Ellen Keszler

AI's potential in business travel is promising, particularly for simplifying monthly expense reports. An article by Christiana Sciaudone on Skift highlights how AI may be used in the future to ensure compliance, itemize expenses, and automate submissions, saving valuable time for employees. As business travel spending rises, the efficiency AI offers becomes increasingly essential. https://lnkd.in/eP4trdii #BusinessTravel #AITech #TravelInnovation

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We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with Umbrella Travel Technology — a world-leading traveler profile management software that’s transforming corporate travel management. 🎉 With Umbrella Faces, managing traveler profiles has never been easier or more efficient. Here’s how our partnership is enhancing your travel experience: ✅ Seamless Sync: Real-time data synchronization across 40+ booking systems, ensuring your traveler and company profiles are always up-to-date. ✅ Global Reach: Trusted by 600+ TMCs and Corporate Travel Departments in over 60 countries. ✅ Data Security First: Umbrella Faces is GDPR compliant and PCI/DSS certified, so you can rest assured your data is protected. With this powerful tool, we’re taking efficiency and data security to the next level for all our clients. Let’s keep your journeys smooth and stress-free! ✈️💼 Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/gAA5ruuT #GlobespanTravel #CorporateTravel #UmbrellaFaces #TravelManagement #DataSecurity #TravelerProfiles #SeamlessTravel #PartnershipsMatter #BusinessTravel #Altour #AltourInternational #GlobespanTravelManagement #GlobespanTravel #BusinessTravel #TravelManagement #TravelSoftware #Automation #CorporateTravel

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#ICYMI, significant regulation changes are impacting the commercial travel sector. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently announced new federal rules ensuring that airline passengers receive cash refunds for flight cancellations, significant delays, or itinerary changes - prioritizing travelers' rights to prompt compensation over vouchers or credits. These regulations also mandate upfront disclosure of baggage and flight change fees, enhancing transparency for consumers. The aim? To streamline the refund process and prevent situations where passengers are left out of pocket due to airline disruptions. #Travel #Regulations #CommercialTravel

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Check out this insightful article by Hotel Investment Today featuring Michael Bennett, President and Chief Marketing Officer at Cendyn, where he discusses digital marketing tactics that can shift revenue optimization into high gear! 👉https://ow.ly/Pf0g30sBCmu #HotelMarketing #RevenueOptimization #DigitalStrategy #HotelDigitalMarketing #HotelTechIntegrations

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Unlock Your Hotel’s Revenue Potential with HestiaKey! Boost your Average Daily Rate (ADR) and maximize occupancy effortlessly. Our expert-driven strategies are designed to optimize pricing, elevate guest experiences, and meet market demand. 👉 Learn more: https://hestiakey.com/ #FinancialStability #HotelFinance #HestiaKey

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In case you missed it last week, check out this replay of Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting's webinar on the state of the U.S. lodging industry and our updated outlook. This quarter's webinar statistics: Live attendees - Over 350 lodging industry participants Average attendee duration - 56 minutes Recoding views to date - 151 more lodging industry participants Just click below and watch the recording to find out why so many industry players are willing to devote so much time to hearing what LARC has to say. There is a ton of great data in the presentation, including our views on corporate demand, leisure demand, convention booking pace. We also discuss the implications of the new administration and the potential impact of collective bargaining agreements across the industry currently. During the webinar we highlight markets we like and ones we don't, as well as background surrounding our U.S. outlook, and then dig into Atlanta on a more granular basis showing why we are the forecasters you NEED to rely on. Let us know what you think, once you have had a chance to check it out- we would love to hear from you. A special thinks to the rest of the LARC team including Evan Weiss, Daniel Lesser, Katie Harding, Jialin Li, Sarah Bieker, Maggie Cai and Peter Kressaty. https://lnkd.in/ez72qD_j #lodgingforecasts #lodginganalytics #lodgingdata #hotelinvesting

