Week in Review

After a brief hiatus, the Week in Review is back! This week started off with a massive power outage at Atlanta’s international airport on Sunday leading to over 1,150 canceled flights and the issuance of a ground stop by the FAA, USA TODAY reports.

On Monday, an Amtrak train in Washington derailed off a bridge resulting in multiple fatalities, according to NBC News. The train was traveling at 80 MPH in a 30-MPH zone and was not using positive train control, a technology that can prevent derailments caused by excessive speed.

Skift reports that President Trump called for infrastructure improvements following the Amtrak accident. In the past, he has stated he will introduce a $1 trillion proposal to update airports, roads, and other public infrastructure.

In other ground transportation news, The State Journal-Register notes Illinois’ $1.95 billion high-speed rail project is in its final phase after seven years of construction.

The business travel community continues to embrace the sharing economy, with 51% of companies allowing the use of ride-hailing apps in their travel policies. GBTA released a series of infographics this week that highlight app-based, ride-hailing usage in corporate travel, ground transportation quick facts and travel manager concern for various ground transportation options.

According to Commercial Property Executive, Choice Hotels will acquire WoodSpring Suites in a $231 million deal, adding 240 extended-stay hotels to its portfolio.

Also in acquisition news, TravelDailyNews International reports NOVUM Hospitality acquired one of Frankfurt’s largest conference hotels which boasts 396 rooms and 14 event spaces.

Digital Trends shares news of a growing email scam that cost Japan Airlines nearly $3.39 million USD. An airline employee was tricked into making payments to bank accounts created by fraudsters.

Travelers can now send messages to hotels directly from their Google search results, according to Hotel News Resource. Hoteliers may activate this feature by signing into their Google My Business page and navigating to the chat tile.

On Wednesday, Congress passed a controversial tax bill, which many travel companies are enthusiastically backing, Skift reports.

After the UK officially leaves the EU in 2019, British passports will return to their blue and gold design, Business Traveller notes.

Traveling this holiday season? TravelDailyNews International reveals the most stressful US airports based on flight cancellations.

From the shocking news of Brexit to multiple travel and electronics bans, Skift looks back on how corporate travel became much more complicated in 2017.

Your list for this week comes from Skift:

25 Travel Moments that Mattered in 2017