Week in Review

Happy New Year! The Week in Review is back in action to provide you with the latest business travel industry news. In late November, Marriott announced that approximately 500 million guests (who made a reservation at a Starwood property) were impacted in a data breach. Today, the hospitality company downgraded its estimate to 383 million compromised…

Week in Review

Eight airlines have flaws in their e-ticketing systems that could expose passengers’ personal information, TechNewsWorld reports. The airlines are sending unencrypted check-in links, which could allow hackers to view or change passengers’ flight booking details or boarding passes. The airlines in question are Southwest Airlines, KLM, Air France, Vueling, Jetstar, Thomas Cook, Transavia, and Air Europa. China Airlines cancelled…

Week in Review

Flights between Southeast Asia and Europe were disrupted this week due to the closure of Pakistan’s air space, Business Traveller reports. According to Khaleej Times, Pakistan has reopened its airspace with some restrictions. Customer details were stolen from an Amadeus distributor in India, Phocuswire notes. A company employee of Resbird Technologies illegally took identifying information from a number of passenger name records. The FAA has banned…

Week in Review

Carlson Wagonlit Travel officially changed its name to CWT, revealing a new logo and brand identity in the process, HotelMarketing’com notes. In the same vein, AccorHotels rebranded as Accor. According to Skift, Accor will be spending $255 million on a new loyalty program called ALL, which stands for “Accor Live Limitless”. On the acquisition front, HotelMarketing’com reports Best Western has acquired WorldHotels, adding…

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Podcast: 2019 Trends: Sustainability, Security and Simple Meetings

The Business of Travel is back. We are kicking off ‘season two’ of GBTA’s official podcast with today’s episode featuring three GBTA members sharing the top business travel trends to look out for in 2019 around sustainability, security and simple meetings.     Episode guests include: Aurora Dawn Benton Founder & CEO, Astrapto GBTA Sustainability &…

GBTA Alarmed by DHS Funding Fight’s Impact on Business Travel

Today, a Department of Homeland Security funding bill failed to pass a procedural vote. The statement below can be attributed to Michael W. McCormick, Executive Director and COO of the Global Business Travel Association. “The Global Business Travel Association is concerned that today’s vote failing to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security could have…

Week in Review
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Week in Review

Thai-based hospitality group Minor Hotels has purchased an additional stock in NH Hotels, increasing its holding to 94%, Business Traveller reports. The purchase will enable Minor Hotels to expand in Europe, while also allowing NH Hotels to put down roots in Asia. Icelandair has signed an agreement to buy budget airline WOW Air for nearly…

GBTA Research and Professional Development Update
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GBTA Research and Professional Development Update

Are Business Travel Programs Barring Basic Economy? According to new research, business travel programs are not on board with basic economy fares. These fares were introduced by many airlines last year and are typically cheaper than standard airfare, but come with restrictions. The report, put out by GBTA in partnership with Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC),…

Week in Review
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Week in Review

Corporate travel bookings start-up TravelPerk has raised $44 million in funding for its consumer-like business travel site, Reuters reports. Japan plans on launching an electronic visa system for tourists in order to reach its goal of 60 million annual foreign visitors by 2030, Business Traveller notes. The country has also relaxed its visa requirements to…

GBTA Announces WINiT Strategic Advisory Board

*The following post was originally sent as a member email to GBTA and WINiT members.* At Convention this August, I had the pleasure of announcing GBTA’s acquisition of WINiT, a career development network aimed at increasing visibility and advancement for women in the travel, meetings, events and exhibition industries. This move further strengthened our ongoing…

Week in Review
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Week in Review

After causing destruction in Cuba, Hurricane Michael was upgraded to a Category 4 storm before hitting the Southeast U.S., Buying Business Travel reports. According to CNBC, over 300 flights were cancelled at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Thursday. Meetings & Conventions recently revealed their fourth annual list of the top 25 women in the meetings…

Week in Review

Week in Review

Airbnb wants to give its host the opportunity to own a piece of the company, TechCrunch reports. The home-sharing company is attempting to change the SEC’s Rule 701, which governs ownership of equity in companies. The UK government warns of flight disruptions in the case of a no-deal Brexit, Skift writes. If the EU doesn’t…

Podcast: GBTA Media Day

For this week’s episode, The Business of Travel brings you a special extended episode featuring the breaking news announcements made live during GBTA Convention 2018 at Media Day. Media Day provides a platform for top travel companies to share their breaking news announcements featuring the latest products, partnerships and services across the business travel industry….

