Months after the shock of the abrupt global shutdown of business travel as the pandemic  spread through every corner of the world, travel managers, travelers and hoteliers are trying to figure out how best to work together for the eventual return to travel. While muted demand and continued government travel restrictions remains in most areas, some business travelers appear ready to hit the road again, and an increasing number of hoteliers are ready to welcome them back with safety and distancing measures in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This white paper is designed to spotlight hoteliers’ role in building would-be business travelers’ confidence in the safety of travel suppliers’ offerings and working with travel managers

Happier travelers. Smarter data. Reduced fraud. Lower admin costs. More and more businesses have reaped the many advantages of paying for travel through virtual cards in recent years. All these benefits are gained when paying for any kind of business travel transaction. Yet, to date, virtual cards have paid overwhelmingly for just one category: transient hotel. But that is changing as non-hotel payments shot up 35 percent in 2020.... Keep Reading

Planning an in-person meeting during a global pandemic, or even any crisis situation, challenges meeting planners and venues. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the industry globally in a way never seen before. Travel and meetings suppliers, under the guidance of governmental authorities at the local, state and country level, still are trying to understand the new processes and methods that will be needed to keep attendees and travelers as safe as possible amidst uncertainty. This white paper is designed to highlight the necessary considerations to sourcing and working with venues for in-person events, including managing social distancing and other hygienic protocols, as well as the pandemic-related changes to the meeting contracting process.

An effective hotel program can boost savings, compliance, and traveler morale, but building one takes time, effort, and insightful data. What works for one organization might backfire at another for several reasons. And, with COVID-19 upending travel for much of 2020-2021, corporations are rethinking their entire travel budgets, partnerships and guidelines. What defines success? This white paper presents results of a survey of more than 280 travel, procurement and hotel sourcing executives fielded in April-May 2020.  

Turbulent times have a ripple effect and nearly always impact business travel—whether the cause be a global pandemic like we are seeing today, natural disaster or terrorist attack—travel programs should always be prepared to ensure continuity of business. Otherwise, companies may find themselves caught in a crisis without a plan and scramble with a reactionary response. This white paper is designed to help corporate travel managers and other stakeholders review their own plans and processes in each of those three areas.... Keep Reading

Few corporate communications methods are as versatile in engaging employees as an internal meeting, and fewer still are as effective in aligning employees with corporate goals and objectives. Whether for 10 or 10,000 employees and partners, internal meetings can help motivate and reward attendees, train them for more demanding roles, learn and understand management strategy and increase their loyalty to the organization. But ensuring those goals are reached requires careful attention to the planning and execution of meetings. This white paper is designed to help demonstrate the value of internal meetings and illustrate the direct relationship between developing a comprehensive management strategy, executing events successfully, and improving performance.... Keep Reading

Whatever the impetus for program development, one constant of a successful meetings initiative is the measurement of how effective meetings and events are at meetings those goals. Since those goals can vary widely among organizations, so too can the metrics used to measure whether a eetings program is successful in meeting them.

This paper will examine some potential metrics organizations are using to help determine how well their meetings are delivering a return on their investment, managing risk or delivering a return on the attendee experience in the form of increased sales, brand awareness or other benefits.