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Enjoy greater connectivity with Singapore Airlines, flying four times daily from London Heathrow, twice daily from London Gatwick and daily from Manchester. Connect seamlessly via Singapore Changi Airport to destinations across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

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Autumn 2026

DIGITAL MINDS See who’s in our 2026 Tech Hotlist

Focus on SMEs Payments Tech Finder MEET THE SPONSORS OF THE BUSINESS TRAVEL PEOPLE AWARDS

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UP FRONT

Contents Back in the room

he industry's social calendar always quietens down over the summer months – thank goodness! It gives us all time to recover before the 'silly season' begins.

Looking at my diary, it's pretty much non-stop from now until Christmas, kicking oﬀ with my personal favourite (yes, okay, I'm biased), The Business Travel People Awards in London on September 15. The awards are in their 15th year and continue to go from strength to strength with record numbers of guests and more sponsorship than ever before. Turn to pages 52-54 and our sponsors will tell you why they're supporting these awards, which celebrate the people in business travel, not the brands. There's no denying that technology continues to transform our industry. We had so many entries for our Tech Hotlist this year we had to devote two extra pages to it (see 38-42). But people remain at the core, and not even the most techie of tech innovators would argue with that. I look forward to seeing many of you in the coming weeks and months at various meetings, events and conferences, here and overseas. The world of work still thrives on getting together face-to-face and that is demonstrated no more clearly than in our own sector. So, let's get back to business travel!

AUTUMN 2026 Features

10 Payments: How to choose from the growing number of payment options 22 SME overview: All the latest developments in SME travel management 28 Tech solutions: The challenge of selecting and implementing travel tech for SMEs 34 Future of OBTs: We look at the AI-driven efficiencies taking online bookings to the next level

52 People Awards: Meet all the sponsors of this year's ceremony

62 Seven of the best: New or revamped UK airport lounges

Up Front 4

Opening Shots: The most exciting openings in the world of travel – in pictures

The Conversation: We chat with Julie Oliver about her new role at Take2Eton

Everyone's Talking About: Rethinking RFPs

Speaking Out: Technology expert Johnny Thorsen puts forward an idea designed to speed up tech implementation

14 Comments: Industry experts share their insights and opinions

Departures Bev Fearis, Editor

60 Reality Check: We review a funky hotel in Milan, a budget option in London and a chauffeur transfer 65 Final Word: The quirky side of business travel

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UP FRONT

EDITORIAL EDITOR

Bev Fearis CONTRIBUTORS

Gill Upton, Nick Easen, Stuart Forster & Jo Reeder

DIGITAL EDITOR

April Waterston

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

See our 2026 Tech Hotlist We share our pick of tech innovations and innovators shaking up the world of business travel

(p38-42) 38

Steve Hartridge

ADVERTISING SALES PUBLISHER / COMMERCIAL HEAD

Kirsty Hicks

DESIGN & PRODUCTION DESIGNERS

Matt Bonner, Colette Denham & Liz Paterson 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

(Print) ISSN 1754-8543. THE BUSINESS TRAVEL

MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY BMI PUBLISHING LTD: 501 THE RESIDENCE, NO. 1 ALEXANDRA TERRACE, GUILDFORD, GU1 3DA, UK. TEL: 020 8649 7233 ENQUIRIES@BMIPUBLISHING.CO.UK / BMIPUBLISHING.CO.UK THIS PUBLICATION IS PRINTED ON 100% FULLY RECYCLED PAPER WHILE EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE ACCURACY, BMI PUBLISHING LTD CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. © BMI PUBLISHING LTD 2026 FRONT COVER: ISTOCK.COM/IMAGINIMA OTHER IMAGES SOURCED FROM SUPPLIERS,

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UP FRONT

OPENING SHOTS

Eye-catching images of the latest openings

Hyde & Seek, London

PARK LIFE

On the doorstep of London's Hyde Park, this 309-room hotel draws inspiration from its park-side setting with splashes of greens and blues. The contemporary British 'Seekers', an all-day café lounge, and a speakeasy bar cover all dining bases. 6 4

The hotel's interiors draw inspiration from the bohemian culture of the Bayswater neighbourhood during the 1960s and 1970s, with inﬂuences from creatives including Zandra Rhodes, Ossie Clark, David Hockney and David Hicks

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St James' Court, A Taj Hotel

ELITE RETREAT

Brown's Hotel

TAILOR MADE

Bringing together two iconic British names, Brown's Hotel and Paul Smith have opened the Paul Smith Grand Suite, a new three-bedroom residence-style suite with Paul Smith's signature stripes, bold colour palette and playful touches, such as a vintage model yacht creatively refitted with sails made from the designer's shirt fabrics.

Whisky and cigar lounges and a new social centrepiece, 1897 The Bar, have been added in the first phase of a major renovation of St James' Court, A Taj Hotel. Positioning the property as a discreet London address for relaxed meetings and evening entertaining, its private members club, Taj The Chambers, has also been significantly extended.

1 Hotel Austin

NATURE'S WAY

Natural materials, lush planting and clever indoor-outdoor transitions help this 252-room hotel blend Austin's vibrant urban centre with the beauty of the city's surrounding Hill Country. It sits within the tallest tower in Texas and its rooftop bar and pool have sweeping views. THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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THE CONVERSATION

CEO, Take2Eton Group

Julie Oliver As she steps into a new role, we chat to Julie Oliver about getting back to her roots, what she hopes to achieve, industry pressures, her best bosses, and more

hen Julie Oliver took over as CEO of Take2Eton Group in August, it was fourth time lucky for the travel management company’s founder and Chairman Chris Thelen. “Chris and I have spoken many times about working together, and it nearly happened four times in the last 20 years,” says Oliver. “Over recent years when we spoke there were still things I wanted to achieve at Reed & Mackay, so the timing was off. However, this year it felt like the stars were aligned!” After 30 years of continuous service at Business Travel Direct (BTD) then Reed & Mackay, which acquired BTD in 2019, Oliver was drawn to Take2Eton because of “the combination of heritage, ambition and timing”. “It’s a business with deep service roots through Eton Travel, entrepreneurial energy through TakeTwo, and a genuine opportunity to create something distinctive in the market with personality - and to work with Chris,” she explains. “Chris is so unique in this industry. He is one of the few true entrepreneurs and I really wanted to work with him and see what we could create together. I also loved the brand story of this being Chris’s second time around after the success and sale of Chambers, then married with Eton Travel – such a great company with a long heritage.” Oliver was also enticed by the opportunity to help shape and scale a premium independent business rather than simply manage an established model. “The market is changing quickly, and I believe there is a clear gap between large global TMCs that can feel impersonal and smaller providers that may lack the infrastructure or ambition to support 6

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THE CONVERSATION

complex international clients. It was about getting back to my own roots as well. That really excites me.” In her new role, Oliver wants to help the business grow “without losing what makes it special”. “This is where Chris and I will work really hard to bring personality to the business," she explains. "I also like a flat structure, as layers of management mean key decisions get delayed or lost. We want to be a fast yacht, not an oil tanker, so that is very much in my mind too.” She believes TMCs are facing pressure on several fronts. “Client expectations have increased significantly. Travellers want speed, flexibility and consumer-grade technology, while corporates need control, compliance, duty of care and cost visibility. Travellers want a leisure type of experience when booking,” she notes. “Service economics are challenging. Many TMCs are trying to deliver more complex support in a market where pricing is still often compared transactionally. That creates pressure on margin, talent and service quality.” Meanwhile, technology and AI are changing the landscape. “The challenge is not simply adopting technology, but knowing where it genuinely improves the client and traveller experience without removing the human judgement that is critical during disruption or complex travel,” says Oliver. “Finally, differentiation is a real challenge. Many TMCs sound similar. The winners will be those that are clear about whom they serve, what they stand for, and where they add measurable value and create real value in their partnerships with clients.” But she also sees opportunities for TMCs who adopt the right approach. “The biggest opportunity is to move from being seen as booking providers to strategic partners in business mobility, engagement and productivity. Travel is no longer just about getting people from A to B. It’s linked to growth, client relationships, employee experience, risk management, sustainability, culture and events. TMCs that can connect those areas will become much more valuable to their clients,” she explains. “There is also a major opportunity to use technology and AI intelligently - not to replace service, but to make service faster, smarter and more personal. Better data, proactive disruption management, traveller intelligence and integrated reporting can all strengthen the value proposition.” For independent TMCs, in particular, she

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS... Who would you like to sit next to on a long-haul flight (dead, alive or fictional), and what would you talk about? Winston Churchill. I would talk about everything, especially how he maintained emotional resilience during the war when the odds were stacked against us. Are you a good packer? Any tips? I have it down to a fine art! Roll everything up; it creates much more room. Aisle seat or window? Window. Favourite Netflix series? The Crown. Biggest achievement? Work-wise, there are so many. Seeing my direct reports grow and move on to bigger and better things. Who has had the biggest influence in your career and why? My first boss saw something in me and nurtured that. Without his belief, I am not sure I would have made it to this spot. I always want to pay that forward, as I still believe that, as leaders, we have such an influence over people’s careers and happiness. Who was your best boss and why? It’s hard to call that one, but when I was working on the board at Reed & Mackay, Richard Boardman taught me how to enjoy the leadership role and have fun. Tracy Baumfield was so generous with her time and always gave me wise counsel. Fred Stratford was always really supportive in everything I did and gave me many opportunities at Reed & Mackay to have an impact on the business. Are you a good boss and why? I hope so! I want my team to grow and learn and feel that I am there to support them.

sees a strong opportunity to offer enterprise capability with a more personal, accountable service culture. “Many clients want global reach, but they also want to feel important and to have access and influence - and we want that too!” she adds. “There will always be those companies that see travel as transactional, but they won’t be the right customer for us, and that is fine too. We want to partner with our clients, not just on an operational level. We want them to see us as a completely trusted partner they can rely on to do what we say.” This partnership approach led to the recent appointment of Max Hensser as Chief Customer Experience Officer. “We want our clients to feel truly heard. I want them to feel they can pick up the phone to Chris, Max, myself or any of our senior team and influence our roadmaps and service offering. That’s where true partnership comes to the fore,” she says.

Business travel still depends on people. Trust, judgement and service still matter enormously” “The TMC of the future will need to be consultative, technology-enabled and deeply service-led. It will not be enough to process bookings well; TMCs will need to help clients make better decisions and become a true business partner.” After 30 years in business travel and events, Oliver feels excited to be part of the industry at this pivotal time. “Client needs are changing, technology is advancing quickly, and businesses are reassessing the true purpose and value of travel. That combination forces everyone to be better,” she observes. “What excites me is that business travel still depends on people. Technology will improve speed, insight and efficiency, but trust, judgement and service still matter enormously – especially when something goes wrong or when the traveller is senior, time-poor or mission-critical. "A chatbot has its place, but the frustration can reach boiling point when I get stuck in a chatbot loop, asking to let me speak to a human! I am sure I can’t be the only one who feels like that.” take2eton.co.uk

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UP FRONT HOT TOPIC

Everyone's talking about... rethinking RFPs CONTINUOUS SOURCING, WITH ANNUAL BENCHMARKING, EQUIPS BUSINESSES TO SHIFT FASTER

“SOURCING HAS ALWAYS

AND RESPOND DYNAMICALLY WITH MARKET

BEEN TREATED AS AN ANNUAL EVENT. YOU NEGOTIATE RATES, YOU SIGN, AND THEN YOU WAIT A YEAR TO LOOK AGAIN, EVEN AS TRAVELLER DEMAND, MARKET RATES AND COMPLIANCE RISK SHIFT EVERY SINGLE WEEK"

CONDITIONS CHANGES AS THEY HAPPEN, RATHER THAN ANNUALLY DURING AN RFP SEASON Leigh Cowlishaw, Managing Partner, Black Box Partnerships

When the buyer's requirements live as reusable structured data, and suppliers can refresh their content the instant it changes, sourcing becomes a constant, year-round exchange that moves when the programme needs it to

The corporate RFP still works, but it’s buckling under its own weight. Every year brings another data field, another sustainability metric, or approval layer, so the process meant to save time ends up costing it. We don’t need to scrap the RFP, we need to strip it back to what drives a good decision”

Jeff Urban, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gazzebo

Andrew Clarke, Commercial Director, Business Travel Association

Daniel Beauchamp, Vice President Global Venue Sourcing and Consulting, Amex GBT

WE ARE THROWING AI AT EVERY CORNER OF THIS INDUSTRY, THEN PAUSING ONCE A YEAR FOR A PANTOMIME OF SPREADSHEETS. TIME TO PUT THE ANNUAL HOTEL RFP OUT TO GRASS

Ian Jones, Consultant, temoji

“There’s a growing disconnect. Organisations are trying to evaluate the future using procurement methods designed for the past” Stuart Tandy, Head of Bid Management, Inntel,

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UP FRONT

SPEAKING OUT

TECH SECURITY

GREEN MEANS GO Global travel technology evangelist Johnny Thorsen believes the industry needs a new green light certification to speed up AI adoption

hroughout my 30-plus years in corporate travel tech I have experienced a never-ending flow of new solutions developed by local startups as well as global industry leaders – all designed to either improve the initial search and booking process or provide some kind of digital service using the profile and booking data to do so. The travel tech industry is now entering the 4G phase for travel tech. 1G was clientserver based, 2G was browser based, 3G was cloud based. In the 4G phase, solutions become AI based (native or migrated), and once again this evolution will result in stricter rules and requirements from the corporate Information Security (InfoSec) teams, which will slow down the pace of adoption of new AI services even more for travel buyers and tech providers. But what if we – the travel industry tech providers – could change the narrative and

provide the InfoSec and travel buyer community with a new model designed to speed up the process of activating new AI-based services?

