Marriott International and Starwood have completed a $13 billion merger as of today, Buying Business Travel reports, making the new hotel company the owner of 30 hotel brands. Skift notes Marriott International is now the world’s largest hotel operator and plans to prioritize combining the Marriott and Starwood loyalty programs. According to Skift, Google has announced…
Typhoon Meranti caused flight disruptions for China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines this week as it approached Taiwan, reports Business Traveller. According to Al Jazeera, Meranti hit southeastern China and is the third most violent typhoon on record and the strongest storm of the year globally. The TSA is boasting reduced airport wait times, with nearly 92% of fliers…
There is no doubt that the sharing economy – particularly the rise in ride sharing and home sharing services – are changing the face of travel. The recent GBTA Business Traveler Sentiment Index™ Global Report, in partnership with American Express, finds that beyond consumer travel, many business travelers and corporate travel policies are addressing the…
A security scare at Frankfurt Airport led to flight delays across Europe on Wednesday morning, Buying Business Travel reports. Police were forced to evacuate areas of the airport after a passenger entered the airside area without full completion of a security check. The TSA is under scrutiny after failing to follow protocol during security scares…
Business travel drives business growth. Despite the myriad of ways people can communicate, meeting in person is still the one of the most effective way to conduct business with the greatest ROI. Despite the diversity of reasons for business travel and the stress that can come from being in a new situation, traveling to a…
London City Airport flights were cancelled earlier this week after a stint by protesters on the runway. According to Buying Business Travel, nine protesters from the Black Lives Matter campaign group locked themselves together on the runway early Tuesday morning. Gatwick Airport set a new passenger traffic record by welcoming over 42 million passengers over…
Days before the start of GBTA Convention 2016 AccorHotels completed their acquisition of FRHI Hotels & Resorts, making newly apointed AccorHotels COO Kevin Frid a great person to talk to about one of the industry’s hottest topics – mergers and acquisitions. During a time of unprecedented consolidation in the travel industry, GBTA Executive Director and…
Airlines aren’t the only ones facing complications recently, with HEI Hotels & Resorts announcing a malware attack lasting more than a year on 20 of its properties. According to Skift, customer payment card data from tens of thousands of transactions may have been exposed, though it is difficult to estimate the total number of customers…
Just two weeks after a technical glitch caused thousands of delays and cancellations for Southwest Airlines, Delta faced a system outage that impacted flights earlier this week. The airline had nearly 2,000 cancelled flights and more than 2,400 delayed flights on just Monday and Tuesday, according to CBS News. USA TODAY reports an additional 250 flights were…
Last month, the GBTA Foundation and Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) released the 2017 Global Travel Price Outlook. The third annual report provides global, regional and country-by-country projections for air travel, hotel, ground transportation and meetings and events prices in 2017. At GBTA Convention 2016, I had the opportunity to sit down with Yon Abad, Senior Director…
In late 2015 and again earlier this year, the GBTA Foundation, in partnership with WWStay, conducted two research studies on extended stay accommodations to learn more about this market especially when it comes to business travel. The first study revealed nearly half (48 percent) of all U.S. business travelers have used an extended stay accommodation…
All eyes will be on Rio in the coming weeks as the 2016 Summer Olympic Games get underway with the Opening Ceremonies taking place tonight. While there have been numerous reports of facilities that are either incomplete or in disrepair, the games will go on, and Brazil is hoping that the Games will help give…
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