The Business Travel Mag Summer 2025

Contents SUMMER 2025

Consolidation: As the megas move closer, is there an opportunity for the smaller TMCs to shine? 24 Data: Getting the right data from your TMC and knowing what to do with it

28 AI versus humans: The opportunities and challenges of AI in business travel

38 Evolving roles: How TMCs are adapting their products and services in line with the needs and demands of their clients

44 People Awards: See the full list of 2025 finalists and messages from the sponsors

48 Rail productivity: Key takeaways from our Business Travel Lunch Forum

Opening Shots: The most exciting openings in the world of travel – in pictures 8 Everyone's Talking About: Tighter US entry checks 10 Speaking Out: Calum Hawley thinks it's time for some TMCs (naming no names) to put their clients first 12 The Conversation: We chat with Michael Gietzen, CEO of The Human Network

Welcome

Fit for purpose

The future role of travel management companies has been brought into question at our recent Lunch Forums and on the stage at several industry conferences, prompting some lively and interesting debate.

It's something we explore at length in this issue, our annual TMC special, from the impact of sector consolidation (page 18) and the application of AI (page 28) to how TMCs are having to widen the scope of their services to keep up with the ever-changing demands of their clients (page 38). We also share tips on how to make the most of your TMC data (page 24), which is one of the key benefits of using a TMC.

TMCs remain a vital part of the eco-system and, as we've learned too many times, they come into their own in times of crisis and disruption. But like any industry, ours will not stand still and TMCs need to adapt and evolve accordingly. It's important to choose the right partner and our TMC Finder (page 32) lists the key players. It's also published and kept up to date online at thebusinesstravelmag.com.

Preparations are well underway for this year's Business Travel People Awards and we can't wait to see many of you at the ceremony on September 30, back at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London. Big congratulations to all of the finalists (see page 44) and good luck to the judges who now have some tough decisions to make.

We're also busy making plans for more of our popular Business Travel Lunch Forums and Dinner Clubs, our new 'Biz Trav Quiz' on October 20, in partnership with temoji, and on November 17 we'll be welcoming frontline agents and bookers to meet with suppliers at our new Business Travel Frontline Connect event. Pop those dates in your diary and see you there!

Bev Fearis, Editor

EDITORIAL

EDITOR

Bev Fearis

CONTRIBUTORS

Gill Upton, Nick Easen & Jo Reeder

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Sheena Adesilu

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Steve Hartridge

ADVERTISING SALES

PUBLISHER / COMMERCIAL HEAD

Kirsty Hicks

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

DESIGNERS

Matt Bonner, Caitlan Francis, & Colette Denham

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Clare Hunter

PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATOR

Steve Hunter

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscribe for free at thebusinesstravelmag.com/subscribe

BMI PUBLISHING

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Matt Bonner

CEO

Martin Steady

Trocadero's plush and extravagant interior celebrates the glamourous aesthetic of a 1920s jazz club”

Crossbasket Castle

DECO DELIGHT

Top chef Michel Roux finds himself in grand surroundings overseeing the upscale Trocadero’s hotel and restaurant at Crossbasket Castle near Glasgow. The 40-room property has a swish art deco feel and is managed by Scottish group ICMI.

IT'S MAX LAX!

Virgin Atlantic certainly knows its market. No wonder, then, that its sixth Clubhouse lounge opening – this one at LAX – has a health and wellness focus. Located in the Tom Bradley terminal, travellers can enjoy acousticallysealed work pods, a Hollywood-inspired cinema room, VIP area and even a special Zen mindfulness zone.

Templeton Garden, London

GARDEN PARTY

Lifestyle hotel brand Miiro makes its UK debut with Templeton Garden, a classic English-style property boasting 156 rooms and suites in leafy Kensington. Highlights include Sprout (a neighbourhood bar), Pips (a deli-cafe), and Pippin’s, a 62-cover restaurant serving classic British fare – indoors and outdoors – from an open kitchen.

THE HIGH LIFE

The A For Adina aparthotel brand from TFE Hotels has arrived in Europe, choosing the 180-metre Danubeflats skyscraper in Vienna for a striking debut. Guests have a choice from 120 apartments (studio, oneor two-bedrooms), plus an onsite bar and restaurant, gym, sauna and infinity pool.

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, Los Angeles International

A for Adina Vienna Danube

JAMES MCDONALD

Everyone's talking about... tighter US entry checks

“WITHIN AN ENVIRONMENT OF HEIGHTENED SECURITY AND TRAVEL ANXIETY, IT’S IMPERATIVE THAT EMPLOYERS ARE AWARE OF THE CHANGING US POLITICAL LANDSCAPE”

"Our members are sounding the alarm over the real and perceived risks their employees face when traveling to the United States"

"WHILE IT'S STILL TOO EARLY TO FULLY ASSESS THE LONG-TERM IMPACT, THERE IS A GROWING RISK THAT POLITICAL SENTIMENT MAY BEGIN TO RESHAPE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL PATTERNS"

Employers should make staff aware that they may encounter longer processing times, possible refusals and increased scrutiny on arrival, even for routine business visits”

“ WHILE THE OUTLOOK FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL WAS INCREDIBLY STRONG COMING INTO 2025, OUR RESEARCH NOW SHOWS INCREASING CONCERNS AND UNCERTAINTY WITHIN OUR INDUSTRY, CONSIDERING RECENT ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE US GOVERNMENT ”

“Travellers should review their electronics – remove sensitive content, social media apps, controversial images, and anything that could be misinterpreted”

Elizabeth Esparza, VP of Client Risk Management, Global Guardian

Julie Lo Bue-Said, CEO, Advantage Travel Partnership

Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA

Tim Hayes, Partner and Head of Immigration, Broadfield Law

Steve Allen, Non-Executive Director and Board Advisor

Patrick Diemer, Chairperson, BT4Europe

HOLIDAY EXTRAS FOR BUSINESS

YOU'RE IN CONTROL

As Holiday Extras moves into the business travel market, we check in with Kayleigh Dawkins, Partnerships Development Manager - Business Travel

What is Holiday Extras for Business?

We wanted to replicate the success we’ve had in the leisure industry by launching a brand exclusively for business. At Holiday Extras for Business, we remove the stress from travel. We offer a smarter way to plan work trips, with everything from airport parking and hotels to lounges, security fast track and transfers – all bookable in one place. We bring everything together and plug all the gaps to create a seamless journey.

Why did you decide to launch it?

There’s a clear gap in the market for a go-to supplier of airport extras for business travel. These products are already being booked – often last minute and expensed afterwards – which means businesses are

missing opportunities to save time, stay on budget and keep travel running smoothly.

Holiday Extras for Business was created to change that. It gives travel managers control over what’s being booked, visibility of where their travellers are and confidence that the journey from door to door is covered, without the hassle.

What

are the benefits for business travellers and travel managers?

Booking the right extras in advance makes business travel smoother, less stressful and more cost effective. It takes the pressure off last-minute decisions and helps keep everything on track – whether it’s a crack-ofdawn departure or a midnight landing.

Travel managers have a duty of care for employees. Rather than them getting into a

taxi late at night using a company they don’t know, they can book through us and ensure the employee is safe and using a reputable company for travel.

With 42 years of experience making holidays hassle free, we know how to keep every trip running like clockwork. From airport parking to lounges and transfers, we’re the one supplier for the whole journey, both outbound and inbound. And with a global supply network, we support TMCs and clients no matter where in the world they’re travelling.

How are you working with travel management companies?

We already work with 95% of the top TMCs in the UK, and we’re building strong relationships with TMCs across Europe and the US all the time. Working with us, TMCs get a strategic oversight of what is being booked.

TMCs can manage bookings easily through our simple-to-use agent portal and we’re integrated directly into many proprietary tools. We also work with leading tech platforms, such as Atriis and Vibe, and have exciting plans to bring more on board.

How do corporates sign up? It’s simple, just email me at: kayleigh.dawkins@holidayextras.com.

Booking the right extras in advance makes business travel smoother, less stressful and more cost effective”

TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

GO THE EXTRA (S)MILE

ACalum Hawley, former global travel manager and now consultant, believes it’s time for larger TMCs to pay more attention to making their customers happy

t risk of sounding a bit like Lady Whistledown from Bridgerton, I sit at dinners, on conference panels and among my peers and hear often of the challenges of a travel manager.

The ever-growing list includes access to content, global instability causing regionally volatile pricing or lack of air schedules, fractious UK rail networks and the shift to modern retailing across both the aviation and accommodation sectors.

But, something that also arises more often than not is the issue of below-par travel TMC service levels, especially in relation to our largest global TMCs.

Instead of listening to what can be done to suit a client, there is often a feeling that

travel managers are told by their TMC how it is and what simply cannot be done.

A wise man (my father) once told me about one of his old bosses who was challenged on a growing unhappiness among clients, and whose response was: “All my customers are happy. Just some of them will be less happy than others.”

Lax attitudes

unhappy are left unhappy as there is always an opportunity for a new “happier” customer around the corner.

I am also reminded of a quote from an unattributed Chief Executive Officer on a course at Cranfield School of Management in 1996, who said: "Satisfactory underperformance is becoming accepted as the norm and that is not acceptable." That ‘satisfactory underperformance’ describes a plateau where people – and by default the companies and departments they work in –aren’t necessarily failing, but they aren’t excelling either.

Of course, this was long before Fred Reicheld and Bain & Company created Net Promoter Scores and the measurement of how well an organisation treats the people whose lives it affects. But this attitude still feels apt today, where mediocrity appears to be accepted and those that are

Fresh approach

As the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority approves American Express GBT’s acquisition of CWT, there are still a lot of questions with regards to whether there is a monopoly being created, and whether it leaves corporates with fewer options. One may well validly argue ‘yes’ to both of these questions, but I cannot help but feel it is a massive opportunity for the tier of TMCs below the behemoths.

These more agile TMCs have succeeded in implementing greater access to content. They have been quicker to react and are now reaping the benefits of not having to keep answering that time old question “Why can I see it cheaper online?”.

These TMCs are acting as true facilitators and integrators to companies, allowing for greater efficiencies and cost avoidance techniques. These TMCs have customer service running through their veins, and don’t regard their customers as a number but as a partner in their ‘family’.

So, while I do not believe the TMC is dead, I do think that the big guys should be looking over their shoulders and taking action to ensure they are fit for the future, not just technologically but at the human service level too.

CALUM HAWLEY

DRIVING INNOVATION

Dr Vojkan Tasic, CEO at Limos4, outlines how the global chauffeur company’s booking and dispatch system has service, safety and tech at its core

What makes Limos4 different to other chauffeur companies?

Limos4 is, above all, a chauffeur company that happens to have its own proprietary technology. We employ and manage chauffeurs (or work with carefully-vetted partners) and oversee every step of the service, from reservation to final drop-off. Our competitors are tech platforms first. They match passengers with independent drivers, meaning their control over execution is lower. That is why we excel in high-touch scenarios like corporate events, VIP movements and security-sensitive itineraries where accountability and personal attention matter.

What role does technology play in your success?

We have a full in-house development team working just metres away from our operations department. We work in an agile, integrated way. Whatever clients ask for we can deploy it on the same day.

How are you meeting the needs of corporate travel managers?

We have our own automated portal where they can book travel, with capabilities for different cost centres and multiple travel policies. Humans pick up the phone 24/7; this is really important when you need to add or change something last minute. We offer customised touches and can react quickly. Each ride is monitored by both human eyes and AI. This customisation, responsiveness and operational visibility gives travel managers the clarity and control they need.

How are you meeting the needs of business travellers?

Business travellers care about three things: certainty, security and simplicity. For certainty, real-time flight and traffic data keep both the traveller and their travel manager informed at every stage, and our 24/7 control centre proactively resolves any disruption before it touches the client. For security, every

chauffeur and vehicle goes through a fivestep vetting process that combines document checks, live interviews, on-site inspections, background checks and performance monitoring, then repeats the audit annually. For simplicity, travellers receive a single, mobile-friendly web link with live ride status, while travel managers use our cloud dashboard for consolidated reporting and one invoice. We handle the complexity – local regulations, event coordination, specialrequest vehicles – so travellers enjoy a seamless, worry-free journey every time.

What makes you a specialist in the events sector?

It's where we perfected our craft. Our in-house Event Desk is staffed by specialised event-transport project managers who join the planning calls from day one and serve as a single point of contact. They conduct site inspections, liaise with venues, security teams and local authorities, and transform the agenda into a detailed transport manifest covering route design, vehicle staging and delegate flow. During the event, our 24/7 operations centre tracks every ride, while a live web dashboard gives organisers real-time fleet visibility and the flexibility to adjust schedules on the fly. The same rigorous standards are applied in more than 200 cities.

What does the future hold for you?

We’ll continue to use technology to scale wherever possible. We’ve invested heavily in research and development to identify which 'high-touch, non-scalable' elements of chauffeured service can, in fact, be scaled through smart tools. AI now lets us automate even more of those backstage tasks without losing the human touch. We’ll also expand our own fleets in core markets and build out strategic partnerships worldwide, including a new collaboration in the United States that will reinforce our presence there. limos4.com

Humans

pick up

the

phone 24/7;

this is really important when you need to add or change something last minute”

Group CEO, The Human Network

MICHAEL GIETZEN

As leading events specialist The Human Network enters the travel management space, we chat to its Group CEO about what it will bring to the sector

“We had to kiss a few frogs,” says Michael Gietzen, CEO of The Human Network, referring to its entry into the corporate travel sector earlier this year.

