Groupize co-founder and CEO Alisa de Gaspe Beaubien weighs in on what it will take to advance meetings management, and the benefits of doing so. In many organizations, business travel has matured into a well-governed, tech-enabled discipline. Policies are codified. Integrations with booking tools, expense systems and duty of care platforms are robust. Spend is…
As a longtime executive at American Express Global Business Travel, culminating with his role as chief revenue officer until mid-2023, Michael Qualantone has been on the frontlines of travel distribution skirmishes. He remains a staunch TMC advocate — that’s a focus of his new gig — and supports GDSs as corporate travel’s pre-eminent booking channel….
Jeff Klee, CEO of TravelPerk’s AmTrav, looks back at his early days in the industry for guidance on navigating the hype and realities of artificial intelligence in travel management. Back in the Stone Age when I started in travel, there were situations where, for one reason or another, we’d actually have to hand write airline…
From the perspective of Festive Road consultant Jon Webster, there are problems of prioritization in corporate travel payments. He suggests how a traveler-centric approach would improve compliance, spend management and employee satisfaction. Business travel payments overlook the person who matters most — the traveler. We have systems to pay travel management companies, reconcile accounts, ensure…
Entrepreneur Jean Belanger, co-founder and CEO of Cerebri AI Inc., is optimistic about the potential for measuring the return on investment in business travel. Businesses will spend over $1.64 trillion on travel in 2025, according to the Global Business Travel Association. As post-pandemic business travel continues to grow, calculating its return on investment will become…
With authorities on both sides of the Atlantic examining potential anticompetitive implications, and the seller possibly hurting from the uncertainty, consultant and BT4Europe chair Patrick Diemer examines the shaky ground that Amex GBT’s proposed acquisition of CWT appears to be on. In my opinion, the deal is falling apart. It’s been more than 10 months…
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…
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…
SkyLink CEO and co-founder Atyab Bhatti is back with another slightly high-tech post about artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we approach personalization across industry verticals, including corporate travel. By leveraging generative AI, organizations can provide personal, delightful experiences for their travelers, enhancing satisfaction while meaningfully reducing costs. Machine learning is an AI…
Industry veteran Jonathan Hamblett responds to Cornerstone Information Systems CEO Mat Orrego’s Sept. 12 Op Ed about lessons learned from selling business travel and expense management solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Hamblett positions himself as a little more hopeful than some readers and shares his lessons as a founding team member at Upside Travel,…
Mat Orrego, CEO of Cornerstone Information Systems, shares some pointers that might help new entrants or other tech companies in travel or expense management as they pursue the small and medium-sized market. The small and medium-sized business (SMB) market within corporate travel is an enticing prospect for many companies in our space. This segment seems…
SkyLink CEO and co-founder Atyab Bhatti provides this overview of some key concepts to kick off a series of slightly high-tech posts about artificial intelligence. Notorious for its multiple complexities, corporate travel is slowly bowing to the transformative capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI). A breakthrough in that revolution is generative AI, an innovation backed by…
Having seen up close the dangers of algorithmic bias in artificial intelligence, CWT’s Matthew Newton has some suggestions for risk mitigation. Artificial intelligence is being deployed at scale in business travel management, with algorithms changing the game for service consistency, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. But this watershed moment threatens to unleash a monster. Algorithmic bias in…
Consultant Scott Gillespie of tClara has spent a lot of time examining high- and low-value trips, and advocating for travel policies that account for that distinction. It’s not just about cutting down on wasteful spending; he also implores companies to consider business travel’s environmental impact. In his latest contribution, Gillespie does some math to depict…
The always vocal Jeff Klee, CEO of AmTrav, revisits the thorny issue of travel management company pricing. Even travel buyers who feel it needs to change and would like to address longstanding issues of trust aren’t sold on the potential solutions. A friend of mine had a “WTF” moment the other day and called to…
