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Tag: corporate travel

  • Gant Interactive Assistant (GIA) Redefines Email Support for Corporate Travelers

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    Gant Travel unveiled its newest AI-powered innovation, Gant Interactive Assistant (GIA), designed to transform email-based travel support. GIA delivers near real-time responses-often in under three minutes-while ensuring every interaction meets corporate travel policy and reflects each traveler’s personal preferences.

    Faster, Smarter, and Always Compliant
    With GIA, travelers can email requests for flights, hotels, or past invoices and receive a complete, compliant response almost instantly. GIA’s booking recommendations automatically align with corporate travel policies, removing compliance headaches without limiting choice. For invoice requests, GIA pulls records directly from past transactions – eliminating the back-and-forth of traditional processes.

    “With GIA, we’re not just meeting the needs of today’s business travelers, we’re setting a new benchmark for fast, policy-safe service in our industry,” said Jim Conner, Gant’s Director of Operations. “It’s a win for travelers, travel managers, and the teams supporting them.”

    Backed by New Distribution Capability (NDC) content from 20 airlines, GIA delivers rich booking options and seamless fulfillment. Over 400 Gant accounts currently have access to GIA, with full rollout expected by the end of September. All new accounts will have GIA enabled at implementation, and bookings made via GIA are priced at the same rate as online transactions.

    A Step Toward the Future of Corporate Travel
    GIA is part of Gant Travel’s larger vision to elevate the corporate travel experience through automation and AI. Alongside the TripCircuit booking platform, NDC-enabled air content, Email Buddy, and Hotel Concierge, Gant is building an intelligent, connected travel ecosystem from start to finish.

    No humans were replaced in the making of GIA – but thanks to it, a few now have time for a second cup of coffee.

    About Gant Travel
    Gant Travel is a forward-thinking travel management company that blends personalized service with cutting-edge technology to create smarter travel solutions for modern businesses. Learn more at www.ganttravel.com or email sales@ganttravel.com.

    Contact Information

    Sales Team
    sales@ganttravel.com

    Ellie Seybold
    Digital Content and Marketing Specialist
    ellie.seybold@ganttravel.com

    Source: Gant Travel

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  • Gant’s AI-Powered Email Buddy Drives Happiness

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    Gant Travel, an award-winning innovation leader in the travel management community, today announced the success of its new AI-powered email automation system. The technology, now fully deployed across Gant’s core service platform, represents a leap forward in intelligent automation for corporate travel.

    A comparison of email travel cases over the past two months versus a 36-month historical average shows a 17% reduction in average response time of email since the tool’s launch. The average email handle also dropped 15%, while accuracy in email structure, grammar, and spelling reached 100%.

    “When it comes to traveler support, speed and precision are non-negotiable,” said Patrick Linnihan, CEO of Gant Travel. “Our agents are now equipped with our ‘Email Buddy’-it gives them superpower-like capabilities to deliver flawless responses faster and more efficiently, without sacrificing personalization.”

    “Email Buddy is more than a productivity tool,” added Jim Conner, Director of Operations at Gant Travel. “It’s a partner that empowers our agents to respond faster, smarter, and with greater empathy and clarity. By understanding the full context of an email thread, Email Buddy helps us deliver high-quality responses in record time with minimal effort.”

    Gant built Email Buddy using seven years of anonymized email data to train the large language model that powers it. The system interprets inbound messages and composes grammatically correct, contextually precise responses.

    The system functions as a real-time email aid for Gant’s agent team, suggesting optimized replies based on prior correspondence and allowing agents to select the appropriate tone (professional, friendly, concise, etc.).

    For travelers, nothing changes. They send support emails as usual. Behind the scenes, AI triages the message, recommends the best response, and accelerates resolution-all while the agent maintains full control.

    “Travelers simply get better service-faster,” said Linnihan. “Meanwhile, our teams handle more with less effort, and our clients benefit from reduced turnaround times and increased policy compliance. For agents whose primary language isn’t English, it even translates their work back to English. We’ve also configured Email Buddy with voice-to-text functionality to enhance productivity. The tool is composing perfect replies.”