The independently-owned collective of global events and creative agencies, responsible for organising high profile events such as the King’s Coronation and London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, had set its sights on entering the travel management space as far back as 2020. But the pandemic scuppered any immediate plans, and then it took a while to find the right business.

“We wanted to find a TMC with strong sustainable growth potential – someone we could grow with – and also who would align with our sustainable and social values,” Gietzen explains.

“A lot the TMCs we spoke with had owner managers who would be leaving the business as part of the acquisition. We didn’t want that. We wanted the continuity of the Founder or Managing Director staying on.

“We also wanted a TMC with a good mix of clients across different sectors and which didn’t come with a complicated tech stack. We were looking for someone with a good heritage in its region, an innovative and creative team, and a business that was ready to scale. Oh, and having a licence in Europe was also a real plus.”

Ticking all the above boxes, Belfast-based TMC Beyond Business Travel was acquired in

November 2024, giving The Human Network the opportunity to not only manage its clients’ events at scale but to handle the whole door-to-door experience.

As corporate travel and meetings programmes increasingly merge, the last few years have seen a growing number of traditional TMCs moving into the meetings and events side, bolting on dedicated divisions, but The Human Network came at it from the other direction.

“We did the reverse model,” says Gietzen. “We saw the frustrations of clients who were having to deal with multiple partners to manage the different elements of their events at scale. I had this lightbulb moment that the events and the travel don’t have to be managed separately.”

The integration of Beyond Business Travel is well underway. Its owner, Adele Doherty, has stayed on in a consultancy role, Shauna Burns remains MD and Steve Banks, formerly with Agiito/Clarity and then Focus Travel Partnership, was recruited in January as CEO. “We’ve set our five-year plan and this starts

People are truly crying out for someone to bridge the gap between experiential events and business travel. They are looking for a single solution”

with getting more really good talent to support the management team,” explains Gietzen.

The Group is about to appoint a Chief Technology Officer and Beyond is looking to expand its business development team.

“One thing I’ve seen since we’ve been looking at the travel management sector in the UK and Ireland is that it is full of incredible homegrown talent. You haven’t got far to go to find TMC expertise and that is a great starting point,” adds Gietzen.

In the first three months since its TMC acquisition, The Human Network managed 15 different events in 10 countries. “This has been the perfect test bed for us,” says Gietzen. “Some events were contracted to other TMCs before, so we haven’t been able to manage them but we have been able to go in and see the briefs and show clients our solutions and what we could have offered.”

Beyond has also been managing the internal business travel for The Human Network – a sizeable chunk of business.

Being part of a collective of events and creative agencies responsible for managing major events has put Beyond firmly on the radar of suppliers.

“They can see we’re on a swift growth trajectory so we’re getting lots of attention. They are curious to know our story and to see the journey we’re going on.”

Gietzen accepts that The Human Network was not a well-known name in corporate travel before it acquired Beyond.

“That shows the disconnect between the TMC world and major event delivery,” he says. “Many TMCs say they do events but in fact these are meetings and conferences. They aren’t on the scale of the events we manage. There is no comparison.”

He believes there is a clear gap in the market for its new TMC proposition.

“People are truly crying out for someone to bridge the gap between experiential events and business travel. They are looking for a single solution to their requirements, managing the creative side, the event and the travel, but to the same standard, because with these kinds of events, the stakes are incredibly high.

“We will bring sustainability with authenticity, and the agility to manage high profile projects of significant scale.”

Longer term plans include establishing an operation in mainland UK, both in London and in the Midlands/north of England. It will

also look to expand its presence in northern and southern Ireland. Growing the footprint of The Human Network in the Middle East and the US is also on the agenda.

Gietzen has identified opportunities with emerging technology. While other TMCs are tied to legacy tech or complicated tech stacks, he says this “new kid on the block” can develop technology that’s fit for purpose and is already being seen as a test bed for new solutions. It has been asked to join the Amadeus customer advisory board, for example. “There are lots of tech solutions in the market and there is a big opportunity here to seek out betterment within the sector,” he adds.

“The sector is also still very transactional so we will be looking to build a reputation for making business travel an experience for our customers, not just moving them around. We want people to have remarkable and memorable experiences."

in brief...

Do you have a good work-life balance?

I definitely work long hours but I’m also very strict about my priorities. My family time and exercise time are nonnegotiable. It helps that I’ve built a fantastic management team and I am careful not to micromanage people.

You’ve been involved in organising some major events. What was the most memorable and why?

Definitely the coronation of King Charles III. It was one of the most extraordinary projects we’ve worked on and I was humbled and honoured to be part of something that will be written in the history books and which was watched by billions of people around the world. It was such a special moment for the company.

Proudest moment?

Delivering the G7 summit in Cornwall. It was the first major live event after the Covid lockdowns and the way we dealt with all the challenges paved the way for how events were done at that time.

Who has had the biggest influence in your life/career and why?

Can I have two? The first would be Sir Martin Sorrel, the founder of WPP – the world’s largest advertising and PR group. I closely looked at what he did and used it as a blueprint for The Human Network. The other would be Steven Bartlett for his Diary of a CEO podcast. It’s kept me company on many a dog walk and has changed my approach to management.

Who was your best boss and why?

My Mum. She still tells me what to do and I listen to her guidance.

Are you a good boss and why?

I hope so. I like to think I’m a boss who empowers my senior leadership team. I pride myself on continuously pushing the team to have a vision and execute on that. I think this is reflected in the long-term retention. Most of my close team have been with me since the start.

Michael Gietzen is CEO of The Human Network, a collective of seven of the top experiential agencies in the world, including Identity and the Smyle group. He is an award-winning entrepreneur recognised by Forbes, the Sunday Times and the Financial Times and the proud recipient of The Queen’s Award for international enterprise.

MICHAEL GIETZEN

Faster entry, but strings attached

Clive Wratten, BTA Chief Executive Officer

THE

LATEST

UK-EU DEAL

offers some genuinely encouraging news but seems to come with more strings attached than the initial headlines would have us believe. The devil’s in the detail.

One aspect which I'm sure will be a relief to many travelling for work is the announcement about UK travellers gaining access to more European passport e-gates. It has me feeling cautiously optimistic – the emphasis being very much on the cautiously.

Anyone who has endured eternal airport queues will feel this change couldn’t have come sooner enough. It’s exactly what people need to travel quicker and for their journeys to be less stressful, especially when we have back-to-back meetings, tight schedules and no time to waste.

Yet, the reality is far more complicated. While some e-gates are readily available to us now, the change lies entirely in the hands of individual countries, and frankly, it’s far from a done deal. Even when it comes into effect, I imagine there will be many disgruntled UK travellers, who on

Human connections since the dawn of man

Scott Davies, ITM Chief Executive

their first visits will need to be registered in the system and be met with more confusion. It’ll hardly be the easy and seamless experience we’re all hoping for. I must admit, I’ll be very sad to see the end of passport stamps. I’m a sucker for nostalgia. I felt they were proper bragging rights in many ways – a tangible, inked little mark of where you've been.

SINCE THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY

BEGAN, when neanderthal man/woman

asked someone for a piggyback to just over there, where a deal or trade could be made, it has been based on relationships and mutual benefit. If neanderthal person hadn't heard from another neanderthal person that this other person was good at piggybacks, no transaction could have happened.

At ITM’s Inspire Conference at Celtic Manor, 89% of delegates listed networking and connecting as their primary reason for attending. As I always say, it’s a 60-hour event and you may get half a dozen opportunities to interact with the same person. Many of us are fortunate to have been around a while and enjoy many relationships which are much more friendships than work colleagues. Newer people

On a more positive note, the proposed Youth Mobility Scheme excites me a lot. It’s a golden opportunity for young professionals to immerse themselves in a different working culture, build international networks and develop a deeper cross-cultural understanding. It's progress, at least. thebta.org.uk

to our industry sometimes suggest to us that existing longstanding relationships and friendship groups can create the perception of certain cliques Whilst unintentional and understandable, people routinely gravitating towards each other can make networking events more daunting for newer people.

As a society we hopefully understand better than ever that we are all different and our levels of comfort entering a busy room, initiating conversation in a bar or taking part in a table discussion vary accordingly. I reckon forums, communities and teams are healthier, smarter and just better when they’re formed of people who think differently.

So, next time you’re at an industry event, have a think and look around to see if there’s someone you could welcome into your circle. I find a question about mutual footwear makes for a good conversation starter…. itm.org.uk

Why cyber-crime is total pants –and what you can do about it

Scott Wylie, Chief Technology Officer, TripStax

BEING A REVERED FASHION ICON up there with the likes of Kim Kardashian, I went on the M&S website the other day to buy my annual pair of trendy shorts. Lucky for us all, this season is all about colour (or so I’m told). Brave I might be,

miffed that my street cred might now take a hit as I stroll the streets of Lowestoft in last season’s colour palette. But with my CTO hat on, my heart goes out to the tech teams fighting the nightmare that all of us in IT dread.

Around 30,000 cybercrime incidents are detected per year, a constant threat no IT

but I think I’ll be opting for ‘icy blue’ or ‘powder pink’ as opposed to the spring/summer in vogue ‘tangerine dream’.

To my horror, I discovered the UK’s biggest clothing retailer had been hacked and wasn’t accepting online orders. Shelves at my local Co-op, and yours too, no doubt sat empty. As a consumer, I’m mildly

professional ever feels complacent they have beaten.

In our sector we must be extra-vigilant. We are catnip for hackers, full of rich information about wealthier-than-average individuals: addresses, card and passport numbers, and so on.

Some of the world’s biggest airlines and hotels have received massive fines after

hack attacks exposed they were failing to protect data.

Hackers are clever bleeders, and they’re getting smarter, and more patient. Typically, they use fraudulent phishing emails to fool an employee into handing over a critical password. But once they gain access, they no longer attack instantly. Instead, they silently move around the victim’s network, switching on all the permissions to access the entire system, so when they do strike it’s close to total wipeout.

What can you do as travel managers to keep the hackers at bay? Well, you can certainly encourage cyber-hygiene among your travellers: basic practice like encrypting the hard drive on their laptops and taking care when using public Wi-Fi.

But mostly you are in the hands of your travel suppliers and service providers, relying on them to train employees to recognise hacker infiltration, implement strong password policies, conduct regular security reviews, back up data and update and patch systems.

What you can do is vet your suppliers’ security efforts, involve your IT and security colleagues when you go out to bid, and check their accreditations. At TripStax, for example, we have achieved ISO 27001 certification and the US-based voluntary cybersecurity compliance Type 1 SOC audit, both far from box-ticking exercises. You will fail these audits if you don’t put rigorous defences in place.

The cyber-crime threat is 24/7, and as CTOs we are fighting it 24/7 too.

tripstax.com

FACTS & FIGURES

14%

Concur Expense data for 2024 showed the number of expense transactions in the UK increased by 14% year-on-year, with an average expense transaction of £73, despite nearly a third of travellers saying their company was cutting back on travel.

8%

Hotel bookings in the US dropped 8% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, while overall booking levels around the world have changed little, according to a HotelHub analysis of 1.9+ million hotel bookings.

18%

A BCD Travel survey of 681 business travellers in Europe and Asia Pacific (who took a train when travelling for business at least once in the past 12 months) found 18% expect to take more this year, while 60% expect to take the same number.

DIARY OF A

App designers need to pull their socks up – or get on their bike

Jason Dunderdale, Global Director of Sales, Blacklane

TECH AND I are not best friends at the moment.

In particular an electric bike app that seems to fail me when I need it most.

Picture the scene; I have a train to catch. I have my trousers tucked into my socks ready to race but I’ve been logged out of the app. I cannot remember my password, because honestly who can. So I reset it, and try to book the bike

The payment won’t work. I add another card and still cannot book the bike. And I miss my train. Not only am I fed up, I’m

also standing in Waterloo station having forgotten about my bike-friendly fashion choices telling my wife I will be home later than promised.

Apps shouldn’t be this complicated. I’m especially irritated that I tried to make a sustainable choice - and one a little better for my heart health - and it was simply too difficult. I also like to test apps in our industry to keep abreast of the tech platforms used by the corporate partners and agencies Blacklane works with.

While there are certainly some brilliant ones out there, my interaction with an expense

management and travel booking tool was haphazard and annoying.

The travel booking element had been shoehorned as an afterthought into an app built for something else. There was no real consideration to how corporate travel is booked. It took me so long to try and make a booking that I never made it to hitting confirm.

Despite all my tech dramas, the last thing I was going to do was call the companies in question to complain. After all, I have this column for that!

In all seriousness, there are transactions that we view as simple, and we don’t crave any human interaction. We want to be able to achieve something on-the-go with a few fast clicks.

But based on the amount of badly-worded AI generated sales emails I receive, I worry that our profession is at risk of losing its softer skills. The ability to pick up the phone and build a rapport, to focus on personal engagement.

