The GBTA Convention annually brings together thousands of business travel professionals to connect, learn, grow and shape the future of the global industry. So, what can attendees expect at GBTA Convention 2026 in Chicago, August 3-5, and how can they make the most of their experience?

In this podcast, Alison Rogan, Vice President of the GBTA Board of Directors and Head of Travel, Events and Expense Management at HSBC; Kevin Sullivan, Treasurer of the GBTA Board of Directors and Managing Director of Sales at Southwest Business; and Edward Galvin, President of the GBTA Allied Leadership Council and Vice President & Head of North America B2B Commercial Payment Sales at Visa, provide an insider's preview of GBTA Convention 2026 in Chicago, highlighting what attendees can expect, must-see sessions, and new programming.

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Digital accessibility is often treated as a compliance checkbox—but in reality, it's a complex, evolving discipline with direct implications for risk, customer experience, and operational efficiency. In this episode, a Product Manager and Accessibility Compliance lead at Cytric Easy at Amadeus IT Group (Nick Hebrant) breaks down what accessibility actually means in practice. The conversation demystifies WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines, clarifying that they are not rigid standards but guidelines—introducing interpretation, subjectivity, and inconsistency across organizations and regions.

Key insights include:

• Why most accessibility issues are invisible and rooted in underlying code
• The absence of standardized scoring, and what VPAT/ACR reports really represent
• The operational and global complexity of managing accessibility across platforms
• Common pitfalls, including misaligned audits and lack of product context

For Travel Managers (conversation led by Cristina Chimenti), the takeaway is clear: your role isn't to solve accessibility technically, but to manage the conversation strategically. By understanding on vendor mindset, structured progress, and informed questioning, organizations can move beyond focusing on compliance as an end goal.

Accessibility isn't a finish line—it's an ongoing journey that separates reactive organizations from resilient ones.

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

• Daniel Norris, Regional Director of Sales, ehotel​
• Juliet Howie, Account Manager, Radisson Hotels Group​
• Andrea Batchelor I Global Hotel Lead | Travel & Expense, Barclays​
• Jo Westlake, Executive Director, Global Corporate Clients, Acco​

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License