Industry support

Recently, I posted on LinkedIn about a growing challenge faced by the travel manager community and the reactions were surprisingly quick and clear. There seemed to be a general agreement among travel buyers that they are unable to keep up with, and take advantage of, all the innovation and new services entering our industry at the moment, due to strict data and security requirements. This feedback has convinced me of a unique opportunity to use the AI revolution to create a new industry framework designed to get the green light from the InfoSec teams much faster, and help travel buyers launch new services much more quickly, which in turn will provide the travel tech providers with faster growth and improved economics. Based on conversations with travel buyers in Chicago during this year's GBTA Convention there seem to be consensus and support around such a concept, and the key takeaway is to figure out how a ‘travel tech certification framework’ could be established. Obviously, it needs participation from all relevant stakeholders (corporate InfoSec and travel buyers, travel tech providers and industry consultants), but it also needs to establish a strong presence, resulting in an almost mandatory requirement for a travel tech provider to participate.

The programme must run as a non-profit to avoid commercial preference and bias, and a mechanism is required to clearly display a white-list (compliant), a black-list (non-compliant) and a neutral-list (nonparticipating) of travel tech providers using a structure designed to resonate with travel buyers and their supporting InfoSec teams. Today, the travel buyers are faced with a major problem. Their access to internal InfoSec resources is limited, and this is preventing rapid testing and usage of new services, regardless of how much value they potentially deliver.

Finer details

Imagine a new model where a travel buyer submits a request to the InfoSec team to start a new service, along with a link to a digital repository where the solution is described in detail, including a tech stack overview and a clear outline of any use of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and corporate data elements. The request would also include a summary of AI models used, along with a ‘certification’ stating the latest product review date and, finally, a list of other corporate InfoSec teams who already have approved the solution. This would most likely reduce the approval cycle to a few days rather than months, and result in much faster adoption of new services for the travel buyer community, and significantly better economics for the travel tech provider community. In turn, this would motivate more travel technology providers to participate in the programme and strengthen the overall value of the programme as a result. Would your company support such an initiative, and if you are travel buyer, would you expect this to improve your ability to launch new travel technology services at a faster pace? I invite you to find me on LinkedIn and share your views. JOHNNY THORSEN Johnny Thorsen is Vice President Strategic Business Development for Serko Ltd and is also a Strategic Advisor for Riskline, Tryp.com and Smart Hotel Rate. He has previously worked at Spotnana, Amex Digital Labs, and SAP Concur.

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PAYMENTS

CARDS

on the table As virtual cards, open banking and AI-driven reconciliation reshape corporate payments, buyers face a widening menu of options – and a growing responsibility to choose wisely, says Nick Easen

today’s payment strategies,” says Kerry Douglas, Head of Programme at the Institute of Travel Management (ITM). With so many options, it’s imperative that travel managers do their homework. One size doesn’t fit all. Buyers must be laser-focused on what they want outcomes they want to achieve, before adopting new payment solutions. “It matters how a payment solution fits within your ecosystem, company culture and processes," adds Douglas.

Play your cards right

Virtual cards are stealing the popularity show. They allow payments to be created for a specific traveller, booking or supplier, with defined limits. Reconciliation is cleaner, particularly for hotels and centrally-booked travel. There’s also immediate spend visibility, as well as enhanced security and automation. The challenge, however, is that not all suppliers, particularly smaller hotels and ground transport providers, are set up to process them smoothly. “This single development has shifted the conversation from 'How do we reconcile what was spent?' to 'How do we control what can be spent?'. That's a fundamental reversal,” points out Iya Magen, CEO of Talma Travel Solutions.

Other situations need different strategies. Central billing for air and rail is perennially popular, while corporate cards still suit frequent travellers and are often used for incidentals. Lodge cards or credit facilities work well for occasional travellers and centralised programmes. “The right solution depends on traveller behaviour, spend patterns and regional considerations,” says Katie Skitterall, Group Commercial Director at Direct Travel. "It’s why organisations now take a hybrid approach, combining several payment methods."

Data sharing

Data is the great enabler in payments, as more suppliers speak to each other. “We are finding virtual card pools for hotels are increasingly popular, as technology has been developed to re-share virtual card details with hotels," notes Leanne Fowler, Director of Account Management at Clarity. "This helps resolve wider check-in issues and improves the traveller experience should any payment queries arise at the hotel." Integration is also a key topic, as businesses look for a single source of truth on travel spend. For this reason, payments increasingly need to dovetail into booking, ▶ expense and finance systems.

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lobal business travel spending is expected to jump by 7.2% to a record $1.71 trillion this year, according to the GBTA’s latest Business Travel Index in partnership with Visa. Meanwhile, the index forecasts 1.84 billion trips for work will be taken in 2026 – a year-on-year rise of just 1.3%. "As business travel spending grows faster than trip volume, companies are placing greater emphasis on the value of every journey,” said Edward Galvin, Vice President and Head of North America Visa Commercial Solutions in the report. “Organisations need greater visibility, control and flexibility to manage rising travel costs and measure ROI. "Modern payment technologies help travel and finance teams better track spending, improve efficiency and simplify the travel experience, making it easier for companies to adapt as business travel continues to evolve.” Greater automation, richer payment data and tighter integration are all making travel programmes easier to reconcile. At the same time, organisations are moving beyond traditional corporate cards as their preferred payment format. “Virtual cards, API connectivity, real-time payments and digital wallets are becoming increasingly common components of

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PAYMENTS XXXXX

Virtual cards, API connectivity, real-time payments and digital wallets are becoming increasingly common components of today's payment strategies” THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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PAYMENTS

“If they don’t integrate you'll simply move the problem downstream," warns Stephen Baxendale, Technology Partnership Manager at Advantage Travel Partnership. "As programmes grow, scalability also becomes increasingly important, particularly when you're managing multiple entities, regions or finance teams."

▶

Multiple players Banks, fintechs and card networks increasingly want to manage the whole payment journey in order to control the money flows and the data. At the same time, TMCs and agencies are busy building their own payment products to capture the margins that have traditionally gone to banks and card issuers. “TMCs, expense management tools and card issuers are also increasingly talking to each other via APIs, which means the old model of monthly statements and manual matching is giving way to real-time data flows,” says Talma’s Magen. All of a sudden everyone has a payment product. This evolution is driving genuine innovation and more accessible pricing. But it's important that buyers are aware of what they’re signing up to.

“Buyers should be wary of jumping into a closed ecosystem that is convenient to enter and difficult to leave,” says John Stephenson, Managing Director of Your Travel Corporate. AI has been a shot in the arm for the payment process, assisting behind the scenes detecting fraud, automating expense reconciliation and identifying policy exceptions or out-of-policy payments. Looking to the future, the rise of open banking and pay-by-bank settlement could bypass card rails entirely for hotel and supplier payments, reducing interchange costs, However, this requires new processes of reconciliation. “The direction of travel is towards payment methods that are selected dynamically per transaction rather than fixed upfront by travel policy," explains Sam Basson, Customer Solutions Manager at Oversee. "There may be a future where an agentic AI bot can tap into the various payment options that work best for a given transaction."

Closing the gap

As payments move from a back-office function to a strategic tool for managing

All of a sudden everyone has a payment product. This evolution is driving genuine innovation and more accessible pricing”

travel, this benefits small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It means they are now more in control of the payment space and able to control spend, as well as limit it. The rise of virtual cards, instant reconciliation or integration into finance has an outsized effect on SMEs. When friction is reduced through automation it saves time, which smaller businesses are short of. “The future of payments for SMEs is definitely full of opportunity,” believes Direct Travel’s Skitterall. “Regardless of programme size, organisations will benefit from the same content, payment, expense and data innovations. Success will come from aligning payment strategies with finance objectives while delivering a seamless, flexible experience for travellers.” Centralised payment methods also have an outsized benefit for SMEs, reducing the amounts that need to be reimbursed and limiting the potential for fraud. AI could effectively start to close the resource gap, adds Oversee's Basson. “It could give smaller businesses enterprise-grade payment optimisation and reconciliation without needing the headcount to run it." Watch this space.

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SME TMCs

Take five Check out these five top tips on how to get the best from your SME travel management company, according to Paul Spencer, Managing Director of Focus Travel Partnership, a consortium of small- to medium-sized TMCs

A good SME travel management company (TMC) should be a trusted partner that understands your organisation, helps you achieve your business objectives, creates better outcomes for all stakeholders and ensures that you benefit from its collective buyer power and expert support. Here’s how to get the best from a partnership:

Include stakeholder voices When you review or launch a new travel programme, policy or TMC provider, include stakeholders early on in the process. This might be HR, finance, key travellers and any established third-party suppliers you may have, as well as your TMC. Each one brings insight to the TMC beyond the administrative. By bringing your TMC into these conversations, opportunities for greater efficiencies, savings and improved overall traveller experience can be found. SPONSORED

TakeFivePaulSpencer V4.indd 13

2 3

Share your budget and internal commitments Be clear with your TMC about what you have spent, what you would like to spend (or not), and any specific areas that you or your internal customers have set as their objectives. This applies to service elements as much as to best value in terms of finance.

Think partnership, not just a supplier relationship If you need to find an internal board level champion to assist with this, do it. Issue a companywide statement from that same champion that reminds all staff that the vendor-supplier relationship works most effectively when everyone is on the same page and is sharing the same objectives. This will improve the travel experience and reduce company overheads alongside other benefits.

Reduce leakage and maximise your TMC’s insights If all your travel spend is directed through a single source – your TMC – and you have a role in helping that happen, travel can be properly managed to identify areas for savings. Where transactions are straightforward – for example booking rail travel or low-cost short-haul flights online – the cost of using a TMC is low and this cost is more than returned through insight and the application of best practice/policy and the time taken to manage each booking. For SMEs in particular, this expertise can be a real differentiator. Ultimately, the more travel captured through the TMC, the stronger the insight. This then identifies patterns, enables existing behaviours to be challenged, and encourages informed decisions that deliver measurable value across the whole travel programme.

Measure it How do you measure best value? Make sure you understand that it's not always about price. The cheapest route, carrier or hotel isn’t always the most efficient. Inculcate an understanding in your organisation that indirect savings have a value too. Time saved, errors reduced, poor supplier service avoided and a more efficient process followed means that a value can be assigned to savings as much as it can to a discounted air fare. Measuring the right elements highlights the bigger picture value and savings beyond just price, including the efficiencies, expertise, compliance, and commercial value delivered through the partnership with an SME TMC. focustravel.uk

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COMMENT

BTA

Making sure business travel's got talent Andrew Whitaker, Chair, Generation BTA I ‘FELL’ INTO business travel and sadly the same is true for so many of my colleagues and peers. We can't rely on this continuing to be the way people enter the sector. Generation BTA is working with the industry to raise awareness across colleges and universities, where most students leave knowing little, if anything, about the sector. A key part of this is educating travel and tourism lecturers about the industry: how it works

and the range of roles available. Many may not have considered it for their curriculums, or simply don’t know what to include. Courses such as the NCFE Level 2/3 Travel and Tourism include an optional unit, but even within these more specialist education routes, there's no guarantee that business travel will be taught. We also need to look beyond travel and tourism students and engage young people studying subjects such as business management and computer science, particularly as the industry continues to become

ITM

Surround yourself with people you trust Scott Davies, ITM Chief Executive

increasingly technology-driven. That’s not to say there isn’t any positive momentum. Individual TMCs are building strong relationships with colleges and universities. However, these are only isolated pockets. That’s why Generation BTA is creating an education working group, including NCFE, bringing together lecturers and course

leaders to facilitate further discussion - particularly as the curriculum for the new V Levels and T Levels, coming into play in 2030, is still undecided. It’s the first step in a wider plan to support a far stronger pipeline of next generation talent. We need to evolve at pace. thebta.org.uk/generationbta-board

THIS YEAR THE word that keeps cropping up is trust. Who and what can you trust and who can confidently place their trust in you? As AI advances and is weaved into every element of our sector, and while global, political and socio-economic tensions bubble, it seems that trust and the truth have never been more highly prized nor questioned. I believe that trust in business is primarily generated by two things. The first is delivery. Anyone can unequivocally say that they will do something, but execution on that promise is always the acid test. Best advice here is to talk to others who have already been made promises by said person or organisation and compare to what was delivered. The second is a combination of honesty, vulnerability and fallibility. People who don’t own up to mistakes are disingenuous

and/or potentially delusional. I want my friends, my team and the companies I deal with to readily talk about the things they got wrong, not because I want to wallow in it or judge them, but to learn and to prove they are imperfect and therefore honest and authentic. A certain individual in my team and I have now worked together in four separate organisations. Contrary to appearances we don’t come as a contractual pair, but I've always sought to link up with them in roles I have taken. Their many gifts include selflessness, kindness, elite level negotiation and relationship skills, and the smarts to cut through complexity. But it's their ability to always deliver on their commitments that means there is no role or responsibility I wouldn’t entrust them with. Do you work with people you would trust your business and more pointedly, your life with? www.itm.org.uk

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COMMENT

JACK'S JOURNAL

In a world of pure imagination Jack Ramsey, Chief Executive Oﬃcer, TripStax I READ A BOOK called Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari featuring a powerful chapter using Peugeot as an example to explore the reality of what a corporation actually is. Harari argues that large-scale human cooperation depends on shared fictions – things that don’t physically exist but are collectively believed in.