Right now the Blacklane sales team is engaged in an outreach campaign, taking time to personally connect with our valued agency and corporate clients to thank them for the important role they’ve played in our growth. We’re measuring success based on phone calls and face-to-face visits, not emails or sales targets.

Yes, tech is integral to huge areas of business, and it certainly helps me to go faster, but so do my industry friendships. So I look forward to seeing you in person soon, and I promise not to talk about ebikes. blacklane.com

FACTS & FIGURES 52%

A study by Serko and Sabre, based on a survey of more than 300 US travel managers at companies with over $50m in revenue, found the majority (90%) are using AI and, of these, 52% say AI has exceeded expectations while 45% say it’s meeting them.

76%

The percentage of new jobs in business travel awarded to females increased to 76% in 2024 from 69.5% in 2023 and 68% in 2022, according to the latest figures from travel recruitment specialists C&M Recruitment.

29%

Booking data from serviced apartment specialist SilverDoor shows the average length of stay in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell 29% to 41 nights in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter in 2024.

Specialist event agency Lemon Lane has recruited Beth Turner as Production Project Director. Her career includes six years in project management roles at NICE and three years at fullservice agency DRPG, latterly as Senior Project Manager.

Beyond Business Travel, with locations in Belfast and Dublin, has appointed Mark Eaglesham as Senior Client Success Manager. He joins from CAVU where he was Head of Growth - Indirect Channels - EMEA.

Formerly Global Travel manager at Endeavour Mining, Calum Hawley has recently launched BTC Global alongside his wife, Lucy. BTC Global is a buyer consultancy helping corporates to manage their unmanaged travel.

Sally Higgs has joined Clarasight as Sustainability and Operations Programme Manager. She was previously employed by Festive Road for three years as Travel and Events Sustainability Manager for Amazon.

Sabre Corporation has appointed Jennifer Catto as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. During her 25-year career, she has led integrated marketing and growth strategies at Travelport, Travelocity and others.

ATPI has promoted Zara Higgins to the newly-created role of Head of Energy. She has been with ATPI since 2017, most latterly as General Manager, but left briefly in June 2022 to join CTM. See below for more ATPI changes.

ALSO ON THE MOVE... >> CMAC Group has promoted Leanne Riley to the role of Director of Business Development at CMAC Group. She was previously Head of Sales >> Simone Buckley has joined Amadeus Cytric as Enterprise Growth Lead, UK and Nordics >> Michelle Jolley has joined FCM Travel as SVP of Global Marketing. She was previously with Flight Centre Travel Group in South Africa in various corporate and leisure marketing roles. Gina Ng has succeeded Jolley as Vice President of Marketing for the Americas. She previously worked for the Singapore Tourism Board >> Judy ‘JP’ Peplinski has replace Zara Higgins as ATPI Head of Global Strategy Energy Division (see above) . Peplinski was formerly MD USA, Energy Travel. This role has been taken on by Ettienne de Swardt >>

MARK EAGLESHAM

SALLY HIGGS

ZARA HIGGINS

JENNIFER CATTO

Beneath the

SURFACE

As consolidation looks set to continue among the largest players, smaller travel management companies are emerging as viable alternatives, says Gillian Upton

The spectre of the American Express GBT/CWT behemoth if the US Department of Justice drops its opposition doesn’t faze the TMC industry. Consolidation has long been a characteristic of the sector and it will continue, particularly in the upper half of the league table. Many industry observers believe that BCD will be under new management within the next 12 months, while there has long been rumours of Direct Travel acquiring ATPI.

“Everyone has a price,” says Dave Bishop, Gray Dawes Managing Director Europe.

“If the DOJ says ‘yes’ it will drive other acquisitions at or near that level in order to compete with that new enlarged business.”

Clive Wratten, CEO of Business Travel Association (BTA), reckons consolidation creates opportunity as well as a threat for the sector as smaller TMCs need to be faster on their feet.

“When change happens it facilitates change further down the chain,” he says. Already, brand new TMCs have emerged.

James Diaz, the former CEO of Travel Planet, stepped away from the Frenchowned TMC and launched Absolute Travel Management in January this year, taking several colleagues with him.

Absolute closed an oversubscribed seed investment round at the end of 2024

raising over £500,000, attracting angel investors and OpsTalent, a specialist in customer experience solutions based in Poland looking to “capitalise on growth opportunities within the SME market”.

At the end of last year, CT Travel Group (CTTG) and Good Travel Management merged after John Good Group took a majority stake in CTTG, forming a new company with a combined turnover of £85 million.

Other TMCs have changed hands while some have launched specialist divisions.

TravelPerk plugged its expenses gap with the purchase of Yokoy and Clarity has launched an entertainment arm to create what Clarity Business Travel CEO Pat McDonagh calls “centres of excellence to compete with the niche players”.

Events and creative agencies group The Human Network, meanwhile, snapped up Belfast-based Beyond Business Travel and has big plans to bring its focus on “creating memorable experiences” to the travel management space.

Healthy competition

It seems the industry is on a roll again, building up overseas presence and plugging gaps in service offering in order to handle multinational accounts. One thing the industry has always been good at is

The larger the large ones get, the more potential customers will need to consider the benefits of scale against the agility of a smaller operator”

being nimble on its feet and now this potential new wall of competition, in the shape of Amex GBT/CWT, presents new opportunities.

The much talked-about deal promises to bring global content, the best software and the best services, all integrated.

Eric J. Bock, Amex GBT’s Chief Legal Officer and Global Head of M&A, stated that the CWT transaction would “provide even more value and choice to customers and suppliers and more opportunities for CWT employees.”

Paul Abbott, CEO of Amex GBT, declared the deal is “an opportunity to welcome 4,000 customers on to a proven model, to strengthen our presence in key industry verticals such as military, government, energy, marine and mining”.

But there are questions over what it will do to competition in the industry.

Tackling its mission of eradicating unfair behaviour, the UK’s Competition and Mergers Authority (CMA), while approving the Amex GBT acquisition, nonetheless

More and more corporate travel buyers are challenging themselves to consider something different and look beyond the obvious”

probed how many TMCs can handle multinational accounts.

Ironically, in its response to the CMA's initial concerns, Amex GBT was forced to 'big up' the capabilities of its rivals, arguing that BCD, FCM, CTM, and Navan – along with Spotnana/Direct Travel, Blockskye/ Kayak for Business/Gant Travel and others – have the “credibility and track record to fight for and win contracts to serve customers of all sizes with the most complex needs, as well as those with simpler requirements”.

The submission claimed the CMA was wrong to focus on a separate market for global multinational customers and SMEs with global and complex needs, and that both could be effectively serviced by a wide array of competing TMCs.

It criticised the CMA for ignoring evidence from various sources to show that the business travel market is highly fragmented and intensely competitive for customers of all sizes and needs.

The CMA, it claimed, had misunderstood the way in which organisations procure business travel services and the way they create competitive tension between TMCs

It had also failed to take into account the “highly dynamic nature of the market, with customers increasingly demanding digital solutions, TMCs providing global coverage through tech solutions, travel partner networks, and business process outsourcing solutions”.

Market shifts

Traditionally, multinational buyers gravitated towards similar-size TMCs with a similar global footprint and culture, promising one single contact, consistent service, a single system and consolidated data. But that started to change as long ago as 2011 when a tech-driven Redfern scooped the domestic travel booking for 10 government departments. CTM acquired Redfern five years later.

There is an easy answer to the CMA’s question today. A distinct move towards de-globalisation means multinational accounts need not only fall into the laps of the major players or the tech-first disruptors such as Navan, TravelPerk and Spotnana. That same capability is now shared by other TMCs outside of the ‘Top 10’, who are investing heavily in tech, either through acquisition, which shortens the R&D route, or capex.

Detractors of contracting with one TMC globally point to the hubbing services used, which follow the 80/20 rule, of satisfying only the key markets and ignoring regional expertise.

ITM’s CEO Scott Davies adds: “Even large global programmes can be challenged to appoint a single TMC around the globe, including the largest players. This is because some of the larger TMCs still have areas of the world that they don’t have a whollyowned presence within.”

Forward-thinking buyers have long relied on local TMC partners to satisfy those differences in local cultures in local markets. They are often significant players in each of their main markets, while different online booking tools (OBTs) are used for the same reasons.

In any case “globalisation was only ever Europe, Asia and the US”, says BTA CEO Clive Wratten, while questioning whether globalisation is coming to an end.

“Each of our TMC businesses has a local flavour and uses a conglomeration of smaller partners,” he says.

And that appears to be a new template for the future.

Joined up thinking

Integrating the technology to knit together multiple TMCs – and deciding where and how it needs to join together – is potentially problematic but it is not an issue, according

to Pat McDonagh at Clarity.

“The melding of technology is not a challenge,” he says.

What is needed, McDonagh points out, is to educate buyers on the pain points.

Technology has undoubtedly levelled the playing field and widened the choice for buyers willing to embrace a different procurement route and consider TMCs other than the major players.

It’s interesting to note that RFP pitch lists for multinationals clients are no longer made up exclusively of multinational TMCs.

“Forward-thinking corporates are re-evaluating what global really means, often favouring tech-enabled, customercentric TMCs that combine local strength with global scale, without the red tape,” says Jamie Pherous, CEO of CTM.

Up until three years ago Gray Dawes, for example, was a UK-only TMC but has made 16 acquisitions over the last decade to build up its overseas presence across the UK, the US, the Netherlands and Australia. Asia Pacific is now on its radar.

“As a TMC, do you need to be everywhere? We don’t need to have all the points on the map,” says Bishop, its MD Europe.

“We can be asset light yet service multiple locations from a single hub. Technology has enabled us to do that.

"Clients can call us 24 hours a day and be answered by someone who knows who they are and they still have one global contract and one global account manager. If you regionalise you can be far more agile.”

Of the clients Gray Dawes has won over the last 12 months, nearly 50% are multinationals who they are servicing in more than one market.

Going global

Clarity Business Travel also sees itself as a viable alternative to the mega players.

Its average size of client has risen five-fold in the last five years and it manages clients with spends up to £50 million.

Through OneGlobal – the international joint venture set up by Clarity and its US partner World Travel in October 2022 – it has clients who spend over £75 million.

OneGlobal, which now has fully-managed solutions throughout Europe, South America, The Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australasia, places Clarity in the top 10 of TMCs worldwide, with a total transaction

value of approximately US$4 billion.

“Buyers need to look beyond the end of their nose to see the alternatives,” says Clarity’s McDonagh.

“More and more corporate travel buyers are challenging themselves to consider something different and look beyond the obvious.”

Gray Dawes’ Bishop reckons the presence of consultants helping clients through the RFP process is now challenging what they are buying.

“We’re starting to see some bold buyers splitting up the world,” he says.

Size matters

Yet again, TMCs are pivoting to satisfy customer needs, although Davies at ITM urges caution.

“It would take time for any to grow to compete with the largest three or four globally," he warns.

"As with any market dynamic, the larger the large ones get, the more potential customers will need to consider the benefits of scale against the agility of a smaller operator."

Whatever the outcome of Amex GBT/CWT deal, watch this space as smaller TMCs start to make more of a splash.

Forward-thinking corporates are often favouring tech-enabled, customer-centric TMCs that combine local strength with global scale”

IIS YOUR TMC CONNECTING

YOU?

We check in with the team at Direct ATPI (and friends) to find out how the leading TMC is redefining business travel

n the world of business travel, connection is everything. It’s the hidden thread that links strategy to execution, people to purpose, and technology to transformation.

In an increasingly fragmented travel landscape, the key is choosing a TMC that can connect it together – systems, strategies, suppliers, and most importantly, people.

Here’s how the team at Direct ATPI connect the dots to create seamless, strategic and future-ready travel programmes, bringing meaningful change and long-term value across organisations.

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

STRATEGY MEETS PEOPLE

Katie Skitterall, Group Commercial Director

“At Direct ATPI, we’re all about championing the human aspect of connections, which are built on trust and accountability.

As every business is unique, we match customers with an executive sponsor to ensure they feel connected to the top of our business, and the right experts and suppliers to build a custom pathway that aligns company objectives, supplier capabilities and emerging innovations.

Adam Knights, Regional Managing Director UK, Europe & Middle East

“It starts with leadership. Direct ATPI is driven by a vision to empower, innovate and bring real value to our clients. Your travel programme thrives on meaningful connections, and our awardwinning team goes beyond simply managing travel. We orchestrate progress, not just for our customers, but across the entire ecosystem. TMCs provide access to the best content, data, supplier relationships and innovations. From APIs and feeds, to direct connects and booking tools, the better connected your TMC is, the greater the potential of your travel programme.

or your need is at its greatest, it is empathy, understanding and a willingness to help that matter most.

With Direct ATPI we have been able to bring together both, fostering a transparent, agile and change resilient partnership.”

BESPOKE TECHNOLOGY

Jenny Thornton, Director of Technology Solutions

We ensure long-term success by linking travel managers with the right tools, insights and best-in-class experts and suppliers that can elevate their programmes and drive change. Our people-centric approach transforms travel into a strategic driver of business success.”

THE TRAVEL MANAGER’S JOURNEY

Daniel Cockton, Vice President Global Travel Services at Wood PLC (Direct ATPI client)

As the industry shifts from traditional GDS to a dynamic multichannel approach, it’s vital that your TMC remains at the forefront of advancements, leveraging their connections to bring you the best the market has to offer.”

