The North American corporate travel and meetings industry
has heaped praise on the launch of Business Travel Show America.
The two-day event presented by the BTN
Group premiered at the Javits Center in New York this week. Attracting 1,135
attendees, including 458 qualified buyers with a budget responsibility of
$50bn, Business Travel Show America is Northstar Travel Group’s biggest event
launch.
Dedicated to shaping the future of the
industry, Business Travel Show America builds on the 30+year, market-leading
legacy of Business Travel Show Europe in London, as well as the successful
launch of Business Travel Show APAC in Singapore earlier this year.
More than 100 suppliers brought global
and local innovation to New York as they held 3,607 meetings with buyers. The
event was also packed with exclusive networking opportunities, from the
pre-show Hosted Buyer Welcome Event at Swingers NoMad with headline sponsor
Enterprise Mobility to buyer only BTN Communities sessions and learning
experiences with industry leaders sharing valuable insight into AI, travel
technology, sustainability, ground mobility, sourcing and more.
AMEX GBT x SAP Concur fireside
The content program kicked off with BTN
News Desk Live: a no-holds barred interview with AMEX GBT’s EVP global and
multinational clients David Reimer and President of Concur Technologies Charlie
Sultan. Host BTN Group VP of content Elizabeth West quizzed the execs about the
organizations’ recently announced partnership to develop Complete, an enhanced
version of Concur Travel, available exclusively to AMEX GBT clients.
Buyers heard the partnership will
involve forming a joint development team, establishing a tech roadmap and
expanding both organizations’ client bases. Driven by customer demand for
faster, better solutions, the first enhancements will include a new UI, desktop
site, and mobile app, with more features planned for bi-annual releases. The partnership will allow both parties to
‘work faster, innovate quicker and give customers more choice,’ claimed Sultan,
adding 'nothing has changed... it's business and usual' for non-AMEX GBT
customers, and both platforms, Concur Travel and Complete, will continue to
innovate independently and complement each other.
Gary Lawrence, senior director of
procurement, Colorado Rockies: “I want to give a shout out to BTN for inviting me to Business
Travel Show America. It’s been a great experience for me, and I’ve actually
gotten so much more out of it than expected. It started off with a fun party,
and it’s only gone up from there.”
Angie Langen, vice president marketing,
CTM: “CTM is having a
great Business Travel Show America. We are so excited to see this show come to
our shores. The buyers have been eager to chat with us. We cannot wait for next
year already.”
As the show drew to a close, BTN Group executive vice
president Louis Magliaro said, “We are incredibly humbled by the market response to Business
Travel Show America – the biggest ever event launch from BTN Group and
Northstar Travel Group. We have over 100 supplier partners in the hall, which
is incredible for a launch event. But what makes this show really special is
the number of buyers here (over 450), their spending power (over $50bn) and the
fact suppliers will not be able to meet many of them at any other event.
“The last two days have been incredible
- absolutely packed with thousands of meaningful meetings, sourcing and
networking, as well as an amazing program of trend-led, future-facing content
delivered by our award-winning BTN editorial and content teams.
“Our industry is resilient, innovative
and positive. We’ve witnessed it stage a steady and impressive comeback from
Covid, and one look around the halls today is enough to know it’s fully back in
business.”
Business Travel Innovation Faceoff winner
- Nowadays
Nowadays, the first AI for corporate
events, won both Business Travel Innovation Faceoff America awards sponsored by American Express Global
Business Travel.
Business Travel Show America will return
to the Javits Center in New York on 14-15 October 2026. Please visit www.businesstravelshowamerica.com to find out more.
