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Call Security! GBTA Members Ask Congress to Keep the 9/11 Security Fees for Security

As GBTA Legislative Summit continues the 9/11 Security Fee and the FASTER ACT was another key issue up for discussion. Safety and security are the cornerstones of business travel and following the September 11 attacks, Congress instituted a fee, currently at $5.60 per flight or $11.20 per roundtrip, to help offset the costs of the…

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On the Road Again, GBTA Discusses Rules of the Road at Annual Legislative Summit and Fly-In

At today’s 17th Annual Legislative Summit, we’ll be live blogging our top issues. You can also follow along on Twitter: @GlobalBTA and join in the conversation with #GBTALegSummit. First up, we talked through GBTA’s recently updated Rules of the Road. GBTA developed the Rules of the Road in order to make the global travel systems…

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Don’t Forget Ground Transportation When Talking About Business Travel

Throughout most of the 17th annual Legislative Summit, I drove home the message that business travel is important both to the U.S. economy and to the nation’s workforce. And one of the ways we achieve that is by having well-run airports and successful airlines. But how do we get to the airports? We now have…

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Protecting the LGBTQ Mobile Workforce

With the rapid growth of business travelers, especially Millennial business travelers, companies often find it difficult to manage travel safety, health and security of their employees. This rapid growth also brings changes to the diverse composition of a mobile workforce and the risks associated with it. As the modern workforce continues to grow, there is no one-size-fits all approach to answering questions surrounding workplace law and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) employees. Supporting LGBTQ employees is becoming a major part of Duty of Care for companies with employees traveling domestically and internationally.

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Innovative Technologies, Data Security, and Diversity & Inclusion Were the Hot Topics of GBTA Conference 2019 – Toronto

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the voice of the global business travel industry, just wrapped up its 15th annual conference in Toronto. Innovative technologies, data security, and diversity and inclusion were among the hot topics discussed throughout the industry gathering. The conference saw record attendance with over 900 registrants including a sold-out Expo floor…

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Week in Review

In response to the Sri Lanka tragedy, Business Traveller reports several airlines are waiving cancellation and rescheduling fees for passengers flying to and from Colombo through April 24. Additionally, AirAsia is giving passengers options for a full refund, flight credit through their AirAsia BIG loyalty accounts or a one-time flight change. 4Hoteliers notes the Sri…

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Safety – It’s Not Just for Travelers Anymore

You have done everything you can possibly do to ensure your travelers are well educated and practicing safe guidelines and protocols while traveling. You have a high-risk destination pre-approval process in place and the ability to track and contact travelers. Your organization is partnered with at least one security and intelligence provider supporting traveler safety and health, and you regularly conduct travel risk management program resource and education outreach. Your travel risk management program provides end-to-end Duty of Care to travelers. You’ve covered it all, right?

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REAL ID Update

GBTA has closely been following developments with REAL ID over the past few years. REAL ID is a federal law passed as part of the 9/11 Commission in 2015 and requires states to issue standardized ID cards and driver’s licenses that include new technology. The intent of the law is to prevent forged documents and…

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Message From the Office of the GBTA President

Given this afternoon’s announcement that the U.S. will join other countries in grounding Boeing 737 MAX aircrafts, GBTA recognizes that many of our members are looking for information and answers. First, I want to express my sincere sympathies to the families and friends of those who were on board Ethiopian Airlines flight 302.

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Week in Review

United is testing a new software that is saving thousands of connecting passengers from missing their flights, Skift writes. The technology uses passenger data to assist gate agents in delaying departures for individuals late to a connecting flight. In its largest acquisition to date, Pitchbook reports Airbnb is acquiring HotelTonight. Although the pricing details have…

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Podcast: How Technology Impacts Traveller Behaviour & Safety

For this week’s episode, The Business of Travel previews GBTA webinar content airing a recent session called How Technology Impacts Traveller Behaviour & Safety. During the webinar experts from GBTA and SAP Concur dive into the results of a recent European research study that looked to explore business traveller booking behaviour.