BTN Expert Q&A

In 2016, AirPlus lost 127,000 corporate cardholders and €12 million in profit, and it will register a €3 million loss in each of the next several years owing to the European Union's Interchange Fee Regulation. But the payment provider is taking steps to recuperate those losses. BTN payment and expense editor JoAnn DeLuna... Keep Reading

It's been six months since Alaska Airlines merged with Virgin America, and "all the big milestones are tracking the way they should be," SVP of external relations Joseph Sprague said. The carrier expects to have a single operating certificate early next year and is speeding up integration of Virgin America into Alaska's... Keep Reading

Hotel solutions company HRS launched its small meetings product Meetago in North America in July and will begin to add South American markets this month. The tool has been live in Europe for seven years, two-and-a-half of those with HRS as Meetago's primary investor. HRS Americas VP Suzanne Neufang spoke with BTN.... Keep Reading

Dycom Industries corporate travel manager Jennifer Steinke was one of the first and continues to be among the strongest advocates for mobile travel programs. Why? "Because I live and breathe by this device," she said, clutching her smartphone. In providing for Dycom's unique travel needs, she has created what might be... Keep Reading

Microsoft Travel global employee experience lead Julia Fidler and global travel BI & analytics Marta Rodriguez Martinez have worked together to develop four distinctive traveler personas that represent the company's 75,000-person travel population. Fidler initiated the investigation into personas after taking Microsoft... Keep Reading

Parexel director of global procurement and travel Benjamin Park's end-to-end small meetings program has realized savings not only by leveraging transient rates for meetings but also by producing soft-dollar productivity increases. Parexel has launched the program in Europe and soon will roll it out in the U.S.... Keep Reading

More than a year after a deadly terrorist attack in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Turkish Airlines is in recovery mode, building back demand that dropped off amid security fears. Even so, the carrier is sticking to its aggressive growth plans. "We all understood what terrorists ask from us: to stop us, to change our attitude,... Keep Reading

InterContinental Hotels Group is fresh off a leadership transition. Former chief commercial officer Keith Barr assumed his new role as CEO on July 1, replacing CEO of six years Richard Solomons, who will retire on Aug. 30. But a transition of another sort was already underway at IHG, as SVP of worldwide sales Derek DeCross,... Keep Reading

Choice Hotels International's board of directors has appointed Patrick Pacious CEO to succeed Steve Joyce, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Joyce will become vice chairman upon ceding leadership to Pacious, who also will retain his president title. Joyce has collaborated with the board for "the past several years" to identify a... Keep Reading

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is on a path for growth, not just in the U.S., but also in Europe, where it opened its first property in May, the Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam. CEO Mike DeFrino spoke with BTN.... Keep Reading