Mobile Payments among Travel Buyers and Suppliers Still in Early Adoption Phase

Mobile Payments among Travel Buyers and Suppliers Still in Early Adoption Phase

Most travel buyers and suppliers are familiar with both mobile wallet and contactless payment solutions, however, 49 percent of travel buyers are still unclear on the benefits, according to research released today by GBTA, in partnership with U.S. Bank. The results signal more work needs to be done to grow adoption of these payment methods…

Newsletter: GBTA América Latina Septiembre 2018

GBTA adquiere WINiT para fortalecer el papel de la mujer en la industria de los viajes corporativos Con el fin de apoyar a las mujeres de la industria de viajes, GBTA adquirió WINiT, una red de desarrollo profesional que busca incrementar la visibilidad, movilidad y desarrollo de las mujeres en el campo de los viajes,…

GBTA Research and Professional Development Update

GBTA and American Airlines Raise $20,000 for ECPAT-USA during GBTA Convention 2018 GBTA held its first-ever Awareness 5K Run & Walk, in partnership with American Airlines, to raise awareness and funding to stop human trafficking on Sunday morning of Convention with more than 200 registered participants. GBTA continued to raise money throughout Convention, presenting a…

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Travel Risk Management and Sustainability…Connecting the Dots

By GBTA Risk Committee and GBTA Sustainability Committee   How organizations manage the health, safety and security of their employees on business travel is not only part of their Duty of Care legal obligation, but also bears heavy influence on their GRI sustainability score. Corporate sustainability is an organization’s activities that demonstrate their work towards…

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Podcast: Leveraging Security and Travel to Build a Better Travel Risk Management Program

For this week’s episode, The Business of Travel gives listeners a taste of one of our more than 170 education sessions that took place at GBTA Convention 2018 last month in San Diego. Attendees can access all of these sessions covering the gamut of top travel industry issues including duty of care, technology and innovation, procurement,…

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Investing in the Next Generation of Business Travel Professionals

When the GBTA Ladders program was established in 2013, co-founder Caitlin Gomez set out to create an environment that facilities the exchange of ideas while also investing in the next generation of professionals within the corporate travel space. Many years later, the program is doing that and much more. GBTA Ladders connects established corporate travel…

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Podcast: Live from Center Stage at GBTA Convention 2018 Part 1

For this week’s episode, The Business of Travel takes you back to last week’s GBTA Convention. Hear all of Monday’s Center Stage sessions. First, up you’ll hear from Marriott International President and CEO Arne Sorenson in a one-on-one interview with GBTA Executive Director and COO Mike McCormick as he shares his outlook on the business…

Live from the GBTA Broadcast Studio

The GBTA Broadcast Studio kicks off today with Media Day. We’ll be streaming live from Sunday through Wednesday and more than 100 interviews with industry leaders scheduled throughout the week. Tune in for exclusive insights into current and future business travel trends. Here is Sunday’s Schedule: Media Day: 9-10AM Luggage Teleport – Benjamin Eu, Co-Founder…

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Podcast: Convention Preview Episode: All About Education!

For this week’s episode, The Business of Travel interviews GBTA’s SVP of Professional Development and Research Amanda Cecil to learn all about what to expect out of education at the upcoming GBTA Convention. Hope to see you there starting this Saturday – August 11-15 in San Diego!     You can download and listen to The Business of…