BTN Expert Q&A

On the heels of layoffs at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, Global Business Travel Association chief operations officer and executive director Scott Solombrino told BTN editorial director Elizabeth West that GBTA, too, has suffered losses. The association has reduced staff by one-third, even as lobbying... Keep Reading

After changing its name from GoEuro last year, Berlin-based multimodal travel booking platform Omio has followed through with plans to expand its borders beyond Europe, adding North American suppliers including Amtrak, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways. Omio VP of commercial Julian Persaud, who joined the company three... Keep Reading

Accor Live Limitless, or ALL, is the new loyalty program officially launched in mid-January from the Parisian-based hotel company. The program features some standard elements, like tiered benefits that include—depending on status level—member discounts, early check-in/late check-out, welcome drink, upgrades, executive lounge... Keep Reading

Fast-growing Indian-based hotel company Oyo Rooms increased its fiscal year 2019 revenue 350 percent to $951 million, with about 64 percent of total revenue derived from India and 32 percent from China. During the same fiscal year, which covered the period from April 2018 through March 2019, net losses grew from $53 million... Keep Reading

Wex Inc.'s January agreement to acquire virtual travel payments provider eNett for $1.7 billion from majority owner Travelport—along with related financial technology specialist Optal—marked the latest major travel payments move for the company, which over the past several years has steadily expanded into new markets and... Keep Reading

Now completing her third year as CEO of Hertz Global Holdings, Kathryn Marinello has overseen a stretch of growing revenues and profits after some financially tough years for the car rental supplier. She recently spoke with BTN transportation editor Michael B. Baker about the drivers of the turnaround and the company's... Keep Reading

Private aviation company Jet Linx recently opened its 18th base location, a private terminal at northern New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, as part of its ongoing expansion in the Northeast. The company's model differs from other private aviation firms in that it both manages airplanes for corporate clients and private... Keep Reading

Meetings sourcing and management solution Bizly received an honorable mention at BTN's 2019 Innovation Faceoff, where founder and CEO Ron Shah presented some of the changes in the works for the technology tool, which he has dubbed Bizly 2.0.... Keep Reading

Etihad Airways chief commercial officer Robin Kamark and Americas VP Vincent Frascogna spoke with BTN assistant editor and staff writer Dawit Habtemariam about Etihad's growth strategies.... Keep Reading

Train ticket booking and support supplier Rail Europe this year launched a new technology platform for travel professionals, Easy Rail Access, that provides a single site of access for rail inventory with fast transaction capabilities. It began sharing the tool with select accounts in North America in recent weeks and will... Keep Reading