American Express Business Travel to launch BusinessTravelConnexion.com

July 29, 2008 | Online Travel

American Express Business Travel announced plans to launch a business-to-business online networking community for the corporate travel industry. BusinessTravelConnexion.com will bring together a consortium of industry decision makers, suppliers, and experts in the industry�s most extensive online, community platform.

During a press conference today at the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) International Convention & Exposition, American Express Business Travel announced plans to launch a business-to-business online networking community for the corporate travel industry. A first-of-its-kind resource, BusinessTravelConnexion.com will bring together a consortium of industry decision makers, suppliers, and experts in the industry�s most extensive online, community platform. Also announced was NBTA�s commitment to become the online community�s first industry content partner. American Express Publishing�s Executive Travel magazine will also provide content to the site.

Designed as a place for members to connect, share and learn, BusinessTravelConnexion.com will draw together the combined expertise and wide variety of perspectives of American Express Business Travel, NBTA, industry publications, suppliers and editorialists. In addition to these affiliations, users will be empowered and encouraged to participate in online discussion boards, editorial reviews, hot topic polls, product development councils and provide feedback on what they want to hear about from the industry. Other features will include a resource center with white papers, surveys and other research, RSS feed, blogs and benchmarking ability. Membership to the site will be open to the entire business travel community.

�The latest online innovation from American Express, BusinessTravelConnexion.com will grant corporations and individual travel professionals access to the wealth of information and expertise of our organization and members of the broader business travel industry, while asking them to supplement the site�s value by contributing from their own experiences,� said Charles Petruccelli, president, American Express Global Travel Services. �With the advent of new technology we�re witnessing the business travel industry moving toward online resources and automated services, and our objective with this new, interactive network, is to continue to revolutionize the business travel experience.�

Kevin Maguire, CCTE, President and CEO, NBTA commented, �As a leading source of business travel industry information, NBTA continually seeks new opportunities to deliver valuable resources to the business travel community. We are pleased to work with American Express Business Travel on BusinessTravelConnexion.com; it�s a tremendous opportunity to deliver thought leadership through a new media vehicle to reach an even greater portion of the business travel community.�

Petruccelli continued, �NBTA�s and Executive Travel�s content partnerships add tremendous value to the industry intelligence we want showcased on the site. Through their contributions and others who are interested, BusinessTravelConnexion.com will allow companies to leverage the collective intelligence of the industry to become more informed and better equipped to make the most prudent travel management decisions.�

“Executive Travel is thrilled to be a part of the BusinessTravelConnexion.com community. Executive Travel’s content will provide a unique dimension to the site by offering the perspective of the traveler. It is beneficial for business travel managers and procurement officers to have insight into the minds of travelers to help define the approach for corporate travel programs. In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing environment, there is a need for a place where knowledge can be shared easily and quickly, and we feel BusinessTravelConnexion.com does exactly that,” said Janet M. Libert, editor of Executive Travel magazine.

As a first step toward a truly collaborative community, American Express Business Travel is accepting suggestions for content and features at http://www.BusinessTravelConnexion.com or at the Company�s booth (#2239) on the NBTA Expo floor in Los Angeles. Through each of these venues, individuals may register to offer thoughts and receive updates on the site�s progress until its launch, currently planned for this fall. Industry participants are also invited to become a fan of the BusinessTravelConnexion Facebook page. Updates and additional information are available at http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Express-Business-Travel- ConneXion/20901582371.

Related Link: BusinessTravelConnexion.com