The Covid-19 pandemic halted the vast majority of business travel globally for more than a year. Here's how three crack-shot travel managers are getting their companies back on the road.... KEEP READING

As companies consider their long-awaited return to business travel, the notion of a managed corporate travel program has changed during the past 15 months or so of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, travel restarts amid a new environment of health and safety measures, increased taxation complexities, volatile restrictions on movement, some level of reluctance to travel for... Keep Reading

The seemingly imminent return of business travel after a long shutdown during the Covid-19 pandemic for many organizations is a complicated situation. While many doubtlessly are eager to return to business as usual, including travel and meetings, it doesn't seem likely that it will be that easy for most. There will be reluctant travelers to consider, as well as the... Keep Reading

The spring of 2021 featured a spate of merger and acquisition activity in the business travel industry. Major deals during that period included American Express Global Business Travel announcing plans to acquire Egencia in a megadeal uniting two of the top five largest global TMCs, along with Frosch International Travel purchasing Valerie Wilson Travel and TripActions... Keep Reading

The Covid-19 pandemic upended the "rules" for how corporate lodging programs are put together. Though business travel is beginning to return, some buyers are rolling over 2020 rates again since many travel managers still don’t have enough current data for negotiation leverage or know yet where their travel will be concentrated in the coming year.... Keep Reading

While airlines have yet to see a measurable return in corporate travel volumes, they have begun building back their networks as leisure travel rebounds, particularly in regions with higher vaccination rates. Corporate travel buyers and airlines alike are hopeful that business travel will begin its true recovery in the fall. Airline sales leaders say that, by and... Keep Reading

Like most travel industry suppliers, car rental companies struggled in the early days of the pandemic. To stay afloat, they sold large portions of their fleets, canceled new vehicle orders and reduced staff at their rental locations. At the same time, to ensure safety and cleanliness standards, suppliers implemented deep cleaning of their vehicle fleets and sanitization... Keep Reading

Buyers will contend with a different, more expensive level of service from ride-hail and chauffeured transportation providers as both sectors manage the slow return of drivers for passenger ground transportation services amid increasing demand for them.  Chauffeured car providers laid off a significant share of their drivers in 2020 and, in the case of ride-hail,... Keep Reading

While much remains uncertain about what the post-pandemic corporate travel and expense landscape will look like, one thing that does appear to be clear is that contactless payments are here to stay. The emphasis on social distancing and hygiene driven by Covid-19 likely will linger for some time even after public life returns to normal. Perhaps even more significantly,... Keep Reading

When the covid-19 pandemic hit last year, companies with meetings management programs in place were in a better position than those without one. They were quicker to locate their employees traveling for group events and quicker to get them back to their home base, ensuring duty of care. ... Keep Reading

With travel activity shut down amid the Covid-19 pandemic, corporate travel managers found themselves with an unexpected—and unprecedented—opportunity to devote time and attention to exploring and adopting technological innovation to improve their programs. Presented with that opportunity, suppliers, including specialists and TMCs alike, stepped up to meet the new... Keep Reading