Northrop Grumman's Chang Is BTN's 2008 Travel Mgr. Of The Year
08.11.2008 - Business Travel News last month named Northrop Grumman corporate director of travel, meetings and special events planning Janice Chang as its 2008 Travel Manager of the Year.
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BCD Refines Asia/Pac Strategy
08.11.2008 - BCD Travel in July approved a regional strategic plan authored by Mike Buckman, its Asia/Pacific president, that calls for the building of a stronger regional network, becoming the third prong in CEO Joop Drechsel's global growth strategy, along with the further penetration of online booking and the further globalization of BCD's meetings and incentives subsidiary.
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Newsmaker: IBM Exec Joins Amadeus
08.11.2008 - Amadeus last month unveiled plans to develop a centralized Chicago-based operation to build its presence in the Americas. Executive vice president of the multinational customer group of the Americas Dwayne Ingram since June has been leading the effort from the company's IT center in suburban Chicago, where it supports United Airlines' rollout of the Amadeus Altea IT platform.
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Delta CEO: NW Integration Underway
08.11.2008 - Even before the European Commission this month cleared the merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the transaction was on track for finalization by the end of the year, Delta CEO Richard Anderson told journalists during a press meeting at the National Business Travel Association Annual Convention and Exposition in Los Angeles last month.
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Worktopia Enhances Meeting Space Booking Tool, Adds Corp. Rates
08.11.2008 - Meetings technology firm Worktopia late last month announced a new version of its meeting space booking tool that allows clients to search and book space, audiovisual services and catering for small meetings online, along with a corporate edition of the tool that lets clients load preferred meeting suppliers and rates.
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StarCite Expands With CWT, Amadeus Deals
08.11.2008 - Travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel late last month announced a three-year agreement designating meetings management technology company StarCite as a global preferred technology partner for meetings. StarCite last month also announced an agreement to link to global distribution system Amadeus and capture travel information in StarCite.
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Inside Track: Delta Initiates U.S. Rollout Of Inflight Internet Access
08.11.2008 - Delta Air Lines is working on a fleetwide rollout of inflight Internet access across its mainline domestic network through a partnership with Aircell. The companies plan to outfit more than 330 aircraft for wireless broadband by summer 2009, representing the largest rollout of inflight Internet to date.
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Air CEOs: Fares Offset Demand
08.11.2008 - The top brass at major domestic airlines—all of whom detailed second-quarter losses last month—acknowledged a slight slowdown in business travel traffic, but many noted that growing fares, declining capacity and new fences built around business tickets help to offset traffic deterioration. Several CEOs said the capacity coming out of the domestic system in the second half of 2008 should help create revenue equilibrium out of higher fares and slower traffic.
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Flight Log: Continental Unveils New BusinessFirst Seat
08.11.2008 - Considering that a $1 increase in the cost of crude translates to $43 million a year in expenses for Continental Airlines, the carrier's planned $100 million upgrade of its new BusinessFirst fully lie-flat seat is a drop in the bucket. Still, CEO Larry Kellner, after lifting the veil on the upgraded prototype at the National Business Travel Association International Convention & Exposition in Los Angeles late last month, said he expects enough front-of-the-plane demand to bring a return on that investment.
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EmpireCLS' Greening Includes Nitrogen Tires, Carbon Cutback
08.11.2008 - Norwood, N.J.-based chauffeured transportation company EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services last month detailed an environmental sustainability program that includes a partnership with a third-party sustainability solution provider, the use of nitrogen in the tires of the entire fleet to save fuel and providing environmental footprint reports to clients.
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Car Rental Demand Softens
08.11.2008 - Softening demand and fleeting costs continued to challenge car rental companies in the second quarter. While Avis Budget Group saw gains in revenue per transaction and length of rental, demand, particularly from larger corporate accounts, began to decline in May when oil prices increased, said chairman and CEO Ronald Nelson, adding that the company expects demand softening to continue into August. President and COO Robert Salerno said Avis Budget would have "no choice" but to take a hard line in negotiations with commercial accounts and vendors.