    Email Buddy is just one component of Gant’s broader commitment to intelligent automation, building on its 2024 acquisition of Aimendo. From hotel personalization to policy-based decisioning, Gant is redesigning corporate travel services for speed, scalability, and strategic impact.

    About Gant Travel
    Gant Travel is a forward-thinking travel management company that blends personalized service with cutting-edge technology to create smarter travel solutions for modern businesses. Learn more at www.ganttravel.com.

    Contact Information

    Sales Team
    sales@ganttravel.com

    Ellie Seybold
    Digital Content and Marketing Specialist
    ellie.seybold@ganttravel.com

    Source: Gant Travel

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  • Gant Travel Acquires Aimendo, Prepares to Scale AI Offerings

    Gant Travel Acquires Aimendo, Prepares to Scale AI Offerings

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    Gant Travel, an award-winning corporate travel agency, announces the acquisition of Aimendo, a pioneering company in the generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry within the travel sector. This strategic purchase represents a significant advancement in Gant Travel’s mission to revolutionize the travel experience with cutting-edge AI. It also marks Gant Travel’s commitment to leading the future of AI-powered travel solutions.

    Aimendo, known for its innovative AI technology, will be seamlessly integrated into Gant Travel’s operations, enhancing our ability to provide personalized, efficient, and seamless travel experiences for our customers. This acquisition aligns with our vision of leveraging AI to not only meet but exceed the evolving needs of the modern traveler.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Aimendo to the Gant Travel team,” said Patrick Linnihan, CEO of Gant Travel. “This acquisition represents more than just a business decision; it underscores our dedication to leading the future of AI in travel. The integration of Aimendo marks a pivotal moment in our journey to redefine travel through technology.”

    “Listen, we began this journey three years ago with Gant as a key collaborator,” said Vic Pynn, who recently assumed the role of COO at Gant Travel. “During that time, Aimendo’s strengths in three key areas have shone: our seamless integration into Gant’s existing workflows, an AI accuracy level exceeding 85%, and the secure design of our PII handling. Aimendo’s AI-powered email automation tools are performing at an accuracy level north of 95%. This performance, combined with the acquisition, solidifies Gant Travel’s position as a trailblazer in the application of generative AI in travel and highlights the tremendous potential for the future.”

    About Gant Travel

    Gant Travel helps travelers enhance their experience while controlling the expense of business travel. Gant’s “digital forward capabilities” provide advanced technology, processes, and highly trained people to coordinate business travel properly. Gant has been recognized multiple times for its innovative approaches, winning the Concur Innovation award twice and being listed on the Inc 5000. Gant is also currently ranked #30 on Travel Weekly’s Annual Power List. More information about Gant Travel can be found at www.ganttravel.com.

    About Aimendo

    Founded in 2020, Aimendo has rapidly created a robust and highly specialized NLU-based technology for travel sellers seeking greater productivity from free text communication channels like email, chat, and text. The core of our work lies in the continuous passion and dedication we apply to artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions for the travel industry’s unique requirements.

    Source: Gant Travel Management

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  • Director, Atlas Meetings & Incentives, Elevated to Vice President

    Director, Atlas Meetings & Incentives, Elevated to Vice President

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    Atlas Meetings & Incentives, a division of Atlas Travel that provides meeting, incentive, convention and event (MICE) services to clients of all sizes and industries, has promoted Jennifer Murphy from Director to Vice President, Atlas Meetings & Incentives.

    Murphy has been in the industry for 28 years and with Atlas Travel for 17 years, where she has played a crucial role in driving the growth and success of the Meetings & Incentives team. Her dedication and expertise have been instrumental in developing high-profile programs and strengthening client relationships, especially through the challenges posed by the pandemic.

    “Jennifer’s promotion reflects our utmost confidence in her innovative leadership,” said Lea Cahill, President of Atlas Travel & Technology Group, the parent company of Atlas Travel. “We are thrilled to see her continue to elevate client service standards and spearhead initiatives that will propel our company forward.”

    Murphy has also led the Rewards & Recognition services within the Atlas Meetings & Incentives division, where she has helped introduce tailored strategic program designs, promotional campaigns and client rewards through the Great Escape program.