Peugeot is one of these 'imagined entities'. It isn’t a tangible object like a car; rather, it’s a legal and social construct. The factory, cars, and employees exist physically, but 'Peugeot' as a corporation exists only because people (courts, governments, customers, employees) agree that it does. I started thinking about the accelerated consolidation

happening in our industry and what that means for the collision of differing imagined belief systems. Imagine Company A is making a big old acquisition of Company B. Company A is 50 years old and sells yellow sweets. It has a yellow logo, 10,000 employees and customers who all love yellow sweets. Company B has been Company A’s biggest competitor for the last 40 years. It sells green sweets, has a

green logo, 8,000 employees and a loyal green-sweet-loving customer base. Remove the colouring and the sweets are essentially the same. Based on Harari’s theory, everything that both companies believe in revolves around fictional constructs, designed to create identity and differentiation, through colour, brand and culture.

So there’s a choice for Company A to make: 1. Don’t disrupt the fiction – leave each business separate and benefit from both, under a newly-created fiction, ‘The Group’. Perpetuate the competitive spirit and hope board meetings don’t turn into yellow versus green cage fights. 2. Force a single fiction – make all sweets yellow and take 8,000 people on a ‘journey’ to believe an imagined reality that they’ve fought against for years. Call it corporate religious conversion. 3. Merge fictions – mix green and yellow sweets in one bag hoping that customers are happy and don’t realise the only difference for years has been the colour. 4. Create a new fiction – reinvent the sweet, making it black, using new-age technologies to produce a flavour never experienced before. This new technology allows black sweets to be produced and sold with only 9,000 people, mitigating the risk of how many people need to be persuaded to leave behind their old, imagined reality. Look at recent consolidations. Question which choices are being made. Who’s continuing to sell yellow and green sweets? Who’s turning all sweets yellow? Who’s now selling mixed bags? And who’s changing the sweets forever? Here’s some food for thought. Who’s decided to make more lucrative fiction and sell completely different products in the form of a ‘health-conscious’ alternative? It still follows the theme of a consumable treat, so theoretically, as human mouths exist, there is a market. tripstax.com

FA C T S & F I G U R E S

85% As many as 85% of the decision-makers who took part in a survey on the future of T&E management. by Mastercard, anticipate that within five years AI will manage most T&E decisions, with minimal human oversight.

Global business travel spending is forecast to reach $1.71 trillion this year, according to the 2026 GBTA's latest Business Travel Index Annual Global Report and Forecast (BTI). That's a record amount and a yearon-year rise of 7.2%.

Due to war in the Middle East, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that airline fuel costs will rise by almost 40% to $350 billion in 2026, accounting for more than 31% of the aviation industry's total operating expenses.

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COMMENT

ON THE ROAD

Keeping up with the trends – and responding to them

FA C T S & F I G U R E S

James Dow, General Manager UK & IRE, Blacklane I ALWAYS FIND it fascinating to hear about the trends driving our industry from the various stakeholders, of course including Blacklane’s chauffeur partners from around the world on my many recent travels. Combined with sector insight from The

Business Travel Magazine, it helps build a holistic picture of the whole travel ecosystem. In London the seasonal shift from business travel to leisure in the summer months remains visible, as does the conversation about the weather! In Paris the international travellers keep flocking in and the market remains strong, in Chicago it's conference and events driving things along, and in Madrid – well in Madrid I just remember: “You forgot your jacket Mr Dow.”

These snippets shed a small glimpse into what is unfolding in our industry. The rhythm of business travel changes to the beat of many factors. Research content at industry events earlier this year suggested some suppliers were noticing a shift in travel patterns to longer multi-stop and higher-spend trips, instead of

making many smaller journeys. Further key themes under discussion included strategic meetings management being rolled into the travel managers portfolio, and business travel more frequently being positioned as a perk. If a business is attracting talent through international travel opportunities, they must also be mindful to ensure travel is responsible and sustainable in all possible ways. When business travel is a benefit, then

attention on traveller wellbeing is also bolstered. Investing in travel as a growth driver is a topic close to the hearts of the team at Blacklane. We’re passionate that the right kind of travel leads to far greater opportunities. When business travellers are motivated, feel taken care of and have the time and space to do their best work, then travel is more rewarding for all involved. In fact, recent research from Blacklane established that nine out 10 business leaders know travel can bring about their most valuable thinking time, but 86% struggle to achieve focus when on a trip. The role of frictionless travel experiences can never be underestimated. Our study showed 93% found a massive increase in their productivity and decision-making when a journey ran smoothly and without disruption. That could explain why some suppliers report fewer trips aligned around multiple meetings and events, with travel occasions therefore reduced but made more purposeful. The trends I see include travel policies evolving to apply greater consideration to comfort, recovery and indeed feeling like there is benefit to travel in the first place. The chauffeurs I meet back this up. They tell me of schedule delays they help someone recover from, the quiet confidential working space they provide within a busy itinerary, and the frustration they reduce when they help someone like me remember their jacket. blacklane.com

Nine regional cities outside London, including Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow, have seen workforce travel demand increase by 12.5%, according to the latest data from workforce travel platform Roomex.

CTM's Travel Programme Maturity Index, based on a survey of 274 global travel managers and supported by qualitative interviews, found European programmes scored an average of 45.6 out of 100, compared with the overall benchmark score of 43.7.

32% Dragonpass research found 32% of business travellers say they are still expected to remain highly productive without being given the right support to do so, and one in four companies has cut or restricted business-class travel in the past two years.

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COMMENT

SUSTAINABILITY UNFLITERED

When extreme becomes normal Pippa Ganderton, Director, Sustainable Travel and Events, Direct Travel CLIMATE EXTREMES are becoming the new normal, and they impact everything from flight and rail schedules to everyday infrastructure. But, rather than despair, we can all adopt small actions that deliver impactful results, in the same way that mature organisational sustainability strategies can drive actions that benefit nature and local communities. It’s not just headline news. Mike Kendon, from the globally respected Met Office, a source of scientific truth relating to weather patterns, confirms: “What we used to think of as extreme, we increasingly consider as normal.” It’s Climate Change, and it’s happening on our doorstep. After one of the wettest winters on record, by May over 700 litres of water butt capacity in my garden

was empty. Fast forward to the end of July, and the butts are empty for the third time. And three new water butts on our building extension (built using old stock bricks and tiles) don’t contain a drop of water, despite being in position for four weeks now. So, you may think “Is it worth it?”. Well, the answer is “Yes, it is”. Because when rain comes, and it will, I will be capturing over 1,500 litres of reusable water without taking anything out of the national infrastructure. The butts also look nice, as they are recycled wine barrels. Best of all, I’ve worked out that if push comes to shove, I could bath in the biggest one! Joking aside, having never worried too much about hosepipe bans – because we always had a good capacity of rainwater captured – this potential new normal threatens my traditional cottage garden, which is a haven for indigenous bees, butterflies and birds.

If more of us did more to reduce water wastage and to preserve energy overall, this could have a positive impact on household bills, as well as the climate. Let’s face it, heat creates heat, creates emissions, and drives climate change. We can all make a few small changes that have a greater collective impact, such as walking instead of driving to the local shops or local rail station when commuting to work. Next time you plan a domestic or European journey, maybe consider rail as an alternative and save on emissions. We can’t reverse climate change in a day, which is why we all need to start taking those small steps today. From good citizens of the Earth to Sustainable Corporate Governance, we can all make a difference collectively. And along the way, we might even save ourselves a little money too. atpi.com

FA C T S & F I G U R E S

63% Research from Heathrow Express found that 63% of UK professionals have deliberately scheduled business meetings on a Friday or Monday on multiple occasions, allowing them to extend work trips into personal weekend getaways.

Average global airfares are forecast to reach $756 in 2026, a rise of 4.7% compared with 2025. But according to the Global Business Travel Forecast, published by the GBTA and ALTOUR, fare increases are expected to slow to just 1.5% in 2027.

A new free public tool by Thrust Carbon shows that across British routes, travelling by rail produces lower per-passenger emissions than the equivalent car journey 79% of the time and can be up to 13 times greener than ﬂying domestically.

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COMMENT

TMC VIEW

Making business travel mean more

FA C T S & F I G U R E S

Sara Andell, Director Consulting Strategy, American Express GBT THIS YEAR HAS been another reminder that volatility doesn't stay in a spreadsheet. A single geopolitical shock sent jet fuel soaring over $200 a barrel by May. While prices have increased since a lull in June, at the end of July jet fuel prices were down 15% from their May peak, and air fares are still running 10% higher year-onyear. Hotel rates are up 5%. As one of our practice leads put it recently: “Volatile prices don't stay in the finance report. They show up in the booking tool, the policy exception queue, the expense claim that doesn't match the contract. They show up as work, for someone.” For travel buyers and managers, that "someone" is you. The tools built for a calmer decade weren't designed for this pace of change. The good news is that the constraint wasn’t about data – travel programmes already generate more data than any team could read. The constraint

has always been time: the weeks it takes to review a policy or benchmark a contract. AI policy benchmark by Amex GBT Consulting now scores your travel policy against more than 250 best-practice criteria and industry best practice. Work is turned around faster, against an even larger dataset than before, and analysed using purposebuilt AI capabilities, combined with Amex GBT’s policy benchmarking framework. Every recommendation is reviewed by a consultant before it reaches you. The evaluator applies the same thinking to overall programme health: you get a benchmarked maturity score, so when you’re asked: "How does our travel programme compare to our peers?" you have an answer based on a scored, peer-referenced view. On the sourcing side, our AI-powered air contract intake, developed painstakingly over months to interpret complex air contracts, significantly cuts setup time. Hotel Lobby's next generation is built with conversational and agentic AI to

reduce sourcing-cycle effort, while maintaining the 28.8% average savings off Best Available Rate (BAR) our hotel programmes already deliver. None of this replaces your consultant. It redirects time from working with dashboards and data to understanding the reality of your programme in action: the latest industry context, the behaviours and friction points. AI-generated insights are at your fingertips, AI-generated recommendations reviewed and put in context by a person who knows your programme. Many tools can find you answers today, but what makes a true partner is the ability to challenge assumptions and model scenarios you hadn't considered. This is what we're building toward: from dashboards to debate partners, from static, periodic reviews to programmes continuously benchmarked and improving. We know insight isn't scarce anymore. Being able to act on it faster and confidently is what sets leading programmes apart. amexglobalbusinesstravel.com

Nine out of 10 business leaders and high net worth individuals (HNWIs) find that travel empowers their most valuable thinking, according to new data commissioned by global chauffeur service Blacklane and conducted by Censuswide.

SAP Concur's latest Global Business Travel Survey found 45% of frequent travellers say business travel gives them a break from their office or home work environment, while 44% say a change of scenery helps them mentally recharge.

New research from the Business Travel Show Europe highlights that while overall adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still at a relatively early stage, around one in 10 travel buyers say they are already seeing tangible value from the technology.

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COMMENT

ASK ALISTER

Is your TMC ready for AI?

FA C T S & F I G U R E S

Alister Harris, CEO of AI experts Lokulus Everybody reading this works somewhere that has put in technology in the past five years to fix a problem: a booking tool, profile management, reporting, a back-office system, perhaps a new GDS. They each handle the work in their own sphere, and very few are connected. While a trip runs to plan the online booking tool handles it and it looks clean. It is when work moves outside that point solution that a consultant coordinates it – a schedule change lands, an approval is needed or a traveller calls from an airport, and the request moves offline across email, the GDS, profiles and finance. That is the operation we are adding AI to. MuleSoft’s 2025 benchmark puts the average enterprise on 897 applications, 29% of them connected. When systems don’t connect, people do the connecting. It shows in the management information too. Each system reports on itself and hits its KPIs while the client suffers a slow, repetitive experience, because no report follows the journey end-to-end. Add AI and individual steps get faster. An AI agent handles the standard case well, drafting a reply or actioning a change in seconds. The difficulty sits around it. Exceptions have to be spotted, escalations have to reach the right person with the work attached, quality checked on work nobody watched. A consultant holds that together today; an AI agent dropped in adds speed without coordination.

Nearly one-third (29%) of the world's most experienced travellers will cancel, postpone or change overseas trips in 2026 because of location safety concerns, according to the latest Global Rescue Traveller Sentiment and Safety Survey.

McKinsey puts numbers on it: agents added to an existing workflow save 20%-40% of handling time; rebuilding the process around them cuts resolution time by 60%-90%. So what needs to change? What changes the picture is a coordinating layer above the systems you own. It follows a request from the booking tool to whoever finishes it, drawing context from the GDS, profiles and finance, routing exceptions and escalating when a service level is at risk. A simple example is the airline debit memo (ADM). An airline needs a ticket issued by a certain time, the flag sits behind a hundred others on a queue, and weeks later a memo arrives. Everything needed to prevent it was in the booking data. What was missing was the capacity to act before the deadline.

Get that right and AI becomes simpler. An AI agent joins the operation the way a new colleague does, under the same rules and service levels, with a person for anything unusual or irreversible. That control is what the orchestration layer provides. But where should TMCs start? Before asking where to deploy AI, ask how coordinated the operation is today. Take one traveller journey end to end: how many systems does it cross, where do people connect the dots by hand, and how much of it sits in somebody’s head? Then look at what you have bought in the past three years and how much improved one step rather than a whole journey? The TMCs that get most from AI will be those that give it an operation it can work in. lokulus.com

UK car rental rates are forecast to rise by between 0.6% and 1.3% in the next two years, restrained by recovering vehicle supply and strong competition among providers. That's according to the Ground Monitor 2026-2027 from American Express GBT.

