The Business Travel Mag Spring 2026

THE COST OF GOING GREEN

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the price: Does it always have to cost more to travel more sustainably?

Experts suggest how to make your programmes and policies work for

Welcome

A harsh reminder

Like many of your travel policies, this 'Editor's Welcome' has been completely rewritten in recent days. The developing situation in the Middle East has, once again, seen our industry jump into action in response to a crisis.

It has reinforced the vital role you all play in protecting your travellers. Handling disruptions such as these – locating your people, ensuring they are safe, bringing them home to their loved ones – highlights the many responsibilities of a travel manager, and the list just keeps on growing.

As the managing director of a travel management company points out in our Everyone's Talking About feature (page 8), business travel is not simply about booking flights. It's so much more.

In this issue, we look at some of the responsibilities that are increasingly part of a travel manager's remit – sustainability, wellbeing and duty of care – and share advice from experts to help guide you in these areas.

Our feature on neurodiverse business travel (page 42) outlines the best approach to improving the experience for all of your travellers.

We explore how behavioural science can help encourage better traveller decisions (page 14), suggest the questions you need to ask to ensure you're working with the most responsible suppliers (page 24), and investigate whether sustainable travel always has to cost more (page 30) – a question I'm sure your finance teams often ask.

A recent survey by the Institute of Travel Management showed buyers are feeling increasingly overwhelmed and undervalued in their organisations. While the coming weeks will no doubt add to your already heavy workloads, it will surely validate the value of this industry.

Take care of your travellers, but remember to look after yourselves too.

Bev Fearis, Editor

EDITORIAL

EDITOR

Bev Fearis

CONTRIBUTORS

Neal Baldwin, Catherine Chetwynd, Gill Upton, Nick Easen & Gary Noakes

DIGITAL EDITOR

April Waterston

CONTENT WRITER

Lucy Kenningham

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

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

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BMI PUBLISHING

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Matt Bonner

CEO Martin Steady

The Newman has an elegant and refined surface underpinned by stylish, unfussy touches and eccentric quirks throughout”

ICE COOL

Inspired by the charm and character of London's Fitzrovia, The Newman has 81 Art Deco-style guest rooms, suites and apartments, some with private balconies. A rooftop floor has a Penthouse Suite with its own terrace, sauna and ice plunge.

FEELING BLUE

JetBlue has opened BlueHouse, its first ever airport lounge, at New York JFK. Spread across two floors, the space has been designed to “blend the charm of New York’s iconic Art Deco architecture with the warmth of a classic city apartment”. Fun touches include a games room and custom photo booth.

Aspire Executive Lounge Copenhagen Airport

SO ASPIRING

The minimalistic sophistication of Scandinavian design meets Medieval and Renaissance silhouettes inspired by 'The City of Spires' at a new Aspire Executive Lounge at Copenhagen Airport. Travellers can relax in Gubi chairs at communal tables, or in private booths, and admire the art by Danish artists.

B&B Hotel Cambridge South

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Comfort, simplicity and value are at the core of European budget brand B&B Hotels, which has opened its seventh UK property in Cambridge. Formerly a Holiday Inn Express, the 73-room hotel, just off the M11 (Junction 10), has been refurbished to appeal to cost and style conscious travellers.

Everyone's talking about... the Middle East crisis

“ WITHOUT TMCS, AIRLINE CALL CENTRES WOULD BE EVEN FURTHER OVERLOADED. RESPONDING TO TERRIBLE SITUATIONS SUCH AS THIS IS PART OF A TMC’S SERVICE DNA”

“JUST TO PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE, ALL THE CLOSED AND IMPACTED AEROSPACE AS A RESULT OF THIS CONFLICT IS ABOUT 4.8 MILLION SQUARE KILOMETRES – LARGER THAN THE EUROPEAN UNION’S AEROSPACE CORE AND ROUGHLY HALF THE SIZE OF THE US”

“So much to consider with what’s unfolding in the Middle East. No politics here, just a focus on the humanitarian impact across every nation affected. Families separated. Journeys disrupted. Uncertainty heightened"

The closure of major air corridors and the potential for further retaliatory attacks require disciplined risk assessment and operational flexibility”