    “I’m excited to continue servicing our existing clients, procure new prospects and develop more operational efficiencies with my incredible team of event planners that are dedicated to providing top-notch MICE strategic services,” Murphy said. “The pandemic taught me to think differently about how we service our clients and was also an opportunity for me to wear multiple hats and sit on the frontline with both Rewards & Recognition and meeting planning. I look forward to investing this new knowledge into growing the team’s resources, skills and client portfolio.”

    Murphy’s promotion exemplifies Atlas Travel’s ongoing dedication to enhancing company leadership and fostering future growth and innovation in the MICE industry.

    ***

    About Atlas Meetings & Incentives

    Headquartered in Marlborough, MA, Atlas Meetings & Incentives provides top-of-the-line meeting and event services as well as rich company reward and recognition programs to clients of various sizes and industries. Our highly knowledgeable team of expert meeting planners takes the stress out of event production and delivers personalized care every step of the way. Atlas Travel is proud to be a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and a Certified B Corporation. For more information on Atlas Meetings & Incentives, please visit meetings.atlastravel.com.

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    Source: Atlas Meetings & Incentives

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  • Atlas Travel Welcomes Travel Industry Veteran Kerin McKinnon

    Atlas Travel Welcomes Travel Industry Veteran Kerin McKinnon

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    Press Release


    Jan 17, 2023

    Atlas Travel is pleased to welcome Kerin McKinnon as Vice President, Business Development. As an Executive Team member, McKinnon will be responsible for the growth of Atlas’ business travel program offerings through developing strategies that align with customer success journeys. McKinnon will also oversee all sales operations, sales enablement and technology engineering.

    With vast experience in building Fortune 100 company partnerships, McKinnon offers a varied and valuable skillset as a creative strategist, effective leader, seasoned public speaker, passionate crusader and fundraiser.

    “We are very happy to have Kerin join the Atlas Team,” said Atlas Travel & Technology Group President Lea Cahill. “Kerin brings a wealth of industry experience and is highly regarded in the corporate travel space. We look forward to achieving great things in 2023 with her on board.”

    Kerin’s notable accolades during her time in the travel management industry have included an appointment to chair key events for The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) for over a decade and holding a long-term seat on ACTE’s U.S. Council. Kerin has been featured by Purchasing Magazine, Travel Weekly, Business Travel News, Channel 7, New England Cable News and Business Journals throughout the U.S. She was also awarded the 2014 New England Business Travel Association (NEBTA) Leadership and Professional Excellence Award.

    “It’s an honor to be a part of Atlas’ leadership team. I am very excited to return to a company that takes proper care of their clients, suppliers and employees equally and respectfully,” McKinnon said. “Reuniting with clients and colleagues has been such a positive experience. Atlas being a B certified company and their commitment to Corporate Social Responsibly is icing on the cake!”

    Kerin’s expansive corporate travel knowledge and involvement extends to her industry advocacy and passion for nonprofit causes. After losing a client and a co-worker on 9/11, Kerin became a champion for Duty of Care. She also serves on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Committee for the Travel and Meeting Society (TAMS), travels regularly to volunteer and has led multiple group trips for disaster recovery. Kerin has also worked tirelessly as a Government Liaison for the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and NEBTA on Capitol Hill to support corporate travel legislation.

    ***

    About Atlas Travel

    Since 1986, Atlas Travel has provided easier travel and better management to companies around the globe. As part of Atlas Travel & Technology Group, Atlas Travel offers corporate travel, vacation planning and meetings and incentives services. Through a wholly owned UK division and affiliation with BCD Travel, Atlas Travel offers global travel programs to over 110 countries. Atlas Travel is proud to be a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), and a distinguished member of the Travel Weekly Power List. Most notably, Atlas Travel is the only North American travel management company with a prestigious B Corp Certification.

    ***

    Media Contact: Taylor Vines

    taylor.vines@atlastravel.com

    800.362.8626 ext.1287

    Source: Atlas Travel

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  • Tripkicks Announces New Tools That Empower Companies to Achieve Their Business Travel Goals

    Tripkicks Announces New Tools That Empower Companies to Achieve Their Business Travel Goals

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    The introduction of timely, actionable information across every part of the trip, allows business travelers to be safe, program compliant, and successful.