“Curating a credible programme that elevates travel from a service function to a strategic asset requires meaningful and future fit connections, both technology and human led. Building bespoke technology and connecting to the right supply chain builds trust and credibility.

However, no amount of AI, APIs or direct connects will overshadow the human connection, because when things go wrong,

“We don’t just plug in platforms, we connect them. That’s why open API platforms have been at the heart of our tech strategy for years.

APIs enable systems to ‘talk’ to each other, creating a richer user experience where travel managers can access live rates, receive realtime updates, enjoy an enhanced user experience, and make changes direct with the supplier that flow back between interfaces to the TMC. Interoperability is the ability of different systems and applications to exchange data freely in both directions, and this is how we solve fragmentation across the industry and create seamless connections.

With more suppliers starting to enrich their content via APIs, it’s more important than ever for travel managers to work with TMCs who can connect and integrate with ease.”

CONTENT WITHOUT COMPROMISE

Camilla Tuzemen, Group Technology Optimisation Manager

“Content is key to traveller loyalty, user experience and policy adherence, and having the right TMC unlocks it all.

Unlike other TMCs, Direct ATPI provides access to all content and connections, ensuring you’re connected to the best rates available.

To avoid the dreaded “I found it cheaper elsewhere” moment, it’s crucial to ask the right questions and benchmark against direct websites. This is where APIs come in, complimenting the traditional GDS with an agile, transparent and multi-channel approach that gives full visibility into availability, costs and an enhanced experience.

So, have the conversation with your TMC to make sure your content strategy is working for you.”

CONNECTING TO THE FUTURE

Avenir: Travel Edition

Direct ATPI is bringing global markets a transformative travel solution – Avenir: Travel Edition, a next-generation travel platform powered by cutting-edge technology from Spotnana and backed by Direct ATPI’s unmatched service.

Avenir: Travel Edition delivers:

• Access to the broadest range of travel content sources

• A fast, personalised booking experience to keep travellers happy and in policy

• Automated self-service capabilities for travel modifications on the go

SUPPLIER PARTNERSHIPS

Alwyn Burrage, Global Programme Director

“At Direct ATPI, we prioritise supplier strategy and nurture strong, collaborative relationships. We connect businesses directly with suppliers to ensure they are getting the best available deals and corporate fares. Suppliers come equipped with a toolbox full of resources, so it pays to engage with them. From building stronger policy management and reducing programme leakage, to unlocking better rates through consolidation and tracking CO2 emissions, there is so much untapped opportunity.”

• 24/7 support via chat, phone, or email backed by Direct ATPI’s global expertise

• Seamless agent handoffs through one platform to provide comprehensive duty of care.

REDEFINING CORPORATE TRAVEL

Steve Singh, Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group; Executive Chairman, Direct Travel, Spotnana, and Troop; Co-Founder Concur

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PARTNER

James Draper, Head of Sales

“Once you understand your programme’s needs, the most important part is connecting to the right travel partner to bring it to life. The best TMC doesn’t just understand your business, they are agile, accountable and honest in their capabilities. Success comes from connecting with the right people, roles and expertise to have open conversations and eliminate any friction. Better connections lead to better outcomes, and when you build strategic supplier alliances, embrace technology and nurture relationships, your TMC becomes more than just a travel provider – it becomes a catalyst for transformation.”

“With Avenir: Travel Edition, we believe Direct ATPI is wellpositioned to ignite a new era in global business travel – one powered by modern infrastructure and elevated by the renowned service their clients have trusted for years. Together, these strengths will drive much needed transformation in the industry.”

Transfers

Pre-trip

On-trip

Upgrades

KPIs

Wellbeing Delays

A numbers GAME

Getting the right data from your travel management company – and knowing

how to use

it – is key to the success of your travel programme, says Nick Easen

Making sense of a multifaceted travel programme can be daunting. This is where data, particularly the numbers that travel management companies (TMCs) provide, can be incredibly powerful, helping make sense of travel spend, the ROI of trips and ESG goals, as well as flagging out-of-policy bookings.

These days, businesses and suppliers are awash with data points as they digitally transform. There are four focal points for travel data – those on cost control, compliance, wellbeing and sustainability. However, as the travel industry evolves and becomes more data-led, there are more challenges.

“Fragmentation of booking channels across TMCs, other agencies or direct suppliers can drive complexity in aggregating data sets. This often requires more advanced analysis in order to join large, disparate pools of data,” explains Sara Andell, Director of Consulting Strategy, American Express GBT.

“TMCs also act as intermediaries to other systems including GDS. And it is common that core data provision comes in a relatively raw format. It’s important to understand what data transformation, cleaning, validating and structuring is undertaken by the TMC.”

It doesn’t help that corporates often engage multiple TMCs for different business divisions or regions, have significant travel policy leakage, or

substantial expense programmes that run alongside their travel programme.

This is why taking an active rather than a passive approach to data analytics is crucial. This involves not only querying the data on offer but where and how it’s generated. Buyers must not settle for offthe-shelf reporting.

“Travel managers should ask their TMC what technology they are using and which reporting and analytics providers they are working with to consolidate their data. Is the technology provider pulling data from every content source – including GDS and non-GDS data, NDC, ground transport or carbon emissions? How are they processing and standardising that data? More importantly, don’t accept poor data if you know something is wrong,” advises David Chappell, Chief Product Officer, TripStax.

Eye on the prize

Real-time analysis and regular reporting, rather than quarterly reviews, can help flag some of these issues. This approach can also lead to a more agile and responsive travel programme. More importantly, having a data strategy is key.

“Data is most powerful if it drives action. When aligned with internal or business goals, it becomes a real game changer. It’s therefore important to understand the ‘why’ behind data trends and champion a data-driven culture internally,” advises Sam Davies, ATPI's Director of Corporate Partnerships.

SAF

Out of policy

He adds: “Starting with the ‘why’ and ‘what’ is crucial, especially if a travel manager is trying to reduce costs or carbon emissions, boost online adoption or enhance the traveller experience. When objectives are clear, data becomes a powerful decision-making tool. Travel managers should also use data as a storytelling device, not just to report on the past, but to shape future strategy.”

Changing behaviour

Using data to monitor buying patterns has always been a hot topic. Late bookings result in higher costs since airlines around the globe have invested heavily in yield management. Analytics can show why flights are clicked on last minute and flag savings, while data relating to out-of-policy bookings can help travel managers drive compliance. Data on wellbeing, whether information on travel frequency, trip length or rest periods, is increasingly important too, since travel managers are now more able to quantify duty of care.

In all these use cases, turning random data into actionable insight is dependent on benchmarking a travel programme against industry standards and best practices.

“TMCs will have insights from multiple clients, allowing you to compare your performance and identify areas for enhancement,” states Logan LaBonne, Director, Product Management, Data & Analytics, CWT.

Carbon control

Data is essential to build an effective ESGfocused travel strategy. With sustainability continuing to be high on the corporate agenda, buyers are seeking greater visibility on their carbon emissions, broken down by route, traveller or supplier. The EU’s directive on corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and similar regulatory requirements have further ramped demand for this information.

This data can also be useful in supporting strategies on reducing Scope 3 emissions. Putting a price on carbon and marrying that with other data allows companies to create funds for decarbonisation projects, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or electric vehicles.

“In the last couple of years, ESG is an area where the demand for data has increased significantly. We see a convergence of

opinion that sustainability and value often come from the same buying decision. There are anomalies, but on the whole, being cost conscious leads to better sustainability outcomes," states Chris Truss, Global Sustainability Director, Reed & Mackay.

A different story

Companies can now strike a more calibrated and holistic approach to cost, sustainability and employee wellbeing by adopting a data-driven approach. Data consolidation across all parts of the travel spend lifecycle from pre-trip to on-trip and post-trip is a critical part of this process. Utilising dashboards to visualise data, as well as tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), can also help to analyse trends, allowing targeted action.

“Travel data should be used to tell a relevant, clear and actionable story. It generally takes an experienced consultant with a deep understanding of the travel industry, trends, company policy and underlying data sources to interpret this information. However, we’ve recently found some success in utilising AI to turn even

TIPS ON USING TMC DATA

• Make sure you have a data strategy

• Query data from TMCs to ensure its provenance

• Focus on the ‘why’ and the ‘what’

• Benchmark data so you can create actionable insights

• If swamped by data, drill down on behaviour change

• Align travel data with core business objectives

• Connect travel data with other business functions

• Create stories around data to drive awareness and change

It is important to focus on specific behaviours and data that can impact your programme”

casual users into analyst storytellers,” observes CWT’s Logan LaBonne.

“Anyone can now interact with data using natural language queries and generative AI. For instance, HR, finance, security, and sales people can easily access and interpret travel information without requiring specialised analytical skills or familiarity with corporate travel jargon.”

It is likely that generative AI will help stretched travel managers. For instance, in a survey by BCD Travel, only 36% of travel managers reported that they interact with their data daily, while 10% do so quarterly or less. The main reason, cited by 44% of respondents, was lack of time.

“The amount of data available can be overwhelming. It is therefore important to focus on specific behaviours and data that can impact your programme. Don’t ignore outliers, as this can highlight important trends,” points out Heather Wright, Vice President for Global Product Marketing at BCD Travel. “It is also important to share your insights with other key players in your company, including finance, risk management, IT and security.”

In fact, data could hold the key to elevating the future role of the travel manager. “We’re talking about connecting the dots between travel and things like project spend. I’ve found that bringing this to life means moving beyond spreadsheets. It’s about using dynamic reporting to visualise the data, telling stories around both successes and challenges, and using case studies to show tangible impact,” concludes Stuart Birkin, General Manager for CTM Europe.

How may I HELP YOU?

AI-driven solutions are set to transform the services you can expect from travel management companies but it won't happen overnight, says Gill Upton

On the inevitable bots versus humans race, generative AI is a persuasive new tool when it comes to improving the customer experience.

Personalised travel planning and AI-driven concierge services are already here and the emergence of the Digital Assistant is not far off. However, advances are being tempered by the naturally risk-averse TMC industry.

“As a TMC, we’ll never lose sight of the importance of human connection. We see AI as an opportunity to help our people work smarter and faster, focusing on highimpact tasks that drive traveller (and client) satisfaction,” says David Coppens, SVP Solutions Engineering and Service Design, BCD Travel. “While we’re leveraging AI to support requests throughout various departments, our technologies will always have human oversight to monitor and measure precision.”

Human nature

AI can certainly reduce high volume, lowvalue tasks through automation, and hightouch TMCs have been working out how

best to marry their human workforce with artificial intelligence. “While human agents and AI agents will always overlap in some capacity, there will still be a need for human agent expertise,” reckons Navan’s CEO Rich Liu.

AI will maximise the productivity of ‘real’ agents and their jobs will change as a result. As repetitive tasks are automated, agents can focus more on more complex issues that work best with human interaction, such as crisis management, VIP services and complex travel bookings.

Moreover, how much AI is utilised will be influenced by company culture, travel policy and the travel manager.

This ‘slowly slowly’ approach with AI is not surprising as TMCs work in a space where accuracy is of the utmost importance and nuance is everything. TMCs are following the low risk/high impact productivity route first while they test and learn.

”We deal with payment, company travel policies, personal preferences, PCI/PII data and so on,” says Coppens. “We are focused on fairness, transparency, privacy, security, responsible use and human oversight. It is

what our clients expect and our AI usecases are carefully selected to ensure we meet that expectation.”

“It is slow but it’s the right choice as there are dangers of generative AI and TMCs have to protect themselves,” adds Nonna Alomaia, Chair of the Technology Working Party at the Business Travel Association (BTA). “Mishandling data is the issue.”

Thinking ahead

Fast forward past the test phase, though, and AI has near-endless potential to change the way our industry processes travel bookings, from search to expense and reporting.

Once AI learns what the travellers' preferences are, its predictive tools will anticipate needs and create a bespoke booking that is policy compliant before travellers even think about their next trip. AI has pattern recognition that will make light of any trip a traveller has taken before.

Sarah Kuberry Martino, Direct Travel’s Chief Product Officer, believes this hyperpersonalised picture of the future is closer than ever.

As AI begins to anticipate needs and generate personalised, book-ready itineraries, we expect a significant shift in how services are priced”

▶

“We envision AI going beyond simple voice commands. Not only will travellers be able to dictate preferences like, ‘I need to go to London Tuesday night and return Friday morning,’ but AI could generate suggested itineraries proactively based on calendar integrations, meeting locations, and historical data. This level of anticipatory service will help transform booking from a task into a largely automated, yet highly personalised, transaction.”

BCD’s Coppens agrees. Based on the current speed of development, he says: “Agentic-AI, where AI acts on behalf of the user (rather than just assisting the user), and autonomously makes bookings without user input, taking into account travel

policies and preferences, does not seem like a distant future.”

The BTA's Alomaia says the AI Predict tool of her previous employer, Altour, can check a number of data sets – from weather, airports and traffic, for example – and predict what the likelihood is of a flight delay as the cabin crew could be stuck on the M25. ”It’s the most impactful tool it has. We had a traveller advised of a delay three hours before the airline knew.”