“DISRUPTION OF THIS SCALE REINFORCES AN IMPORTANT POINT: BUSINESS TRAVEL IS NOT SIMPLY ABOUT BOOKING FLIGHTS

— IT IS ABOUT MANAGING RISK IN REAL TIME ”

“The ongoing situation in the Middle East is a sobering reminder of how interconnected our world is — not only politically and economically, but operationally as well”

Jonathan Mullender, Senior Vice President, SMBC Aviation Capital

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

CUT THROUGH THE NOISE

Don’t get caught up in operational details, says Sam Davies at Direct Travel. Keeping strategy front of mind is the secret to showing your value to clients

After 27 years in business travel, I’ve learned that the industry never stands still. But right now, the pace of change feels sharper and more demanding than anything we’ve seen.

Travel managers are carrying broader remits and higher expectations than ever before, all while navigating a world where disruption is the norm. It’s no surprise therefore, that at the recent ITM Trending Summit “demonstrating value” was a new entrant (at number four) in buyer priorities.

Yet despite this evolution, travel managers are still pulled into the weeds. Operational noise and shifting priorities can easily overshadow the bigger picture. That’s why account management across our industry must step up as a strategic anchor.

My team works to keep clients focussed on what truly matters, but the shift is bigger

than any one organisation and it does not move in a linear trajectory. Strategy is not a static document: itʼs a living discipline. What mattered in January may be irrelevant by March. Staying aligned requires discipline. We need more intent to keep strategy at the centre. For us, that means KPIs tied to outcomes rather than activity. Being busy is not the same as being effective.

Eyes forward

Our Quarterly Business Meetings follow the same philosophy. They are forward-looking by design. The sessions are reserved for strategy, not history. However, like any change, avoiding slipping back into old habits is an ongoing struggle. This reflects a broader shift for all to embrace, moving away from retrospective reporting and towards value creation.

Share the knowledge

The next era of account management will be defined by insight, opportunity and execution, not information.

Travel managers don’t need more data; they need better interpretation. They need partners who can translate numbers into decisions, outcomes and value.

That requires fluency in technology, because these tools help us surface insights faster and make better choices. It also requires a willingness to be curious, to challenge (both us and customers), and the courage to embrace change and make mistakes along the way.

We must ask better “why” and “what next” questions, ensure existing customers receive the same innovation as new ones, and share knowledge more freely across teams and clients. In a landscape this dynamic, knowledge sharing is essential.

Better together

Travel managers today expect account managers to be partners, not processors. Meeting that expectation means bringing our ‘A Game’ every day: the best strategy, the best technology, the best ideas. And when things go wrong (because in travel, they always will) it means standing shoulder to shoulder with clients and keeping the programme on course.

This is a moment of real change for business travel and it’s hard, as all things worth doing are. Expectations are higher, complexity is greater, and the opportunity to make an impact is bigger than ever. But we can only meet that moment if we evolve collectively with more strategic conversations, more shared learning, more alignment, and more focus on what truly matters.

Because strategy isn’t about perfection. It’s about clarity, focus and the discipline to build what matters most.

SAM DAVIES

Sam Davies is Director of Corporate Partnerships at Direct Travel, where she leads the UK account management team, focussing on delivering commercial growth, retaining key clients and fostering long-term partnerships that align with strategic goals.

TRIPSTAX

DEEPER DATA ANALYSIS

We chat with David Chappell, Chief Product Officer of technology provider TripStax, about the recent launch of its Analytics solution and the challenges with managing data

Why has TripStax made such a significant investment in its Analytics platform?

Analytics has always been central to what we do – it's one of our flagship modules. We are continuously reviewing our product roadmap against the latest technologies, talking to customers and conducting research to make sure we provide innovative, best in-market solutions. Staying ahead of the game is about committing to improvement day in and day out - and this investment reflects that.

Travel managers don't just want any old data; they want reliable, accurate data, data they can act on quickly, share easily, and use to make trusted decisions”

Can you tell us a bit more about the main benefits of the new platform?

