Dan Peltier

There's something to remaining a private travel company, not to mention one of the world's largest, like The Travel Corporation. The company is private and profitable and gets more freedom and flexibility than public companies that have to answer to shareholders every quarter.

More time is spent in the hotel room than between two people on an airplane anyway, so it makes sense that travelers are willing to pay more for the hotel experience they want.

Employees love new tech too and do their jobs better with it. Hotels that forget about empowering employees with better tools aren't helping maximize their performances.

Despite the headline-grabbing factor of some of these facts, when examined as a whole they reveal and industry that does a solid job at passenger safety.

Old school isn't always a nostalgic, vintage throwback. Sometimes it's just the smartest way to do things.

Time is the biggest factor working against Americans and their vacations. They want high quality experiences for the time they actually do take, hence why they're not afraid to splurge on their leisure trips.

Higher gas prices don't seem to be worrying travelers and it looks like summer travel will do well on its important first seasonal test as hotel stays this Memorial Day shape up to be more expensive than last year.

Having plenty of rewards seats means nothing if airlines don't make it easier for travelers to redeem their rewards points, something that's becoming harder to do as programs become more revenue-based.

As one of the largest travel companies in the world, Carlson Wagonlit Travel's global scale and what it's doing in most facets of its business offer a glimpse into larger travel management trends and what business travelers in managed programs are looking for.

These are the aviation trends we were talking about this week.