By Terri Barton, VP of Corporate Travel, Acendas Travel The corporate travel industry recently took a strong dose of its own medicine as it congregated in San Diego for the 2022 GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) Conference. Unlike sparsely attended events over the prior two years, the halls and meeting rooms (not to mention the Gaslamp Quarter Entertainment District) were bustling with travel professionals looking to advance their careers and enhance services available to travelers. There is no doubt that when travel was restricted, appropriately I might add, our economy was able to st ..read more

By Brent Blake, President, Acendas Travel If you look at the TSA numbers, you might be inclined to say everything is back to normal when it comes to travel. But if you take a deeper look at the data, you will notice some trends that — at least in the short-term — might complicate matters for travelers. As a travel management company, we are having conversations with our suppliers, partners and even competitors to gain a better understanding of what is happening, why it is happening and how we can help our clients. This goes beyond the issues of masking on planes, distancing at various venues ..read more

By Brent Blake, President, Acendas Travel Everyone has a story to tell about how Covid-19 has affected them. Given the depth of the pandemic, it is a story which will no doubt continue to be refined for years to come. From the perspective of Acendas Travel, we are seeing positive signs early in the recovery. But how long will the momentum last? Will travel hold the same stature in our lives in the future as it did pre-pandemic? I don’t know the answer to those questions,. However, I do believe we have put ourselves in a good position for future success. And given that the travel industry was n ..read more

Brent Blake, President, Acendas Travel There are some activities for which we are conditioned to react negatively — regardless of the actual outcome.  Going to the dentist, cleaning the garage, running on the treadmill. We rarely associate the word “enjoy” with any of those efforts.  As a member of the travel industry, I hear much the same about traveling – specifically around the flying experience. But truth be told, too often our minds control the matter. Many of the routine duties we find to be painful, are at most minor inconveniences. Certainly, there is nothing minor about a ro ..read more

By Brent Blake Over the past 14 months, it is the one question I have been asked more times than any other. Perhaps people did not put it in those terms, but our clients (both business and leisure), suppliers, business partners — even our staff — all wanted to know. When will the pandemic end and what will it look like on the other side? Of course, that was not the only question posed to us. Because those constituents relied on us to help facilitate their success, they also wanted to know if Acendas Travel was going to be around to help in the recovery. After all, travel was hit as hard as any ..read more

Acendas Travel President Brent Blake was joined by Delta Airlines Senior Vice President Bob Somers for our monthly virtual Viewpoints with Acendas Travel. The two discussed air travel in 2021 in general and Delta’s strategy as travel ramps back up. Key takeaways include: The travel ecosystem (air, hotel, car, airport, shuttle) has never achieved higher standards of health and cleanliness than it has now. That emphasis will continue and NOT fade away once the pandemic ceases. There is a significant pent up demand for travel. There has been steady increase in travel since January 1, but the big ..read more

Travel has become more complicated with the advent of the pandemic, but it can be executed with proper structures and processes in place; and resources to support the traveler. With the assistance of company travel administrators and Acendas Travel, support for the business traveler occurs before one leaves and extends beyond the return. Pror to the pandemic, the focuse was on two steps: the booking and the journey. Now, the process is more entailed and our vailable resources now focus on a broader traveler experience, which includes all stages of travel: a.) decision; b.) booking; c.) prepara ..read more

Ken Augustine, Vice President of Travel Technology It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention.  That came into clear focus for the Acendas Travel team approximately five years ago as travelers were rapidly adopting technology to aid both their business and personal travel. We knew that in order to best serve the changing market, we had to become a travel technology company.  Our investment in technology has had several positive impacts since that day, including the ability to scale up services, offer real-time data, enhance self-service options, improve communications a ..read more

Are business executives aware of the “true cost” of travel on their road warriors and how the days spent away from home affects their happiness? Such was the question posed to 50-plus travel professionals at the Acendas Travel annual Corporate Travel Symposium featuring clients, travel providers, travel industry consultants and staff. The topic sprung from a panel discussion where attendees addressed issues of safety and well-being for employees who travel. The following is what was heard from the roundtable: Travel Policy: As travel policies become more specific and cover more topics, commun ..read more

In the ever-changing corporate travel industry, technology has had the most influence on evolving travel management programs — and it has come in areas beyond traveler tracking tools. This was the feedback recently received from 50-plus travel professionals at the annual Acendas Travel Corporate Travel Symposium featuring clients, travel providers, travel industry consultants and staff. Case in point: as business travelers have been more accepting of new technologies, the dependency on mobile devices has also grown. Travelers expect to book on their phone; and have their travel preferences and ..read more