GBTA and Fast Company Announce Business Traveler Innovation Award Winners

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the voice of the global business travel industry – and Fast Company have announced winners of the annual 2012 Business Traveler Innovation Awards. Business travelers nominated services, products and ideas that help to make life on the road more productive. Submissions were categorized and the public voted for their favorites. The winner of the People's Choice Award, presented to the innovation that received the highest number of votes, will be honored at the 2012 GBTA Convention in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 during the General Session.

"Road warriors depend on technology more than ever to help keep them organized and productive. The votes are in on their favorite innovations. We're excited to honor the winners announced today for their products and innovations that enhance the traveler experience," said GBTA Senior Vice President and Innovation Award Judge Edward Silver.

A panel of industry judges will hear presentations from featured innovators including, ProcureApp, Gogo LLC, and Short's Travel, among others. The judges will determine GBTA's 2012 Judges' Choice Innovation of the Year Award. This session will be presented at the GBTA Convention on Monday, July 23 from 9:00-11:15am in room 256 and is open to all Convention attendees. The Judges' Choice Award, along with the People's Choice Award, will be announced during the General Session on Tuesday, July 24, 2012.

• Category 1: Sustainable Practice
  Criteria: Outstanding and original environmental efforts in the travel industry
  Winner: Hertz®
  Innovation: Green Traveler Collection
  The Hertz Green Traveler Collection is their line of hybrid, electric, and clean diesel vehicles.
• Category 2: Traveler Comfort
  Criteria: Products/services that focus on travelers' ease and well being
  Winner: ExpertFlyer
  Innovation: Seat Alerts
  A flight alerting system periodically checks for availability on the flights and seats and notifies travelers via email to mobile devices when seats open up or when new flights are added, allowing you to check availability no matter where you are.
• Category 3: Travel Personalization
  Criteria: Innovation and excellence in customizing the business travel experience for the individual
  Winner: Hertz®
  Innovation: Gold Choice™
  With Gold Choice, members always skip the counter and go straight to the car and if members booked a midsize car or larger, different models and colors are available at no extra cost.
• Category 4: Outstanding Apps
  Criteria: Applications that help business travelers organize and/or make best use of their time on the road
  Winner: Carlson Wagonlit Travel
  Innovation: CWT To Go™
  Easy to download and use, travelers enjoy automated and integrated travel updates for their travel plans while companies benefit from no setup and simple and secure integration.
• Category 5: Travel Convenience & Efficiency
  Criteria: Services that expedite the travel process
  Winner: Kayak.com
  Innovation: Kayak.com
  Kayak.com website and mobile apps enable travelers to easily compare hundreds of travel sites at once, in one comprehensive, fast and intuitive display.
• Category 6: Travel Management
  Winner: Sabre Travel Network
  Innovation: Sabre Virtual Meetings
  Sabre® Virtual Meetings is the industry's first, patent-pending solution for telepresence room
  distribution and scheduling
• Category 7: Traveler Productivity
  Winner: Hertz®
  Innovation: Hertz NeverLost® Online Trip Planning
  The Hertz NeverLost GPS reservation in a full size or larger vehicle are equipped with the newest version of the Hertz NeverLost navigation system, which supports Online Trip Planning.

About the Global Business Travel Association Convention The GBTA Convention, with more than 6,000 attendees, is the largest, most comprehensive annual gathering of business travel and meetings managers, meeting planners, procurement professionals and suppliers anywhere in the world. The Business Travel Event of the Year® features: more than 65 industry-leading education sessions organized into 15+ specialized tracks geared to specific levels of experience and a variety of disciplines; a 400+ company Exposition showcasing market choices not available at other industry gatherings; sessions featuring world-renowned speakers and industry leaders; a wide selection of professional development opportunities; and, much more. For more information on the GBTA Convention, visit gbta.org/convention.