The upgraded platform is six times faster on initial load, has an upgraded user interface and is fully brandable for both travel management companies (TMCs) and their corporate clients. It features a wellresearched user experience, enhanced compliance tracking, smarter and deeper analytics with more ways to slice and dice the data, along with impressive data visualisation and enhanced AI-powered capabilities – all woven into the fabric of the platform.

the very heart of our tech offering, which consumes, cleanses and normalises travel data from potentially any content source to create a single point of truth. I increasingly hear corporates and TMCs asking how to consolidate all their data sources – especially those outside the GDS – and then automate them holistically. And that’s what our TripStax QC (Quality Control) module is leading the way in solving.

Users can query data using natural language search – just type in a question and the platform generates the relevant charts and analysis. Alongside that are “what if” scenarios all powered by machine learning, which is really valuable when planning a travel programme or making policy changes. We have also designed several new features to assist with carbon and sustainability objectives.

The expectations of corporate travel managers are changing. They don't just want any old data; they want reliable, accurate data, data they can act on quickly, share easily, and use to make trusted decisions.

Talking of data, why is it always a headache for travel managers and how does TripStax solve this?

The problem is fragmentation. TMCs have ended up with a patchwork of technology vendors – each one holding a piece of the data puzzle, but no single view of the whole picture. Every tool added creates another silo, another integration to manage, and another transaction fee to absorb. The result is that data becomes complex, inconsistent, and expensive to consolidate.

What is QC and why is it so important?

QC is fundamental to travel management — it ensures every booking meets a client's specific requirements, from the basics like having the correct cost centre all the way to auto-ticketing, traveller profile checks, and data capture for risk assessment. Get it wrong and you're looking at operational errors, unhappy clients and compliance failures.

TripStax solves this issue due to the unique capabilities of the TripStax Core,

The industry has been trying to do all of this within the GDS, using a PNR-centric model that was designed decades ago. In a world where bookings are now coming from multiple content channels, forcing everything back into a PNR for quality control is time-consuming, prone to error and unsustainable.

TripStax QC removes that dependency entirely by working outside of the GDS, consuming data from any source, in any format, unifying it centrally. It’s a sophisticated logic and AI workflow engine that can connect to any booking source and control them seamlessly.

The development with TripStax QC is leading edge. It’s already underpinning

technology for a global, multi-agency customer that means those agents can collaborate and operate as one. It’s a huge breakthrough in the evolution of TMC networks as it changes the way agencies interact when servicing a single customer. Imagine unified workflows, branding, documentation and reporting, globally, all

controlled centrally and updated worldwide, instantly. This is reality, today, with QC. It’s game changing. Imagine that capability for agencies who wish to compete with the megas, or for a global corporate travel department wishing to consolidate services? After all, you don’t have to be an agency to have agency level systems.

Staying ahead of the game is about committing to improvement day in and day out ”

What’s next for TripStax? What does the next 12 months look like? It's an exciting period for us. The launch of our new Analytics platform and the work we have done with TripStax QC is just one phase in a series of investments. It’s very much a case of watch this space! tripstax.com

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

EThe achievements of business travel professionals will once again be recognised and rewarded in this year's People Awards. Is it your time to shine?

ntries have been flooding in for the 2026 Business Travel People Awards, which celebrate the industry’s finest talent at all stages of a career and across all sectors.

Now in their 15th year, the prestigious awards honour individuals and teams in business travel whose professionalism and business excellence make them stand out from their peers.

They celebrate the achievements of the people in the industry, rather than the companies or brands.

Categories are also designed to recognise those working in frontline or back-office functions who might not otherwise have the chance to shine.

Nominations can come from individuals and teams based in the UK or overseas and must be backed up with evidence, such as videos or written testimonials from clients, partners or peers.

Finalists will be announced towards the end of May and winners will be presented with their awards at an evening ceremony on Tuesday September 15 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s Covent Garden.

Sponsors already confirmed for this year include Direct Travel as Gold Sponsor, Virgin Atlantic as Ruby Sponsor, plus Bronze Sponsors – Inntel, United Airlines, SAP Concur, Blacklane, South Western Railway, Situ and Sirius. Each sponsor will also support a category.

In response to a particularly high

Alongside the 20 categories, a Chair’s Award will be chosen from across all of the categories by the Chair of the Judges Panel, Leigh Cowlishaw.

number of entries in some categories, a number of new categories have been introduced for 2026.

A Sales and Marketing category has been split into two separate categories –Sales Champion(s) and Marketing Champion(s) to recognise individuals or teams working in these roles.