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Under The Hood: BostonCoach, Enterprise Shuffle Management Teams
08.11.2008 - A pair of ground transportation companies recently announced changes at the top of their executive teams, as chauffeured transportation company BostonCoach last month named Larry Moulter, formerly president of his own consulting firm and senior advisor to chauffeured transportation company Commonwealth Worldwide, as its president and CEO, while Enterprise Rent-A-Car this month named COO Pamela Nicholson as its president.
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Hotel Guest Satisfaction Dropping, According To J.D. Power Survey
08.11.2008 - Hotel guest satisfaction is slipping, although brands traditionally rated highest are maintaining their popularity, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study.
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New Supply Finally Could Trigger Some Manhattan Hotel Rate Relief
08.11.2008 - During the past few years, capacity restraints in the Manhattan hotel market have given hoteliers the advantage in corporate rate negotiations, but buyers may begin to wield a little power of their own with some 15,000 rooms expected to debut in New York through 2011, according to a joint report by Smith Travel Research and HVS Global Hospitality Services. With the bulk of new supply emerging later this year and into early 2009, there is room for relief in fall negotiations.
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As Occupancy Slips, Las Vegas Bets On Demand
08.11.2008 - A recent report by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority shows declining hotel occupancy and average daily rates in the city, which experts attribute to such factors as a slowing economy and capacity cuts at McCarran International Airport. Though the market is softening, some analysts said Las Vegas will remain a strong market.
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Marriott Reports Drop In Profit
07.21.2008 - Marriott International saw a drop in profit and sluggish domestic revenue growth in the second quarter of 2008, further indicating a hotel negotiating season more favorable to buyers than any in the past several years.
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BCD Survey: Clients See Spending To Rise
07.21.2008 - More than half of 333 travel buyer respondents to BCD Travel's eighth annual client travel program survey expect overall travel to increase next year, despite a 2009 projected airfare increase of 8 percent to 10 percent over final 2008 fares.
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Profiles In Travel Management: Retailer Finds The Best Buy For Hotels, Meetings
07.21.2008 - Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy last year saved more than $7 million by revamping its hotel program sourcing processes, developing a strategic meetings management program and using its combined $22 million to $25 million annual North American air volume to negotiate with Air Canada for point-of-sale discounts.
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Inside Track: Rearden Buys ExpenseWire
07.21.2008 - Rearden Commerce late last month completed the acquisition of expense management company ExpenseWire for an undisclosed amount and has integrated the system with its online procurement platform. ExpenseWire will operate as a subsidiary of Rearden and management including CEO Andrew Vaeth will remain.
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Booking Tools Accounting For Fees
07.21.2008 - Online booking tools have been adapting their point-of-sale interfaces to accommodate the introduction of airline baggage fees, potential further unbundling of services and U.S. Department of Transportation regulations by including informational notes, airline fee grids and hyperlinks to carrier Web sites for further information.
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Newsmaker: JPMorgan Names Vergara Card Head
07.21.2008 - Former American Express corporate card executive Eduardo Vergara last month joined JPMorgan Treasury Services as global commercial card executive to oversee the day-to-day management and strategic direction of the firm's commercial card products.
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Expense Managers Use Tech To Improve On Fraud Vigilance
07.21.2008 - Expense managers are tapping into improved reporting technology to enhance auditing processes beyond such obvious targets as spending limits and to better hone in on corporate card fraud in areas many standard travel policies today may leave undetected.
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Monsanto Cracks Down On Card Delinquencies
07.21.2008 - Agriculture technology supplier Monsanto Co. is cracking down on corporate card fraud and delinquency as it rolls out a global one-card program through tighter controls, improved communication and training for employees and increased involvement of upper management.
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EU To Limit Airlines' Emissions
07.21.2008 - European Parliament this month officially endorsed a rule to include airlines in January 2012 in the EU Emissions Trading System, a cap-and-trade plan that proponents said will reduce airline emissions but opponents said will invite international lawsuits and add costs to flying.
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Flight Log: BA To Meld Newly Acquired L'Avion With OpenSkies Subsidiary
07.21.2008 - British Airways' €68 million deal to purchase L'Avion sets the stage to fold the New York-Paris all-business class airline into its newly launched OpenSkies subsidiary by early next year. OpenSkies managing director Dale Moss said the first steps of integration are "looking for commercial synergies" and "putting the two companies together," after which the carriers plan to integrate operations, which they expect may take up to eight months. "We plan to be a singular entity early next year," Moss said.
