FEATURE
The technology is here, now, to eliminate expense reports and expense approvals.

Imagine a system that imports a corporate card transaction for a $9.84 lunch at McDonald’s, determines the transaction is within policy and within the norm for the employee, approves the transaction for reimbursement and initiates a direct deposit. There’s the potential for fraud, and travel managers can name other reasons to stand by their traditional expense reports. They could be right, but there also are efficiences. If the idea of real-time, automated expense reporting—and even approval—makes your stomach turn and makes your CFO spin in her chair, dig deep and ask the real reason why. It may turn out that you’re ready.

3 ON THE HORIZON

• Brexit & Trump make for uncertain travel forecasts

14 SME INSIDERS

• What happens when you cross SMM & SME

16 TRANSPORTATION

• United will launch buyer/agent portal
for self-service & reporting
• Norwegian’s transatlantic plans
• American loses another exec to United

18 PROCUREMENT

• IHG & AccorHotels Report Positive

2016 Results Despite Terror & Geopolitics
• Marriott Corporate Uptick, Plus More
Q4 Results

22 MANAGEMENT

• Capita will deliver data-driven traveler wellness tools

Head of business travel David Holyoke on accelerating Airbnb’s reach in the corporate travel space.

What’s Inside 4 | On the Record

CONTINUED ON PG 3

“We want to build further awareness and education [among small and midsize companies].

With enterprises, we want to dive deeper in terms of what we’re going to build out to address the compliance and control issues.”

2017 EXPENSE MANAGEMENT REPORT

Next-Gen Expense Management

COMPARING APPS: 3 Chauffeured Car Apps Side by Side

See how GroundLink, Blacklane & Carey Mobile App compare on business model, geographic reach, fleet, advance booking window, cancellation policy, driver tracking & how long drivers will wait.

PAGE 24

FULL COVERAGE ON PG 7

6 | Data Hub

Risk Management Among European Companies

More than a quarter of companies either lack confidence or are only moderately confident they could address a travel-related crisis should something happen tomorrow.

President Donald Trump issued a revised executive order on March 6, placing U.S. travel immigration restrictions on Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. On Feb. 3, District Judge James Robart halted the previous, Jan. 27, executive order, and on Feb. 9, the Ninth District Court upheld that decision.

The revised order dropped Iraq from the list of countries affected, citing the “cooperative relationship between the United States and the democratically elected Iraqi government, the strong United States diplomatic presence in Iraq, the significant presence of United States forces in Iraq and Iraq’s commitment to combat ISIS” as justification, despite Iraq’s presence on a list of countries the Obama administration said presented “heightened concerns about terrorism and travel to the United States.” The new order also revised timelines.

On March 16, nationals of the six affected
countries will be denied entry to the U.S.
for 90 days and decisions on all refugee
applications will be suspended for 120
days. That includes Syrian refugees, whom
the previous order suspended indefinitely.
The original executive order automat-
ically revoked as many as 60,000 valid
travel visas. The revised order reinstates
those and confirms that visas issued be-
tween Feb. 3 and March 15 will be valid.
It also confirms that the order does not
apply to green card holders or to those
with temporary student or work visas.

The absence of these carve-outs within the original order was of critical concern in the suit filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota, over which Robart presided, particularly in terms of reduced business travel and uncertainty around temporary work visas, as well as research and student travel associated with state universities.