DOJ: CWT’s Standalone Prospects Improved
Governments on both sides of the Atlantic don’t want American Express Global Business Travel to buy CWT. If they succeed in blocking the proposed $570 million acquisition, where does that leave CWT? Things may not be as dire as they once seemed. According to the…
GBT Cites Misconceptions By Government Officials, Hints At Politics In Antitrust Suit
DOJ Sues To Stop Amex GBT-CWT Deal
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday, alleging that American Express Global Business Travel’s $570 million deal to acquire CWT would harm competition for travel management services to U.S….
How To Make The Most Of Business Reviews With Corporate Travel Suppliers
Preferred agreements should never be signed and forgotten. To continuously improve their relationships, savvy corporate travel buyers and sellers commit to regular dialogue, including business performance reviews. These face-to-face meetings, often conducted quarterly with airlines, hotel companies and travel management companies, are integral to supplier…
Q&A: Hotel Safety And Security Experts
Did you ever check in to a room only to find someone was already there? That this is a “common” problem was one of several sobering observations by lodging security experts who spoke with The Company Dime on Monday. In addition, they said, safety and security…
AI Takes Aim At ‘Old Search Forms’ For Booking
Where artificial intelligence will take the process of booking or altering a business trip is anybody’s guess. Travel management companies have embraced AI for text-based communications between travelers and travel counselors. Chatbots have had their ups and downs. Autonomous agents are fascinating and, some say,…
NDC Sputters, But It’s Still The Future
The consensus among execs at airlines, travel management companies, global distribution system firms and other tech intermediaries is that NDC should become mainstream this year (if it hasn’t already). Not all buyers are like-minded. Industry metrics reflect a stall in momentum. Many corporate customers remain…
Providers Seek New Ways To Use Payment For Spend And Travel Policy Controls
With the potential to reshape corporate travel policies, a Mastercard-SAP Concur integration gaining traction among customers reflects an interest in the sorts of payment-first controls typical of virtual card programs and championed by fintech startups. “Purchases made on Mastercard corporate cards are captured and automatically…
International SOS, AirHelp Partner For Passenger Protections As U.S. Weighs Regs
Health and security specialist International SOS partnered with AirHelp to support client travelers in obtaining compensation when their flights are canceled or heavily delayed. The alliance comes as the U.S. Department of Transportation, in the waning days of the Biden Administration, floats new rules to…
Corporate Travel 101
Tracking Distribution Programs At Top Business-Focused Airlines (A Guide)
The Evolution Of Lowest Logical Fare Policies
The concept of “lowest logical fare” has always been open to interpretation. Traditionally, it’s the cheapest, in-policy fare returned when the traveler or travel agent searches in a booking system. But various market dynamics are making it harder to pin down, prompting industry professionals to…
What Matters When Choosing A Corporate Travel Consultant
Consulting services for corporate travel program management are popping up everywhere. Even suppliers like Delta Air Lines and Mastercard are ready to help. Incumbents include special divisions of travel management companies, individuals, boutique firms and some of the world’s largest consultancies. How does an organization…
How To Get A Budget For Tech And Win Support For Your Ideas
GBTA surveys show that many corporate travel managers want to spend more on technology. The trick is getting a budget for it.In a February poll, 36 percent of buyers expected to spend more on tech this year than last — 12 times the share of…
Notebook: GBTA Speakers On Getting Started With New Distribution Capability
Atlanta — In addition to providing a venue for emotional expression about airline distribution changes, the Global Business Travel Association’s convention here last month offered a platform for blueprint-making. Voicing concern about industry pros who may think — at their peril — that American Airlines backing…
Industry Seeks Happy Medium On Airline Order Change Notifications
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Op Ed: Atyab Bhatti On Getting *A Little* Technical With AI, Part Three: What We Know And Don’t Know About The Inner Workings Of Transformers
SkyLink CEO and co-founder Atyab Bhatti delivers his third slightly high-tech post about artificial intelligence. In recent years, large language models (LLMs) and generative AI systems built on transformer architectures have taken the world by storm with their impressive natural language capabilities. From engaging in human-like dialogue to crafting content to even coding, these systems…
Op Ed: Jeff Klee On The Fork In The Road For Global Distribution Systems
AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee has some advice for GDSs looking to maintain their positions as pre-eminent corporate travel tech providers. He suggests they embrace new data formats, expand content aggregation into more corners and make things simpler for users. The story of Kodak is a cautionary tale about a once-great company whose leaders misunderstood its…
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Notebook: ExxonMobil Saves Half A Mil With Engagement Campaign
Atlanta – ExxonMobil’s internal “Do The Math” campaign aims to optimize four aspects of traveler booking behavior: online booking adoption, lowest logical fare use, advance ticket purchasing and preferred hotel utilization. The company’s communications strategy, featuring extensive use of banner ads, was one of three…
Swiss Re’s Internal Carbon Levy Helped Slash Emissions, Halve Travel Spending
From a 2018 baseline, Swiss Re last year cut business air travel spending in half and slashed associated greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60 percent. A lot went into those reductions, including an internal carbon price coupled with carbon budgets.A $50 billion Zurich-based provider…
Notebook: ‘Am I Fired?’ Buyers Share Executive Engagement Takeaways From AA Episode
Atlanta — With almost no exceptions, corporate travel managers do not have fond memories of their experiences with the New Distribution Capability. Amy Hunke, senior manager of travel and meetings at Ametek and president of GBTA Michigan, described her experience as “quite horrific.”Addressing buyers during a…
FROM THE ARCHIVE
Concur/GBTA Report Urges Travel Managers To Inspect How TMCs Configure Booking Tools
A poll conducted this spring by the Global Business Travel Association and sponsored by SAP Concur had some unsurprising results: most organizations used an online booking tool, most travel managers wanted controls on how they worked and nearly all promoted preferred suppliers. What may be…
Case Details Sabre’s Airline Segment Fees, Including Southwest’s Advantage
New York — Industry pros always figured Southwest Airlines paid less to global distribution system providers like Sabre than other big airlines. Now they know how much. Southwest’s 2010 per-segment fee to Sabre at U.S. points of sale was $1.35, according to testimony in the…