Business Travel News - Breaking News

Carlson To Revitalize North American Radisson Brand

2009-11-09

Carlson CEO Hubert Joly today previewed a project to revitalize the Radisson hotel brand in North America that would draw a clearer line between its upscale and upper upscale properties and import successful service concepts from overseas. The company plans to launch the program early next year.

PwC Downgrades 2010 Hotel Forecast Again, Despite Positive Signs

2009-11-06

PricewaterhouseCoopers today continued to move its U.S. lodging industry expectations downward, although the firm said industry performance indicates the initial stages of economic and lodging demand recovery.

Travelport Sees Continued Strengthening Despite Third-Quarter Decline

2009-11-05

Travel technology and global distribution firm Travelport today reported that global segments were down nearly 5 percent for the third quarter, but said it reached positive territory in the past month.

Hyatt Raises Nearly $1 Billion In IPO

2009-11-05

Hyatt Hotels Corp. shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange today as the company completed a nearly $1 billion initial public offering, taking the company public for the first time in decades.

Egencia Sees Air Ticket Prices Rising Next Year In Key U.S. Markets

2009-11-03

Egencia projects average ticket prices to annually increase in nearly all top North American business travel markets in 2010, with some cities even expected to experience double-digit percentage-point hikes, according to its 2010 Corporate Travel Forecast and Hotel Negotiability Index, released today.

Amtrak To Upgrade Acela With Free Wi-Fi

2009-10-30

Amtrak plans to launch free wireless Internet on Acela Express trains in the second quarter of next year, according to a five-year plan released Thursday.

Egencia Bookings Continue Steady '09 Comeback

2009-10-29

Egencia's gross bookings decreased 10 percent year-over-year to $344 million in the third quarter, but its top-line performance has steadily improved since the second half of 2008, said the travel management company's parent Expedia today in its third-quarter earnings report.

Cutting Flights And Jobs, US Airways Narrows Network

2009-10-28

US Airways is realigning its U.S. network to focus almost exclusively on service to and from its Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix hubs and three other cities, which by the end of 2010 will represent 99 percent of the airline's capacity, down from about 93 percent today. The carrier today also said it would abandon a number of markets, lay off about 1,000 workers and suspend indefinitely its right to serve Beijing.

STR: U.S. Hotel Performance Continues Fall in Third Quarter

2009-10-27

The U.S. hotel industry continued to see revenue, rates and occupancy fall in the third quarter of 2009, with virtually every major market in the country experiencing double-digit percentage year-over-year drops in revenue per available room, according to Smith Travel Research.

ACTE Exec. Director Susan Gurley Resigns

2009-10-27

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives today announced that executive director Susan Gurley has resigned and will leave the organization Dec. 31. Deputy executive director Megan Costello will serve in Gurley's role on an interim basis beginning Dec. 1, while Gurley stays on through the transition.

CWT To Launch Videoconferencing Strategy

2009-10-26

Carlson Wagonlit Travel president Doug Anderson told BTN today that the company shortly would announce a videoconferencing management strategy, including a partnership with a technology provider.

ACTE Names BCD's Chris Crowley As Next President

2009-10-26

The possibility of merger talks resuming between the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and National Business Travel Association were furthered by the election of a senior BCD Travel executive as ACTE's new president.

New Hotel Projects in Q3 Construction Pipeline Reach New Low

2009-10-26

The third-quarter 2009 hotel construction pipeline is at a three-year low with 3,890 projects totaling 485,664 rooms, according to a new report from Lodging Econometrics.

BTN Names Deutsche Bank's Debbie Dayton 2009's Top International Travel Manager

2009-10-26

Business Travel News today named Deutsche Bank global head of travel-related services Debbie Dayton as the 2009 International Travel Manager of the Year during the Association of Corporate Travel Executives' global conference in Prague.

Amex Sees Corp. Card Volume Rise From Q2, But Travel Steady

2009-10-23

American Express' corporate travel sales made little gain in the third quarter from the year's first two, though corporate card spending continued quarter-over-quarter growth, the company disclosed yesterday as it announced a quarterly profit.