned all air travelers from using electronic cigarettes on domestic and foreign airlines flying to, from or within the United States. Senator Claire McCaskell is focusing her efforts on hotels and has introduced a bill that would require hotels and online booking sites to disclose during the booking process any fees that are typically charged at the end of a stay, reports Skift.

Tnooz reporting from last week’s Business Travel Show in London on companies like Airbnb and Uber fitting into the business travel space. GBTA’s Catherine McGavock shared GBTA stats on a panel showing 75% of Millennials had taken an extended stay in the past year and also talked about the opportunity for travel managers and suppliers as the big data phenomenon drives organisations to target individuals at the time they are making decisions.

Tom Newcombe of Buying Business Travel writes about ‘bleisure’ travel and the issue of duty of care for travel buyers when it comes to travelers extending their business trips for leisure.

In airline news, Airbus has filed a patent to eliminate individual seating options in favor of one large customizable bench that could help solve the issue of obese fliers. One issue – the bench seats can’t recline, says Jelisa Castrodale in USA Today. Also in USA Today, Ben Mutzbaugh writes that U.S. carriers appear set for a dogfight over newly opened flight rights to Havana. The TSA Blog addresses Twitter questions to @AskTSA in more than just 140 characters explaining Real ID and what a traveler can do if they lose their ID.

The mosquito-borne virus Zika ha been dominating the news lately and this post highlights the webinar hosted by GBTA’s Risk Committee on Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue: The Other Mosquito-Borne Illnesses. While understanding the new virus may seem like a daunting task for businesses, the blog post points out that education is the best foundation and will result in better preparation for companies and their travelers.

Will robots replace humans working in hotels or work with them? Tnooz tackles this question and discusses the untapped possibilities for combining the capabilities of robots and humans to create an unforgettable guest experience in hotels. In more technology news, USA Today reports on in-vehicle wi-fi and other new tech options coming to your rental car.

In case you missed it, Travel Weekly reported on GBTA’s announcement that Julia Louis-Dreyfus will be a featured speaker at GBTA Convention 2016!

Finally your list for this week comes from CNN – 7 new start-ups making business trips less stressful.