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In case you missed it last week, check out this replay of Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting's webinar on the state of the U.S. lodging industry and our updated outlook. This quarter's webinar statistics: Live attendees - 454 lodging industry participants Average attendee duration - 54 minutes Recoding views to date - 134 more lodging industry participants Just click below and watch the recording to find out why so many industry players are willing to devote so much time to hearing what LARC has to say. There is a ton of great data in the presentation, including our views on corporate demand, leisure demand, convention booking pace and even a slide devoted the impact of presidential elections on hotel demand and RevPAR. We also discuss the challenges and potential impact of collective bargaining agreements across the industry currently. During the webinar we highlight markets we like and ones we don't, as well as background surrounding our U.S. outlook, and then dig into New Orleans on a more granular basis showing why we are the forecasters you NEED to rely on. Let us know what you think, once you have had a chance to check it out- we would love to hear from you. A special thinks to the rest of the LARC team including Evan Weiss, Daniel Lesser, Katie Harding, Ann Li, Sarah Bieker, Maggie Cai and Peter Kressaty. https://lnkd.in/eNivCURe #lodgingforecasts #lodginganalytics #lodgingdata #hotelinvesting

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The trends in lodging as it relates to luxury hotels verses economy stays is interesting. I wonder how much of the growth in the luxury sector has to do with short term rentals raising the bar of clients expectations. Will you stay in a hotel or do you prefer a home or condo location?

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88% of travel buyers rate payment and expense as either extremely or very important. That’s why we’ve created a Principles of Payment library to provide travel, finance, and expense teams with educational materials on topics like these: · Payment options · Security & acceptance · Virtual payments · Enhanced payment data I’m excited about BCD Travel’s ability to make this complex subject accessible for all who need it. The library is open to anyone interested in the topic: https://ow.ly/9Hrj50Tufta #BCDTravel #TravelManagement #TravelSmartAchieveMore #PaymentManagement

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The recent acquisition of Direct Travel by investors led by Steve Singh, as commented on in this Company Dime article, further illuminates concerns we have for the industry. I cover those here in my Op-ed for The Beat: https://lnkd.in/dxjbz2jx This Company Dime article quotes an industry insider saying, “They are very much in the middle of the supplier economics game. So to say they're not earning money on share-based agreements or GDS incentive fees doesn't mean they are a neutral technology in the same way a Concur Travel might be much more neutral.” This move by purchasers of Direct Travel, who also own Spotnana, exemplifies the very trend I highlighted: the party trusted to present search results for travel is now the same party incentivized by suppliers to potentially bias those results. As an industry, we need to both prepare to pay more for services to reduce pressure on this potential conflict, and simultaneously demand transparency. At Bid Logic Solutions, we are committed to working with our customers to navigate these evolving challenges with integrity. Our goal is to ensure that managed travel programs remain a trusted and valuable tool for organizations worldwide. To do this we will continue to advocate for reasonable compensation for service and technology providers, while demanding greater transparency across the supplier ecosystem. https://lnkd.in/gnB42SPP

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In case you missed it yesterday, check out this replay of Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting's webinar on the state of the U.S. lodging industry and our updated outlook. There were almost 500 registrants for the presentation. Good news- if you missed what so many across the lodging industry find to be a great use of their valuable time, its not too late. Just click below to watch the recording! There is a ton of great data in the presentation, including our views on corporate demand, leisure demand, convention booking pace and even a slide devoted the impact of presidential elections on Hotel Demand and RevPAR. During the webinar we highlight markets we like and ones we don't, as well as background surrounding our U.S. outlook, and then dig into Seattle on a more granular basis showing why we are the forecasters you NEED to rely on. Let us know what you think, once you have had a chance to check it out- we would love to hear from you. A special thinks to the rest of the LARC team including Evan Weiss, Daniel Lesser, Katie Harding and Ann Li https://lnkd.in/e46R5DWB #lodgingforecasts #lodginganalytics #lodgingdata #hotelinvesting

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Stop by and learn more about future proofing your payments while enabling your travelers to move about with ease.

