Welcome to the
Bay Area Business Travel Association!

Our Mission

The Bay Area Business Travel Association’s programs are designed to further the understanding of corporate travel management practices and trends. BABTA provides opportunities for corporate (direct) travel suppliers and purchasers to share perspectives on pertinent industry topics. Membership criteria help maintain an equal balance between the two groups, thereby providing views from all vantage points.
 
Founded in 1975, the organization has over 200 members from different locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, representing firms in all types of business: manufacturing, insurance, utilities, banking, computer hardware and software, biotechnology, law and construction. BABTA is affliated with the Global Business Travel Association.

Current News and Trends

GBTA Members To Vote On Board Representation Proposal
June 18, 2013 www.btnonline.com

Mark Ziegler's proposal to GBTA would require that all Allied members on GBTA's board of directors be elected. On Friday, NetApp senior travel manager for the Americas Mark Ziegler was told that a bylaw amendment he proposed will be brought to a vote at the GBTA convention this August. Currently, two of the four are appointed.

Great Results - May Meeting!

The Surveys are IN! Of the 30% who responded and attended our May Meeting “Marketing Your Program Internally and Externally, Communicating with Tweets, Blogs and Social Media” 72% said that their expectations were met or exceeded and 96% said that the content was somewhat to extremely valuable. 

 From left: Mary Savoie-Stephens, Owner of Savoie-Stephens, Linda Gray, Corporate Account Manager, Peak Travel, and Mark Ziegler, Americas Senior Travel Manager, NetApp

Our featured speakers Mary Savoie-Stephens, Owner of Savoie-Stephens and Linda Gray, Corporate Account Manager at Peak Travel opened the meeting by talking about great opportunities to help our companies advance internal communications by “opting in” to some simple solutions. Mary said “ This is FUN! When I was asked to address this topic for BABTA I thought of it as a thesis paper and was energized by how much information was out there! Google the term “ Social Media Company” and you will recieve over 250 Million results!” she added “Even if you think that you don’t have another minute to spare – now is the time to take action”.  Mary invited the audience to participate in  a “live” Twitter social media/corporate communications survey. Other solutions like Chatter and Google were also discussed.

In summary, Linda says that “Business Travel is now Virtual Travel.  Travelers can report on anything survey about with the touch of a screen or a tweet in an instant” and Mary recommends this -  “Study proves internal social media engages employees" by Shel Holtz (February 7, 2012) – McKinsey & Company as a must read – she concludes “I have enjoyed the tweets about this subject and I am now following several BABTA members!”  View the Presentation

Please tweet your comments to @savoie31, @lindasue1 @WeAreBABTA.  Both speakers are business travel industry icons and former BABTA Presidents.

GBTA Responds to Furloughs 

GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) sent a letter on April 19th to FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta in response to the recently announced furloughs.  Please click here to view the full text of the letter.

This Just In! Executive Travel offers Free Airfare for Travel Managers
to attend the 2013 GBTA convention in San Diego  

Executive Travel, Inc. is pleased to announce a new scholarship program that will provide free airfare for Travel Managers to attend the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) in San Diego this August. The new scholarship program called “Soaring to GBTA” is designed to assist Travel Managers to attend the GBTA Convention by providing qualified Travel Managers with free roundtrip airfare to attend the convention and help defray some of the cost of attending. Qualifications apply:  Soaring to GBTA

Check out the Spring Issue of The Bridge!

TSA PreCheck Arrives at SFO

On Wednesday, November 14, San Francisco International Airport added TSA PreCheck trusted traveler security lanes to Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.  TSA PreCheck allows pre-screened frequent flyers to go through special airport security lanes with an expedited screening process.

Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)

BABTA is an official chapter of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) whose members represent major corporations and travel suppliers. Along with BABTA, the global organization provides members with information on the latest technical and service advantages within the industry, as well as current legislative issues involving travel costs and safety matters affecting business travel.