A new Inclusive Business Travel Guide by the BTA says 87% of disabled travellers say accessibility restrictions affect their ability to travel for work, with common challenges including inconsistent step-free access and unsuitable hotel facilities.

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ON THE MOVE

EVENTS SEPTEMBER 15 2026

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL PEOPLE AWARDS

SHELLEY MATTHEWS

NIGEL PARKINSON

JO LLOYD

SilverDoor has appointed Shelley Mathews as Head of Business Development, EMEA and APAC. Formerly Chief Revenue Oﬃcer at Take2Eton, before that Matthews held senior commercial leadership roles at CTM and ATPI.

Nigel Parkinson has been promoted to ALTOUR Managing Director, EMEA and has joined ALTOUR’s Executive Leadership Team. He joined ALTOUR in 2008 as General Manager UK before taking a number of leadership roles.

Jo Lloyd has taken on the newly-created role of Chief Customer Oﬃcer at FCM Travel. Lloyd joined the travel management company in 2021 and was previously Global Head of Account Management and FCM Consulting.

Grand Connaught Rooms, London awards.thebusinesstravelmag.com

PETER VIDOR

SEPTEMBER 27-29 2026

BTA AUTUMN CONFERENCE Meliá Villaitana, Costa Blanca thebta.org.uk OCTOBER 5 2026

ITM AUTUMN CONFERENCE Convene, London itm.org.uk OCTOBER 7 2026

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL LUNCH FORUM TECHNOLOGY Caledonian Club, London thebusinesstravelmag.com OCTOBER 20 2026

THE BIZ TRAV QUIZ Blue Orchid, London, thebusinesstravelmag.com

MAX HENSSER Take2Eton Group has appointed Max Hensser in the newly-created role of Chief Customer Experience Oﬃcer, eﬀective September 10 2026. He joins Take2Eton following a career of more than 20 years at Reed & Mackay.

PATRICE GORDON Patrice Gordon has returned to British Airways as Director of Global Sales. Gordon previously held roles at PwC and BA, before going on to hold senior commercial leadership positions at Royal Mail and Virgin Atlantic.

JACKIE CLARK Jackie Clark has joined Amadeus as Manager, Business Development for UK, in its Cytric business unit. She was previously Partnership Manager, CTM, and before that worked for DiamondAir, Japan Airlines and British Airways.

OCTOBER 22 2026

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL DINNER CLUB The Dorchester, London thebusinesstravelmag.com NOVEMBER 2-4 2026

GBTA EUROPE Vienna europeconference.gbta.org DECEMBER 1 2026

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL DINNER CLUB

ALSO ON THE MOVE... >> BCD Travel has appointed Marcus Eklund, the former Managing Director of FCM Global, as Global Chief Commercial Oﬃcer. He succeeds Mike Janssen, who will retire at the end of 2026 >> Hyatt Hotels has appointed Guido Fredrich as Vice President, Development Luxury and Lifestyle EAME >> Tewolde Gebremariam has been named as the new Chief Executive Oﬃcer and Managing Director of Air India, succeeding Campbell Wilson >> Vista has promoted Daniele Deiana to President, UK & Ireland >> Wings Global Travel has recruited Ryan Quinn as Head of Sales in the Middle East and North Africa region. He was previously Reed and Mackay's Head of Sales for the Middle East >> Jack Bryson joins ATPI as Global Travel Enablement Manager from SilverDoor >>

The Dorchester, London thebusinesstravelmag.com JANUARY 21 2027

ITM TRENDING SUMMIT The Cumberland Hotel, London itm.org.uk FEBRUARY 24 2027

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL LUNCH FORUM TECHNOLOGY FOR SMES Caledonian Club, London thebusinesstravelmag.com MARCH 16 2027

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL DINNER CLUB

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL RECRUITMENT EXPERTS Contact us to discuss your recruitment needs hello@siriustalent.co.uk | www.siriustalent.co.uk Untitled-1 1

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On the move-Calendar V10.indd 20

The Dorchester, London thebusinesstravelmag.com APRIL 22 2027

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL LUNCH FORUM Caledonian Club, London thebusinesstravelmag.com

22/05/2025 07:51

01/09/2026 13:00

Q&A

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

‘It's the personal moments that make Virgin Atlantic different. That's always been what sets us apart’ We check in with Anthony Uphill at Virgin Atlantic to find out how the airline is evolving for a new era of business travel In your new role, what are your priorities?

There’s never been a more exciting time to join Virgin Atlantic. I’ve spent my first few weeks listening and learning what matters most to our partners and exploring how we can keep pushing the industry forward. Business travel is evolving, and we’re determined to stay one step ahead. That means deeper partnerships and delivering premium experiences customers love us for. I have an incredible team and exciting investments on the horizon. Now it’s about turning that ambition into action and earning our customers’ trust every time they fly with us.

How are business travellers’ expectations changing?

Today’s business travellers expect more than simply getting from A to B - they want every journey to work around them. As more customers combine business and leisure travel, they expect travel to be intuitive, reliable and tailored to their needs. That’s why our focus is on delivering a seamless experience, underpinned by premium service, greater personalisation and flexibility.

How is Virgin Atlantic responding to these changes? We’re investing where business travellers will feel the greatest SPONSORED

Q&A Virgin Atlantic V2.indd 21

difference. We’re reconfiguring our next 10 A330neos and completely refurbishing our 787-9 fleet, introducing more Retreat Suites and increasing Upper Class and Premium seating by 30%. We’re refreshing our Clubhouses and rolling out free, high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi. Together, these investments are creating a more premium, personalised and connected experience that reflects the way today's customers want to travel. Anthony Uphill joined Virgin Atlantic in May as Vice President Sales

What does your JV bring to the corporate proposition? Partnerships are one of our greatest strengths. Through our transatlantic

joint venture with Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM, we offer customers greater choice, connectivity and flexibility across key global markets. What our corporate customers value most is the way we show up as one team. We work hand in hand every day – commercially and operationally – to deliver a consistent experience. For corporate customers and travel managers, that means simpler travel planning, greater confidence and the reassurance of a trusted network working together for every journey.

How is AI enhancing your corporate experience?

AI is already helping us make the customer experience faster, simpler and more personalised. Our AI Concierge is integrated into our new app and has supported over 500,000 conversations, helping customers get the answers they need quickly. But I see technology as only part of the story. The real opportunity is using technology to allow our people to spend more time doing what they do best: helping customers, solving problems and creating those personal moments that make Virgin Atlantic different. That’s always been what sets us apart.

What’s coming next?

Increased capacity in key markets, product consistency and continued investment in our Clubhouses are strengthening the premium experience our customers expect. We’re also making progress on our NDC journey. We’re taking a measured approach and, when the time is right, we’ll engage closely with our corporate customers and TMC partners. Our goal is simple: to deliver the best retailing solutions and make it even easier to access the products and services that matter most. For me, the biggest opportunity is bringing it all together. By combining innovation with the warmth, personality and service we’re known for, we’ll keep giving customers every reason to choose Virgin Atlantic. virginatlantic.com

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Little

WINS Size no longer needs to be a barrier to managing business travel, says Nick Easen, who looks at the latest developments in the SME market

ISTOCK.COM/ SBORISOV

he Middle East crisis earlier this year left many small- to mediumsized businesses caught out by fast moving events that disrupted flights and cancelled meetings. It was a stark reminder, once again, of the value of managed travel. “When an SME boss is stuck in a Gulf country and they need to be repatriated in a time of absolute need, and they’ve not got that support, it highlights the risks and the need for better duty of care,” says Steve Taylor, Business Development Manager for Clarity Business Travel. Yet, only a fraction of SMEs have a cohesive approach to business travel. Earlier this year, an American Express Global Business Travel survey of 500 UK and US SMEs found that only 35% currently manage their travel through a centralised system. Most SMEs don’t regard travel as a strategic function when they are busy trying to turn a profit in turbulent times. But if they don’t, warns Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association, travel becomes an administrative burden that eats into valuable time and leaves travel spend scattered across the business. “SMEs are the true powerhouse of our economy. To scale, export, and win new business globally, they cannot afford to waste time managing flight disruptions or expenses,” he argues.

Price sensitive

Once consolidated and accounted for, it can be surprising how much is spent on business travel across an SME over the course of the year. Unmanaged travel makes it challenging to understand what’s being purchased and whether better rates can be negotiated. But even when it’s managed, SMEs have limited purchasing power compared to large corporates. “This makes them more vulnerable to supplier price increases and less able to negotiate favourable rates,” says Wayne Lappage, a senior buyer and ITM Board Director. Kerry Douglas, Head of Programme at ITM, agrees. “An issue raised by travel managers across smaller programmes is being able to get time with certain suppliers and achieve competitive agreements due to lower travel spend and volumes,” she says. Using a travel management company (TMC) with bulk purchasing power can help with supplier negotiations. “SMEs now look to gain savings based on an assumption that a TMC has access to better fares and terms than they couldn’t achieve by going direct to an airline’s website. This remains a ‘baseline’ assumption from most businesses we work with,” details Paul Spencer, Managing Director of Focus Travel Partnership. ▶ He adds: “Most smaller organisations

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SME OVERVIEW

▶ already understand how to procure specialist services externally, from IT and marketing to legal and finance, so the travel conversation should be no different.”

Meeting expectations

While flexible, fast-moving SMEs are an attractive prospect for TMCs, particularly the increasing number of high-growth start-ups, they often require a different approach. “The biggest issue is serving SMEs profitably,” explains Abi Cummings, a consultant at Festive Road. “A TMC can spend almost as much time and effort acquiring and onboarding a smaller company as a mid-size enterprise, but the revenue opportunity is far smaller. "The traditional high-touch enterprise

ISTOCK.COM/ SBORISOV

A TMC can spend almost as much time and effort acquiring and onboarding a smaller company as a mid-size enterprise, but the revenue opportunity is far smaller”

service model simply doesn't scale.” It doesn’t help that those booking travel in an SME live in an era of ‘great expectations’. They are most likely to be using consumergrade booking tools for business travel, which includes mobile-first tools and selfservice support, including chatbots. “Travel management in SMEs is often handled by someone whose primary role is not travel, such as a finance lead or office manager," observes James Dow, UK and Ireland General Manager for the global chauffeur service Blacklane. "They want solutions where it’s easy to manage changes, resolve issues quickly and where workflows are automated. Bandwidth is tight, so any solution that reduces effort per task can make a meaningful difference,” What SMEs require is simplicity – with bells on. “They want one place to book, pay and reconcile, minimal administration and something quick to switch on,” explains Cummings at Festive Road. Increasingly, there are travel suppliers that have carved out a niche servicing SMEs. They make it work by either offering paired down services or rolling out a template they can use across multiple smaller businesses. This means they can still manage to turn a profit on servicing them. “More modern tech makes it easier to sign up and manage small businesses, and many

have had some reasonable success in gaining some of the market,” says Paul Tilstone, founder of temoji.

Industry outsiders

Technological developments mean it’s no longer just corporate online booking tools or TMCs that are vying for the attention of SMEs. Banks, hotels, airlines and leisure OTAs are all getting in on the act. Loyalty points in exchange for travel spend are increasingly enticing purchases, while plug-and-play solutions allow more services. Some of these suppliers are lowering the barrier to a more sophisticated travel spend by SMEs, ultimately powered by the data that businesses are sharing. “The entry point into SMEs for corporate travel is a really interesting space to watch as the access to wider travel services begins to be available through many different access points. This even includes human resource systems and tech like Slack or Teams,” says Temoji’s Tilstone. “What each of these has in common is that they start with some travel stickiness and then draw the business travel in. It doesn’t mean a single platform gets the whole spend as if it were fully managed, it is still fragmented. "The SME space is therefore an increasing indicator of a multi-channel future.”

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SME OVERVIEW

Time is money

Not all SMEs are constrained by tight budgets. Smaller law firms, private equity businesses, tech startups or financial services companies might instead regard time efficiencies as a major driver. Even within larger organisations, specific groups of travellers – often the C-Suite – will require a higher-touch service, which might mean using a different TMC than the one used by rest of the workforce. “They still expect high touch offline services. Senior partners in a law firm are not going to get involved with self-service,” says Gary Povey, Chief Operating Officer for Wings Global Travel. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are helping to provide a more bespoke, personal service to SMEs, who can pick and choose what’s most important to them. Melanie Quinn, Director of Corporate Travel at Travel Counsellors, says SMEs want modern technology, but also access to a real person who knows their specific requirements.

“For many organisations, highly personal service has historically depended on LOKULUS individual memory, manual administration and heroic effort," she says. "That is difficult to scale and creates inconsistency. But AI can help us to understand traveller preferences, patterns, priorities, policies and previous conversations.” AI-driven data is also being used to help SMEs benchmark and assess their policies and programmes without committing to a full consultancy service. Amex GBT’s Travel Toolbox, for example, is a digital platform giving consulting insights to SME travel managers to use at their own pace. “We’re empowering businesses to optimise their travel strategies, regardless of size or budget limitations,” says Dan Beauchamp, Amex GBT Vice President, Consulting. Having fewer resources no longer means SMEs can’t properly manage their business travel, and when the next crisis inevitably hits, they might be better prepared.