CTM reckons its virtual travel assistant, Scout, could deliver more services in the future. “Features like recognising loyalty programmes, seat preferences, and past room numbers are part of the vision for enhancing traveller satisfaction and streamlining the booking process. All the traveller would need to do is approve Scout’s suggestions,” explains Eric Ediger, the TMC’s Global Head of Automation Machine Learning.

In the meantime, the easy wins are enhancing the virtual travel assistant. At Navan, the company is already averaging a 20% year-on-year increase in tasks completed by its automated agent, and by next year, “it will likely be managing 70% of support requests,” says CEO Rich Liu.

“This shift will enable travel agents to become even more specialised in their craft. We’re betting big on chat becoming

the primary interaction mode, with increasingly sophisticated voice capabilities integrated into AI bots.”

Already, Navan’s automated support agent is able to anticipate users’ needs based on known traveller patterns and share traveller-specific recommendations.

“This level of personalisation takes the booking process from hours on a legacy platform to minutes or seconds with a modern T&E solution,” says Liu.

Price alterations

Clearly, these labour and cost savings will impact transaction fee and fee models.

“Yes,” says Direct Travel’s Kuberry Martino. “As AI begins to anticipate needs and generate personalised, book-ready itineraries, we expect a significant shift in how travel services are priced.

“Traditional per-transaction fee models –built around manual booking processes –become less relevant when automation handles much of the work. At Direct Travel, we’re already exploring per-trip pricing, which reflects the value of the entire travel experience rather than individual tasks. This approach aligns better with AI-driven workflows while still recognising the importance of expert human support throughout the journey.”

ATPI Group Commercial Director Katie

Skitterall concurs. “TMCs with AI-driven solutions will shift toward a single transaction fee that includes booking, unlimited changes and cancellations, which is very different to what is happening today,” she says. “However, this evolution will require careful management, particularly when it comes to buyer expectations. Comparing fee models will be more complex and many businesses still aren’t effectively tracking changes.”

BCD’s Coppens disagrees: “TMC fees are a compensation for the work we deliver and the investments we make. I don’t expect a direct impact from the use of AI in that area. Continuing use of human oversight may keep the status quo, at least initially.”

Shifting attitudes

Aside from possible changes to fees, traveller engagement is another upcoming challenge says ATPI’s Skitterall. “For AI to deliver a truly bespoke booking experience, we need travellers to update their profiles and preferences, and businesses to commit to integrating their systems effectively. The next generation isn’t afraid and will push for a streamlined end-to-end virtual experience as the workforce demographic change.”

One thing is for sure, change is coming and TMCs will pivot, yet again, to keep ahead of the game.

LOKULUS

Ask Alister

In the first of a new column, Alister Harris, Lokulus CEO, answers key questions about how to make the best use of Artificial Intelligence in business travel

Everyone is talking about AI and I know I need to get on board, but I don’t know where to start?

AI might sound like something from a sci-fi movie, but as we hear every day, it’s already transforming business at large, including business travel.

There’s no need to panic but it’s important to get an approach in place now before your competitors get ahead of you. Trust me, they will. Our advice is not to focus too much on the word AI or what that means. Just think ‘what would make my business better?’ especially in terms of improving and optimising your processes. Most of these processes are often repetitive, manual and open to error. When you have made a list of what could be better, take a look to see what AI solutions are out there. You’ll often find when looking that the potential solutions can help with other issues you hadn’t even thought of. There, you’ve started!

We are a service-based organisation, our people are our service, so I don’t want to diminish this service and get rid of our team.

This isn’t about getting rid of your team, it’s about freeing

them up to deliver even better service. For example, you could use AI to triage all your inbound emails, WhatsApp or other communications. It can even automatically answer the more regular queries about flight times, costs or changes, as well as ensure the highest priority items are dealt with the quickest. That means, rather than your team members having to go into every email or message to understand the context and act, you can have them delivering personalised recommendations, nurturing relationships and focussing on a real VIP experience. AI can be like having a very efficient, reliable junior team member.

OK, so where’s a good place to start?

The obvious place to start is in your customer facing operations, and this is where Lokulus can help. We are experts in customer service technology and work closely with the business travel industry. Come and see us at the TravelTech Show or message us — we’ll talk you through it all, show you a live demo, and help you see how AI could fit into your world. www.lokulus.com info@lokulus.com

ADVANTAGE TRAVEL PARTNERSHIP

advantagetravelpartnership. com

BDTeam@advantagetravelpartnership.com

Year established: 1978

Number of employees: 105

Advantage Travel Partnership is the industry-leading, single-stop solution for independent corporate and leisure travel businesses. We’re on a mission to be the ultimate travel partner. Our members benefit from cuttingedge technology and leading commercial terms that help them provide the very best travel services. We are a global travel community of 400+ members with annual global sales above £17bn.

ATPI atpi.com sales@atpi.com

Year established: 1919

Number of employees: 2,400

ATPI is a global leader in travel and event management, renowned for delivering innovative and highly-tailored solutions across various industries, including corporate, marine, energy, sports, and group travel. Headquartered in Manchester, UK, ATPI employs approximately 2,400 people and has an operations network that spans across 100+ locations on six continents. ATPI's robust global footprint, combined with deep local expertise, allows it to meet the unique and complex needs of a diverse clientele.

AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL

go.amexgbt.com/homepage/ uk

Year established: 2014

Number of employees: 19,000

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is a leading software and services company for travel, expense, and meetings and events. We have built the most valuable marketplace in travel with the most comprehensive and competitive content. With travel professionals and business partners in more than 140 countries, our solutions deliver savings, flexibility, and service from a brand you can trust –Amex GBT.

BCD TRAVEL

bcdtravel.com salessupport@bcdtravel.eu

Year established: 2006

Number of employees: 15,000+ globally

BCD Travel helps companies travel smart and achieve more. We drive programme adoption, cost savings and talent retention through digital experiences that simplify business travel. Our 15,000+ team members service clients in 170+ countries as we shape a sustainable future for business travel. BCD’s leading meetings and events management and global consultancy services complete our comprehensive suite of solutions for all aspects of corporate travel.

APPLEHOUSE TRAVEL

applehousetravel.co.uk enquiries@applehousetravel.co.uk

Year established: Applehouse Travel 2008, Southall Travel 1984 Number of employees: 1,000-plus

Applehouse Travel is a Londonbased TMC and part of the Southall Travel Group, which boasts an annual turnover exceeding £500 million. We provide bespoke travel management solutions to over 300 clients across diverse industries. Available 24/7, 365 days a year, we combine flexibility, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness – powered by one of the UK’s largest independent travel companies.

BEYOND BUSINESS TRAVEL

beyondbusinesstravel.com shauna.burns@beyondbusinesstravel.com

Year established: 2010

Number of employees: 20

Beyond Business Travel combines technology with experienced people to support businesses across Ireland and the UK mainland. We handle all aspects of business travel; sourcing and booking flights and accommodation, negotiating corporate rates, expense tracking, data analytics, self-booking tools, and visa assistance. Everything is tailored to meet specific client requirements. In November 2024, we were acquired by The Human Network.

ARRANGEMY arrangemy.com sales@arrangeMY.com

Year established: 1990

Number of employees: 96 arrangeMY offers comprehensive travel management solutions covering services including travel, accommodation, event management and venue sourcing. Our offering extends to training administration, apprentice travel, hospitality and bespoke technology solutions. With a seamless online and offline experience, our solutions are supported by account management, consolidated invoicing and real-time management information, guaranteeing tangible savings.

BLUE CUBE TRAVEL

www.bluecubetravel.co.uk enquiries@bluecubetravel.co.uk

Year established: 2003 Number of employees: 53

Blue Cube Travel is a TMC based in Kew Bridge, Greater London, established in 2003. We offer high-touch, concierge-style business travel solutions with 100% client retention. With 24/7 global support and real consultants delivering real results, we grow organically year after year – winning multiple industry awards annually (five in 2024 alone) – thanks to loyal clients, valued staff and authentic values.

CLARITY

claritybusinesstravel.com salessupport@claritybt.com

Year established: 2007

Number of employees: 896

Clarity delivers seamless travel, meetings and event solutions to businesses worldwide. With a team of over 800 experts and cutting-edge tech platforms like ClarityGo and MeetingsPro, plus a specialist events division, Brighter, Clarity streamlines travel, venue bookings, and unforgettable event experiences. Known for our exceptional service, we empower customers with 24/7 support and advanced tools for travel and meetings that do the business.

FCM

fcmtravel.com sales@uk.fcm.travel

Year established: 2004

Number of employees: 1500

Welcome to FCM, the alternative corporate travel company. What makes us the alternative? We make business travel a pleasure. Don’t just ‘get there’. Connect globally. Think differently. Travel better. Give yourself the flexibility to travel on your own terms. Our modern user platform, combined with the best customer service in the industry, keeps you moving with ease. We’re here to help you travel differently. And by differently, we mean better.

CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT (CTM) uk.travelctm.com info.europe@travelctm.com

Year established: 1994

Number of employees: 3000+

Corporate Travel Management (CTM) delivers global travel differently – with tailored programmes built with and for you. Our network spans 100+ countries, offering consistent service, technology and support. We drive strategic results and savings through data integration, cross-industry insights and local customisation – all delivered on one platform, by one team, for your global travel success.

FOCUS TRAVEL PARTNERSHIP focustravel.uk

focusteam@focustravel.uk

Year established: 1999 Number of employees: 10

Focus Travel Partnership is the leading UK business travel consortium for the independent and SME sector and represents 50 TMC partners with a turnover of over £1.3billion. Focus leverages the latest technology platforms and a comprehensive range of services to support our partners, enabling them to future-proof their businesses. Our collective size and buying power, along with our long-established industry leading air programme, enables Focus to negotiate the best deals across all sectors.

DIALAFLIGHT dialaflight.com/corporatetravel clientrelations@dialaflight.co.uk

Year established: 1980 Number of employees: 130

Having the industry's most experienced and knowledgeable team of travel professionals, with award-winning technology and management reporting, enables DialAFlight to deliver first-class corporate travel service and some of the most competitive business travel rates in the market. Dedicated business travel managers organise every part of a client’s trip, from securing the best rates to taking care of all the finer details, helping our clients go further.

GLOBAL TRAVEL COLLECTION UK globaltravelcollection.com salesuk@globaltravelcollection. com

Year established: 2007 Number of employees: 94

Global Travel Collection (GTC), the luxury division of Internova Travel Group, is the world’s leading community of expert advisors specialising in premium leisure, corporate, and entertainment travel. With offices located in London’s West End and headquartered in New York, GTC’s network of 1,500+ advisors deliver unmatched highly personalised service to clients worldwide. Discover the difference a personal travel advisor can make—get in touch today.

DIVERSITY TRAVEL

diversitytravel.com/uk

sales@diversitytravel.co.uk

Year established: 2006

Number of employees: 227

Diversity Travel is a leading travel management company providing a fully-integrated service to the charity, academic and not-forprofit sectors. Our specialists have significant expertise in arranging travel to both familiar and more obscure areas of the globe. With 24/7 global support, carbon offsetting, innovative technology and access to exclusive, highly flexible humanitarian and academic airfares, we’re the not-for-profit travel experts.

GOOD TRAVEL MANAGEMENT good-travel.co.uk sales@good-travel.co.uk

Year established: 1864

Number of employees: 60

We are your trusted partner in sustainable SME business travel, offering fully-tailored travel management packages carefully designed around the precise needs of your business. Let Good Travel Management simplify your corporate travel with expert specialists who care. Looking after you from door to door, we take care of your team’s travel needs, so you can focus on what matters. Get in touch today to find out how we can help your business travel better!

GRAY DAWES TRAVEL gdg.travel sales@gdg.travel

Year established: 1927

Number of employees: 500

With wholly-owned offices located across the UK, US, Australia and the Netherlands, we’re there for our clients whenever and wherever they need us. It’s what we call ALWAYS ON business travel – a 24/7 tailored experience, delivered with our single global booking tool offering unrivalled content at the best fares. As an extension of your own organisation, we provide our unique High Touch, High Tech, High Content service with an award-winning personal touch.

INNTEL inntel.co.uk

hello@inntel.co.uk

Year established: 1984

Number of employees: 130

Inntel is the UK’s leading independent travel management company, trusted by businesses for four decades. We deliver tailored solutions that solve clients’ travel challenges, powered by bespoke technology and 24/7 expert support. Our proprietary platform, LOGiC, streamlines bookings, programme management and reporting. As a certified B Corp, we excel in delivering sustainable, innovative, and cost-effective travel and meetings programmes.

ISON TRAVEL isontravel.com info@isontravel.com

Year established: 2013 Number of employees: 122

We are an award-winning travel management company with offices in the UK, US, Asia and the Middle East. ISON Travel combines unrivalled expertise with leading technology to deliver bespoke, content-rich services, helping clients operate more effectively, efficiently and sustainably. We serve a wide range of sectors, with specialist divisions in Marine, Media, Group Travel, Sport and MICE, all supported by continuous service teams of consultants.

