The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Fast Company magazine have announced winners of the annual 2012 Business Traveler Innovation Awards.  Business travelers nominated services, products and ideas that help to make life on the road more productive.

Submissions were categorized and the public voted for their favorites.  The winner of the People's Choice Award, presented to the innovation that received the highest number of votes, will be honored at the 2012 GBTA Convention in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 during the General Session.

A panel of industry judges will hear presentations from featured innovators including, ProcureApp, Gogo LLC, and Short's Travel, among others.  The judges will determine GBTA's 2012 Judges' Choice Innovation of the Year Award.  This session will be presented at the GBTA Convention on Monday, July 23 from 9 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. in room 256 and is open to all Convention attendees.  The Judges' Choice Award, along with the People's Choice Award, will be announced during the General Session on Tuesday, July 24, 2012.

 In Category 1: Sustainable Practice, representing outstanding and original environmental efforts in the travel industry, the winner is Hertz for its Green Traveler Collection, a line of hybrid, electric, and clean diesel vehicles.

In Category 2: Traveler Comfort, representing products and services that focus on travelers' ease and well being, the winner is ExpertFlyer for its Seat Alerts, a system that periodically checks for availability on the flights and seats and notifies travelers via email to mobile devices when seats open up or when new flights are added.

In Category 3: Travel Personalization, representing innovation and excellence in customizing the business travel experience for the individual, the winner is Hertz for its Gold Choice, in which members skip the counter and go straight to the car and if they booked a midsize car or larger; different models and colors are available at no extra cost.

In Category 4, Outstanding Apps, for applications that help business travelers organize and/or make best use of their time on the road, the winner is Carlson Wagonlit Travel for its CWT To Go, an easy to download app that provides travelers with automated and integrated travel updates for their travel plans while companies benefit from no setup and simple and secure integration.

In Category 5, Travel Convenience & Efficiency, for services that expedite the travel process, the winner is Kayak.com for its website and mobile apps that enable travelers to easily compare hundreds of travel sites at once, in one comprehensive, fast and intuitive display.

In Category 6, Travel Management, the winner is Sabre Travel Network for its Sabre Virtual Meetings, the industry's first, patent-pending solution for tele-presence room distribution and scheduling.

In Category 7, Traveler Productivity, the winner is Hertz for its Hertz NeverLost Online Trip Planning, a GPS reservation in a full size or larger vehicle are equipped with the newest version of the Hertz NeverLost navigation system, which supports Online Trip Planning.