The latest entry in the increasingly crowded hotel search engine category, DealAngel last month launched a public beta. Its differentiator, as described by co-founders Roman Peskin and Bob Rogers, is that it ranks hotels by absolute value, not absolute price. Read More »

Lanyon recently received a patent on its process for auditing hotel rates and availability, approved without restrictions by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Lanyon chief commercial officer Mike Boult this week spoke with The Beat's Michael B. Baker about why Lanyon sought the patent and what it intends to do now that it has been rewarded. Read More »

The Beat founder Jay Campbell last week spoke with new BCD Travel executive vice president for global technology Russell Howell, who joined the company last month after seven years at American Express, most recently as vice president for global travel technologies. Read More »

US Airways senior vice president of marketing and planning Andrew Nocella speaks with The Beat's Jay Boehmer about sales and distribution developments. Read More »

The Beat founder Jay Campbell talks with new Travel Leaders CIO Dave Zitur. Read More »

BackBid co-founder and executive vice president of marketing Chris Patridge recently spoke with The Beat's Michael B. Baker about the site's development, growth trajectory and implications for business travelers, including those in managed programs. Read More »

Magnuson Hotels cofounder and CEO Tom Magnuson is developing an online agency model in which hotels pay no commissions or distribution fees, and travelers instead pay a booking fee of a few dollars. Magnuson's Global Hotel Exchange is set to launch in the United States and the United Kingdom in January; he reports "thousands of hotels" included in the platform. The appeal to hotels is clear: Some hotels pay as much as 30 percent of their room revenue to online travel agencies, Magnuson said, and Read More »

Jay Campbell talks with Egencia SVP Mark Hollyhead Read More »

Keynote Vote participants Michael Whitesage, founder of Prism Group, and consultant Tom Ruesink; moderator Tony D'Astolfo discuss the issues Read More »

American Express Global Business Travel president Charles Petruccelli spoke with The Beat's Jay Campbell about what led to these events, what he plans to do and how his division will look in the near future. Read More »