SME Untitled-1 BRAN-87-business-travel-autumn-half-page-3mm-bleed-outlined-FAW6.indd Overview 1 V6.indd 25 1

We're empowering businesses to optimise their travel strategies, regardless of size or budget limitations”

01/09/2026 20/08/2026 19/08/2026 12:46 13:23 11:51

DIRECT TRAVEL

CO MIN G TO G E T H E R The next evolution of travel management is about access, connection and intelligence, says Katie Skitterall, Group Commercial Director, Direct Travel In a recent article, I argued that travel managers should stop trying to fix travel programmes and instead start thinking about how to rebuild them. The industry has spent years working around fragmented content, disconnected data and legacy technology, often treating these challenges as simply “the way things are”. But modern platforms have created an opportunity to start again, with programmes that are connected, scalable and fit for the future. The response to the article was overwhelmingly positive. Travel leaders agreed that the old approach is no longer sustainable. Yet one question came up repeatedly: “What does rebuilding actually look like?” For me, the answer is simple. It's about bringing everything together. Travel technology has evolved dramatically over the last decade, but most travel programmes remain surprisingly fragmented. Travel content sits in one system. Reporting lives somewhere else. Service teams work across different platforms. Guest travel, duty of care, expense management and traveller communications are often managed separately. The result is complexity masquerading as capability. Travel managers spend too much time moving between systems. Travellers navigate inconsistent experiences. Data has to be stitched together manually. Every new piece of technology promises to make life easier, but often introduces another layer to manage. The industry has become exceptionally good at adding technology. What's been missing is a way to connect it all.

The shift from tools to a platform

That challenge sits at the heart of the next evolution of Avenir - our connected platform, powered by Spotnana. When Avenir launched, the goal was to create a modern foundation for travel management. Today, that vision has expanded. Avenir is evolving into a connected ecosystem that gives organisations direct access to the travel content, data, service and intelligence they need to manage, optimise and strengthen their programmes through a single experience. For the first time, travel managers can access reporting, programme insights, resources and integrated partner capabilities through one secure platform, rather than navigating a patchwork of disconnected tools. More importantly, these capabilities aren't simply sitting alongside one another. They're connected. Travel. Analytics. Reporting. AI trip planning. Guest travel. Expense integration. Duty of care. Meetings and events. Future innovations. Instead of existing as standalone applications, they operate as part of the same ecosystem, built around a common foundation and a shared source of truth – delivering consistent, connected travel on a global scale. That matters because the future of travel management isn't about having more tools than everyone else. It's about making everything work together. One platform. One source of truth. One global team.

Before AI comes access

It's impossible to talk about the future of travel without talking about AI. Every conversation in our industry seems to come back to artificial intelligence. And rightly so. The opportunities are enormous. But there is something important that often gets overlooked. Before AI comes access. AI is only as valuable as the information it can access.

The vision is not a collection of applications. It's one connected ecosystem working together”

If programme data is fragmented across multiple systems, insights become incomplete. If content is scattered across different channels, recommendations become limited. If service information isn't connected, automation can only deliver part of the experience. The challenge is not intelligence. The challenge is accessibility. Organisations need access to trusted data, comprehensive content and, service information for a complete view of their programme. When those foundations are connected, AI becomes significantly more valuable because it can work from a complete picture rather than fragmented information sources. That's why Avenir has been designed around a simple principle: connect the foundations first, then unlock the value they enable.

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DIRECT TRAVEL

monotonous administrative work that consumes valuable time for travel advisors. By automating repetitive processes, advisors can spend more time managing disruption, supporting travellers and providing expert guidance when it matters most. The result isn't less human interaction. It's more meaningful human interaction.

Beyond managed travel

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this evolution is that it extends beyond traditional managed travel. Travel programmes today are increasingly responsible for guest travel, meetings and events, duty of care obligations and a growing ecosystem of connected services. Yet these areas have traditionally been managed independently, making it difficult to see the full picture of travel activity across an organisation. With the introduction of capabilities such as Juno for guest travel, Avenir is extending the platform beyond the traditional boundaries of managed travel and creating a more complete view of the traveller and programme. The vision is not a collection of applications. It's one connected ecosystem working together.

Rebuilding, realised

Three big shifts

What excites me most about the next evolution of Avenir isn't the technology itself. It's how connected technology changes outcomes. We're already seeing that in three meaningful ways:

From dashboards to dialogue

Travel managers are surrounded by data. What they often lack is time. Traditional reporting requires users to know where information lives, how reports are built and how to extract insights. Avenir is changing that through Ask Avenir, enabling travel managers to interact with programme data using natural language and receive trusted answers, reports and recommendations in minutes. The shift is subtle but significant. Less time finding information, more time acting on it.

SPONSORED

Jump AD V6.indd 55

On top of all that, every jump driver has done the Knowledge, so you're getting someone who genuinely knows London, not a satnav and a postcode. And the cab itself is built for the job: plenty of room and wheelchair accessible as standard. Why are you now targeting the corporate market? Because the problems businesses tell us about are exactly the ones jump was designed to solve. jump for Business brings

'My advice to any travel manager with black-cab spend in London is simple: don't pay more than the meter' the simplicity and transparency of our passenger service into corporate travel. A receptionist, travel team or executive assistant can hail one cab or several for other people, watch each one arrive in real time, and contact the driver directly if plans change. What kinds of savings can businesses make? For organisations already using black cabs through other apps, the most immediate

saving is simply the removal of app-added charges: surge pricing, booking or admin fees. Our evidence shows that some apps have billed corporate accounts up to three times the metered fare, largely through platform charges added on top. So when a finance director opens the ground-transport budget, black cabs can look extravagant, when in fact the cab was never the expensive part. Programmes have been cut on that basis, and passengers lose a service they valued. But there is a second, less visible saving too. Access to nearby cabs, combined with a black cab’s ability to use many London bus lanes, can reduce waiting and journey times. Fewer working hours lost in traffic, and more predictable transport costs. What are the other benefits for corporates? Once a driver accepts, the person arranging the travel can follow each cab’s arrival in real time, contact drivers directly when necessary, and review previous journeys in one place, for reporting and reconciliation. We've made it deliberately straightforward to use. Passengers don’t need to create an account or enter payment-card details. They simply pay the driver by card or cash at the end of the journey. jump.london; support@jump.london

THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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Tech Finder

ACAI TRAVEL acaitravel.com hello@acaitravel.com Type of platform: AI agents for travel contact centres Aimed at: TMCs Acai is an AI platform purposebuilt for TMCs, helping them resolve traveller cases end-toend, autonomously or alongside travel advisors. Deployed by more than 20 customers, Acai enables teams to deliver faster service without scaling headcount or sacriﬁcing service quality. It works natively with GDS and NDC-content and integrates with the CX systems TMCs already use.

ACCESS BOOKINGS accessbookings.com contact.us@accessbookings. com Type of platform: TMC, OBT Aimed at: Corporates in the creative industries Access Bookings is the premier provider of accommodation and travel booking services worldwide, oﬀering a 24-hour concierge-style service. Our innovative online booking tool is your gateway to real-time availability and specially-negotiated media rates. Amend or cancel your travel bookings anywhere and at any time with ease and get an instant overview of your current bookings and quickly identify approaching cancellation deadlines and upcoming charges.

AMEX GBT CONSULTING amexglobalbusinesstravel. com/business-travel-consulting GBTConsulting@amexgbt.com Type of platform: Business travel consulting solutions Aimed at: Corporates Amex GBT Consulting turns travel programs into a strategic advantage. Our people pair industry experience with tech built for corporate travel: Air Cockpit, Hotel Lobby, Program Optimisation, Travel Program Evaluator, Travel Policy Analyser and Sustainability Solutions. AI already strengthens several tools, with more to follow, backed by your consultant. 250+ professionals, 58% of the BTN Top 100. Let's make business travel mean more.

ATPI HALO atpi.com/sustainability/ atpi-halo pippa.ganderton@atpi.com Type of platform: Tech stack, bespoke and standalone sustainable travel solutions Aimed at: Corporates – SMEs to global enterprise ATPI’s end-to-end sustainability solution, ATPI Halo, helps clients measure, reduce and compensate for the environmental impact of business travel and events. Combining robust emissions data, expert consultancy and practical reduction and compensation solutions, ATPI Halo helps clients make informed decisions, track progress around carbon budgets and turn sustainability goals into measurable action.

ATRIIS atriis.com sales@atriis.com

BLACKLANE blacklane.com business@blacklane.com

CLARITY BUSINESS TRAVEL claritybusinesstravel.com hello@claritybt.com

DIRECT TRAVEL dt.com/avenir webleads@dt.com

Type of platform: Corporate travel booking – TMC agents, OBT, mobile Aimed at: Corporates, TMCs

Type of platform: Global chauﬀeur service Aimed at: Corporates, TMCs, PAs and EAs

Type of platform: Booking Aimed at: Corporates

Type of platform: TMC tech stack Aimed at: Corporates, SMEs to global enterprise

Atriis is built for the real world of corporate travel. From our TMC roots to a global platform, we give companies and TMCs everything they need - NDC, GDS, rail, hotel, and direct content - in one place. We help you cut costs, boost traveller wellbeing, stay on-policy, and hit sustainability targets. Simple. Powerful.

Through Blacklane, the global chauﬀeur service, the world’s best local chauﬀeurs can be booked via our website, app, or platform integrations. We remove the friction from coordination, and take care of the details so you can manage rides with ease worldwide. Every experience is exceptional, so your travellers can arrive at their best.

From booking travel to managing meetings, everything works better together. ClarityGo delivers fast, personalised access to ﬂights, rail, hotels and car hire, while ClarityInsights and ClarityTrack provide real-time policy oversight and traveller safety. Paired with MeetingsPro’s live availability and instant booking tools, these awardwinning platforms create a connected experience from start to ﬁnish.

At Direct Travel, our goal is simple: to deliver a better travel experience through exceptional service and innovative technology. Avenir is a growing ecosystem of connected capabilities, combining broader travel content, AI-powered insights, stronger duty of care and global consistency in one open platform. Avenir helps organisations make better decisions and travellers enjoy better experiences. One platform. More possibilities.

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Tech Finder

DOMO domo.com claudia.lewis@domo.com

FARE AUDIT fareaudit.com sales@fareaudit.com

Type of platform: AI and data Aimed at: TMCs and Corporates

Type of platform: Audit services Aimed at: Corporate travel solutions and services

Domo is an end-to-end AI Orchestration and data platform, helping TMCs turn real-time data into action, enabling them to centralise their data from across GDS, OBT and NDC, alongside core back-oﬃce systems. Using this data, TMCs can go far beyond reporting by automating key workﬂows, building AI agents and custom applications.

Fare Audit’s state-of-the-art technologies and seasoned travel auditors go beyond typical 'low fare search engines' and can identify a lower cost travel option (airfare and hotel) BEFORE the trip commences. Audits are conducted real-time in the GDS as well as airline-direct websites. As to hotel bookings, we identify 'unattached' hotel PNRS as well as non-preferred hotels when a preferred one is available.

HOTELHUB hotelhub.com sales@hotelhub.com

JUMP jump.london support@jump.london

LIMOS4 limos4.com sales@limos4.com

LOKULUS lokulus.com info@lokulus.com

Type of platform: End-toend hotel booking solution Aimed at: TMCs

Type of platform: The app for Black Cabs Aimed at: Corporate and supplier

Type of platform: Chauﬀeured ground transportation service Aimed at: Corporate and supplier

Type of platform: Business orchestration (automation and AI) Aimed at: TMCs and leisure travel

Limos4 delivers worldwide chauﬀeured ground transportation to a consistent global standard, tailored to executive, corporate and event travel across 200+ cities. Combining 24/7 human support with in-house developed technology, clients can book and manage journeys through the Client Portal and the new Limos4 app, with API integrations and real-time ride status updates.

Lokulus is the business orchestration platform for service-led organisations. Sitting above your existing technology, Lokulus connects systems, people and AI into one coordinated operation — giving TMCs the context and control to automate more, improve service and scale AI eﬀectively, without replacing the systems they already rely on.

HotelHub’s mission is to help TMCs increase hotel attachment and generate more revenue. Empowering our global partners to own and optimise their commercial relationships, HotelHub’s agnostic booking tech delivers consolidated, multisource hotel content seamlessly into any point of sale, including new Concur Travel. Also offering integrated, automated rate re-shopping, HotelHub unlocks efficiency, data visibility and profitability for TMCs.

jump is The App for Black Cabs London's black cab booking platform, connecting passengers and businesses directly with licensed black cabs. Unlike other platforms, jump charges drivers 0% commission, making it the only black cab app operating on this model. Customers pay only the metered fare with no surge, booking or admin fees.

FRAGOMEN NOMADIC gonomadic.com nomadicclientsupport@ fragomen.com Type of platform: Global business travel immigration and compliance Aimed at: Corporates, TMCs Nomadic’s Travel Assessment Tool combines immigration expertise with smart technology to simplify business travel compliance. It assesses traveller and trip details to provide tailored guidance on immigration, EU posted worker and global social security requirements. Automated assessments, expert support and integrated service delivery help organisations manage risk, improve visibility and streamline travel programmes.

HOLIDAY EXTRAS FOR BUSINESS holidayextras.com/corporate-travel.html kayleigh.dawkins@holidayextras.com Type of platform: API for UK and EU. Online booking portal Aimed at: Corporates, TMCs and suppliers Holiday Extras for Business platform lets you book airport parking, hotels, lounges, fast track and transfers in one place, streamlining travel and reducing costs. Advance booking cuts admin and spending while saving your teams time and hassle. Whether it’s an early start or late return, our all-in-one service makes business travel smoother and more eﬃcient.

