Skift Take

Companies spend a lot of money on meetings, and relative upstarts are emerging to challenge the status quo by providing a different type of experience for those who organize them.

Meetings account for a large amount of corporate travel spending, and some are looking at new ways to integrate these events with the everyday employee experience.

I spoke to Convene co-founder Chris Kelly about how the event experience dovetails with office life for the latest edition of Skift’s Future of Business Travel Interview Series. Check out our chat below.

We’ve also got the latest on how Travelport has fared as it prepares to be taken private, and the battle among airlines for premier space serving Tokyo.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet me @sheivach

— Andrew Sheivachman, Senior Editor

Airlines, Hotels and Innovation

Convene Co-Founder Sees Sweet Spot Between Co-Working and Events: Bringing hospitality into the office experience is an elegant way to provide a better experience for workers.

Travelport Has Had Mixed Success as a Public Company: Travelport’s latest earnings report is a chance to judge its performance since it went public in 2014. The answer is mixed: The company invested more than its rivals in its airline distribution business, which let it punch above its weight. But its effort to diversify beyond airline content distribution hasn’t panned out as well as it hoped.

U.S. Airlines Battle Over Access to Tokyo’s Preferred Airport: Delta Air Lines wants U.S. regulators to award it a disproportionate number of slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, a preferred airport among business travelers. Other airlines disagree, but Delta probably does deserve better access, as it is the only one of the big three U.S. carriers without a Japanese partner.

Marriott’s New Marketing Campaign Aims to Make Bonvoy a Thing: We can just imagine what some befuddled viewers of the Oscars were thinking Sunday night, but here are a few guesses: Uhhh, what does Bonvoy mean? Bon Voy … age? Also, stop trying to make Bonvoy happen.

Making Meetings and Events Healthier Goes Beyond Tight Budgets: Reading between the lines, it seems many events are making modest tweaks to ensure attendees aren’t sitting in their chairs feeling miserable all day. You don’t need yoga and hikes to make an event slightly healthier.

The Future of Travel

Airbnb Has Big Plans for China and India: Airbnb projects at least 40 percent of its business will be from emerging markets by 2030, with Asian markets such as China and India driving the growth. The homesharing giant is building the foundations and investing big-time in its Asian future.

The New Signia Hilton Is Designed for Meetings and Events: In other words, think of the Signia Hilton as Hilton’s take on Crowne Plaza, Marriott Marquis, Sheraton Grand, and Dolce Hotels.

Airlines Cancel or Divert Flights After Violence in India and Pakistan: Conflicts between India and Pakistan are causing major anxiety for airlines flying in the air space over those countries. Wisely, they are canceling or diverting flights.

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Skift Senior Editor Andrew Sheivachman [[email protected]] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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Tags: corporate travel, ctir

Photo credit: A promotion image of a Convene meeting space. Meetings account for a large amount of corporate travel spending. Convene

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