A new category has been added to recognise a Travel Manager or Travel Team of the Year.

The recipient of the prestigious Industry Contribution Award will be chosen by the Judging Panel and will not require a submission.

With thanks to our sponsors

The entries will be judged by an esteemed panel of independent experts: Carlos Almendros, Cisco Systems, Elizabeth Anderson, Inmarsat, Ruth Bennett, MMGY, Cristina Chimenti, Sky, Bex Deadman, Travel Risk Academy, Paul Dowdy, Chubb Insurance, Tony Edge, Focus Travel Partnership, Carol Fergus, Fidelity International, James Foice, Association of Serviced Apartment Providers, Zander Gregor, TBR Global Chauffeuring, Lynne Griffiths, Sirius Talent Solutions, Calum Hawley, BTC Global, Karen Hutchings, Cobb & Hutch Consulting, Juliette Jackman, Deloitte, Jan T. Jacobsen, Accenture, Darren Jeacock, EY, Barbara Kolosinska, C&M Travel Recruitment, Emma Lamb, Milestone Tech @ Facebook, Wayne Lappage, Yunex Traffic, Sonia Michaels, Advantage Travel Partnership, Kate Scully, Smith+Nephew, and Clive Wratten, Business Travel Association.

SAVE THE DATE

Join the celebration on Tuesday September 15 2026 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London

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Climb quickly

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Earn on the job, spend on the joy

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Work trip to Atlanta, weekend in Amsterdam

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Business travel, personal rewards

Highly INFLUENTIAL

Employing behavioural science techniques can help ensure your travellers make the right decisions, says Nick Easen

Influencing your travellers so they make cost effective, sustainable choices and stay within policy is vital for travel programmes. This involves a greater understanding of why decisions are made, how to engage with your employees, and when to communicate. It’s why behavioural science and nudge theory are now coming into their own.

“We’re entering a new phase in business travel. We can now understand patterns of

behaviour at a much deeper level and tailor how travellers respond at the moment decisions are made in a way that simply wasn’t possible a few years ago,” explains Andy Raimond, Programme Optimisation Practice Line Lead at American Express GBT. The key theme is reducing friction, so employees are nudged in the right decisions at the right time, particularly pre-trip. The aim is to create a decision environment anchored in simplicity and speed.

A lot of this is not rocket science; however it does involve taking a rigorous, scientific and structured approach from the very beginning. The techniques used are also designed to make the right choice also the easiest choice for business travellers.

“The aim is to create a more supportive, less restrictive travel programme with a consistent and clear message,” says Thomas Lempart, Global Procurement Category Manager for Travel & Mobility at Accenture. “If we are

When a choice is also framed as a personal benefit, travellers are more likely to make the right decision”

perceived to be trying to manipulate people, trust will be eroded very quickly.”

For instance, simple colour-coded visual cues, rather than lengthy text, can make a difference because our brains are hardwired to process images more quickly. At the same time, anything new or novel can lead to dopamine release.

“Nudging people in the right direction is vital – for instance, a prompt that says ‘I know you have booked this hotel, and did you know that it has breakfast included?’. This can help save the business money,” states a travel manager at a global banking corporation.

Pick of the bunch

Clearly presented, side-by-side comparisons with budgets and pricing displayed can also help travellers make split-second decisions, while bite-sized storytelling and prompts can be deployed to sway decisions at crucial moments in the booking flow, as opposed to lengthy explanations.

“When a choice is also framed as a personal benefit, such as less time spent making flight and hotel arrangements in the same booking, or arriving more focused after two uninterrupted hours of preparation time on a rail journey, travellers are more likely to make the right decision,” details Raimond.

This involves a greater understanding of

why, when and how people make decisions. Mapping out the choice architecture for travellers is vital. However, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work with nudge theory.

“Subtle levers can be used to impact travel programmes, such as a change to preferred suppliers. The traveller also needs to be involved in the journey so making them part of the change and process is vital,” states Andrea Caulfield Smith, Managing Director Global Business Travel at Advantage Travel Partnership.

Knowing me, knowing you People in different markets across the globe make decisions in different ways. Different levels of employees have varying expectations of travel, while others are swayed by loyalty programmes. Greater pools of data and better testing are all helping in this process.

