CWT

A new - and probably final - twist in the takeover process initiated by Amex GBT for its competitor CWT. The US Department of Justice (DOJ), which had blocked the takeover on the grounds that it infringed competition principles, changed its mind on Tuesday. As the UK authorities had done a few months earlier....

One week follows another in the business travel agency ecosystem. Each of the TMCs is investing - or sealing partnerships - to explore the capabilities of artificial intelligence applied to travel management. CWT is the latest player to present a new tool. Called TIM, for Trends, Insights and Metrics, it...

A new twist in the process of the takeover of CWT by its competitor American Express GBT... After initially denouncing the consequences of the operation on the business travel agency market, the CMA is now reconsidering its position. Last November, the British competition authority dampened the ardour of the two protagonists. Arguing in particular...

The planned takeover of CWT by its main competitor, American Express GBT, could be expected to cause a few ripples in the business travel ecosystem, and in turn among the competition authorities. This could well turn out to be the new series of twists and turns on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean... After...

The takeover of CWT by American Express GBT is certainly not going down well with everyone... Scrutinised with the utmost suspicion by the British authorities for several months, it is now the subject of a complaint in the United States. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the complaint on 10 January, arguing that "the proposed $570 million transaction...

Will we one day see a merger between the two mega-TMCs, American Express GBT and CWT? Nothing is less certain after reading the interim report published on 6 November by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). For several weeks now, the CMA has been examining the potential consequences...

While it waits to seal its union with American Express GBT, CWT is taking care of its technological dowry. And as it is now impossible to venture into this field without being confronted with AI, CWT is also announcing new functionalities powered by artificial intelligence, designed by ThoughtSpot. With ambitious promises in terms of reporting for...

This is the question on the minds of travel and MICE buyers in general, and all the more so over the last few years when prices have soared: when will there be a lull in prices? The 2025 Global Business Travel Forecast should provide some answers. And perhaps even a...

After months of increases - some of them brutal - are business travel prices on the way to stabilising? And should these substantially higher prices become the new norm for the years to come? This is one option being considered by the authors of the 2024 Global Business Travel report...

The aim of the new agreement unveiled by CWT on 11 May is to combine the flexibility of Booking with the service of a global TMC. The business travel agency has joined forces with the business travel arm of the platform, Booking.com for Business, to enhance hotel bookings with a duty of care component. The launch of this...

Coincidentally, just two days after an equivalent announcement by American Express Meetings & Events, its competitor CWT is now using its 'metre' trump card on the sustainability issue. On 20 April, CWT Meetings & Events announced the launch of a new carbon footprint calculator dedicated...

Faced with rising fares in the business travel sector, players are trying to get organised. This is particularly true in the air travel sector, where significant increases are expected on a number of strategic business travel routes, as illustrated by the recent Air Monitor 2023 report published by Amex GBT. Its competitor has now...

From the UK to Vietnam, business destinations are finally relaxing the regulations that have held back international mobility for two long years. And clearly, this return to normality is giving business travellers wings. Freed from the regulatory straightjacket, freed from quarantine procedures and repeated PCR tests, mobile professionals are catching up - in part...

Admittedly, this is not the time for all-out bookings in the business travel sector... But it is also important to prepare for the future, and CWT has therefore been working to improve the booking experience for its travellers. The business travel agency has been working on this issue, adopting a multi-pronged approach. Clearly, professionals...

How do you see the future of the travel agency and the impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence? Christophe Renard - Tomorrow's business travel agency will evolve into a content access platform covering the different booking channels. This means moving from the "travel management company" (TMC) to the "travel platform". Harmonisation between the...

The well-being of business travellers has been one of the major trends in business travel for several months now. To adapt to the new expectations of companies, CWT has decided to turn to a specialist in jet lag to reduce its effects through a mobile application, Timeshifter, which is now available to the agency's customers...

Since the beginning of 2020, business travellers have been able to communicate more easily with CWT agents, thanks to the launch of a dedicated messaging service. This new feature - which is particularly practical for professionals on the move, sometimes in remote time slots - can be accessed via a variety of media: travellers can communicate 24/7, and...

What is a learning expedition (Lex)? The approach consists of sending employees or stakeholders to meet other companies and organisations, other ecosystems, other economic, technological or human realities, in order to obtain information, enrich their knowledge and provide food for thought. Learning expeditions have been around for a long time, and we've all been "Mr Jourdain" ....

Contrary to what you might think, personal circumstances are not the cause of travel cancellations. This is underlined by a CWT study published on 14 November. According to the survey of 400 business travellers, the most common reasons for cancelling a trip are rescheduling an appointment (42%), or...

CWT has published a checklist to help travel managers turn uncertainty into opportunity. Here is a four-point roadmap: 1. Control your travel budget Boost your travel programme: Take advantage of price volatility. The CWT price optimisation tool...