BTN Expert Q&A

Best Western Hotel Group CEO David Kong spoke with BTN senior editor Donna M. Airoldi at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles in late July about Best Western's recovery, business travel, corporate travel program changes and current hotel trends that could endure in a post-Covid environment. Edited highlights... Keep Reading

Healix International chief medical officer Dr. Adrian Hyzler spoke with BTN editorial director Beth West late last week about the current landscape surrounding Covid-19, the delta variant, vaccinations and business travel.... Keep Reading

First piloted six years ago to serve as the corporate travel intranet for Microsoft, Tripism since has expanded into a travel planning and engagement provider for a range of large companies. Tripism founder and CEO Adam Kerr recently spoke with BTN payments and technology editor Adam Perrotta to discuss how... Keep Reading

When corporate travel industry veteran Kurt Knackstedt recently took over as chief growth officer for HRS's Payment Solutions business unit, it became the latest step in his long and varied career in corporate travel. Knackstedt spoke with BTN payments and technology editor Adam Perrotta about his plans for building out... Keep Reading

Barcelona-headquartered corporate travel management provider TravelPerk kicked off the year in January by acquiring U.S.-based booking system provider NexTravel, and three months later closed a $160 million investment round. TravelPerk chief commercial officer Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo recently spoke with BTN technology... Keep Reading

Energy and petroleum company BP, through its procurement department and its BP Target Neutral sustainability division, has updated its carbon-emissions calculator for events and created a low-carbon toolkit, each of which are free for any planner to use. BTN senior editor Donna M. Airoldi recently spoke with BP global... Keep Reading

  United Airlines SVP of worldwide sales Doreen Burse talks about her plans in her new role, the latest she's hearing from corporate customers on returning business demand and how United customers are approaching contracting as they prepare to emerge from the pandemic.  ... Keep Reading

Southwest Airlines this week began service out of Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport for the first time since 2005, with 15 daily departures to five markets: Dallas, Chicago, Nashville, New Orleans and Denver. Houston is only one of several new markets in Southwest's plans this year, however. VP of Southwest... Keep Reading

Throughout the pandemic, Etihad Airways has been ahead of the curve with some of its health initiatives, including early moves to make Covid-19 testing mandatory for travelers. More recently, it moved to ensure rapid vaccination of its on-board employees, as its home country, the United Arab Emirates, boasts one of the... Keep Reading

Bountiful, Utah-based midsize corporate travel agency Hess Corporate Travel in February announced it had acquired Salt Lake City-based Wycoff Travel, a smaller, predominately corporate agency, for an undisclosed sum. Hess CEO Alan Hess, who said the deal actually was finalized last summer, last week spoke with BTN managing... Keep Reading