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Tech Finder

PARTNERSHIP TRAVEL CONSULTING partnershiptc.com admin@partnershiptc.com Type of platform: TMC Aimed at: Corporate, SME, suppliers Partnership Travel Consulting, LLC (PTC) was founded in 2001. Our management team is comprised of travel industry veterans with expertise in global travel management, airlines, hotels and travel technologies with an average of 20 years industry experience. Our areas of expertise are in travel supplier sourcing and negotiations, global agency and data consolidation, business process reengineering, CTD accreditation and travel technology.

SAP CONCUR concur.co.uk concur.co.uk/forms/contact Type of platform: Integrated travel, expense and invoice platform, OBT Aimed at: Corporate and supplier SAP Concur is the world’s leading brand for integrated travel, expense and invoice management solutions, backed by the industry’s largest global partner ecosystem. Powerful AI embedded across our products can anticipate needs, reduce manual work, and transform data into insights, and guide employees, administrators, and budget owners through every interaction and decision. Secure, scalable, and built for organisations of any size.

TRIPISM Tripism.io sales@tripism.io

TRIPSTAX tripstax.com

Type of platform: AI traveller engagement and travel management platform Aimed at: Corporates, TMCs and suppliers

Type of platform: Modular tech and centralised data processing Aimed at: TMCs and Corporates

Tripism is an AI-powered platform connecting travellers with corporate travel information, policies, suppliers and traveller feedback in one place. Tripism Intelligence handles travel queries, delivers personalised recommendations and provides traveller sentiment analysis for relevant insights and smarter engagement. Dynamic content and supplier management help improve traveller satisfaction, boosting program adoption and performance.

TripStax is an award-winning, fully-connected modular tech stack powered by The TripStax Core – an innovative centralised data processing engine that consumes, normalises and enriches booking, profile and finance data across the entire ecosystem, no matter the source or format. Connect third party tech or plug in any of the 10 cutting-edge tech modules from Analytics, Content, Docs, QC and Profile to Approve, Track, Mobile, Hotels and Portal.

info@tripstax.com

SWR southwesternrailway.com/ train-tickets/business-travel businessdirect@swrailway. com Type of platform: Rail booking Aimed at: B2B, B2C, corporate, SMEs, PAs, EAs Business Direct helps every journey run more smoothly, saving businesses time, money and productivity. We provide a free-to-use service designed to help manage UK rail travel with less stress. The platform allows users to book any rail service they need throughout England, Scotland and Wales, adding Transport for London, buses and more. Tickets can be collected at rail stations or sent via email.

TALMA TRAVEL SOLUTIONS talma.com marketingeurope@talma.com Type of platform: TMC Aimed at: SME, suppliers One of the world’s largest TMCs, Talma Travel Solutions is a tech leader and developer oﬀering comprehensive industry expertise across corporate, luxury and high-end segments. Delivering intuitive and high-touch service, we blend local insight with global infrastructure to provide tailored travel solutions. Our approach integrates strategic consulting, advanced technology and rich data capabilities with intelligent, agile and measurable travel solutions.

Save the date 2027 events Business Travel Lunch Forum - Technology February 24 Business Travel Dinner Club March 16 Business Travel Lunch Forum - Rail or Technology April 22 Business Travel Dinner Club June 9 Business Travel Lunch Forum - Ground & Ancillaries June 15 Business Travel People Awards September 14 Business Travel Dinner Club October 19 Business Travel Lunch Forum - Technology November 4 Business Travel Dinner Club December 1

For sponsorship and more information contact Kirsty.Hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk

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SPOTLIGHT ON...

Travelodge

FI T FO R T H E F U T U R E Major investment in tech partnerships is ensuring that Travelodge meets the needs of its corporate clients and travel management companies, says Sales Director Nick Jacobs Filling the gap

Business travellers make up half of our customer base and we are perfectly positioned for corporate guests and mobile workforces, with hotels in key business hubs and major transport corridors. But while we have the right product, we saw a critical gap in the corporate travel market relating to how our inventory is distributed. That’s why, over the last year, we have significantly accelerated our distribution strategy for travel management companies (TMCs) and for our corporate clients.

Digital drive

One of the standout developments has been our direct integration with Spotnana, announced in May. This partnership provides TMC partners with direct, efficient access to our full portfolio of over 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain. It follows earlier integrations with Katanox and Vibe, which marked the start of this digital distribution push, allowing us to offer richer content and more streamlined

booking capabilities directly to the corporate market. Building on our decade-long partnership with Travelfusion we have looked at additional tech partnerships. A significant development has been our recently completed integration with HotelHub, a leading provider of hotel booking solutions to global TMCs, and we are currently integrating with TripStax and Derbysoft. Developing these tech-focused partnerships allows us to solve two main issues: expanding our reach to more business travellers who rely on TMCs and, crucially, moving away from the static, limited content that has historically defined indirect channel bookings. We are committed to enabling frictionless

We are futureproofing our business, ensuring that our inventory is not just available, but also easy to use for corporate travel managers ”

travel by ensuring that our partners have the content and functionality they need to offer a superior booking experience. By investing in modern distribution, we are future-proofing our business, ensuring that our inventory is not just available, but also easy to use for corporate travel managers. It’s about being ‘The Brilliant Base’ for everyone, ensuring that efficiency at the point of sale matches the consistency of the stay.

Breaking it down

For TMCs, the primary benefit is direct access to our full inventory. Many now benefit from improved rates, richer content (such as property imagery and detailed descriptions), ancillaries (including breakfast and early check-in options), amend functionality, and streamlined payment and invoicing capabilities. For corporates and travel managers, this tech integration significantly simplifies the booking process, providing more transparency, greater convenience, and consistent access to our diverse range of properties. It removes complexity for travel managers and ensures corporate clients have access to competitive rates and service levels as direct bookings. Meanwhile, business travellers get a more straightforward and intuitive booking experience. Whether working away from home or travelling for a business trip, our guests get the reliability and value they expect, now seamlessly integrated into their preferred booking platforms. Travelodge is committed to making it as easy as possible for TMCs and corporate travel partners to access our hotels, and will continue to invest in digital distribution solutions that help create ‘The Brilliant Base’. travelodge.co.uk/business

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01/09/2026 13:15

luxuryr– LUNCH FORUM

BUI L D IN G T RU ST Better data, wider content access and greater transparency are helping to close the gap between corporate travel expectations and reality

Access to unbiased content, meaningful data, a consumer-grade user experience, personalisation, speed, efficiency, security – corporates are now demanding all this and more from their travel technology providers, but the reality is often different. Travel buyers and procurement chiefs came together for the latest Business Travel Lunch Forum to take part in an open and honest debate about the existing challenges and hear from the experts about how developments in AI and other technologies are finally helping to bridge the gap. The lunch took place at the Caledonian Club in London’s Belgravia and was supported by KAYAK for Business and ALTOUR. KAYAK for Business brings KAYAK’s userfriendly experience to the corporate market, helping them book, manage and track business travel in one place. Last year, KAYAK for Business and blockchain technology provider Blockskye selected ALTOUR, a division of Internova Travel Group, as a global travel agency partner to streamline and enhance travel

management services for business clients. Buyers heard how the partnership is enabling corporates to access more content with a consumer grade booking experience, verified data and ALTOUR’s global servicing footprint. Here are the key takeaways of the representatives from KAYAK for Business and ALTOUR: Mark Parker, Regional Sales Director EMEA, ALTOUR The lunch reinforced the value of bringing travel buyers together for a candid, off-therecord conversation about the future of managed travel. Content has long been a source of friction, but the discussion made one point particularly clear – the answer is not simply more technology, it is the right technology. Many of the legacy global platforms on which large enterprises have traditionally relied remain robust, but they are no longer moving the needle when it comes to delivering measurable business outcomes.

What stood out was the openness in the room. Buyers clearly articulated the limitations of their current ecosystems and showed striking alignment around what must come next. The future requires technology that delivers the right content, through the right channels, with complete transparency for the client. As direct-connect capabilities mature, the historic influence of the GDS will continue to diminish. Meanwhile, AI must go beyond automating transactions to enhance the traveller experience from planning and booking through to servicing and disruption. The direction of travel is clear: smarter ecosystems, richer content and genuinely traveller-centric experiences, provided and managed by a supplier that drives trust in global programmes. Tristan Hindley, Global Head of Sales and UK Country Manager, KAYAK for Business The conversation kept coming back to three problems: user experience, fragmented content, and travel data you can't trust. It was interesting to hear how many travel programmes continue to face these same core issues, regardless of their size or maturity level. The other theme was appetite. Companies aren't waiting for the industry to sort itself out. They're open to new approaches across the whole programme rather than one

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LUNCH FORUM

This event was sponsored by KAYAK For Business and ALTOUR category at a time, and they want the result to be better for travellers and for the people managing them. That's the case KAYAK for Business has been making: give travellers choice, and give travel managers more content, transparency and control. It's the kind of booking experience people are used to from personal travel, with the data and tools behind it to run a programme properly. Judging by the questions in the room, that combination resonates. It was a valuable discussion that reinforced the importance of innovation to help organisations simplify complexity and create more connected, flexible and traveller-centric programmes. Nigel Parkinson, Managing Director EMEA, ALTOUR The Business Travel Magazine team created a welcoming atmosphere and with corporate armour removed and no sales pitches allowed, everyone focused on the challenges and opportunities facing our industry. Certain trends are clear, such as accessing global content. This, of course, is not a new challenge but we now have better tools to make that a reality. Representatives from different sectors highlighted the various challenges and needs

Regardless of the size or maturity levels of the travel programmes, the conversation kept coming back to three problems: user experience, fragmented content, and travel data you can't trust” of each organisation, demonstrating that solutions must address the real, lived experiences of travellers and help enable them to be successful in their organisations. It will be different for each customer, which means it will take more time for suppliers to understand their specific needs, but it’s the only way to make successful longer-term commercial relationships. In a light-hearted moment the group discussed the future of RFPs, many now created by AI, answered by AI, marked by AI, and result in an AI generated exec summary!

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SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY

L E AD E R O F T H E T R AC K Business Direct – South Western Railway’s dedicated corporate portal – could be a model for the future of SME rail bookings, says Sales Manager Joe Thurgood If you’ve got a job that involves travelling, it’s pretty certain you know your place in the corporate hierarchy. Turn up at Heathrow with a lounge pass in hand and you’re definitely heading off on a ‘business trip’. Arrive at Paddington with a lukewarm takeaway coffee and you’re just a commuter in a suit. That’s how it’s always been. And it is the psychological divide that ensures rail procurement can’t get itself taken seriously. While airlines cultivate corporate accounts, the UK’s fragmented network of regional rail operators has historically treated the smallto-medium enterprise (SME) market like any customer. When I’m out talking to potential clients, it still amazes me how rail is treated within organisations. Employees are left to book their own tickets – often paying a booking fee through a third-party consumer app – or worse, PAs will do it on their card for the boss (just to boost their own loyalty points). This chaotic mess of personal bookings, credit card charges and manual expenses creates an administrative nightmare for finance teams, who waste hours waiting for, and reconciling, small-value receipts. It also hides vital travel data so businesses don’t realise just how much rail travel they do, which means they will probably tell me they ‘just wouldn’t benefit’ from switching to a more managed system!

Despite the branding, the system operates nationwide. Users can book tickets to Manchester or Inverness just as easily as those on the SWR network and get all the benefits from a managed TMC-type relationship. SWR Business Direct is completely free to use, automatically finds the cheapest fare, and offers flexible payments either with a corporate card at time of booking or via a monthly invoice. Centralised regional rail booking brings travelling employees back into the fold. It ensures total data visibility and robust duty of care during unexpected network disruptions. If a line shuts down or an emergency occurs, the travel manager can instantly see who is affected and reroute them safely. For TMCs and travel managers, embracing such a system can also help with Scope 3

emissions reporting. Shifting journeys from corporate cars or domestic flights to regional rail is the easiest environmental win available to any company. However, travel managers cannot report on carbon savings they cannot see. Centralised platforms solve this by gathering the precise data needed for modern environmental reporting.

Rail pioneers

Interestingly, the development of the system is a hangover from a long-forgotten directive from the Department for Transport (DfT), which asked Train Operating Companies to come up with technology that would make life simpler for TMCs. Most have made a half-hearted effort or didn’t take up the challenge at all.

The solution

South Western Railway’s Business Direct platform is a cure for this self-inflicted injury. By operating a dedicated corporate booking portal, SWR acts less like a traditional ticket vendor and more like a modern B2B software partner. 50 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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SOUTH SOUTH WESTERN WESTERN RAILWAY RAILWAY

SWR is perhaps a model for where the rail industry goes in the future. I say to prospective users that our USP sits behind all the technology – namely, we offer real, human support. Slick and simple booking systems are one thing, but we’ve also got after-sales support to go along with it. Our team offers free training to show admin staff how to use the tool (you can set up policy rules around ticket class and spend), plus one-to-one support from a dedicated corporate account manager. Refunds are processed within 24 hours and expert advice is available at all times. Given SWR’s state-owned status, it’s

probable that we’re leading the way for a more integrated booking regime under the new GB Rail umbrella. Making public transport easier to book can only be a good thing for the economy – let’s not forget we can already sell London tube tickets too – with businesses large and small knowing that getting out to see existing customers is the key to retaining relationships and driving growth. The rail track has been in place across the country for more than 100 years, but now the digital stations are being built. I firmly believe it's finally time for everyone to get on board. southwesternrailway.com

Slick and simple booking systems are one thing, but we've also got after-sales support to go along with it” SPONSORED

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01/09/2026 11:37

As the big night approaches, we hear from the people who help make it all possible. Meet the sponsors of this year's awards...

