Education Sessions
Explore our wide range of education sessions happening in Hamburg, including a dedicated German-language stream. We’re also excited to have Wordly available on-site, enabling real-time translation directly through your mobile device—so you can join any session, regardless of language.
Delegates can personalise their experience by adding sessions to their agenda via the mobile app when launched and accessing Wordly for seamless translation.
If you’re unable to attend a session in person, don’t worry—on-demand access to all education and main stage sessions will be available to all delegates after the conference for 90 days.
This is also a GBTA member benefit and will be available for 90 days after the conference.
This is also a GBTA member benefit and will be available for 90 days after the conference.
Tuesday 11 November 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
Join our exciting event and learn more about the revolutionary method we are using to shape the future of OBE tenders.
In our breakout session, we will present the practical benefits and applications of the new instrument.
Be there and gain an edge in the industry!
Everything else will follow, designed by the project group.
One in four business travellers may be neurodivergent — yet corporate travel programmes often miss the mark. Sunflower lanyards and fidget toys are not strategies — they’re signals of a system still stuck in performative inclusion.
This powerful session reveals the findings of the 1 in 4 Survey — a pioneering nine-month research project by temoji, supported by major corporate travel programmes and suppliers. You’ll learn what neurodivergent travellers truly need, how current practices are inadequate, and what leading organisations are doing to bridge the gap.
With contributions from buyers, suppliers, and the neurodivergent community, this fast-paced, interactive session will challenge assumptions and leave you with practical, actionable insights.
If you’re prepared to enhance the travel experience for 25% of your team — and lead with purpose, not token gestures — this is the session to join.
Research Made Possible by Visa
The Business Travel Index (BTI), one of GBTA’s premier research initiatives, marks its 17th year as an essential resource for industry strategy and planning. Widely recognized for its depth and global scope, the BTI offers a detailed analysis of business travel spending and growth trends across 75 countries and 48 industries. With a forward-looking five-year forecast, it delivers a holistic view of demand-side data—including costs related to airfare, lodging, meals, ground transport, and incidental expenses.
In this session, we’ll delve into the key drivers shaping the future of business travel: the pace of forecasted growth and the influence of economic headwinds such as inflation, supply chain disruptions, global trade dynamics, geopolitical instability, and rising interest rates. Drawing on insights from GBTA’s global survey of over 4,000 business travelers, we’ll also explore evolving behaviors around spending, trip length, booking patterns, travel frequency, and payment methods.
Join us for a comprehensive look at where the business travel industry stands today and where it’s headed over the next five years. .
In der Geschäftsreisebranche nehmen Fusionen und Übernahmen spürbar zu – ob Lufthansa und ITA, Best Western und Worldhotels oder demnächst Amex GBT und CWT. Diese Entwicklungen bringen nicht nur Bewegung in den Markt, sondern stellen auch Travel Manager vor neue Herausforderungen.
In dieser Session berichten Vertreterinnen und Vertreter von BWH und Lufthansa, wie Übernahmen strategisch gestaltet werden, um Störungen für Kunden und Programme zu minimieren.
Julia Ridder, Global Category Manager Travel Management bei der GEA Group, teilt ihre Perspektive aus Unternehmersicht: Wo liegen die größten Hürden – und wie lassen sich solche Veränderungsprozesse künftig reibungsloser begleiten?
Consolidation Meets Travel Strategy – How Mergers and Acquisitions are Changing the Business Travel Market.
Mergers and acquisitions are on the rise in the business travel industry – whether it’s Lufthansa and ITA, Best Western and Worldhotels, or the long-awaited Amex GBT and CWT acquisition. These developments not only bring movement to the market but also present travel managers with new challenges.
In this session, representatives from BWH and Lufthansa will report on how takeovers are strategically designed to minimise disruption for customers and programmes.
Julia Ridder, Global Category Manager Travel Management at the GEA Group, shares her perspective from an entrepreneurial perspective, looking at the challenges and opportunities brought about by change.
Tuesday 11 November 14:00 PM - 14:45 PM
Ground transportation suffers from highly fragmented, decentralised ecosystem and lack of centralisation, making it the least managed category in corporate travel. This session will examine the critical role of data in optimising user experience, costs, and duty of care. Join experts as they explore how technology can transform ground transportation into a fully managed, integrated safe solution.
