Key takeaways from GBTA Convention 2024

Last week, more than 5,000 people from 50 countries gathered in Atlanta for the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention 2024. 

It was an exciting three days for Spotnana as our team met with hundreds of customers, partners, and prospects, announced new partnerships with Planned and Thrust Carbon, hosted a mixer with Brex and American Airlines overlooking the Atlanta skyline, and welcomed attendees to our booth for a demo of our Travel-as-a-Service platform.

Among those representing Spotnana was Johnny Thorsen, our VP of Business Development for Content Distribution. This year, Johnny spoke on two panels at the GBTA Convention about the evolution of corporate travel. Here is a recap of those panel discussions:

What’s next? A pragmatist and a futurist on managing generational business travel expectations

Corporate travel is evolving due to generational shifts and rapid technological advancements. Rob Connors, VP of Business Development at Enterprise Holdings, moderated a discussion between Johnny and Erika Moore, President-Owner of World Travel, Inc. Johnny provided a futurist perspective, predicting the future based on current trends, and Erika served as the pragmatist, focusing on practical solutions. They discussed emerging trends in corporate travel and shed light on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

As the pragmatist, Erika emphasized the importance of viewing technology as a tool to bridge gaps in service. She noted that while technology can streamline processes and enhance user experiences, there is a tipping point where travelers prefer interacting with a human. Erika stressed the importance of identifying and addressing these frustration points in order to continuously improve travel tools and services. Johnny, the futurist, advocated for prioritizing mobile-first tools since younger travelers prefer mobile-based solutions over traditional desktop experiences. 

Both panelists agreed that AI can make a big difference in travel management, but the technology infrastructure needs to be updated to make the most of AI. Erika pointed out that AI can speed up customer service and make mid- and back-office operations more efficient, improving traveler satisfaction. Johnny mentioned that AI can improve the buying process and customize travel policies based on real-time data, making travel experiences more efficient and personalized.

Sustainability is also becoming increasingly important in travel decisions. Johnny highlighted the growing significance of carbon emissions in travel policies and suggested that there might be a shift from cost-per-mile to CO2-per-mile metrics. He suggested a new model that combines cost and carbon considerations, which could lead to significant changes in corporate travel policies.

The conversation then moved to the rise of bleisure travel, which combines business and leisure trips, and how flexible travel policies can help attract and retain talent. Johnny discussed how innovations like split payments and virtual cards with annual balances give travelers more flexibility while still following company policies. He also suggested that there might be a shift towards open booking and servicing, allowing corporations to choose their preferred Travel Management Company (TMC) in different parts of the world without being limited to a single provider.

The panel shared important insights into the future of business travel, underscoring the need for a balanced approach that uses technology, considers generational expectations, and prioritizes sustainability.

Survey says: Everything’s fine??!! The controlled chaos of corporate travel

Johnny also spoke on Brex’s panel about corporate travel moderated by its Director of Solutions Consulting, Nicole Jackson. Brex, one of Spotnana’s channel partners, put together a game show-style session featuring two speakers: Johnny and Brian Berry, the Global Business Travel Manager at Wiz, who mentioned his company uses Spotnana and Brex. 

All attendees participated in the session by using a QR code to submit their guesses to answers from a recent Brex survey about the inefficiencies of corporate travel related to booking, policies and controls, and travel expensing.

Survey prompts included:

• Name a reason you’d book travel outside of your corporate booking tool.
• Describe something you’d have to sacrifice to go on a business trip.
• How long does it take you to make a change to your travel plans?

The audience, along with the two panelists who were not shown the answers in advance, learned that price is the number one reason employees book travel outside of their corporate booking tool. While this is unsurprising, other top answers to this question included ease of use, technology challenges,  missing options, and supplier loyalty. Johnny mentioned that Spotnana’s travel platform has a feature that allows travelers to report if they found a better price elsewhere.

For the question about the main sacrifices employees make to go on a business trip, Johnny guessed the top answer correctly: family time. The other top survey answers included a child’s life experiences, loyalty perks, and sleep. 

This game show session highlighted a perceived lack of flexibility and empathy in business travel. Business travelers are looking for more adaptable T&E tools that prioritize saving time and money along with more personalized travel policies that create better travel experiences. 

Want to learn more about how Spotnana is pushing the future of travel forward? Get a demo today.