BUSINESS TRAVEL LUNCH FORUM

GROUND TRANSPORT

Thursday June 19, 2025, The Caledonian Club, London

For more information about this event please contact: Kirsty.Hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk thebusinesstravelmag.com

MEON TRAVEL MANAGEMENT meontravel.com richard.ware@meontravel.com

Year established: 2002 Number of employees: 65

We make navigating your travel programme effortless. We are the experts by your side 24/7 with 50 years of award-winning service excellence. We are a world class travel management and assistance specialist leveraging a global reach from our UK centre of excellence. Through a blend of talent and technological prowess, we provide unrivalled access to a complete travel ecosystem and unmatched personalised service prioritising return on investment, D&I and ESG governance.

OMEGA WORLD TRAVEL omegaworld.co.uk francesco.deluca@omegaworld. co.uk

Year established: 1972

Number of employees: 400 globally

REED & MACKAY reedmackay.com hello@reedmackay.com

Year established: 1962

Number of employees: 1,402

This event is kindly sponsored by

Omega World Travel is one of the world’s largest independently owned travel management companies. With 50+ years of excellence, and a presence in 50+ countries, we deliver tailored, tech-driven corporate travel solutions for organisations of all sizes seeking value, efficiency, outstanding service and a long-term partnership.

Reed & Mackay delivers service-led corporate travel, people-focused technology, and award-winning event solutions across the globe. As part of the Navan Group, we believe in travel made easy, and in software designed for the people who use it. The foundation for Reed & Mackay’s market-leading service combines flexibility, reassurance and insight to create a level of travel and event management like no other.

TAKE2ETON GROUP

take2eton.com

sales@take2eton.com

Year established: 1969

Number of employees: 142

Take2Eton is an independent TMC with operations in UK, Europe and North America. Smart, flexible, and versatile, we simplify the complicated. By fusing our expert knowledge with inventive tech, we craft travel management and event solutions that meet changing needs, deliver value, and inspire trust. We work with SMEs, multinationals, and high-networth individuals and also provide specialist services for VIPs, energy and entertainment travel.

TRAVEL COUNSELLORS

business.travelcounsellors. com/gb businesstravel@travelcounsellors.com

Year established: 1994

Number of employees: Over 2,200 Travel Counsellors backed by 380 support colleagues

Experience care-led, conciergestyle business travel with Travel Counsellors for Business. Our business travel experts work as an extension of your team, providing end-to-end solutions with the traveller and their needs at the heart of every trip. Trust us to keep your business moving, with tech to support efficiency and duty of care, without compromising on the personal touch.

TRAVELPERK

travelperk.com

sales@travelperk.com

Year established: 2015 Number of employees: 1500 TravelPerk is the hyper-growth travel and expense platform for businesses. Trusted by global brands like Red Bull, Fujifilm, and Nord Security, TravelPerk has been reshaping the way companies manage travel for work, with a seamless all-in-one platform that simplifies travel booking, streamlines expense management and boosts productivity for businesses of all sizes. TravelPerk helps businesses save time, reduce costs and focus on what matters most.

WAYTE TRAVEL waytetravel.co.uk

garry.lloyd@waytetravel.co.uk

Year established: 1903

Number of employees: 59

Wayte Travel was established in 1903 and has specialised in business travel since 1980, providing access to the widest range of products and most up-to-date information. Our highly motivated and professional team ensure that all our customers receive honest, comprehensive and impartial advice, and that they benefit from our flexible, innovative approach and cost-saving benefits.

CLARITY BUSINESS TRAVEL

THE VITAL LINK

We check in with Molly Winterton, Customer Success Manager at Clarity Business Travel, to find out how her team is helping customers get the best from the TMC’s technology

What was your career path to your current role as Customer Success Manager?

I began my career in business travel 10 years ago as a Hotel Consultant (booking agent) with Capita Travel and Events. The company later rebranded as Agiito before being acquired by Clarity Business Travel in 2023. I left the industry briefly a few years later and worked in recruitment, but quickly realised – like so many others – that my heart was firmly in the world of travel so I contacted Capita and, although my old position had been filled, I was offered a role in the online fulfilment team. That’s really what kickstarted my career because it made me realise that I had a love for technology,

something I had never considered before. I then held a variety of roles – Online Support, Implementation Support and Implementation Manager – before becoming Customer Success Manager in April 2022. Over the course of my career I’ve been lucky to have a number of amazing mentors, including Donna Fitzgerald, Executive Director, a great supporter of internal development, who has been instrumental in supporting me in my current role.

What are your key responsibilities as Customer Success Manager?

The role has evolved over the years but essentially the customer success team bridges the gap between the technology development team and our customer-

facing teams to ensure our customers get the best experience from our technology, namely our proprietary online travel booking tool ClarityGo and our intuitive meetings management platform, MeetingsPro. We have that technology interest and knowledge, we understand how it works behind the scenes and we can articulate that back to our customers in a non-techy way. We ensure our customers get the best experience and, of course, as a result we see a rise in online adoption. Towards the end of 2024 the team was expanded with the appointment of a Customer Success Executive, Marie Lindsay, so we can now spend more time with customers, dealing with change requests and giving customers that extra level of support.

How do you support customers?

Real-time customer feedback has helped us enhance the tool for even better adoption and experience. We support customers with videos tutorials and a live chat knowledge base, which hosts articles and general guidance on how to book hotels, rail and flights or meetings. We develop roadmaps for our clients, keeping them informed about new releases and functionality enhancements, which happen every two weeks. We collect feedback from customers, analyse it and theme it, and then pass this on to our development teams. We also carry out health checks, making sure our clients are using the technology in the best way possible and getting the most out of it. We get involved from the first bid stage and we’ll stay with customers throughout. It’s good for customers to have that consistency and that additional level of expertise. We receive lots of feedback and ‘thank yous’ from our customers, which is really rewarding.

How do you support your Clarity colleagues?

We have weekly contact with the development teams so we can make sure they know what the customers require. By gathering and prioritising that customer feedback, we help our tech development teams understand what they should focus on in order to keep the customers happy. Then, we are able to take that tech development and communicate it to our customer-facing sales team, helping them present our technology in their sales pitches and tailoring pitches to each client’s requirements. Essentially, we sit between two critical areas of our business – our customer-facing teams (encompassing our business development team and our account management team) and our product development team, guiding the discussion and driving developments that are beneficial to both our customers and our business. We’re seeing tangible results. Last year the customer success team contributed to customer retention and new business wins to the value of £38.9 million. We’ve recently supported our Entertainment and Media division at the Media Technology Production Show, we educate externally and internally on all technology aspects,

integration of Agiito into Clarity. We have two amazing proprietary customer products, ClarityGo and MeetingsPro, and we make sure our customers and our people are kept fully up to date with developments.

Why is your team so important?

A company can have great technology that’s state-of-the-art and built for the future, but it needs people behind it. As with all technology, especially when it’s being first rolled out, customers are adapting to a different look and feel and others changes so there will always be queries. Therefore, it's hugely important we spend the time reviewing and understanding any concerns, taking onboard feedback, nurturing our customers and making sure they’re using the technology to its optimum. We work with customers and ensure appropriate changes are made such as policy amendments to provide an improved booking and CX experience. Our tech solutions don’t stand still. We strive for continual improvement and evolution and it’s vital that we continually educate, support and excite our customers about our products and solutions and those that we have coming in the future. claritybusinesstravel.com

A company can have great technology that's state-of-the-art and built for the future, but it needs people behind it”

Multi TASKING

As the remit of the travel manager expands, travel management companies are having to adapt to stay relevant

With all eyes now on the ROI of a business trip, travel programmes must have a greater alignment with a business’ core objectives. This shift in optics means that more is being demanded of travel buyers who, in turn, are demanding more of their travel providers.

This has created a virtuous circle where TMCs are increasingly becoming strategic partners. Relationships are becoming less vendor focused and transactional and are now more about value creation. Deeper engagement is therefore key – more active, less passive. It's also less about logistics and people management but more about delivering real business outcomes, with a focus on the long-term partnership.

“There is now a growing expectation for TMCs and suppliers to demonstrate value beyond just short-term cost savings,” says Sam Davies, Director of Corporate Partnerships at ATPI.

With this expanded brief, buyers and their TMCs are having to collaborate with multiple business departments, whether it’s human resources, procurement, finance, DE&I or ESG teams, as well as the C-suite, accounting for multiple objectives including employee wellbeing, risk management and revenue generation. Centralised oversight is also key.

“In the past few years, engagement with finance, sustainability and security teams has increased the most, aligning travel management with cost control, environmental responsibility and duty of care,” states Teri Miller, Executive Vice President, Global Client Team at BCD Travel.

Broader appeal

TMCs are having to adapt, step up and offer a more holistic approach in order to cope with this expanded brief. There’s also an imperative to go beyond cost control and service delivery. Travel management firms which are thriving are those who have significantly broadened their expertise.

“Buyers now expect collaborative problem solving and joint KPIs. There is an active shift from cost as a focus, to value.

Suppliers are also expected to justify their value through outcomes like service quality, transparency and programme support,” details Scott Davies, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Travel Management (ITM).

Complexity is a significant challenge.

Travel content has proliferated and has also become more fragmented and buyers are having to make sense of dynamic pricing on NDC. At the same time, buyers expect a customised service, not one size fits all.

“These broader requirements bring increased intricacies, particularly around integrating with clients’ internal systems and third-party travel technologies,” states Stuart Birkin, General Manager of CTM Europe.

Data is the glue in all of this, connecting travel managers, the programmes they deliver and their TMCs. With the rise of artificial intelligence and generative AI, data-driven personalisation and real-time traveller insights are now possible, particularly via mobile apps.

TMCs are being encouraged to harness their data more effectively and integrate AI in order to deliver smarter solutions.

“This shift has made it critical for travel managers to have a good handle on data and analytics,” says Rob Coomer, Senior Director, Global Customer Management, CWT.

Such data also allows buyers alongside TMCs to break down silos, since information can now be shared across divisions. Travel data can increasingly be integrated with data on risk management, ESG goals or traveller wellbeing. Buyers also expect joined-up conversations between their TMC and their suppliers, with more data. So, measuring the overall value of travel to an organisation becomes possible.

“The C-suite also have increasingly higher expectations of operations teams to report more extensively and regularly on

The future will favour TMCs that invest in strong advisory capabilities, flexible service models, and a deep understanding of each client's evolving priorities”

planning, implementation and progress of travel programmes to show how they are helping fulfil wider business goals,” says Emma Horton, SilverDoor Senior Client Programme Manager.

One of these goals involves reducing the carbon intensity of travel, accounting for ESG mandates and reporting on sustainability initiatives, while adopting more eco-friendly travel options. Carbon emissions are a burning issue that TMCs are having to deal with, whether meeting Scope 3 targets or tracking progress.

It's why many TMCs have teamed up with various partners in the ESG sector. They are quickly integrating solutions and data, as well as boosting their offering in this space. The aim is to deliver traveller behaviour change and impact. It is worth scrutinising partner credentials in what is a fast, evolving industry.

Meetings management

With this wider TMC remit, holistic budgeting is also coming to the fore, where travel budgets are considered part of the overall business expenditure. Increasingly meetings and events are being dovetailed into this. That’s because internal ‘energising’ events are becoming more important, and so are meetings as corporate revenue generators. This is why a growing number of TMCs have specialised meeting and events divisions.

Managing meetings and events is also now more complex. It is more than just venue sourcing and event and logistics coordination. TMCs have to help clients align their meetings’ strategies with wider company objectives, as well as accounting for overall cost control, sustainability goals and attendee wellbeing.

On the other hand, there’s been growing demand to consolidate business travel with meetings spend and its delivery. This route has allowed more control, integrated planning and cost efficiencies.

“Unifying budgets for business travel and meetings and events can lead to significant advantages, including saving money, improved management and enhanced policy compliance. By consolidating spend, organisations can secure better deals, streamline operations, and gain comprehensive insights into their total travel, meeting and event spend,” explains Donna Fitzgerald, Executive Director of Clarity Business Travel.

Forward thinking

So what of the future? “The pandemic accelerated the strategic importance of managed travel, and that momentum isn’t slowing down anytime soon,” points out Carrie McCabe, Vice President, Enterprise Customers, CWT.

She adds: “Ultimately, the future will favour TMCs that invest in strong advisory capabilities, flexible service models, and a deep understanding of each client’s evolving business priorities.”

From a travel management perspective, being a strategic partner to travel buyers over time allows the sector to add more value, generate more revenue and build loyalty. This move also allows TMCs to shape company culture, influence policy and ensure business continuity. However, their services will depend on mirroring the expertise and capabilities that travel managers are developing in-house.

“The travel manager of the future will function more like a programme strategist, integrating travel into business continuity, talent management, ESG, and cost-efficiency plans. Their role may overlap with procurement, HR and sustainability — requiring a broader skillset including data literacy, stakeholder management, and

change leadership,” says Shelley Mathews, Chief Commercial Officer, Take2Eton Group.

“TMCs will become more embedded in clients' operations, almost like an extension of the internal travel team. Rather than selling services, TMCs will provide ongoing programme optimisation, risk advisory and ESG consulting.”

With a potential global economic recession in the crosshairs, jitters over how US tariffs will play out across the world in terms of business sentiment, combined with further geopolitical tensions, the future looks harder to navigate. Buyers will therefore expect more agile, rapid and informed support from TMC partners going forwards in order to navigate volatile economic times.