The session will provide new ideas of how to pay for corporate travel. The panel will then discuss this on the back of what is needed and possible. The panel will include a Fintec, a corporate payment provider and a corporate buyer.
Research Made Possible by CWT
As the global economy continues to shape the business travel sector, companies are closely watching the evolving trends in travel costs and pricing. What can we expect in the coming year? How are inflation, supply chain challenges, economic concerns, global trade challenges, geopolitical instability, and higher interest rates impacting business travel today?
Now in its 11th landmark year, this forecast remains a vital resource, providing insights into the factors shaping key expense areas including airfares, hotel rates, ground transportation, and meetings & events—and how the industry is responding to these shifts. You’ll get a first look at global pricing forecasts backed by proprietary data, expert analysis, and real-world context.
Whether you’re a travel buyer looking to sharpen your budgeting strategy or a supplier seeking to align with client expectations, this session will equip you with the knowledge to plan strategically, negotiate better, and navigate the year ahead with confidence.
Wie gelingt effektive Zusammenarbeit bei Reiserisiken? In dieser Session treffen zwei Travel Manager (Mittelstand & Konzern), ein Security Manager und ein Anbieter für Travel Risk Management aufeinander. Anhand realistischer Szenarien diskutieren sie, wie Kommunikation, Prozesse und Tools in der Praxis funktionieren – und wo es hakt. Im Fokus: schnelle Reaktion, wirksame Notfallabläufe und gelebter „Duty of Care“. Eine Session für alle, die Reisesicherheit strategisch und praxisnah weiterdenken wollen.
Thinking Travel Security Together: Travel Management Meets Security Department
When it comes to travel risk,collaboration and communication are key – but how well do travel management and security managers really work together? In this session, both sides will enter into a dialog: How does coordination take place in practice? Where are there information gaps – for example in the event of imminent risks or emergencies at short notice?
Specific scenarios will be used to show how travel managers and security officers can work together to ensure greater predictability, rapid response times and effective emergency processes. The focus is on the question: How can close, forward-looking cooperation in the sense of “duty of care” be achieved?
Wednesday 12 November 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
Should small meetings be segmented or integrated into your overall meetings program? In this dynamic debate, industry buyers tackle the pros and cons, exploring the factors driving segmentation and gaps in current tech. Learn how to customise tools and streamline your strategy and ensure no meeting, big or small, is overlooked.
Ever had a question about hotels, serviced apartments, or corporate accommodation but felt you didn’t have the platform to ask? Now’s your chance!
Join our unfiltered, Q&A session where a hotel supplier, serviced apartment provider, corporate buyer, and travel management company come together to answer anything you throw their way—no topic is off-limits!
Travel risk management is meant to protect travellers, but is it truly effective or has it become an industry built on fear? Too often, worst-case scenarios are used to justify policies or to scare businesses into compliance instead of focusing on what really works. This session will challenge common TRM assumptions, expose the illusion of security in order to strike the right balance between being prepared and being paranoid in order to provide a real-world, no-nonsense approach to duty of care.
It’s been 13 years since NDC was first introduced. While progress has been slow, NDC lay the foundation for change — enabling the evolution toward modern retailing that’s finally gaining real momentum. This session looks at how the landscape has shifted over that time and explores the opportunities now emerging to rethink value creation, elevate the customer experience, and modernise commercial models. From dynamic offers to data-driven personalisation, it’s time to move beyond the plumbing and focus on what’s possible. Join us as we push the conversation past NDC and into the era of true retail transformation.
Unternehmen stehen unter wachsendem Druck, den Return on Investment (ROI) ihrer Hotelprogramme zu maximieren – klassische Prozesse wie umfassende RfPs, komplexe Ratenmodelle und manuelle Ladeprozesse geraten dabei zunehmend in die Kritik. In dieser Session werden zentrale Herausforderungen im modernen Hoteleinkauf beleuchtet und mit konkreten Praxisbeispielen unterfüttert. Diskutiert werden unter anderem folgende Fragestellungen:
· Wann ist ein klassischer RfP-Prozess sinnvoll – und wann wird er zur Belastung?
