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Reflecting on BTS America 2025:
AI, Innovation and Data Sharing
Last week, our team had the pleasure of exhibiting at the Business Travel Show America (BTSA) in New York. An inspiring and thought-provoking few days and fantastic opportunity to meet more people in the sector.
We enjoyed some really insightful meetings and discussions with people from various organisations around the world, noticing one common theme time and time again, messy and fragmented data.
It seems for most there’s still a significant gap between data sources and actionable insights, causing issues for strategic planning, reporting and gaining stakeholder support. For us, it was useful to see how our solution can help bridge this gap and provide an effective solution. It was also a great opportunity to explore ways we can enhance the system to make it even more effective for our customers.
Sessions Spotlight
Partnerships, Combined Platforms & Data Sharing
One of the most talked-about sessions came from Amex Global Business Travel and SAP Concur, who announced their new partnership creating a new interface for joint clients. This will offer a co-developed platform that combines booking, servicing, payments and expenses into one with the aim to improve user experience. While the promise of creating a one-stop platform is exciting, the topic of sharing the data for AI innovation was also stirring. How is it shared, what is shared, who controls it?
It’s great that data privacy is still paramount for many users and Amex GBT and Concur didn’t shy away from these questions. The idea of partnering technologies dynamic discussions throughout the day.
Innovation at the forefront
We also thoroughly enjoyed this year’s BTS America Innovation Faceoff, where Nowadays, an AI-powered event planning tool, won first place. Of course, AI was at the heart of most of the pitches, it was great to see how it is being used to really solve the complexities around meetings and events. What stood out to us was how many innovators are now using AI not just as a buzzword, but as a real tool for making processes more efficient.
It was a bit of a full-circle moment for us: just two years ago, our CEO, Dan Raine, was on that same stage, nervously pitching Unlocked Data. That experience led directly to some clients we still work with today and lasting relationships, so it was a joy to be on the other side this time, cheering on others.
All work and a bit of play…
Of course, our team couldn’t venture all the way to NYC without enjoying some down time. After a packed schedule of meetings, sessions, and networking, we capped off the week with an ice hockey game in New Jersey, watching the New Jersey Devils take on the Florida Panthers. It was the perfect way for the team to relax and reflect on what we’d learned at the show, having fun and soaking up the energy of the arena.
Looking Ahead
Attending industry events always leaves us with a renewed sense of purpose and direction. The conversations we had about the challenges people are facing, the direction of the industry and how we can help reaffirmed that the work we’re doing matters.
Next up, we have our final event of the year, GBTA Europe in Hamburg. We hope to see you there! If you’d like to connect with us whilst there, get in touch to book a meeting.