Do corporate travel managers support body scans and pat-downs?

By Christopher Elliott | December 23, 2010December 23, 2010

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find anyone who supports the Transportation Security Administration’s controversial body scan and pat-down procedures. But this morning, it seemed as if I had: corporate travel managers.

Travel managers are the folks who manage multi-million dollar travel programs for big companies. They are represented by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), which bills itself as the “world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization.”

In a press release issued today, the NBTA announced that it had met with TSA Administrator John Pistole and expressed “its support for the security measures the TSA has introduced over the last several weeks.”

America’s taxing destinations: Cities that sock it to travelers

By Christopher Elliott | August 5, 2010August 6, 2010

Which American cities impose the highest discriminatory travel taxes on lodging, car rentals, and meals? A new survey by EconFirst Associates and the NBTA Foundation reveals the answers, and you probably won’t guess the winner — I mean, loser.

Did you say Portland, Ore.? If you did, it’s either a lucky guess, or you get around, or you live there. P-Town’s discriminatory taxes against travelers added up to a whopping $21.55 a night. (Discriminatory taxes are calculated by excluding general sales taxes to count only taxes that target car rentals, hotel stays and meals.)
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Toldja! New forecast confirms 2010 will be Year of the Deal

By Christopher Elliott | October 21, 2009October 21, 2009

ishot-1 I couldn’t resist my best Nikki Finke impression, but didn’t I say 2010 was going to be the Year of the Deal for travelers? And now even the forecasts are starting to agree with me.

Just yesterday, my friends at the National Business Travel Association released their 2010 preview. Now granted, this is specific to business travel, so if anything, it’s a conservative forecast. The deals for leisure travelers may be even better.
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Business travel group supports turn-back law for airlines — who will join it?

By Christopher Elliott | August 13, 2009August 13, 2009

More fallout from ExpressJet Airlines 2816 fiasco: The National Business Travel Association has thrown its weight behind a “turn back” rule for airlines, a remarkable reversal for an organization with a consistent pro-business and often pro-airline record.

The move leaves the US airline industry almost entirely friendless in Washington, at least when it comes to passenger rights legislation being considered by Congress, and it may be one of the final nails in the coffin of efforts to keep the government from regulating the controversial tarmac delays that have attracted so much public attention recently.
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