· Welche Rolle können Aggregatoren spielen, um Ratenkontrolle und Programmtransparenz zu verbessern?
· Wie lassen sich strukturelle Probleme wie fehlerhafte Ratenladungen, technische Komplexität und Kommunikationslücken adressieren?
Ziel ist es, neue strategische Ansätze zu entwickeln, die sowohl Kosten- als auch Effizienzvorgaben gerecht werden – und dabei eine nachhaltige Zusammenarbeit mit der Hotellerie fördern.
Hotel sourcing in transition: Strategies between tradition, aggregators and operational reality.
Companies are under increasing pressure to maximise the return on investment (ROI) of their hotel programs – classic processes such as comprehensive RFPs, complex rate models and manual charging processes are increasingly coming under fire. In this session, central challenges in modern hotel procurement will be highlighted and underpinned with concrete practical examples. The following questions will be discussed, among others:
– When does a classic RFP process make sense – and when does it become a burden?
– What role can aggregators play in improving rate control and program transparency?
– How can structural problems such as incorrect rate loading, technical complexity and communication gaps be addressed?
The aim is to develop new strategic approaches that meet both cost and efficiency targets, while promoting sustainable cooperation with the hotel industry.
Wednesday 12 November 12:30 PM - 13:15 PM
Explore the rise of virtual teams handling bookings, compliance, & crisis management. See how agents are now able to enhance your sourcing activities, improve compliance strategies and optimise your policies.
Understand how this enables you to expand your travel strategy to cover horizons that were impossible before.
Being able to influence traveller behavior is vital for today’s programs. Gaining understanding of how travellers make decisions enables greater ability to influence them to make choices that support program objectives. This interactive session explores traveler engagement & communications strategies, and behavioral science techniques to drive real change in your program. Attendees will take away actionable insights for influencing traveller behavior and showcasing successful outcomes.
Expert-led session, hosted by SAP Concur and Thrust Carbon, designed for travel decision-makers navigating the complexities of emissions reporting in EMEA. Attendees will explore how ISO 14083’s global methodology ensures consistency and simplifies compliance with EU regulations, including CSRD and CSDDD 2025 updates. Participants will gain practical strategies to overcome EMEA-specific reporting challenges and align with global sustainability standards, particularly in business travel emissions.
Today’s Travel and Expense (T&E) Leaders are juggling broader responsibilities, evolving tech, and rising expectations, from travellers, suppliers, and stakeholders alike. Hear the critical insights from a survey of 50+ travel buyers, across $8bn of programme spend, highlighting where programmes are under pressure, and where forward-thinking teams are focusing their efforts. Then be immersed in an escape room format to challenge and inspire you to break free from the “travel manager operations wheel.” Work collaboratively to solve puzzles, overcome travel management challenges and shift from execution to a strategic enablement.
Geschäftsreisen befinden sich im grundlegenden Wandel. Physische Kontrollen und Reisepassstempel weichen digitalen Systemen wie dem Entry/Exit-System (EES), das Biometrie, digitales Screening und Echtzeit-Tracking nutzt. Vor der Abreise erfordern Genehmigungen wie ETIAS eine zusätzliche Compliance-Prüfung. Dabei geht es nicht nur um Geschwindigkeit – es handelt sich um einen grundlegenden Paradigmenwechsel in der Art und Weise, wie Unternehmen Compliance, Risikomanagement und die Überwachung von Reisenden gestalten. Während Grenzen digital werden und interne Schengen-Kontrollen wieder eingeführt werden, sind Sie bereit, diese neue Ära mitzugestalten?
Bye-Bye Borders
Proposed by Fragomen
Business travel is undergoing fundamental change. Physical controls and passport stamps are giving way to digital systems such as the Entry/Exit System (EES), which uses biometrics, digital screening and real-time tracking. Before departure, permits such as ETIAS require an additional compliance check. This isn’t just about speed – it’s a fundamental paradigm shift in the way companies manage compliance, risk management and traveller monitoring. As borders go digital and internal Schengen controls are reintroduced, are you ready to help shape this new era?
* agenda subject to change
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