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Hilton To Raise Home Agent Use
07.21.2008 - Hilton Hotels Corp. plans to move about half of its 3,000-member reservations workforce out of centralized offices by the end of next year in an effort the hotel company said would both improve the quality of its reservations team and reduce its carbon footprint.
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Hyatt Overhauling Regency Brand Hotels
07.21.2008 - Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is in the midst of a $1.3 billion overhaul of its Regency brand, including 17 properties that have been either renovated or newly opened in the past three years as well as 31 properties scheduled to be renovated or opened by the end of 2010.
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'09 Europe Hotel View Bleak
07.21.2008 - As buyers prepare to begin the annual hotel negotiating process for 2009, the picture looks distinctly mixed. While the economic downturn has started to hit average room rates in the United States, there is little sign of hoteliers across the Atlantic feeling the ill winds of change.
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Marriott Rolling Out Small Mtg. Booking Tool
07.21.2008 - Marriott International last month launched an online group booking system that allows meeting buyers to check real-time rates and availability and book guest rooms, but requires them to agree to Marriott's contract and rates.
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Checking In: AH&LA Study: Free Internet In U.S. Hotels On The Rise
07.21.2008 - Wireless Internet access is near ubiquity at U.S. hotels, and fewer properties are charging for the service, said the American Hotel & Lodging Association's 2008 Lodging Survey, released in June. Conducted by Smith Travel Research and based on the responses of more than 10,000 U.S. hotels, it found 91 percent of responding properties now offer wireless Internet access, up from 35 percent in 2004. Only 16 percent of hotels charge for in-room Internet service, down from 19 percent in 2006 and 22 percent in 2004 (BTNonline, Aug. 14, 2006).
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Amadeus Res System Purchase Heralds Integrated Air, Rail Display
07.21.2008 - Amadeus' recently acquired majority stake in rail-focused reservations system Onerail will help the global distribution system bulk up its rail offerings, officials said, and ultimately enable it to display short-haul rail and air content on the same citypair side by side to its worldwide client base.
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Hertz Cuts Refueling Fees; Other Car Renters To Do So Under Maryland Pact
07.21.2008 - Hertz this month reduced the fee charged to customers who do not refuel before returning a rental car, and began to offer a discount for drivers who buy a full tank at the time of rental. Meanwhile, car rental refueling prices are starting to receive attention from state agencies.
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Best Meeting Practitioners 2008: Thomson's Heston Develops KPI-Based Hotel Sourcing Gauge
07.21.2008 - French professional media and entertainment services group Thomson SA last year introduced a key performance indicator checklist that shows the overall costs for a meeting stakeholder's choice of venue, and developed a meetings registration and agenda tool, enabling hotel spending data to be tracked.
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Best Meeting Practitioners 2008: HP's Iwamoto Deploys Policy, New Addendum
07.21.2008 - Hewlett-Packard last year rolled out a global meetings and events policy, implemented a hotel contract addendum that already has been accepted by one worldwide chain and negotiated day-meeting packages in one of its biggest locations.
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Best Meeting Practitioners 2008: Novartis' Tomaszeski Scores Sky-High Compliance For Mtgs. Air
07.21.2008 - Pharmaceutical company Novartis this year linked its meetings registration to its online booking system, requiring attendees to concurrently register and book air travel for meetings, increasing overall online booking adoption. As a result, only six of about 7,000 applicable meeting attendees in June did not book their air through Novartis' online booking tool.
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HRG Stake, Strong TMC Demand Boosts Dubai's Dnata
07.21.2008 - Senior vice president of Dubai-based Dnata Travel Services Iain Andrew this month spoke with Business Travel News travel management editor Seth Harris about the company's recent investment in its partner Hogg Robinson Group and the growth of the United Arab Emirates business travel market.
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FCm Taps New North American President
07.21.2008 - FCm Travel Solutions this month publicly announced the appointment as president of North America Gregory Lording, replacing Dan O'Brien, who left FCm following a short stint beginning in August 2007.
