GBTA Convention 2023 - Thoughts and Insights

Dozens of Corporate Travel Management (CTM) colleagues converged in August for the GBTA Convention 2023. We left the show with new insights, exciting experiences, and long-lasting connections.

Our team on the ground in Dallas spanned Marketing, Sales, Account Management, Customer Success, Operations, Technology, Global Product Marketing, and others. It takes a village to deliver a great GBTA Convention for our company, clients, and prospective clients – and this group of pros pulled it off with flair.

What's in a GBTA booth commander's luggage?

Have you heard the travel rule about not putting medication or anything you can’t live without in your checked luggage? That applies double when you are headed to GBTA. We hand-carried all of our demo equipment to the show, including eight laptops and four iPads.

Booth Commander Taylor Condren, CTM’s Marketing Event’s Specialist, said “Critical items included client gifts, party items, the booth demo equipment, important booth and party signage, tablecloths, digital camera and—because safety first—a first aid kit!”

Showcasing our expertise

Our CTM booth experts provided in-booth speaker sessions, including presentations from our Global Head of Product Marketing Josh Gunn, VP of Global Customer Solutions Eve White, and VP of Agency Partnership Program Rafael Gonzalez.

These CTM experts delivered insights to GBTA attendees gathered at the CTM booth, with topics such as Upleveling Your Global Travel Program, How AI & Machine Learning are Changing Business Travel, and Managing Global Travel in Eastern Europe.

Josh also presented an Expo Theater talk titled “Sustainability in Corporate Travel – What is the Need?” – providing expert insights about sustainable, and innovative products and solutions in the managed travel space.

The final day of the show included an education session moderated by our own COO Maureen Brady (a member of GBTA’s Allied Council) with the theme: How travel providers and suppliers can attract new professionals into travel. Maureen also sat for an interview from inside the GBTA Broadcast Studio:

A first timer’s perspective

GBTA 2023 was CTM’s Global Product Marketing Manager Michelle Petrelli’s first time at the show. “The expo floor was so much bigger than I imagined, but our booth (in both décor and location) was not to be missed,” Michelle said of her first exciting convention.

“I loved seeing our team connecting with customers on the floor and at our fantastic client event off-site. I now understand why GBTA is such an important event for us – the time together with staff, clients, and partners is invaluable.”

Getting pumped to Electric Shuffle

The CTM gang at GBTA finished up their duties on the convention floor and readied for Monday night’s festivities — an exciting party for clients and prospects at Dallas’ Electric Shuffle. Attendees played fun, competitive games and broke bread with GBTA friends, old and new.

"This year was amazing."

“GBTA 2023 may be a wrap, but the momentum will carry us through the fiscal year. This year felt like our best convention yet and we can’t wait to get started on planning for 2024 in Atlanta,” said Angie Langen, CTM North America’s VP of Marketing.

“This year was amazing, and the team was so impressive. We had great booth traffic, and I can’t wait to see what comes out of it,” said Condren.

While the CTM crew is all safely back to their respective home bases — the planning has begun for GBTA 2024!