The fact that there will also be greater datadriven automation and AI activity within the managed travel sphere means that TMCs will have to add value through experienced personnel and human interactions with a hard focus on business strategy. They will have to expand into new territory, including global mobility, remote work management and employee experiences.

“Ultimately, we want to make the travel buyers look good and this means always staying one step ahead,” concludes Davies from ATPI.

MEET THE MD

Paul Spencer, Focus Travel Partnership

We check in with Paul Spencer, the new Managing Director of business travel consortium Focus Travel Partnership.

What will you bring to the Focus MD role?

I’m here to create some stability for our partners, to grow the partnership and develop the services we provide – and ultimately cement our position as a business travel specialist. During my career I have worked in global relocation, technology and travel management. I’ve set up and run my own travel management company (TMC), I’ve worked for SME TMCs and I’ve run large-scale global TMC networks – I’ve even worked on the client side – so I come with a good understanding of what our partners want and need. I want to use that experience to make a difference but it will be a steady evolution, not a revolution. The industry knows we have a unique and market-leading air fare programme, but there’s more to Focus than that, so I’ll also be promoting our extended capabilities.

How have you found it so far?

I’ve been busy! There are 49 TMC partners and at least as many airlines that we have agreements with, so I’ve never

had a busier diary! I’ve been out to meet many of the partner owners, their commercial, operations and tech teams, and I’ve sat on our steering groups and in supplier meetings, soaking it all in. I’ve also been getting to know the Focus team better. We’re run as a not-for-profit, so it’s a small but powerful team and I’ve been really impressed with the extent of our technical and commercial expertise – shown by the continued success of our team in industry awards.

What do you think are the key challenges and opportunities for your TMC members and how will Focus help? Clearly NDC adoption is a key focus and we are here to support our partners with that. In fact, I’ve just been in a meeting with some of our TMCs and a major airline and it was seeking our opinion on its NDC strategy, which I think shows we’ve got a seat firmly at the table. Recruitment is another challenge. Many of our TMC partners are recruiting but it’s important now to look outside of our industry, beyond just candidates with retail and customer service skills. We have explored this in our annual conferences and continue to champion business travel careers through a variety of initiatives. We can find solutions to these challenges through knowledge sharing and our collective voice

MAKING THINGS CLICK

As the pace of change in technology continues at lightning speed, James Dow, General Manager for London at Blacklane, the global chauffeur service, explains how AI, autonomous vehicles and hackathons are influencing operations

Business travel has a complicated relationship with technology. Tell us more from your point of view as a supplier.

Each time a business invests in its tech capability it must integrate and talk to every other tech platform used by both the business and its clients, both proprietary and bought-in.

We crave integrations with all the platforms our clients use. However, the universe is vast and changing constantly. As an app-based global business we have

some benefits over legacy operators, but we don’t have all the answers. Embracing disruption is the only way forward.

What tech challenges do you think the business travel industry needs to overcome?

Earlier this year we carried out research looking at the insights of over 120 UK business travellers and travel bookers. Almost half (49%) of our respondents are still calling for apps as a much-needed improvement, which is staggering in 2025! Greater mobile app functionality is a huge industry challenge, but it’s also important

to note that many travel policies don’t allow app bookings. Our mantra is supporting our clients in their channel of choice, while also making the case for increasing policy compliance by offering the tools travellers want to use.

Almost two-thirds (61%) ranked the most valuable developments they are looking for as real-time updates and alerts. We often think about these alerts helping during disruption, but mobile-friendly working also brings peace of mind when logistics are running to plan. Our ‘your chauffeur is on the way’ SMS messages and in-app alerts are hugely valued.

What about the relationship between tech and sustainability?

What should we be looking out for?

When it comes to sustainability, one of the biggest roles technology can play is in tracking and reporting. It is important that travel managers have suppliers who can provide the data they need to effectively monitor emissions. The right data can also be carefully analysed to recognise trends, develop targets for improvement and find opportunities to change policies to aid broader sustainability objectives.

How do you use AI day to day at Blacklane?

AI is like a personal assistant to help us go faster and monitor data. At Blacklane, AI supports our efforts to fill ‘empty legs’ and match a chauffeur on a long-distance journey with another booking for the return ride. Importantly, for our clients this reduces the carbon footprint of the original booking, bringing yet more sustainability benefits.

It is AI that assists with automatic updates to guests, for example to reassure them that when a flight is delayed their booking includes one hour of chauffeur waiting time. AI also helps to spot trends in data. Of course, it takes a human expert to see if that trend is meaningful, and to assess how we respond.

How do we support industry colleagues who feel nervous about AI developments?

While changes in AI are coming all the time, they certainly take some getting used to. This means ensuring training and upskilling opportunities that build confidence, including between suppliers and clients, to empower open conversations about where AI may be able to improve a certain process. We encourage building knowledge, always with the caveat that the human mind and human touchpoints are critical. For example, we have business-wide hackathons where anyone can submit ideas and experiment where AI might be able to enhance the guest, client or chauffeur partner experience.

Past hackathons have delivered ways to automate time-consuming manual processes, freeing up time and reducing frustration.

There’s one coming up soon – please share ideas with your account managers for our tech teams to dive into!

Will we see driverless Blacklane vehicles anytime soon?

Driverless vehicles are part of the future in the ground transport industry. Driverless taxis in a city such as San Francisco are now firmly on the tourist trail. From a business travel perspective there are huge considerations, and we haven’t yet encountered a travel policy that allows bookings with a driverless service. Right now we don’t believe that premium business travellers are ready to replace human care with robotics.

As driverless technology improves and we are all more acclimatised to the risks, there

We cannot see a future where the chauffeur will not have a significant role in supporting our guests, albeit they may not be driving”

will be a place for autonomous vehicles in business travel. For Blacklane – where taking care of our guests is part of our DNA – we cannot see a future where the chauffeur will not have a significant role in supporting our guests, albeit they may not be driving the car. Innovation in applying the human touch will always be a part of what we do. blacklane.com

TALENT SPOTTING

Big congratulations to all of the finalists in the 2025 Business Travel People Awards, the awards that recognise the people - not the brands

The first round of judging is now complete and the finalists revealed for this year’s Business Travel People Awards.

Celebrating the finest talent in the corporate travel industry, the awards will be presented at a glittering evening ceremony at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London, on Tuesday September 30.

There are 19 awards categories representing a range of individual and team roles across all sectors, including several new for this year.

The finalists were chosen based on an initial round of judging where each judge was allocated a number of categories and scored each candidate based on a written submission and evidence.

The panel, which includes 11 new judges for this year, will get together to study the finalists again in July. Judges are prohibited from judging categories where there is any conflict of interest.

Candidates shortlisted for Rising Star and Shining Star will also be interviewed.

This year, the winner of the Industry Contribution Award will be chosen by the

panel and revealed at the ceremony.

On the night, there will also be an additional award – the Chair’s Award –chosen by the Chair of the Judging Panel, Leigh Cowlishaw.

“Once

again, there were some excellent entries and it was extremely tough to select the finalists”

“Once again, there were some excellent entries and it was extremely tough to select the finalists. Getting to this next stage is a huge achievement so congratulations to all of those who made the shortlist,” said Cowlishaw, Joint Managing Partner of Black Box Partnerships.

“The judges now have the even more difficult job of selecting the winners for 2025 and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our team of independent industry experts for their time and dedication to the awards. Their support is greatly appreciated.”

Tickets are now on sale for the awards ceremony, with early bird prices of £250 for individual tickets and £2,250 for a table of nine, available until June 18. After that date tickets will cost £295 per person or £2,595 for a table of nine.

Ticket price includes welcome drinks, the awards ceremony and a three-course dinner with drinks and coffee

Bronze sponsors

Silver sponsor

ACCOUNT MANAGER OF THE YEAR

• Liz Chapman, Diversity Travel

• KerryAnn Naughton, Key Travel

• Becci Dawson, United Airlines

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Clarity Account Management Team, Clarity

• The Account Management Team, Diversity Travel

THE 2025 SHORTLIST

BUSINESS TRAVEL TEAM OF THE YEAR

• ATPI 24/7 Team

• ‘TC Teams’ at Travel Counsellors for Business

PEOPLE MANAGER OF THE YEAR

• Julie Ornsby, Good Travel Management/ CT Business Travel

• Anam Hussain, Internova Group

• Kevin Trill, Blue Cube Travel

• Internova Finance Team, Internova Group

• London Stock Exchange Group Global Travel Team and CWT Travel Management Team

• Global Travel Management Business Travel Team

• Client Relationship Management Team, Inntel

• Account Management Team, Access Bookings

MEETINGS AND EVENTS TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Lemon Lane Events Team, Lemon Lane

• TBR EMEA Events Team, TBR Global Chauffeuring

• The Meetings & Events Team, Brighter

SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER OF THE YEAR

• Nikki Banks, TripStax

• Matthew Bassant, BLACKLANE

• Maris Kuklis, JetBlue

SALES AND MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Claudia Jackson, BCD Travel

INDUSTRY NEWCOMER

• Laura Coppock, Inntel

• Zoe Lau, BCD Travel

• Adam Walsh, Good Travel Management/ CT Business Travel

• TripStax Marketing and Commercial Team

• Synergy Sales and Marketing Team

• The Sales and Marketing Team, Wings Global Travel

• The Sales and Marketing Team, Good Travel Management

DUTY OF CARE CHAMPION

• Ingrid Sanderson, Principal Travel

• Travel Risk Management Team, Advito

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION CHAMPION

• Access Bookings DEI Taskforce

• Alison Hallett, Reed & Mackay

SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION

• Dana Moore, Zeero Group

• Access Bookings Sustainable Taskforce

• Felicea Osorio, 3Sixty

SUSTAINABILITY TEAM OF THE YEAR

• The Advisory Team, Thrust Carbon

• ESG Team, Inntel

• Team Global Travel Management

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY

INNOVATOR – INDIVIDUAL

• Stephen Baxendale, The Advantage Travel Partnership

• Jenny Thornton, ATPI

• Sarosh Waghmar, Spotnana

• Robyn Joliat, 3Sixty

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY

INNOVATOR – TEAM

• Clarity Project Falcon Team, Clarity Travel Management

• LOGiC Development Team, Inntel

MENTOR OF THE YEAR

• Kasia Szczechowicz, Hampton by Hilton High Wycombe

• Shauna Burns, Beyond Business Travel

• Anam Hussain, Internova Group

• Mel Phaure, Blue Cube Travel

• Ruby Sawyer, Blue Cube Travel

RISING STAR

• Karen Mills, Synergy

• Zander Gregor, TBR Global Chauffering

• Daniel Mitchell, Inntel

• Ashlin Pugh, Chapman Carter

SHINING STAR

• Chris Davies, Wings Global Travel

• Phoebe Buchan, ATPI

• Anam Hussain, Internova

• Laura Currie, Focus Travel Partnership

TMC ABOVE AND BEYOND –INDIVIDUAL

• Katie Skitterall, ATPI

• Stephen Hutchinson, Beyond Business Travel

• Scott Pawley, Global Travel Management

TMC ABOVE AND BEYOND –TEAM

• Clarity Travel Team

• Production Travel Team, TAG

• ‘TC Teams’ at Travel Counsellors for Business

• TV Project Team, Access Bookings

Katie Skitterall, Group Commercial Director, Direct ATPI

MESSAGES FROM THE SPONSORS

"The People Awards are a highlight of the Direct ATPI calendar, honouring the remarkable individuals whose passion and dedication drive our industry forward – the heart and soul behind the brands. We are delighted to be sponsoring the welcome drinks once again – a chance to see lots of familiar faces and have a fantastic time. We look forward to seeing you there!”

Pat McDonagh, CEO, Clarity Business Travel

Jack Ramsey, CEO, TripStax

Paul Dear, Regional Vice President – Supplier Services EMEA, SAP Concur

“SAP Concur is proud to support the People Awards, celebrating outstanding teams and individuals who go above and beyond to deliver exceptional business travel experiences.”

Karolien De Hertogh, Director of Sales, UK & Ireland, United Airlines

“United Airlines is proud to sponsor the Travel Technology Innovator Award, reflecting our commitment to transforming the customer travel experience through industry leading innovations in our awardwinning app, airports and on board our aircraft.”

Lynne Griffiths, CEO, Sirius Business Travel Recruitment

Sirius is once again proud to sponsor the Rising Star Award. As our industry continues to evolve through innovation and technology, it’s the people who truly drive progress. Recognising rising stars is essential – they are the future leaders shaping tomorrow’s travel landscape.

“Supporting the Business Travel People Awards reflects our commitment to recognising the people and technology in our industry. It’s an honour to celebrate those driving real change within business travel.”

Gail Kenny, Founder, Best Workplaces in Travel

“We're proud to support the People Manager Award for the third year running, recognising exceptional leadership. This aligns with our mission to showcase our excellent people working in business travel.”

“TripStax chose to sponsor the TMC Above and Beyond Individual Award because this category champions an outstanding and committed person who has gone above and beyond to make a positive impact on their organisation, clients and colleagues. We will be proud to present it to the winner on the night!”