Katie Skitterall, Group Commercial Director, Direct Travel

In a world being

transformed GOLD SPONSOR

by AI and

technology,

people will always remember how they

were made to feel. The People Awards

recognise the individuals who go above and beyond – delivering outstanding

service, building relationships and putting

recognise the talent, dedication and

personalities that make business travel so special, bringing everyone together to

relationships. Every journey, partnership and memorable experience starts with

beside me. The award felt like ours, not mine – a reflection of collective

They celebrate the incredible people who

forward to hearing inspiring stories,

evening with the people who make our

fundamental to

business travel. BRONZE SPONSOR

Technology can improve speed,

RUBY SPONSOR

experiences, especially during disruption.

The people in our industry are its life

work in the morning, and what drive us every year to celebrate these awards.

Lynne Griffiths, Founder and CEO, Sirius Talent Solutions

We love seeing the industry

come together BRONZE SPONSOR

to celebrate its outstanding

talent and share in the excitement of the

We chose to sponsor the Shining Star

industry calendar. We chose to sponsor

complex challenges into solutions.

shine a

thinking and make a meaningful impact.

behind the moments that matter. They

this industry.

Our industry succeeds because people turn

category because it celebrates people who

the people

event and makes you proud to be part of

judgement, expertise, empathy and

The People

spotlight on

and teams that win. It’s such a joyful

forward, and why we all come to London

People are

creativity build trust and deliver exceptional

Awards

also how much it means to the individuals

Gabe Rizzi, President, ALTOUR

recognised for the incredible impact they

Nicki Goldsmith, Director of Global Agency Sales, Virgin Atlantic

into the submissions and the judging and

blood. They are why we all turn up for

visibility and decision-making, but human

make every day.

company, not the size of its marketing

industry such a special place to be.

get emotional watching friends,

colleagues and industry peers being

celebrate the

budget. We know how much effort goes

a real difference every single day.

The People Awards are full of warmth,

my favourite events of the year and I still

these awards

create meaningful connections and make

expertise and individuality that build trust,

commitment, support and service.

pride and genuine celebration. It’s one of

BRONZE SPONSOR

power of the people that represent a

cheering on the finalists, and sharing an

team and wished they were standing

business and

someone who cares. It's their passion,

Beyond Team Award because success is individual award last year, I looked at my

people

Our industry is built on people and

make our industry what it is. We're looking

never achieved alone. After winning the

We are in a

celebrate success and inspire one another.

people at the heart of everything they do. We chose to sponsor the TMC Above &

Joe Thurgood, Sales Manager, South Western Railway

exceed expectations, challenge established We believe progress comes from those

with the confidence and creativity to push boundaries at any career stage.

winners. It is always a highlight of the the Rising Star Award once again

because it holds a special significance. It recognises talented individuals in the early stages of their careers who are

already making a significant impact and will help shape our industry’s future.

52 AWARDS.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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THE BUSINESS TRAVEL PEOPLE AWARDS

James Dow, General Manager, UK and Ireland, Blacklane

Paul Dear, Regional Vice President Concur Travel EMEA, SAP Concur

continues to

in the industry

Blacklane

Having worked

sponsor the BRONZE SPONSOR

Sustainability Champion

Awards are

BRONZE SPONSOR

about

understand the importance of

recognising and crediting the hard-working

The shortlisted nominees represent the

brands. They are what keep the industry

meaningful change being driven towards

The People

for some time, I

award in recognition of a theme close to

both our hearts and business operations.

Iya Magen, CEO, Talma Travel Solutions

people behind a lot of well-known and loved

BRONZE SPONSOR

collaboration

and connection

between teams, industry peers and business partners.

While technology enables travel, it is

evolving, interesting and moving forward.

people, expertise and dedication that

At the People Awards ceremony I’m

Industry Newcomer Award, which

and inspire those just starting their

exceptional achievements of others,

travel industry. It’s incredibly rewarding to

more responsible travel across the industry. looking forward to learning from the

catching up with industry colleagues old and new, and making new connections

And the band – the People Awards band

is legendary!

Sian Sayward, Director of People, Partnerships and Strategic Projects, Inntel

We’re pleased to be sponsoring the

recognises new people in the business

people behind BRONZE SPONSOR

our industry's success.

They celebrate the dedication,

collaboration and innovation that often

happens behind the scenes, inspiring us all to continue raising standards across business travel and meetings

they emulate.

want to celebrate those teams that

Joanne Emerson, Head of Events & Marketing, Focus Travel Partnership The People

Awards are a

celebration of BRONZE SPONSOR

the community, talent and

individuals and teams, inspire others, and provide an opportunity for the travel

It's important to recognise those leading positive change across our industry.

working together to create platforms and infrastructures that enhance service delivery.

Pat McDonagh, Chief Executive Officer, Clarity Business Travel

These are the only business travel awards

BRONZE SPONSOR

that solely

recognise the

management community to come together

individuals. Without the talent that we

We chose to sponsor the Account

where it is today.

and celebrate the talent all around us.

long-term partnerships. They understand

able to thrive is central to our culture.

innovate and disrupt the travel industry,

for. They identify the achievements of

Equity and Inclusion Champion category everyone feels valued, respected and

four words that sum up our mission! We

commitment that our industry is renowned

Manager category because these

because creating an environment where

Talma is sponsoring the Travel

Technology Innovator – Team category –

and recognise the talent and enthusiasm

management.

We are sponsoring the Diversity,

careers in travel.

support someone starting out their career

These awards recognise the

create lasting relationships and motivate

have, the industry simply wouldn’t be

Clarity is proud to be sponsoring the

individuals are at the heart of successful

Mentor of the Year category. By nurturing

the customer, the challenges, and form a

opportunities to get the best out of our

crucial connection, bringing expertise, commercial insight, and a personal

approach. This category recognises that vital contribution.

others, building confidence and unlocking people, mentors play a vital role in

contributing to personal and professional growth for the next generation.

“I still get emotional watching friends, colleagues and industry peers being recognised for the incredible impact they make every day”

AWARDS.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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THE BUSINESS TRAVEL PEOPLE AWARDS

Martina Coogan, Senior Manager, Corporate and Agency Sales UK and Ireland, United Airlines

Abbie Erdbrink, Head of Partnerships and Guest Experience, Situ The People Awards are

The People

special

Awards shine a spotlight on the

BRONZE SPONSOR

people who are behind the

achievements. They celebrate talent,

collaboration and leadership across our

industry, recognising the individuals who make a meaningful difference to

customers, colleagues and businesses. We are sponsoring the category for

Travel Technology Innovator – Individual

because innovation plays a critical role in improving the traveller experience. As an

airline investing heavily in digital tools and technology, we are proud to recognise

individuals driving meaningful progress across the industry.

Claudia Lewis, Account Executive EMEA, DOMO

I spend most of my time at

Domo talking to BRONZE SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSOR

because they

recognise the

people who often work behind the scenes to make business travel happen. They

celebrate the dedication, problem-solving and collaboration that can go unseen, while bringing the industry together to

share success. Our industry is evolving

rapidly, with technology changing how we book, manage and experience travel. But while technology enables great service,

it's people who deliver it. Their expertise,

care and commitment are what build trust, strengthen partnerships and create exceptional experiences.

“Our industry is built on people and relationships. Every journey, partnership and memorable experience starts with someone who cares”

people from

TMCs who are

leading real change in their businesses. Sponsoring these awards is a great

opportunity for us to give recognition to those people and show them that we

really value and appreciate their work.

It’s Domo’s first year sponsoring so I’m

excited to get a feel for what the awards are all about.

I think, for me, it’s that they celebrate

the people I get to work with day to day, who are adapting fast, and supporting their teams through constant change.

There’s a huge amount of innovation at

such rapid pace, but no technology replaces a person’s judgement and

support. The value to be gained from

data and AI only comes from the people using and applying it in ways that help their business and their clients.

54 AWARDS.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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Book your team! WHEN? Tuesday October 20th, 6 – 9.30pm WHERE? Tower Suites by Blue Orchid Hotels, 100 Minories, London (closest tube Tower Hill) COST? £495 for a team of up to seven, including a welcome drink and buﬀet Join us for a fun evening of networking and the chance to be crowned our Biz Trav Quiz champions Book your team at thebusinesstravelmag.com/biztravquiz2026 or for more information contact Kirsty.Hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk in partnership with

With thanks to our sponsors

hosted by Blue Orchid Hospitality

TBTQ Full page ad V4.indd 1

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Q&A

BLACKLANE

GO WITH THE FLOW James Dow, General Manager UK and Ireland for Blacklane, the global chauffeur service, explores how better business travel improves performance

Business travel is often measured in practical terms: cost, timings, logistics and policy compliance but the journey itself can also influence how well people prepare and perform. Blacklane’s recent research, Finding Flow: How Executives Excel on the Move, explores what helps business leaders and high-net-worth individuals find deep focus while travelling and how seamless journey design can affect performance. James Dow, UK and Ireland General Manager, shares his insights.

Tell us a bit about your ‘Finding Flow’ research and what themes it explores? Blacklane’s ‘Finding Flow’ whitepaper explores where business leaders find time for reflection, and when they are most likely to focus, with research showing a huge 91% experience some of their most valuable thinking when they travel. It also addresses what disrupts clarity and what happens when travellers cannot reach a flow state, exploring the physical and psychological conditions needed during a business trip to think and operate at their best.

What contradictions did your research uncover and what are the biggest barriers to finding flow on the move? The opportunity is clear, but many travellers cannot realise it. Although most respondents recognise the value of travel as thinking time, 86% say they in fact struggle to achieve deep focus when travelling for work. That gap shows that better performance does not happen automatically. The journey needs to be calm, seamless and thoughtfully planned. When trips run smoothly, 93% of respondents state they are more productive, with 44% significantly more so. Crowded or noisy environments, combined with a lack of personal space, are the top threat to clarity, cited by 31% of respondents. Other barriers include inadequate technology (29%), delays or uncertainty around timing (28%), sensory overload (28%), and poor or unreliable connections at 28%. Their impact extends beyond inconvenience.

The practical lesson is to create room in travel policies for business trips to be designed deliberately with finding flow in mind” When people cannot focus while travelling, 81% highlight that they are forced to do additional catch-up work when they return. 80% experience increased mental fatigue, while 79% flag a reduction in the quality of their thinking or decision-making. Another 79% also say it reduces their ability to perform their role, and 77% say it disrupts productivity for the entire trip.

What should travel managers take from these findings? The travel policy needs to be viewed

IMAGES COURTESY OF BLACKLANE

What do you mean by ‘flow’, and why is it relevant to business travel? Flow is the state of deep focus, clarity and purpose that helps people perform at their best. It is often described as being ‘in the zone’ - fully absorbed in what you are doing and applying full concentration to deliver your best thinking or results. Travel away from the office or the day-today can create valuable space to reflect or make decisions. Our research found that nine in 10 respondents believe travel unlocks some of their most valuable thinking, but only when travel is smooth and free from disruption. 56 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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Q&A

through a broader lens and while cost remains important, the policy should be evaluated on more than financial metrics. Adding factors such as wellbeing impact, and any shifts in results and performance when thinking or working time is protected, are also important considerations. At Blacklane we feel strongly that the best travel policies also address creating the conditions that help people do their best work or recover between commitments. Without this, the traveller is encouraged to book outside of policy, leading to a lack of

control over budget, duty of care and important management information around spend and ROI.

How can travel managers apply these changes practically? It means thinking about the full journey holistically for each traveller type and their needs. Reliable ground transport, privacy, continuity and a lower-friction experience can protect valuable thinking time. Feeling calm, feeling in control and travelling with a trusted provider were among the most

important factors respondents identified for achieving intense focus. These are not simply comfort features; they are part of the performance equation. The practical lesson is to create room in travel policies for business trips to be designed deliberately with finding flow in mind: give travellers space to prepare or reflect and reduce uncertainty. I am passionate that ground transport should be thought of as the first mile, rather than the last mile. A smooth airport transfer, or a car for the day to accommodate a rapidly changing and unpredictable schedule should not be an afterthought, it should be an integral part of executive business travel.

What role does Blacklane play in helping travellers find their flow?

Our role is to support travel buyers and managers with the insight to make a meaningful difference to how their people travel. Taking care of the details so guests can find the focus they need when they are on the road is integral to our service. When travel is considered and purposeful, people find their flow and thrive. blacklane.com SPONSORED

Q&A Blacklane V5.indd 57

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EVENT REVIEW

Dinner Club Travel buyers, travel management companies and suppliers were wined and dined in the elegant Gold and Silver Room at the Dorchester, London, for The Business Travel Magazine’s June Dinner Club. After dinner, Dr Emma Partlow, CEO of the National Centre for Accessible Transport, gave a heartfelt and thought-provoking talk on transport accessibility. The evening was kindly sponsored by United Airlines, Front, B&B Hotels Group and Etihad.

TABLE TALK

Xxxxxx xxxxxxxx ▼

WITH THANKS TO THE SPONSORS

PRE-DINNER NETWORKING BUILDING CONNECTIONS

PHOTOS BY ANDY HUNTLEY

CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION

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Be Part of What’s Next New City. New Perspectives. A More Meaningful Way to Connect. Vienna | 2–4 November 2026 Join us for the GBTA + VDR Europe Conference 2026 in Partnership with ABTA, Europe’s most important annual event for business travel professionals. For the first time, the conference brings the business travel community together in Vienna to explore the latest topics and trends shaping our industry. Together, we’ll navigate the key challenges facing business travel in today’s changing economic and geopolitical landscape — bringing fresh perspectives and ideas to the conversations shaping what’s next.

