GBTA Convention 2025 Highlights

To say our team at Fox World Travel is buzzing after the GBTA Convention in Denver is an understatement!  With 5,000+ attendees, hundreds of presenters, and dozens of educational sessions, it was a key gathering for anyone involved in the global business travel industry.

“From conversations with travel managers to sharing what’s next for Fox, GBTA Convention 2025 was all about connection, collaboration – and just enough caffeine to keep us going. Between the buzz of the expo floor and our rooftop event with mountain views, this year didn’t just check the box, it redefined it.” – George Kalka, Senior Vice President, Business Travel.

Thank you to every member of GBTA, every presenter, and every attendee who is helping shape the future of business travel — together.  Your energy, engagement, questions, and genuine connection inspire us to continue pushing the status quo and go beyond cookie-cutter solutions to support the organizations that trust Fox as your TMC partner.  The excitement and thoughtful conversations we had reconfirm our commitment to supporting the goals of our customers and their unique program needs.

This event truly signifies the importance of coming together to support and grow corporate travel, meetings, and incentives management. We are more committed than ever to driving savings to our customers while supporting their continued program elevation.

“Attending the GBTA Convention was an incredible experience. The education sessions provided valuable insights, and I had a great time connecting with travel industry friends in our Fox booth.  I’m already looking forward to seeing everyone in Chicago next year!” – Tifani Jones, Senior Director, Global Sales.

Highlights included:

Media Day:

George Kalka, Senior Vice President of Business Travel shared enhancements Fox has made to our proprietary portal – Fox Connect™ and announced two key upgrades to help close critical gaps in managed travel. These enhancements solve long-standing challenges in group travel coordination and unused ticket management. You can read more about this exciting announcement here!

Educational Sessions:

Fox hosted and participated in four education sessions.  There were packed hallways as we highlighted these buzz-worthy topics:

A New Travel Policy NDC: Nourish, Delight, and Choice

Presented by George Kalka, Senior Vice President, Business Travel and Julie Van Oss, Travel Manager, Schreiber Foods

George and Julie shared their perspective on how corporate travel policies are evolving to prioritize traveler flexibility, well-being, and satisfaction. Their popular session explored changes in traveler expectations and how to align them with business goals. They recommended practical strategies to implement flexible, traveler-focused policies that enhance experience and control costs.

Elevating Events: Authenticity & Impact

Presented by Tina Husemoller, Vice President, Meetings and Incentives and Kristen Shields, Sales Director, Meetings and Incentives

Tina and Kristen shared their insights on crafting authentic, impactful, connection-driven meetings and events. They provided strategies to enhance participant engagement and create memorable experiences.

• “Attending the annual GBTA Convention is so gratifying and beneficial. The networking, the education, seeing friends, meeting new ones….it is like waiting for The Masters every year. This year was incredibly special as Kristen Shields and I led an educational session on elevating your meetings and events. The room was a buzz with collaboration and excitement. Thank you to all who attended and to GBTA for this special privilege.” – Tina Husemoller, Vice President, Meetings and Incentives.
• “My first time at GBTA didn’t disappoint! Facilitating an education session made it even more meaningful, and it was inspiring to connect with others in the travel, meetings, and events space!” – Kristen Shields, Sales Director, Meeting and Incentives

From Friction to Flow – Curating NDC Search with AI

Panelist: Sam Hilgendorf, CIO

Sam joined an engaging panel of industry experts. They dove into the transformative power of AI in the travel industry, specifically exploring how machine learning and predictive analytics can help make progress in New Distribution Capability (NDC). With NDC opening the floodgates to many travel options, the challenge lies in efficiently searching, comparing, and servicing dynamic content. This discussion offered valuable perspectives on the future of AI-enabled NDC for airlines, TMCs, corporate travel buyers, and travel tech providers.

Travel Through Time: Bridging Generational Gaps and Innovating for All

Panelist: Mia Beltran, Director of Customer Experience

Mia was on a panel of women who each brought a unique lens, spanning both the buyer and supplier sides of the industry, as they explored generational differences in business travel. Their conversation centered on how travel programs can better support the evolving needs of multiple generations while also finding the common threads that unite travelers. The thoughtful discussion was truly inspiring!

Private Reception at 54Thirty Rooftop

In addition, we must send a huge thank you to Enterprise Mobility, Deem, and Carey for co-sponsoring our private reception at 54Thirty Rooftop, which Fox’s Meetings and Incentives team planned. The vibes were strong, the hand-crafted cocktails and globally inspired bites were delicious, and the conversations flowed as we took in the breathtaking mountain views.

“GBTA 2025 in Denver was next-level. The energy was real, from reconnecting with travel pros to education sessions that finally went beyond Travel 101. Our booth was buzzing the entire time—huge thanks to everyone who stopped by! If we missed you while deep in conversation, we’re sorry and would love to connect post-show. Grateful for the conversations, connections, and the reminder that travel is still all about people.” – Katie Meyer, Global Sales Director

We look forward to staying connected and, as always, welcome an open conversation with our Sales Directors and Leadership team on how you can come to Expect More from Fox World Travel.

And as one of our booth attendees mentioned to our Global Sales Director Mary Jo Theimer…. “I asked my consultant friend which TMC I should talk to and who is winning all the business…without hesitation, he said…go talk to Fox World Travel.” 😊

If you didn’t get a chance to connect with us at GBTA but would like to learn more about how Fox World Travel can support your organization’s business travel or meeting and incentives needs, reach out to schedule a call today.

We’ll see you in Chicago for GBTA Convention 2026 or at an upcoming BTA chapter meeting in your area soon!