Dan O'Connell, CEO, Front

“At Front, we know seamless communication powers exceptional travel experiences. We're proud to celebrate the innovative teams driving progress and delivering standout service across the travel industry.”

Neil Thomson, Founder and Joint-Managing Partner, Visas2

Paul Spencer, Managing Director, Focus Travel Partnership

“The Focus Travel Partnership team believes in championing the brilliant and often unseen talent across the business travel industry, and we are delighted to support this showcase of incredible people in such a fantastic way.”

Jason Dunderdale, Global Director of Sales, Blacklane

“The Business Travel People Awards celebrate peers who are valued across the corporate travel sector – and deliver an exceptional awards night”

“Sponsoring the Sustainability Champion Award is close to Blacklane’s heart. We look forward to celebrating the finalists’ efforts to make business travel more sustainable, and recognising the collective progress we’re making together.”

"Visas2 is proud to sponsor the Business Travel Team of the Year award, which reflects our ethos of honouring the people and organisations driving progress in business travel. It’s a fantastic celebration of excellence and innovation in the industry."

Steve Banks, CEO, Beyond Business Travel

“We proudly support the Business Travel People Awards because they acknowledge outstanding contributors in our industry, celebrate peers who are valued across the corporate travel sector – and deliver an exceptional awards night.”

For sponsorship enquiries, please contact Kirsty.Hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk

RAIL WORKS

Taking the train isn't just better for the environment, it can make business trips more productive too

Travel buyers and rail experts came together for the latest Business Travel Lunch Forum at The Caledonian Club, Belgravia, London, to discuss the wider benefits of train travel.

Buyers heard how shifting from air and road to rail can not only significantly reduce their organisation’s Scope 3 emissions, but can bring greater ROI on business trips, allowing their travellers to use their journey times more productively and arrive at their destinations feeling more rested and ready for business.

It can also help organisations meet their duty of care requirements, with travel managers more easily able to know the whereabouts of their travellers during their trips should an incident occur.

While all of the buyers at the lunch shared a keenness to drive modal shift, some pointed to obstacles, including a lack of support from their TMC, the cost and complexity of fares, train reliability and fragmentation.

They were reassured by the experts about a number of initiatives designed to solve the key pain points, including simplified fares, improved booking technology, investment in onboard Wi-Fi and more.

The Lunch Forum was sponsored by South Western Railway, represented by Sales Manager Joe Thurgood, who was joined by Charlie Baikie, Head of Commercial Trainline, Marina Gray, Head of Retail Partnerships Rail Delivery Group, and Pippa Ganderton, Director ATPI Halo Sustainable Travel & Events Solutions.

Here are their key takeaways:

Joe Thurgood, Sales Manager, SWR

The Business Travel Lunch Forum was a great way to hear how corporates are building rail into their travel programmes and how they are recognising the benefits of modal shift.

It’s reassuring to know their stakeholders –

C-suite, travellers, ESG teams – don’t need to be convinced about the sustainability benefits of switching to rail as the emissions benefits are widely understood.

Corporates also understand that travelling by rail can be considerably more productive too, allowing their people to stay connected throughout their journey, and this was backed up by new data shared by the Rail Delivery Group.

The rail industry is working hard to improve Wi-Fi connectivity onboard, which is key to improving passenger productivity and the overall ROI of a business trip. Wellbeing and duty of care are also high on the corporate agenda and, again, rail travel ticks these boxes.

Charlie Baikie, Head of Commercial, Trainline

Joining the lunch forum was a fantastic opportunity to network and discuss the challenges and opportunities within the UK rail landscape today. I especially valued the chance to speak openly with a diverse group of travel managers who were at various stages of adopting rail into their travel programmes and encouraging modal shift.

Having the ability to discuss how we can improve the overall retailing, the in-trip experience and post sales servicing to remove common points of fiction, which today are a major blocker for traveller adoption and discourages modal shift, was a fascinating insight and has given me some great initiatives to take back into our own business and discuss further with our product and technology teams.

Marina Gray, Head of Retail Partnerships, Rail Delivery Group

It was great to hear that businesses support modal shift and encourage their travelling employees to choose rail travel

over other transportation modes. Rail is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to transport large numbers of people over long distances, making it key to achieving net zero and creating a more sustainable transport network.

Shifting more journeys from road to rail isn’t just good for the environment - it helps reduce road congestion and improves productivity for travellers. Businesses have a crucial role to play in this transition, and it’s encouraging to see so many already leading the way.

The rail industry is focussed on working with the business travel sector, and now we have a real opportunity to build on this momentum.

Pippa Strasser-Ganderton, Director ATPI Halo

It was enlightening to hear the insights and experiences of travel buyers, who are clearly keen to push more of their organisations’ travel to rail, and especially for UK domestic and inter European travel.

While a few are mandating rail for journeys under a number of hours, most are still reluctant to mandate rail and are instead encouraging modal shift where possible.

It was clear that achieving this means having access to good data and buyers should be asking their TMC or rail provider for this, if they are not receiving it automatically.

Although the willingness is there, improvements are still required to improve the booking and reporting of multi-country rail. While rail providers need to market their improved international offerings, TMCs need to recognise that clients want to increase their rail uptake and expect their TMCs to support them in negotiations with providers, data capture and reporting.

Dynamic pricing is also key to reducing cost and improving perception of rail as a contender for modal shift.

The rail industry is focussed on working with the business travel sector, and now we have a real opportunity to build on this momentum”

This event was kindly sponsored by South Western Railway

The Business Travel Magazine

Dinner Club

Travel buyers, TMC leaders and suppliers gathered at The Dorchester, London, for an evening of networking at the second Dinner Club of 2025.

The invitation-only event, organised by The Business Travel Magazine, was kindly sponsored by South Western Rail, Lokulus, Sabre and Premier Inn.

After welcome drinks, guests sat down for a three-course dinner and later enjoyed a talk and Q&A with Ami Naru, Head of Employment at Travlaw.

The sponsors Guests receive a warm welcome

THE SERVICE TBR Global Chauffeuring is a luxury ground transportation company operating in over 80 countries and providing premium transport solutions to business travellers, highprofile events and VIP clients worldwide. It handles the ground transport for major events, such as the Champions League Final, and international financial roadshows. I was travelling from Gatwick South to my home in East Sussex after a flight back from a conference in Malta.

THE PRE-TRIP PROCESS As soon as my transfer was booked I received a text message confirming the name and contact number of my driver, Lenny, and the time and place of pick-up. On landing at Gatwick, I got another text confirming Lenny had arrived at the airport and was waiting for me.

THE PICK-UP Lenny, in a smart suit, was holding a sign with my name on it and greeted me with a smile, took my trolley bag and guided me to the shortstay car park.

TRANSFER: TBR GLOBAL CHAUFFEURING

THE JOURNEY The car – a fullyelectric BMW i7 xDrive60 Excellence Pro luxury sedan – was so long it was way over the parking space lines. It was gleaming. Lenny put my bag in the boot and then opened the door for me. On my seat was an enormous square pillow and on the armrest between the two back seats was a brand new cosy blanket, wrapped in a ribbon, two bottles of Evian water, plus an envelope containing a personal, hand-written note from TBR's CEO Craig Chambers. The seat had various comfort settings and a massage function, and there was a 31.3-inch 'theatre Screen’, which dropped down from the ceiling and runs on Amazon Fire tablet software. This and all the other gadgets were controlled from a touch-screen tablet in each door. I was too tired to connect from my iphone to the screen so asked Lenny to put on some chilled music, which he did. I sat back and enjoyed the smooth ride, the back massage, and the super generous leg room.

THE SEAT HAD VARIOUS COMFORT SETTINGS AND A MASSAGE FUNCTION

THE VERDICT I felt like a VIP from start to finish. Despite being exhausted after an overseas conference, I would have been happy to drive back up the M23 to Gatwick and down again. I even got to keep the pillow and blanket! It's apparently part of the 'Platinum' service.

THE DETAILS Heathrow to central London, Platinum (for high-touch VIPs) is £190 +VAT. tbrglobal.com

Bev Fearis

THE FLIGHT On April 23 2025, I flew Business Class on a Cathay Pacific 777300 ER, leaving Heathrow at 12.20.

THE CHECK-IN I arrived at Terminal

Three two-and-a-half hours before departure. I had downloaded the airline’s app but as I knew I had a 'space available upgrade' message on my booking I headed to the airline’s ‘Assistance Desk’ in Zone C, where there was just one other passenger checking in.

THE BOARDING I passed through security in seven minutes. A short walk from security, the Cathay Pacific business lounge is large and looks out onto the runway. It features sofa-style chairs, functional tables and cubicles. Food options included cooked breakfast items, smoothies and yoghurt. There was an Easter-themed table, with egg tarts and hot-cross buns. There was also a chef’s station offering a range of cooked Asian noodle dishes.

THE SEAT Cathay is currently rolling out its new Aria Suite in Business Class, with new features designed to give a

private 'suite experience'. However, the 777-300 I flew on featured the existing (older) product. Seat 22D was an aisle seat, in a 1-2-1 configuration, facing inwards. Waiting in my seat area were a blanket, slippers and an amenity bag with Bamford (a UK company) toiletries. There was plenty of legroom and various storage areas of different sizes. When I put the seat into lie-flat mode for a few hours’ sleep it felt like I was settling into a good-quality bed.

THE SERVICE The lunch menu featured international and Asian options, with three starters, six main courses and three desserts. I went for poached prawns with spiced horseradish and tomato sauce, baby gem lettuce, sieved egg and avocado, followed by a main of fish ball and shrimp ball noodle soup. Free for Business and Premium passengers, the onboard Wi-Fi was very efficient with little buffering. Cathay still has an inflight magazine, Cathay, with destination features, hotel reviews, as well as the usual shopping section.

THE THIN BAMFORD MATTRESS AND DUVET WERE OF A HIGH QUALITY AND COMFORTABLE

THE VERDICT This was a very enjoyable flight and as comfortable as you could wish for when up in the air for over 11 hours. The staff were helpful and attentive, with plenty of smiles.

THE DETAILS Business Class return fares between London Heathrow and Hong Kong start from around £3,500. Cathay Pacific operates up to five daily flights on the route. cathaypacific.com

Steve Hartridge

THE FLIGHT: CATHAY PACIFIC LONDON HEATHROW – HONG KONG

The final word Mind the hazards

It’s an age-old problem –you’ve got to travel for business and make your company loads of money, but your flight is delayed and that creates huge knock-on costs. If only corporate travellers had a way of getting aircraft to depart or arrive on time.

Hang on a minute, apparently they do. It seems the very items carried by passengers are often what's causing the disruption.

The bad news is that they are mostly the possessions favoured by business folk. Lithium-ion batteries are the major concern, with power banks, laptops, mobile phones and e-cigarettes ranked as the top four culprits for overheating and causing fires during flights.

Chinese engineering company RapidDirect rooted around in the CAA’s data to discover the big hold and cabin no-no’s (presumably they were fed up of

Western clients arriving late for meetings). As a result, they helpfully advise that passengers should ‘pack carefully’ and ‘not carry hazardous items’. Hmm, that seems like common sense. But then the figures also

P(r)etty criminal

We would never support the idea of hotels being ripe for low-level thievery.

We wouldn't dream of encouraging you to ‘liberate’ a bathrobe, or those cute little bottles of shower gel. That said, aparthotel brand Locke has just created an exclusive onebedroom suite at its Lisbon property, Locke de Santa Joana, with swish lifestyle retailer Anthropologie. It's packed with pretty items from the summer collection, including rugs, art, towels, furnishings and crockery. Ladies, gents, it could be time to buy a bigger suitcase!

reveal that fireworks, lighters, matches, hoverboards, perfume and even camping stoves have caused flights to be grounded. Hoverboards? Camping stoves? Really? Come on, people. You’ve only got yourselves to blame!

Analysis of more than 50,000 passenger reviews across Google and TripAdvisor has shown which airports are best for accessibility. Here goes...

Just when we thought we knew all the travel industry buzz words, Hyatt pops up with a new one – ‘sports-tripping’. Inspired by the idea that Brits love to watch sporting events or participate in sport when they travel, it says sports-tripping is starting to reach fever pitch (clever), with an expected growth rate of 17.5% between 2023 and 2030. Football is apparently the most popular sport people enjoy while travelling for business, so expect your road warriors to suddenly have ‘urgent' business in Canada, Mexico and the US next summer.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

This year's Business Travel People Awards ceremony will take place on the evening of Tuesday September 30 2025 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London EARLY BIRD TICKET PRICE EXTENDED UNTIL JUNE 18 Single ticket £250, table of nine £2,250 From June 19, single ticket £295, table of nine £2,595 With thanks

Bronze sponsors Silver sponsor

the A-list Now boarding:

There’s a new Clubhouse in town, and it’s bringing the ‘relax’ to LAX.

Our latest lounge in Los Angeles is every bit the A-lister you’d expect. From the sunset-hued lighting, designed to sync with your circadian rhythm, to the Ruby Room with its big screen, red-carpet vibes and VIP Royal Box, you’ll find spaces to work, dine or unwind.

Reset in the Zen Den with guided sessions from FORME Studio, or get in the zone in our sound-proof work pods. When it’s time to refuel, enjoy signature dishes served to your seat, or help yourself to fresh, healthy bites that hit just right.