Grand Reopening
In August we held a wonderful, back-to-normal, face-to-face award reception at Kimpton Monaco Washington DC to celebrate the winners of our 2021 Fxexpress Publications, Inc. awards — The Trazees (trazeetravel.com), Wherever Awards (whereverfamily.com) and Global Traveler’s Leisure Lifestyle Awards. I’m extending a big thank you to my good friend Bill Hanley (director of sales and marketing at the property), who worked with us to make this event a reality. As one winner told me afterward, it felt strangely normal. It was a lot of fun to gather industry professionals, subscribers, my trusted team and board members for the party. I hope you enjoy our recap of the awards on page 36.
We also honored Mike Donahue as the Advisory Board Member of the Year and recognized his battle with Alzheimer’s. Members of the Alzheimer’s Association were on hand to join us in honoring Mike and to address the disease.
Award winners flew in from all over the world — Mexico City, Toronto, Chicago and Greece, just to name a few places. Representatives from every corner of the country attended. Washington, D.C., proved a perfect location with travelers able to fly into Dulles International and many from New York able to drive or take the train. Please watch for the December issue in which we will announce the winners of the annual GT Tested Reader
Survey awards. Our awards celebration will take place at The Peninsula Beverly Hills Dec. 14.
We’re providing bonus copies of this issue to the Global Business Travel Association delegation attending the annual convention in Orlando, Florida, at Orange County Convention Center (Nov. 17–19). Please note our One on One interview with Suzanne Neufang, CEO and executive director, GBTA, on page 24. We are excited about this restart to travel and will be in full force in Orlando!
Now that vaccines are readily available, it is good to see many companies coming back to business and back to their offices. I find it odd that the work-from-home policy is so important to people and their perceived safety, but when it comes to personal travel and personal events, different rules seem to apply. I think we in the travel industry should set an example through vaccinations and trust in the vaccines.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon!