We're taking a break from our year-by-year review to honor the fourth decade of award-winning travel managers. These are the buyers who negotiated, cajoled and pushed the industry toward its future. Many of them are still at it today. Take a look.... KEEP READING

Covid variants, inflation, the Great Resignation, the rise of small and midsize business travel as a motivating force, the power of meeting in person, sustainability, American Airline’s NDC gambit begins and openAI launches little thing called Chat GPT.... KEEP READING

Throughout 2021 the evolution of the coronavirus worked hard against the travel industry’s best efforts. A number of variants in the winter, summer and leading into 2022 kept a strong recovery trajectory at bay. It wasn’t for lack of trying.... KEEP READING

The coronavirus hit business travel (and all travel) like a wrecking ball. Looking back at the devastation isn't fun, and maybe it's still too soon. Our world changed forever, but perhaps made travel and personal connections more important than before.... KEEP READING

2019 exuded confidence in the business travel industry. Increased corporate spending and travel technology innovations drove optimism, despite some controversies associated with the direction and pace of change. Underneath that expectant surface, however, were three stories that would reverberate through the industry in surprising and devastating ways in the coming months.... KEEP READING

American Express Global Business Travel's acquisition of HRG shook the managed travel industry in 2018, but it was just the beginning. Marriott would start a cascade of major hotel brands reducing meetings commissions; Microsoft released a white paper 'Manifesto' outlining the industry's slow pace of innovation, lack of financial transparency and the tech opportunities it shouldn't squander.... KEEP READING

The world of corporate travel seems to have gotten so much more complicated in 2017. The pieces had been building for a long time, but with global programs, the dramatic upswing in international business travel and the penetration of data throughout the business travel ecosystem, the stage was set for a number of watershed developments. Many of these surrounded security, both physical and cyber security, but also the innovation driven by all that data.... KEEP READING

Travel budgets looked healthy in 2016 and the industry was feeling optimistic about innovation. Increased mergers and acquisitions made major changes to the hospitality landscape, most notably Marriott's acquisition of Starwood but also Accor's acquisition of Fairmont Raffles Group. Such mergers were part of hotel company strategies to bulk up and compete not only with each other but with online travel agencies. Corporate was swept up in the fray. Other notable industry moves included Amex GBT acquiring KDS, impacting relationships with Concur, and airlines enhancing operational performance.... KEEP READING

Lufthansa may have dominated the headlines, but 2015 was the starting point for something else entirely in the industry. We might actually call it the "startup" point, as the year when a machine learning and AI-powered vision planted its first seeds in the market.... KEEP READING

TMCs make plans to massively invest in tech; meanwhile, a new kind of tech disrupts the industry, first by flouting policy, then by turning travel tech expectations on their head.... KEEP READING

We're taking a break from our year-by-year review to honor a third decade of award-winning travel managers. These are the buyers who negotiated, cajoled and pushed the industry toward its future. Many of them are still at it today. Take a look.... KEEP READING

In 2013, the managed travel industry debated open booking and the impacts of bookings outside of approved channels. New startups like Tripbam and Yapta emerged, offering better pricing solutions. Concur's acquisitions of GDSX and TRX and the introduction of TripLink fueled the debate, while the industry's channel fragmentation and evolving technology continued to challenge travel management models. US Airways and American Airlines closed their merger; GBTA clashed over bylaws proposals.... KEEP READING

Mobile tech inched further into travel. It was the itinerary managers this time being leveraged to stir doubt in an already agitated industry.... KEEP READING

In 2011, the business travel sector had gained momentum, driven by stronger economy supported by a booming mobile tech industry. Airlines were investing in JV partnerships and upgraded products. Mobile apps began transforming corporate travel booking and management.... KEEP READING

Business travel begins a upward trajectory in the economic cycle by the end of 2010; tech advances and distribution push industry into modern age. Plus, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruptions and ash cloud renews attention to duty of care.... KEEP READING

In 2009, the economic downturn severely impacted business travel, causing widespread meeting cancellations and increased scrutiny on travel expenditures. Airlines were hit hard, leading to strategic shifts towards ancillary revenue models that continue to buoy the airline industry today but vex travel managers. The crisis also triggered merger discussions among industry associations, though significant deals did not materialize.... KEEP READING

Robust business travel budgets and strategy give way to a deteriorating economic outlook. Then... crisis.... KEEP READING

With procurement firmly in the driver’s seat for travel management, end-to-end travel and expense technology that would control, document and even make inroads into auditing were in high demand. Partnerships—as well as a big platform-player—began to emerge.... KEEP READING

2006 saw significant changes in the global travel management company landscape, marked by consolidations, acquisitions and a shift in distribution cost dynamics. It set the stage for the future structure of the industry.... KEEP READING

Business travel is in full swing in 2005 and suppliers are making structural changes with pricing that move them toward the dynamic revenue and yield management we see today.... KEEP READING

By 2004, the internet has changed business travel forever; travel managers are realizing benefits and facing challenges in an industry turned upside down.... KEEP READING

We're taking a break from our year-by-year review to honor a second decade of award-winning travel managers. These are the buyers who negotiated, cajoled and pushed the industry toward its future. Many of them are still at it today. Take a look.... KEEP READING