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Exciting insights from The Big Idea Report by BCD and GBTA! 🤖 Discover how #AI is reshaping #BusinessTravel in spaces like finance tracking and email automation. Find out where AI could show up in your travel program: https://ow.ly/4m6y50RhTqS #bcdtravel

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Exciting news for team HotelPlanner as the rank earned is No. 978 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list! This accomplishment is our second straight year on the Inc 5000 list. This reflects a team effort to deliver an innovative hotel booking/service platform for customers and partners. What do you think about this achievement? Share your thoughts and let's discuss! #HotelPlanner #Inc5000 #HospitalityTrends #InnovationInTheIndustry

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The inaugural U.S. Accommodation Barometer survey revealed a strong positive sentiment in the U.S. lodging industry. Regarding the state of their business, two-thirds of hoteliers reported good or very good developments in the past six months, with only 7% stating otherwise. Additionally, 62% gauged their current economic situation favorably. When it comes to future expectations, the sentiment is even brighter: optimists outnumber pessimists twenty to one. This and other insights regarding the U.S. travel accommodation sector and hotelier sentiment are included in the 2024 United States Accommodation Barometer, the first study of U.S. hoteliers conducted by Statista in collaboration with Booking.com, surveying accommodation executives and managers. Ther report is free to download and you can find a summary on our Public Affairs blog: https://lnkd.in/efaywWGs

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This CWT client achieved $410K in air and hotel savings within six months without disrupting travel plans. Our AI-driven price optimization continuously finds savings by rebooking at lower rates while complying with supplier rules. The solution's seamless integration with CWT booking channels and real-time analytics empowers companies to maximize travel budgets effortlessly. You too can make huge savings. #PriceOptimization #TravelTech #BusinessTravel #SaveMoney #TravelProgram

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Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting (LARC) has released its latest quarterly Market Intelligence Reports for 62 markets under current coverage and the U.S. overall. Furthermore, this latest forecast data has been incorporated into the LARC GIS application, which includes granular data-driven annual RevPAR forecasts for over 19,000 unique geographies across the country. U.S. RevPAR is expected to increase by 1.8% to $99.88 in 2024, driven by ADR growth of 2.6% to $159.92 while occupancy declines 0.8% to 62.5%. LARC forecasts 2024 U.S. Hotel EBITDA to grow 0.7%, with slight margin erosion, and Hotel Values to increase 4%. Over the next five years, LARC expects Hotel Values to increase 11%. For more detail on the views that shape our current U.S. industry forecast as well as color on several of the U.S. cities we expect to be the best and worst performing markets, click the below link. On Thursday June 6, 2024, at 4:00 pm EST, we will be hosting a free webinar to walk through our current U.S. outlook, provide high-level key takeaways from our market forecasts and answer any questions you may have. Please email [email protected] or click the link in the comments to learn more or for a link to register. Thanks to Katie Harding, Ann Li, Evan Weiss, Daniel Lesser, Peter Kressaty and the rest of the LW Hospitality Advisors team for helping with this quarter's update. #lodgingforecasts #lodgingdata #lodginganalytics #hotelbusiness

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Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting (LARC) has released its latest quarterly Market Intelligence Reports for 62 markets under current coverage and the U.S. overall. Furthermore, this latest forecast data has been incorporated into the LARC GIS application, which includes granular data-driven annual RevPAR forecasts for over 19,000 unique geographies across the country. For 2024, U.S. RevPAR is expected to increase by 1.4% to $99.56, driven by ADR growth of 1.8% to $158.65 while occupancy declines 0.3% to 62.8%. LARC forecasts  2025 U.S. RevPAR to increase by 2.5% to $102.02, driven by ADR growth of 3.1% to $163.55 while occupancy declines 0.6% to 62.4%. For 2024 LARC forecasts U.S. Hotel EBITDA to decline 0.3%, with slight margin erosion, and Hotel Values to increase 3%. For 2025, LARC forecasts U.S. Hotel EBITDA to increase 1.2%, with slight margin erosion, and Hotel Values to increase 2%. Over the next five years, LARC expects Hotel Values to increase a total of 10%.  For more detail on the views that shape our current U.S. industry forecast as well as color on several of the U.S. cities we expect to be the best and worst performing markets, click the below link. On Tuesday September 10, 2024, at 2:00 pm ET, we will be hosting a webinar to walk through our current U.S. outlook, provide high-level key takeaways from our market forecasts and answer any questions you may have.  Please email [email protected] or click the link in the comments to learn more or for a link to register. Thanks to Katie Harding, Ann Li, Sarah Bieker, CHIA, Maggie Cai, Evan Weiss, Daniel Lesser, Peter Kressaty and the rest of the LW Hospitality Advisors team for helping with this quarter's update. #lodgingforecasts #lodgingdata #lodginganalytics #hotelbusiness

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