Check In with Suzanne
The Many Ways We’re Empowering Our Future
This week I wanted to recognize an area which doesn’t always get the spotlight it deserves but is important, appreciated, and needed to sustain our future: the valuable role and contributions of our members who volunteer to serve on GBTA committees.
Currently 300+ members are engaged across 20 regional and global committees and advise GBTA on the latest trends and best practices in their respective topic areas. This week they start a Virtual Committee Summit series where they will come together online for committee planning, best practice sharing, roundtable discussions and more to serve GBTA members and the industry looking forward. Are you interested in joining their ranks as a GBTA committee member? Learn more here.
Late last month, I spent two inspiring days in my hometown during NYC’s Climate Week, learning and connecting around one of our industry’s most important topics: sustainability. In the U.S., we’ve recently seen the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, designed to provide tax credits for SAF use. And making news even more recently, GBTA also voiced its support for the new plans for the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, a roadmap of six action areas for expanding supply, reducing cost and enhancing the sustainability of SAF.
AT GBTA, we’re committed to building a greener future for business travel. The road ahead is leading to our next major milestone in the journey: the upcoming GBTA Sustainability Summit on November 8. The event is held in conjunction with the GBTA Europe Conference, November 8-10, and we hope many of you will be able to join us in Brussels for this timely and relevant first-ever gathering.
And we continue to mark our industry recovery journey as well. This Thursday, GBTA will be unveiling the latest results from our 29thBusiness Travel Recovery Poll. Watch this space to find out what our industry is seeing and saying since our last poll in June. We’ll share the collective analysis on what you’ve told us including recovery sentiment, bookings, spending, and economic trends for global business travel, now and into 2023. Thanks to the many hundreds of you who continue to respond to our regular call to find out “what’s happening.”
Wishing you safe and productive travels,
Suzanne
News to Know:
Russia loses spot on U.N. aviation group’s governing council
Russia has lost its seat on the governing council of the United Nations’ aviation organization. In a vote held Friday, Russia fell six votes short of the 86 needed to remain on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council. The vote was held among the 193 member states of ICAO, which is convening in Montreal for its general assembly. (Travel Weekly)
European cities to see hotel prices increase in 2023
Hotel prices are set to rise “across the board” in 2023 with European cities likely to see some of the steepest increases, according to a new report from American Express Global Business Travel. The travel management company’s Hotel 2023 Prices report said that hotel companies face an “array of challenges” that will push up prices, including staff shortages, dealing with pent-up demand and soaring inflation.The assembly is held every three years, and this is the first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (BTN Europe)
Biden Traveling to Puerto Rico for Hurricane Fiona Recovery Update
President Biden will travel to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico on Monday as the island seeks to recover from wide-scale damage and power outages caused by Hurricane Fiona last month. Mr. Biden and first lady Jill Biden will view the aftermath of the hurricane in Ponce, along Puerto Rico’s southern coast, as more than 100,000 people in the U.S. territory are without power after the storm battered the island Sept. 18. (The Wall Street Journal)
DOT fees-disclosure plan met with widespread opposition
The Biden administration is touting its new proposal to require airlines, travel advisors and OTAs to disclose a broad array of ancillary fees upfront as the latest in a series of efforts it is making to bolster airline consumer protection.But the proposal, which was put forward by the DOT on Sept. 26, already faces opposition from airlines and travel advisors and even some criticism from consumer advocates.The proposed regulations would require air carriers and all sellers of air travel to reveal baggage fees, change and cancellation fees and family seating fees at the same time as base ticket prices are revealed during an online search. (Travel Weekly)
GBTA News and Reminders:
GBTA Italy Annual Conference Milan – 5 October, 9:30 – 16:00 CEST. The annual gathering of the Italian Business Travel and MICE community. During a full day conference, 25 speakers will deep dive into the current main business travel market trends: Sustainability, New Market Opportunities, Diversity & Inclusion, Digitalization and the evolution of the meetings management. With the active involvement of the audience, we will define the market priorities and design the strategies to fulfil them. Networking, best practice sharing and education sessions will provide the knowledge and the critical take-aways to face the future successfully.
Fundamentals of Strategic Meetings Management™
Pioneers and thought leaders in meetings, procurement, and travel management have collaborated to create a road map and share best practices on how to create and manage an effective strategic meetings management program for your company. The program covers 6 modules and includes 3 two-hour live sessions with an instructor.
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