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Amex: Europe Embraces Tech
07.21.2008 - Large European companies have reduced indirect processing costs as a percentage of their total travel and entertainment costs to 4.6 percent, according to the European Expense Management Study 2008 by American Express and A.T. Kearney, down from 5.6 percent in 2003, the last time this research was published, and 7.8 percent in 1996.
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Conference Centers Eye Asia
07.21.2008 - Suppliers for years have enthusiastically discussed the notion of bringing the conference center concept to Asia, particularly to Japan, but development and implementation of the idea in the Far East lags far behind its potential.
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Los Angeles Hotels Offering Incentives To Entice Corporate Meetings
07.21.2008 - Experiencing a weakening economy and diminished demand for hotel space, Los Angeles hoteliers have started to offer corporate meeting buyers incentives enticing them to bring their business.
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LAX Midway Through International Terminal Renovations
07.21.2008 - Los Angeles International Airport is halfway finished with renovations to its Tom Bradley International Terminal designed to provide travelers with a safer, faster and more comfortable traveling experience. The airport plans to complete renovations, which include updating security systems, in 2010.
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Executive Dashboard
07.21.2008 - Download the July 28, 2008, Executive Dashboard, BTN's briefing for corporate senior executives, here.This issue's Dashboard contains updates for senior executives on hoteliers' approach to the upcoming negotiating season and new taxicab fuel surcharges, among other topics.
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Washington Wire: TSA Tripling Number of Passenger X-Rays in Use
07.21.2008 - Business travelers are more likely to encounter imaging machines that can detect explosives under clothing next year as the U.S. Transportation Security Administration triples the number deployed at U.S. airports. TSA said July 15 that it would purchase 80 new Passenger Imager Machines over the next year, bringing the total number in use to 120. The machines, which use X-rays to show an outline of the passenger's body, replace the need for additional screening by officers using hand-held metal detectors.
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Travel Manager Salary & Attitude Survey: Travel Buyers Rise In Visibility, Value For Senior Management
07.21.2008 - Tough economic conditions and travel industry changes have put business travel managers in a brighter spotlight in the past year, as senior managers have grown increasingly aware of and interested in the cost savings and business support that travel managers offer.
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Op-Ed: How To Attain $99-A-Barrel Oil By Labor Day
07.21.2008 - The travel industry has not faced such a challenge as the new oil crisis since 9/11. Gas costs now consume 40 percent of an airline's expense. The rapidity of the increase of fuel prices has placed airlines and the travel industry in peril.
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Op-Ed: Airline Unbundling Undermines Satisfaction
07.21.2008 - With increasing fuel costs, travelers are incurring more charges for premium seats, bags and changes.
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Perspectives: Relentless Fuel Cost Hikes Raise Specter Of Catastrophic Airline Endgame
07.21.2008 - Business Travel News solicited insight from a broad sampling of industry thought leaders regarding the future for airlines and other travel industry sectors if high and rising oil prices do not abate.
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Travel Manager Salary & Attitude Survey: Managing Travel's Evolution
07.21.2008 - Debbie Gittinger, Procter & Gamble global travel service manager; Cindy Heston, Thompson manager of corporate travel worldwide; Tamara Jones, Capital One senior manager of corporate travel and expense management and corporate cards; and Caro Cook, chief of transportation at the International Monetary Fund, recently met with BTN editors to discuss changes in the travel manager's role.
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Newsmaker: Sabre Exec To Become Radius CEO
06.30.2008 - On July 14, Christopher Vasiliou, former Sabre Travel Network senior vice president and general manager of Asia/Pacific, will become the new president and CEO of travel management company network Radius.
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Expedia Corporate Travel To Be Egencia
06.30.2008 - Expedia Corporate Travel on June 30 announced it is adopting the name Egencia, the brand of the French online travel agency Expedia acquired in 2004. The moniker shift is an effort to differentiate the travel management company from parent company Expedia's leisure brands, while it embarks on an "aggressive" multinational and technology growth strategy, which includes new reporting applications, offline services and a preferred rate program, which now expands beyond hotels to air and car suppliers. The name change is planned for July 19, said Jean-Pierre Remy, Egencia president, and former founder and president of the original Egencia.
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