    Press Release


    Aug 15, 2022

    Tripkicks, a business travel tech powerhouse, announces today a major expansion that allows companies to better achieve their travel program’s goals while enhancing the traveler experience throughout every part of a trip. Powered by the development of an innovative new technical architecture, Tripkicks has created a cohesive network that enables the unprecedented exchange of information amongst business travelers, their company travel programs, and travel suppliers.

    These advancements allow business travelers to stay more connected to their company programs by receiving personalized insights and guidance during search, booking, pre-trip, on-trip, and post-trip. Travel Managers can empower and influence traveler behavior across different touchpoints – delivering timely messages, and easily connecting their travelers to relevant resources at the right time. Additionally, suppliers benefit from access to new channels that increase traveler engagement, through the distribution of dynamic, and actionable content at the most relevant and opportune stages.

    “Expanding beyond the point of sale has been a unifying goal for Tripkicks and our clients since the re-start of business travel,” says Tripkicks CEO, Jeff Berk. “The point of sale remains a critical and influential part of the trip journey, but for the traveler – it’s only the beginning. Today, travelers look to their employers for more guidance and resources that allow them to maximize the value and success of each trip. Areas like safety, productivity, health & wellness, elevated experiences, and engaging with suppliers that align with their ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) goals are all top of mind for travelers.”

    Tripkicks will continue to grow its partner program, with a focus on actionable data, strengthening connections between travel suppliers and the traveler, and enabling new capabilities that simplify the traveler journey. Over the past year, Tripkicks has announced partnerships with industry leaders such as CIBTRiskline, and Green Key Global.

    Configurability remains a core tenant of the expanded Tripkicks solution, and in addition to its online booking tool integration, Tripkicks clients can leverage new channels that include mobile (app), email, and SMS capabilities, along with a flexible API to facilitate third-party integration.

    Companies or individuals looking to learn more about the expansion can contact hello@tripkicks.com.

    We are a business travel tech powerhouse, empowering companies across the world with the tools necessary to achieve travel program goals and enhance the experience of their travelers.

    Learn more on www.Tripkicks.com and linkedin.com/company/tripkicks.  #tripkicks  #travelbetter

    Source: Tripkicks

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  • Tripkicks Expands Health, Safety, and Security Information Through Partnership With Riskline

    Tripkicks Expands Health, Safety, and Security Information Through Partnership With Riskline

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    New partnership provides business travelers with robust safety insights prior to travel

    Press Release


    Mar 3, 2022

    Tripkicks, the add-on for business travel programs that influences traveler behavior, continues to add value through strategic alliances with the announcement of a new partnership with Riskline, the leading travel risk and intelligence Denmark-based company for the travel industry. Riskline is a risk assessment pioneer that tracks potential travel threats and keeps customers informed through accurate, actionable intelligence. With this partnership, Tripkicks further strengthens its highly respected location-based traveler safety and risk insights, including a new capability to tailor risk assessments to a granular, city-by-city level.

    As business travel continues to rebound, 89% of business travelers expect their company to protect their health and safety while traveling, according to a survey of 3,850 business travelers across 25 global markets conducted by SAP Concur[1], which features Tripkicks as an App Center Partner.  Given the critical role employers play in facilitating a productive trip, safety information is crucial for helping employers and employees prepare accordingly. Tripkicks makes it easy for companies to provide the right insights and guidance for their business travelers, which helps to improve the traveler experience.

    “Adding Riskline to our growing list of industry-leading partnerships helps to ensure that business travelers are set up for success,” said Tripkicks CEO Jeff Berk. “With insights on safety, health, and risks, in addition to essential local background information, business travelers are now more informed and equipped to make better decisions and effectively navigate their destination.”   

    Commenting on this announcement, Director of Partnerships at Riskline, Emanuele Scansani, said: “We are delighted to announce a new partnership with Tripkicks. Tripkicks provides an innovative service that will ensure that Riskline’s intelligence will reach travelers in new ways. We’re excited to see how our information contributes to better-informed travel choices and use that to continuously improve and develop new ways of providing our intelligence that is meaningful, insightful and useful. The partnership is aligned to our mission to keep travelers informed and updated, and to ensure they are prepared so that they can have safe travel experiences.”

