Incentives and meetings

Airbnb has just acquired Gaest, a platform specialising in the rental of meeting and team-building spaces, confirming its growing popularity with business customers and its diversification from individual business travel to corporate groups.

The first Experts' Forum 2019 organised by GBTA France looked at the issue of automation in business travel, with a particular focus on chatbots and "Rebooking air & hotel".

The record influx of tourists to Chicago last year was largely due to the meetings and events sector: international conventions were packed, as were business hotels.

La Poste has entrusted the marketing of its meeting spaces to the Bird Office platform. This meeting and coworking offer, called Nomade, is available in particular at Roissy and Orly.

Munich airport will be testing the MeetingCab for a year: a soundproof cabin that doubles as a meeting room for business travellers in the heart of terminal 2.

A four-hour direct flight from Paris, year-round sunshine, some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and a rich local culture that makes it easy to organise a themed short break: the Atlantic island of Gran Canaria is a real kick in the teeth for all those concrete clichés.

Ines Jimenez Martin, Director of the Gran Canaria Convention Bureau, presents the advantages of the destination for incentive trips.

Hotels, restaurants, museums, activities, event venues, air links: the essentials for organising an incentive trip to Gran Canaria.

Pablo Nakhlé Cerruti, CEO of Viparis, talks about the transformation of the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre, the renovation of the Issy-les-Moulineaux Convention Centre and innovation through the French Event Booster platform.

Marc Mingoia, Project Director at Eurosport and lecturer at Ascencia Sport, describes the relationship between major brands and sporting events.

Sport is on trend and companies are falling over themselves to associate their name with a major event. Visibility with potential customers, shared values, major spin-offs... The benefits are numerous!

The GBTA Europe annual conference was held this week in Berlin, to take stock of current issues in the business travel sector, and to identify avenues of reflection for the years ahead.

Chic hotels, gourmet restaurants, event venues, air connections: the essentials for organising an incentive trip to Norway.

The northern countries are best seen in their winter splendour. When the snow piles up and the fires crackle in the cosy interiors. From Bergen to Flam, from one of the world's most spectacular little trains to a Unesco World Heritage fjord, Western Norway lends itself remarkably well to short-stay business tourism.

Regus is opening a new site in Lille - its fifth - in the heart of Lille Flandres station, a strategic hub for business travellers.

Fresh from the shipyard, Le Champlain, the second of six Ponant Explorers ordered by the French company Ponant, began cruising the impressive Norwegian fjord of Geiranger in October.

Groupize, the booking and management tool dedicated to meetings and events, has just integrated SolutionSource, BCD Travel's marketplace.

The small archipelago of Bahrain, a tiny kingdom in the Gulf, is conquering the world of tourism. Its assets include a very strong culture dating back to antiquity, almost perpetual sunshine and a sea where lucky visitors sometimes catch pearly pearls while scuba diving.

Club Med continues to strengthen its mountain offering in France. Following on from the Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon resort opened last year, which boasts a seminar room that can be used for private events, the French group is adding a new destination to its catalogue with the Club Med Les Arcs Panorama.

The cruise industry is no exception to the fight against global warming. Aware of the need to protect the planet, some companies are striving to be as environmentally friendly as possible.