Week in Review

This week in business travel news, Inc. covered the latest GBTA study, in partnership with American Express, showcasing the Millennials’ secret weapon for winning over business. Successful Meetings also covered the study, writing about Millennials embrace of business travel with a majority of the group saying technology can never replace face-to-face meetings to get business done.

In hotel news, USA Today’s Road Warrior Blog talks with several industry CEOs about competing in an era where if you don’t rank high on TripAdvisor, you don’t even register with travelers. The Economic Times writes about the boosted confidence for hotel chains in India on the heels of a GBTA report forecasting double-digit business travel spend growth for the region in years to come.

According to IATA, more business travelers are opting to fly economy over premium air travel amid continuing fears over the state of the economy, reports Hotel Marketing. This dovetails with a story from Travel Daily News reporting that passengers today prefer deep discounts over comfort.

USA Today’s Bill McGee reports on passenger dissatisfaction with airlines. He asks how many passengers may choose not to fly as discontent grows? He also cites a GBTA study on travel mishaps showing on average these mishaps such as airline disruptions can take nearly 11 hours to resolve and cost companies $1,154 in missed work. IATA wants to improve your experience at the airport, according to Travel Daily News. IATA called for a deeper partnership with governments to improve the passenger experience of security and facilitation processes.

Seven weeks after implementing a €16 surcharge on any tickets purchased outside of its websites, services centers and ticket counters, Lufthansa is facing a backlash, according to Travel Pulse. Rich Thomaselli cites a global GBTA poll showing 42 percent of travel buyers say they have decreased their bookings with Lufthansa since the surcharge went into effect. Reuters also covered the poll reporting that Lufthansa says the impact has been neutral so far.

Finally, I leave you with business travel hacks to make your next trip more fun from Examiner.com.