April 2018 
Calendar of Events
April 2018 Meeting
April 05, 2018
11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
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Fairmont San Jose
170 S. Market Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Venue Website
Directions
What’s up with Government Affairs and who cares?
All of us, regardless of your position within the travel industry will be affected by what happens when/if federal laws are passed on topics like…
- An increase in the Passenger Facility Fees that may be approved this year
- If the current ban on travel to and from certain countries is extended
- Why traveler/consumer protections such as have refunds for late arriving baggage not been enacted by the new Administration?
- Changes in the Aviation infrastructure
- TSA Modernization – more AI
- Continued ban on cell phone use in airplanes
Please join us for an informative and engaging discussion with Shane Downey, Government relations consultant for the GBTA. Learn what is in store for business travel this year and determine how to advise both your employer and customers on matters that affect us all on a professional and personal level.
Speaker: Shane Downey
Shane Downey leads the government relations team for the Global Business Travel Association.
In addition to serving as the association’s lobbyist, Shane oversees the countrywide grassroots campaign, and the Business Travel PAC. Shane has worked at GBTA for 10 years. Prior to joining GBTA, Shane was a Senior Associate at a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. In 1996, Shane oversaw the successful reelection of an Ohio Congressman.
Shane received his B.A in History from The Ohio State University.
Thank you to our Event Sponsor:
CLICK HERE for Sponsorship Opportunities
March 2018 “What did I miss?”
“Supplier Business Reviews; The Key to a Successful Partnership”, Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose
We wish to thank our esteemed panel of industry experts Barbara Arena, Principal Category Manager, Global Travel Sourcing – Oracle, Drew Mitchell, Travel Manager – Americas, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Michael Phares, Global Account Director – Strategic Accounts Worldwide Sales,
InterContinental Hotels Group and our moderator Jorge Cruz, Senior Vice President at BCD Travel.
Our panel shared an insightful and friendly conversation of how they see the successful partnerships by maintaining an open line of communication and managing the relationship on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. Emphasis was placed on really knowing expectations and understanding the depth and nuances of partnerships. Encouraging suppliers to become a trusted advisor who brings insight is the first suggestion and being able to articulate what innovative ideas do you have to help illustrate a future partnership is essential. In other words, be a good partner! Trends and savings tracking templates are important to measure success! Trust is critical but so is challenging the status quo, don’t be afraid. A very memorable tip from Barbara “suppliers should ask their clients to provide the powerpoint template of what they need to see in a business review, this eliminates guess work and increases efficiency for all”. Great! Thank you.
Calendar of Events
CLICK HERE for our events listing
Sponsor Opportunities
Thank you to our 2018 Star Sponsors!
Alaska Airlines, Norwegian, Southwest Corporate Travel, Emirates, Langham, Cathay Pacific and United Airlines! Please see their logos on our Star Sponsor banner at every SVBTA meeting! We appreciate their kind and generous support of SVBTA.
2018 Sponsorship Opportunities are now OPEN!
The Sponsorship Committee welcomes sponsorship inquires for our 2018 monthly meetings & events!
Contact [email protected] for more information.
Education Day
SAVE the DATE! Registration is Open - May 10th is SVBTA Education Day!
SVBTA’s 2018 Education Day focuses on our association’s key initiatives to Engage, Educate and Innovate. Our theme is “Traveler Centricity” and the event will location is at Hyatt Regency, San Francisco Airport. We rely on our members and community to shape the day and anticipate to have over 30 local travel buyers and industry professionals joined by additional allied partners. So mark your calendars and register today for May 10th Education Day! If you do, you will be automatically entered to win the Early Bird Prize which is.. Eligiblity for FOUR CEU Credits!
And! You won't want to miss our great speakers!
Agenda -
11:15am Check in, Networking, trade show
12:00pm Welcome Announcements & Lunch
Platinum Sponsor presentation - Egencia, Inc.
Gold Sponsor presentations- Southwest, Travel & Transport/DVI
Keynote Speaker - Eric Bailey, Microsoft
1:15pm Networking & trade show
1:45pm Gold Sponsor presentation - Lufthansa
2:00pm Supplier Speaker session
Juliann Pless, CSI VCard
Ethan Bernstein, Freebird
Maximilian Waldmann, conichi
Jeroen van Velzen, Roadmap
3:00pm Networking & trade show
3:20pm Buyer/Supplier/TMC Panel
Richard Sheard, Workday
Ryan Pierce, Salesforce
Mark Hollyhead, Egencia, Inc.
Moderated by Makiko Barret
4:00pm Round table discussion - "What is your company doing?"
- Moderated by Katie Loudon
Gold Sponsor presentation - Carey International
4:20pm Closing remarks, Raffle prizes
Register to attend HERE
Sponsorship opportunities for E-Day are limited – secure your visibility placement today. For Sponsorship Opportunities please visit HERE
Community Outreach
Community Outreach April
Please continue to support the Mission City as they are our 2018 focus charity of the year and you can find out how to help by clicking this link: http://www.missioncityfund.org/. Thank you for your support!
In May we will be introducing CASA to our organization: https://www.bemyadvocate.org/ . They recruit, train and support volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) to work one-on-one with foster children, providing critical emotional and educational support, ensuring each child’s needs are met and their voice heard while navigating the court dependency system. There is more to come about this very important cause!
Michele Wilson
Community Outreach Director
Government Affairs
Government Relations Update
Greetings from the Government Relations committee!
The 12th annual GBTA Government Relations Challenge is on! We are focused on becoming the #1 Chapter in the Country in raising funds for the GBTA PAC, which supports Representatives on both sides of the aisle that champion issues critical to our Industry. Look for opportunities to donate to the GBTA Business PAC at our monthly meetings!
Michael Anderson
Director – SVBTA Government Relations
Annual Golf Classic
Get Ready to GOLF!
September 24th 10AM to 9PM is our Annual Golf Classic. We are pleased to announce that the event will be hosted by Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose.
Silver Creek Valley Country Club
5460 Country Club Parkway
San Jose, CA 95138
Venue Website
More information soon on www.svbta.org or contact [email protected]
Welcome New Members
Meet our newest PR Committee member, Jorge Linares!
To share a little about me. I'm currently the Assistant Director of Sales at the Residence Inn & SpringHill Suites in San Jose Airport. I've been working in Hospitality for 7 years, all with Marriott. I'm very passionate with what I do. I enjoy interacting with guests, clients and being part of SVBTA. Working for a dual property is great because I have the opportunity to work with guests seeking a temporary home away from home at Residence Inn or a youth sports team coming to San Jose for a weekend tournament at SpringHill Suites.
During my spare time I enjoy photography and traveling, Portland being one of my favorite places to go to!
Jorge Linares| Assistant Director of Sales
Residence Inn San Jose Airport | SpringHill Suites San Jose Airport
10 Skyport Drive, San Jose, CA 95110
P: 669-292-2696| F: 408-650-0581| E: [email protected]
Meet Our Latest new Members HERE
Social Media
Please join us on the following social media sites
NEW for 2018
Instagram GBTA – Silicon Valley Chapter
Twitter @svbta
Facebook www.facebook.com/svbta
LinkedIn Groups Silicon Valley Business Travel Association
