Free tickets are still available for this year’s Business Travel People Awards for business travel professionals who have been displaced because of the pandemic.
Organisers of the event, which takes place on the evening of Wednesday September 15 at the London Hilton Bankside, announced earlier this year that free places will be offered to those who are furloughed or who have been made redundant.
“We recognise that it’s been a tough time for many people working in business travel but we want as many people as possible to be able to celebrate with us the incredible talent in our industry,” said Kirsty Hicks, Publisher of The Business Travel Magazine.
“The event is just one week away and there are still tickets available, so anyone interested should contact me at Kirsty.Hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk.”
It’s the 10th anniversary of the awards so there is a new evening format this year.
Instead of the usual sit-down lunch, winners will be celebrating in style at a fun and informal evening in the London Hilton Bankside’s ballroom from 6.30pm-10.30pm.
The awards will be a fitting finale to The Business Travel Conference, which takes place at the same venue on September 14-15.
Six new awards have been introduced for 2021 to reflect major trends and to give as many people as possible – even those who have been furloughed or displaced – the credit they deserve.
This year, more awards are open to both individuals and teams, including teams where some of the key players might not currently be in full-time employment or might no longer be with the company.
Four of the awards are dedicated to efforts and achievements relating to specific initiatives – duty of care, Covid-19 support, customer wellbeing and business transformation.
A special award will go to a Change Champion Leader who has made significant and impactful change within their business, sector or in the wider industry.
In addition, a new Industry Contribution Award will be given to an outstanding leader, innovator, and influencer whose contribution, throughout their career, has bought real and positive change to the business travel industry.
Covid health and safety measures are in place, including Hilton’s EventReady and CleanStay programmes ensuring event experiences that are clean, flexible, safe and socially responsible.
Hilton Bankside staff will wear masks at the awards and will be taking regular voluntary lateral flow tests leading up to and during the event.
Guests at the awards ceremony will also be encouraged to take a voluntary lateral flow test prior to attending which can be ordered free of charge from the NHS.
There will be numerous hand sanitisation stations throughout the awards and guests will encouraged to use these frequently.
Guests will be offered an optional wristband on arrival with colours based on a traffic light them. Green bands will indicate to others that a person is comfortable with hugs and physical contact, amber will show this should be restricted to fist bumps or elbow greetings, while red will show that a guest is happy to chat but would like to avoid any physical contact. Wristbands can be changed during the evening.