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DEPARTURES

Reality check HOT E L : N HO W MI L A N O , MI L A N THE HOTEL

In keeping with its

changes every few months. The

location bang in the fashion and design

corridors were dimly lit. In fact, on a few

centre of Milan, this hotel doubles as an

occasions we walked straight past the

ever-changing exhibition or gallery

door to our room!

space. It's in the former General Electric

THE ROOM

The 244 rooms and

factory and its original slate-grey iron

suites come in four different colour

columns in the corridors and cement

palettes. Ours was a contemporary

floors have been preserved. From the

white and graphite grey with splashes

moment guests enter through its

of bright yellow in the curtains and

dramatic digital tunnel entrance, they

nhow's signature orange on the

are treated to a visual feast of creativity

cushions. It was fairly minimalist but

and design. Even the breakfast buffet is

with homely touches like the designer

a work of art. Every six months the

bedside lamps and a little table and

hotel's public areas are transformed

chairs. Large walk-in showers come with

with new artwork. It's a 15-minute walk

nhow branded toiletries.

from the Navigli canal district, which is

The highlight of this

venue, T35, is a multi-level event space

lined with lively bars and restaurants.

hotel is Vertigo, its rooftop pool and bar

with its own entrance on Via Tortona. It

The hotel is part of Minor Hotels' nhow

area. It's an Instagrammer's dream,

has a panoramic terrace with giant

brand, a collection of hotels in Europe

with two shallow circular pools and a

plant pots holding palm trees, a fully-

inspired by their location and intended

28-meter suspended infinity pool, all of

equipped independent kitchen and DJ

to become landmarks in their own right.

them painted in nhow orange giving the

sets, so it's popular for parties. The

water an orange glow. Swimming is

largest of the hotel's 12 meeting rooms

created from the very start with the

allowed until 6pm and in the heat of the

can host up to 600 guests.

wave-shaped video wall along the

summer we appreciated the chance to

tunnel entrance, which makes it more

cool off with a dip and a cocktail before

like entering a contemporary art

dinner, although the infinity pool is

THE CHECK-IN

The wow factor is

THE FACILITIES

narrow so we had to take it in turns to do lengths. The whole rooftop area can be hired for private events. The ground

displays can be configured to suit a

THE SMOOTHIES AND THE BROWNIES WERE A HIGHLIGHT OF THE BREAKFAST MENU

Be prepared for a

thanks to the ever-changing art installations, guests will get a different experience each time they visit. If you have clients in the creative industries

floor bar and restaurant are also a riot

looking for a memorable space to hold

of colour, dominated by oversized steel

an event, this is the place. Make sure

chandeliers by Catellani & Smith. The

you check if the rooftop pool will be

breakfast buffet is immaculately

closed for any private events during

presented and there's a special table

your stay. We came back for a dip one

display of dainty pastries and sweets,

afternoon to find out it wasn't open.

which changes reguarly. The smoothies

The staff were very apologetic and

and the chocolate brownies were a

assured us that closures are rare.

highlight of the breakfast menu. Kids museum than a hotel. Its giant digital

THE VERDICT

sensory overload from the start and

THE DETAILS

Rooms from €200 a

will love them. There's a small fitness

night, including breakfast. Pets are

room too, which is open 24/7.

welcome for an extra 35€ per night.

THE BUSINESS

When it comes to

launch, or an event, or even a catwalk

meetings and events, there is

show. Once inside, the wow factor

something for every occasion here.

continues with brightly-coloured bucket

Some of the more quirky options

chairs, a popcorn machine and

include The Penthouse by Matteo Thun,

contemporary telephone booth for

a striking 280 sqm two-level, loft-style

private calls. Fun black and white

space that's all white, with original iron

headshots of the young hotel staff are

beams, vaulted ceilings and floor-to-

displayed around a light box that says

ceiling windows with city skyline views.

'nhow team'. The team behind the gold-

It's the perfect backdrop for fashion

laminated reception desk made us feel

shoots, creative meetings and VIP

welcome and after a bit of form filling

gatherings. Apparently Brad Pitt is

we were in the lift to our premium

among the celebrities who's had the

room. The corridors are also lined with

pleasure of staying here. There's also a

contemporary art, with each of the four

bathtub with glass spyholes so you can

floors having a different theme, which

spy on the lower-level below. Another

nhow-hotels.com.

Bev Fearis

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DEPARTURES

HOT EL: HUB BY P RE MI E R I N N FA RRI N G D O N (O L D BA I L E Y ) the foot of the bed. I had a nice view of local churches from the window.

in February 2026, retaining many of its

Lighting at three levels was controlled

original Victorian features. It's a two-

from a console built into the headboard.

minute walk from City Thameslink

Other highlights included a 40’’ TV and

station or six minutes’ walk from St

two bottles of complimentary still water.

Paul’s or Farringdon tube stations.

A self-service tea and coffee bar is open

THE CHECK-IN

As the receptionist

24/7 next to the reception on level 1.

was helping another guest I used one of

The ensuite bathroom was immaculate

the two self check-in desks. Quick and

with a large shower featuring both

easy, I popped in my booking number

hand-held and overhead options and a

and was able to activate my key cards.

large bottle of Baylis and Harding luxury

As a lone female traveller I appreciated

hair and body wash. Excellent

that it didn't announce my room

soundproofing meant I slept soundly.

number but instead printed it on a slip.

NIKOLAS KEONIG

A former police station,

THE HOTEL

this flagship hub by Premier Inn opened

THE FACILITIES

A large bar/restaurant

I could have also answered a prompt to

has a fully-stocked bar with a good

out must go to Nerz who was on duty

display it on the screen. A member of

selection of spirits, cocktails, mixers,

both days and was very polite and

the team came over to check I was OK

bottled beers and ciders. Happy hour

with the process, which was nice touch.

runs from 5-7pm offering two drinks for

helpful.

A SELF-SERVICE TEA AND COFFEE BAR IS OPEN 24/7 NEXT TO THE RECEPTION

THE VERDICT

Premier Inn's super

I needed to use my

£9 so I enjoyed a Prosecco, although for

room key to activate the lift and my

just £12 I could have had two cocktails. A

standard room, 401, was close to the

limited menu features staples like pizzas,

lifts so no need to walk down long

pasta and curry. Breakfast costs £8 and

corridors. Ideal for one person, my

includes cereals, hot porridge, yogurt,

room had a queen-size bed against the

fruits and various pastries and preserves

from discounts of 5%-15%.

wall. A pull-out desk extends out from

and a decent cooked breakfast. A shout-

Kirsty Hicks

THE ROOM

compact 'hubs' tick all the boxes thanks to clever design to maximise the small space. THE DETAILS

Rooms start from £74

a night or £102 for a flexible booking. Premier Inn Business members benefit

C HAUFFE RUR T RA N SFE R: BL AC K L A N E Blacklane provides

THE BACKGROUND

PRE-JOURNEY

A few hours before

professional chauffeurs via an app and

arrival, I received an email from

online booking platform. It operates in

Blacklane with the name of my driver,

over 500 cities across more than 60

Hassan Allou Bouhaik, and the

countries with options of one-way, City

registration plate of his vehicle. It gave

to City and by-the-hour services.

me the option to message him instantly

Corporate clients can benefit from

without sharing my personal details. At

automated invoicing system, dedicated

the time of pick-up, I received

corporate support and account

simultaneous text and email alerts

management, corporate rebates and

informing me that the driver had

arrived and was ready for us.

included in every quote so there are no

THE JOURNEY

The booking was for a

hidden charges. Many cars in the fleet

pick-up from a car park at the Henley

are electric and all other journeys are

Regatta. I was travelling with two other

offset by a carbon offset programme.

colleagues and had trouble finding

Earlier this year, Uber announced it was

them at the pick-up time, but was able

driving style, I was soon drifting off into

acquiring Blacklane and the deal is

to call the driver and ask him to wait.

sleep and woke up at home. Perfect!

expected to close by the end of 2026.

He was very patient! We found the car -

THE BOOKING

Booking was easy

a black, electric Mercedes-Benz – and

THE VERDICT

A FOLLOW-UP TEXT ASKED ME FOR FEEDBACK AND IT WAS ALL POSITIVE

This was the usual

slick Blacklane chauffeur experience

and quick, although the app didn't

Hassan, very smartly dressed, opened

recognise my address so I had to put in

the doors and politely greeted us. He

the address of a nearby petrol station.

asked if we preferred to have music for

When I entered the pick-up and drop-off

our journey. We chose some chilled

address the app reassuringly estimated

soul music and he found a suitable

how long my journey would take and

channel. With the cool leather interiors,

tips and any tolls. blacklane.com

came up with a price.

comfortable seats and Hassan's smooth

Bev Fearis

with just the right amount of contact throughout. A follow-up text asked me for feedback and it was all positive. THE DETAILS

Prices depend on the

journey and are all-inclusive of taxes,

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DEPARTURES

Seven of the best...new or revamped UK airport lounges

AIR FRANCE LOUNGE, LONDON HEATHROW TERMINAL 4

ASPIRE LOUNGE, LIVERPOOL JOHN LENNON

The cuisine is French, évidemment, and the spa menu offers Clarins treatments – Anti Jet-Lag, Focus Regard and L’Instant Detox. The runway views are so good the designers made the window seats the only ones without charging points so people don't hog them.

VIRGIN CLUBHOUSE, LONDON HEATHROW TERMINAL 3

New quirky Virgin touches include the Royal Box, two private studiostyle pods (with ‘on air’ signs that light up during use), pop-up wellness offerings, and a cinema area with acoustic wall panels to boost sound quality and with posher seats with charging points.

With interiors inspired by iconic Liverpool landmarks, dotted with artwork both of and by the Beatles, this split level lounge gives travellers the option to stay in the main area (£45.99pp) or upgrade to an adults-only upstairs 'Luxe' level (from £55pp).

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DEPARTURES

7 of the best

ASPIRE LOUNGE, LONDON CITY AIRPORT

ESSENCE BY ESCAPE LOUNGES, STANSTED AIRPORT

Opening in early 2027, Swissport International is working on an Aspire lounge with a centrepiece cocktail bar where guests can sip on a margarita and enjoy the runway views. It will also have booths for private calls and a lobby inspired by five-star hotels

LUXE BY ASPIRE, BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT

An Aspire host welcomes travellers with a complimentary glass of prosecco and personally guides them to their seat in this new luxury lounge. It's only four minutes from all boarding gates so guests can sit back and make the most of their downtime.

THE EXECUTIVE BY ESCAPE, MANCHESTER AIRPORT TERMINAL 2

Home to the UK's first airport carvery, this lounge is all about the food. Expect live cooking, made-to-order dishes and barista coffee as part of the chef-led dining experience in five zones.

Holders of DragonPass, Priority Pass and Lounge Key can use this new lounge, or pay from just £28.99pp for cold bites, soft drinks, beer and wines and a place to unwind with fast Wi-Fi.

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etihad.com

Fly to 100+ destinations

Unwind in premium comfort

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DEPARTURES

The final word

The latest beauty fad? Aisle seats

ant to look your best for a long day of client meetings after you land? Then you might want to rethink booking a window seat. Beauty experts are warning that where you sit on a plane could leave your skin looking more long-haul than long lunch. According to beauty and wellness booking platform Fresha, cabin humidity can drop below 20% (that's drier than the Sahara Desert). Add recycled air, increased UV exposure at cruising altitude and several hours spent pretending to work while actually watching the flight map, and your skin can arrive looking rather drab. Window seats are apparently the worst offenders, with greater UV exposure, reduced airflow and proximity to the colder cabin wall. The first and last five rows also bring bigger fluctuations in

New York

Geneva

London

Zurich

Hong Kong

Tel Aviv

Bern

Singapore

San Francisco

Dubai

Research by ECA

both airflow and humidity. So where should the savvy business traveller sit? Mid-cabin aisle seats get top marks, offering more stable airflow and making it easier to get up and move around – handy for staying

Bye bye, head-bob

HOW MUCH? ECA, which helps organisations plan, track and manage global moves for its people, has released its latest Cost of Living report, based on currency shifts, accommodation costs and more. According to its data, the world's 10 most expensive cities are:

mirates has found a cure for the dreaded head-bob with a new adjustable headrest designed to make sleeping at 35,000ft a little less awkward. The airline's new Economy Class 'U-Dream' headrest features adjustable side wings, vertical movement and tilt functionality, allowing passengers to position it firmly around their head and neck. It prevents heads lolling forwards or sideways, saving passengers from waking up to find they're dribbling on their neighbour's shoulder.

comfortable and keeping circulation going on longer flights. Seats over the wings also experience smaller changes in humidity. You may lose the window view, but your skin will thank you for it.

Age is just a number – and apparently it’s no barrier to a pair of wings. easyJet reports that its older-worker recruitment drive is taking off, with the number of cabin crew aged 50+ rising 127% since 2022. Meanwhile, its over-60 cabin crew ranks have almost quadrupled. With 80% of UK adults who have switched careers after 50 saying they’re happier for it, and a further 65% wishing they’d done it sooner, the message is clear: it’s never too late to change direction – or, in this case, take to the skies. THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM

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2027

SAVE THE DATE for next year's awards

September 14 2027 With thanks to our 2026 sponsors GOLD SPONSOR

RUBY SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSORS

For sponsorship and more information contact Kirsty.Hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk awards.thebusinesstravelmag.com

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