Industry turbulence continues in 2003 due to the Iraq War and ongoing economic struggles, prompting companies to minimize travel. Despite initial setbacks, travel began recovering later in the year. The direction of recovery was far from clear, however, as online options continued to scramble traditional corporate travel structures.... KEEP READING

2002 was a bitter year. Corporate travel faced significant challenges due to the aftermath of 9/11, leading to financial struggles for airlines, agencies, hotels and car rental companies. United declared bankruptcy, as did Budget car rental. Agencies adapted to new markets and technologies. Buyers were merciless with hotels as airline deals became intractable and senior executives pressed hard for cost savings in a suffering economy.... KEEP READING

Travel technology continued its innovation trajectory even in a down economy as travel suppliers reported flagging demand after February. As airlines, hotels and intermediaries struggled with declining revenues, they were in a battered state even before the tragedy of Sept. 11 brought the industry to its knees. ... KEEP READING

As e-commerce sparked the imagination of the managed travel marketplace, the year 2000 is the originator of the business traveler mantra "I found it cheaper online" that has become the bane of travel managers everywhere. But great things happened as well.... KEEP READING

Mergers and acquisitions environment drives big travel spend at corporates and aggressive efforts to reduce travel costs with massive volume deals. At the same time, travel policies and program mandates start to look Draconian in an effort to drive compliance and meet contract obligations. Quietly, a different strategy emerges from European soil.... KEEP READING

Travel wasn't the only industry buoyed by the rapid changes and investment in technology, but it was definitely one of them—and all the activity lifted the U.S. economy at a critical moment.... KEEP READING

More commissions cutting put direct relationships and, therefore, corporate travel buyers into the power position. They leverage everything at their disposal, including a new focus on automation and deeper data, to step up to the role.... KEEP READING

Online booking was off to the races in 1996. The consumer world saw the launch of Travelocity and Internet Travel Network; later in the year, Microsoft rolled out Expedia. The latter news made BTN's front page as part of that company's launch of an ARC-accredited travel agency. It would become so much more...... KEEP READING

1995 saw major shifts in the business travel industry with the rise of e-tickets, capping of airline commissions, and the transition to fee-based agency models; airlines benefited from it all.... KEEP READING

Carlson joins with Wagonlit, Amex swallows Cook, Southwest turns sharply for e-tickets, airline distribution fragments... oh, and the Internet basically begins. There's a lot going on in 1994!... KEEP READING

Time flies when you're having fun. BTN has published for a decade by 1993, and it's time to look back at (nearly) a decade of Business Travel News’ Travel Manager of the Year Award recipients. These are the individuals that crystalized the challenges of their travel management eras and pushed the industry to create better structures and solutions. BTN launched in 1984 but recognized its first Travel Manager of the Year in 1985. Kudos to BTN’s first decade of winners!... KEEP READING

A new political administration in the U.S., a brightening economy, airline industry stabilization and a sense that the world was opening to new business and trade relationships drove travel management trends in 1993.... KEEP READING

It was, simply put, a bonkers year for the corporate travel industry, but also a really important one for technology developments. We're going to start with pricing, particularly in the airline space. But pricing experimentation clearly was happening throughout the industry, with travel suppliers still struggling with the effects of economic uncertainty lingering from two-plus years of recession and diminished travel volumes from the impact of Desert Storm.... KEEP READING

1991 saw significant economic struggles in the travel industry, highlighted by the closure of major airlines, decreased travel due to the Gulf War, increased security measures, corporate austerity, and evolving corporate-supplier relationships focused on direct deals and data-driven management.... KEEP READING

1990 saw economic challenges, growing political tensions, and a recession. Corporate travel commercials also began to shift, with more suppliers dealing direct with their corporate clients, rather than negotiating only through agencies. In this article, we look at how loyalty programs scrambled the dynamics and how innovations like Diner's Club Corporate Club Rewards sought to ease the issue.... KEEP READING

In 1989, the business travel industry saw significant shifts, with corporate travel gaining importance. Companies and agencies adapted by offering corporate discounts and restructuring to better serve business clients, with notable deals and mergers shaping the landscape.... KEEP READING

On the heels of a barely averted financial crash in 1987, corporations want to tighten travel controls and they were hiring dedicated travel managers to make it happen. Read this 1988 archive article from BTN reporter Steven J. Stark to get a sense of who got that job in the late 80s and how they began to show their value.... KEEP READING

A primer on fast-paced changes in the car rental industry in 1987 sheds light on how suppliers were thinking about the business travel customer in the '80s.... KEEP READING

This article focuses largely on air travel, the mergers taking place in the industry in 1986 and rapidly rising consumer complaints regarding on-performance and services. It is excerpted from a piece by BTN reporter Barbara Cook.... KEEP READING

We are looking at an industry grappling with the imminent shutdown of the Civil Aeronautics Board coupled with a simultaneous trigger that deregulated, on Jan. 1, 1986, which entities are authorized to sell and earn commissions on airline tickets. ... KEEP READING

A move toward automation hits business travel service providers, and a new computer age influences the agency choices of some of business travel's largest accounts.... KEEP READING