    [1]New Survey Uncovers Travelers’ Requirements for Return to Responsible Business Travel

    ABOUT TRIPKICKS

    Tripkicks is an add-on to business travel programs that provides companies with the tools to influence traveler behavior and empower travelers with the knowledge they need for a successful trip. We work with travel managers and companies throughout the world to help them better support their travelers, make progress on corporate initiatives, and achieve their program goals. Tripkicks is based in NYC.  

    Learn more on www.Tripkicks.com, https://www.tripkicks.com/press-insights/ and linkedin.com/company/tripkicks. See Tripkicks in Action.

    ABOUT RISKLINE

    Riskline is a leading travel risk intelligence company in operation since 2007 and based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Riskline’s world-class security services are trusted by small business and Fortune 500 companies across a wide range of industries. For more information, please visit  http://www.riskline.com

    Press Contact:

    hello@tripkicks.com 

    Source: Tripkicks

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  • Hotel Sourcing Newcomer Integrates Health Security Screening Into Automated RFP

    Hotel Sourcing Newcomer Integrates Health Security Screening Into Automated RFP

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    BTP Automation and ShareCare Forbes Travel Guide partner to lead industry in providing health security screening and increased Duty of Care for corporate travelers

    Press Release


    Dec 16, 2021

    BTP Automation, the industry leader in data-driven hotel procurement solutions, today announced it is the first corporate travel solution provider to adopt Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED™ with Forbes Travel Guide. A critical element of BTP’s efforts to protect employee well-being and safety as business travel resumes, this tech-enabled third-party verification system affirms a hotel’s compliance with more than 360 expert-validated standards, including health and hygiene protocols, cleaning products and procedures, and air ventilation.

    According to Wakefield Research, 89% of business travelers expect their employers to introduce additional health and safety protection measures for corporate travel in response to COVID-19. Additionally, 31% said they would limit travel if their company did not implement supporting measures or policies, and 23% further indicated such inaction would lead them to seek other employment.

    “We are excited to partner with Sharecare and Forbes Travel Guide to lead the industry back from such a devastating year and a half,” said BTP Automation CEO Bruce Yoxsimer. “Companies are clearly seeking to provide a greater level of stewardship for their traveling populations and this is an important step in responding to an increased duty of care. Integrating health security screening into the RFP process – which is typically cost-driven, rather than duty of care-centric – adds an efficient, powerful tool for travel management and suppliers to care for customers and their employees.”

    To advance health security as a hotel and corporate travel standard, BTP Automation has integrated Sharecare’s VERIFIED designation into its corporate travel management platform’s automated, digital request for proposal (RFP) process and selection criteria. Corporate clients of BTP Automation also have the option to require its approved hotels to achieve Sharecare VERIFIED status, signaling to employees that their employer is committed to preserving their personal health and safety on business travel.

    “With mounting pressures caused by the pandemic and labor shortage, employers are called to reimagine their well-being strategies to include health security as a foundational element of the employee experience,” said Hermann Elger, executive vice president of travel, entertainment, and health security at Sharecare. “We’re proud to partner with BTP Automation to help employers support the safety and well-being of their global workforces as offsite meetings, conferences, and other business travel resume.”

    To date, more than 1,000 hotels and resorts and 2,000 restaurants globally are Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED with Forbes Travel Guide. For more information about Sharecare VERIFIED, visit sharecare.com/healthsecurity.

    About BTP Automation

    Plano, Texas-based Business Travel Performance (BTP) Automation, Inc. has developed the corporate travel industry’s first and only adaptive business travel management system. It is capable of automatically and dynamically renegotiating program terms and conditions throughout the hotel program lifecycle. BTP provides continuous data-driven refinement of the negotiated hotel program that considers actual travel patterns and changing market conditions. The entire system can be used in a fully automated mode, eliminating the need for manual RFP generation and delivery.

    For more information about BTP Automation, visit http://www.btpautomation.com.

    Media Contact

    Bruce Yoxsimer
    Bruce@btpautomation.com
    831 295-4893

    Source: BTP Automation

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