“There are recognised behavioural frameworks that work. For example, the RESPONSE Model is a practical way to ensure behaviour change initiatives hit the mark. The model embeds behavioural insights into communications by providing a guide that helps make them relevant to the target audience,” explains Raimond.

Personalisation is particularly powerful, since tailored information attracts and helps retain attention and reduces cognitive load.

Social proof is another powerful tool –the idea that ‘people like me in the company are making the same choices.’ It works well with social media, so why not with travellers? Tech platforms such as Tripism are also allowing this sort of content to be communicated internally. Deployed effectively, behavioural science and nudge theory can certainly lead to a stronger awareness of policies, more bookings for preferred hotel and airlines partners, lower carbon emissions and fewer out of out-of-policy bookings.

So, what of the future? Generative artificial intelligence could help in this process – deploying an AI assistant with natural language queries that are trained on internal data that is within policy and restricted by certain parameters has potential. This will help employees make the right decisions more easily. The future is a living, breathing travel policy. Watch this space.

GETTING THE RIGHT RESPONSE

How to be a top influencer: the art and science of changing behaviour

R E S P O N S E

RECIPIENT

Who are you targeting?

EFFECT

What do you want them to do differently?

SENDER

Who and what channel would influence them most?

PAIN POINTS

What barriers stop them now?

OPPORTUNITIES

What lever could help change that?

NUDGE

Design your nudge: what behavioural techniques could you use?

SPILLOVER

Any knock-on effects to consider?

EVALUATE

How will you measure success?

Time to check in to the modern traveller

Clive Wratten, Chief Executive, BTA

IT’S 2026, AND HOTELS need a wake-up call.

Flexible working is the new norm – and honestly, it’s a win-win. Yet the hotel industry remains anchored to rigid check-in times.

We’re all so used to how hotels operate, playing by their 11am-3pm rules – but why don’t we question it? You’re paying for 24 hours, yet that’s simply not what you’re getting. Before the pandemic, rooms were available before midday, but this was pushed back due to extra

cleaning needs. Surely this can no longer be used as an excuse?

Why the lack of flexibility?

Hotels often cite housekeeping logistics as the barrier. This “one size fits all” approach overlooks a massive opportunity.

Here’s my proposal: why not simply pay for what you use?

Most other industries operate this way, so why haven’t hotels adopted the model? In fact, it would likely benefit them, generating extra revenue from guests with late-night flights or those who want a room available to freshen up after a red-eye or evening event.

All aboard the high speed AI train

By shifting to a pay-for-use model, hotels could cater to the modern business traveller. Flexible windows allow them to increase revenue during off-peak hours and drastically improve guest satisfaction. This approach benefits travellers and doesn’t require a structural overhaul. Yes, it requires some technology

CAN I HAVE A QUIET WORD?

Just you and me?

Do you think you understand and are utilising AI as much as everyone else is? I promise I won’t tell.

In a recent (anonymous) ITM survey, just 15% of travel managers said they were deploying cutting edge AI applications in their travel programme. It would appear everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, but they’re not really doing it either. Yet.

The current rate of acceleration is like nothing we’ve seen before, with smart, creative and disruptive tools emerging daily. I think we're also about to see a much-needed revolution in AI learning and development, which should help to level set and make practical AI practitioners of us all.

Travel buyers tell us they are being directed by their senior leadership to adopt and exploit

upgrades and perhaps a housekeeping reschedule – but it would be entirely worthwhile. In a market where travel buyers scrutinise every penny, offering true flexibility isn’t just a perk, it’s a competitive necessity. Other industries have adapted to the on-demand economy, and it’s time for hoteliers to step up. thebta.org.uk

AI, but often without the corresponding guidance as to where and/or why. There is no doubt that, at enterprise level, the ability to weald AI to generate efficiencies, speed up and improve decision-making and deliver quality information and service to customers is already a transformational competitive differentiator.

There is, of course, the spectre of other, less fun dynamics at play, including justifiable security considerations and the personal concern of impact on jobs.

In previous tech revolutions, it has often paid to be a pioneering trailblazer, while sometimes it may have been best to watch, wait and learn lessons. I don’t think this is one of those latter moments, friends.

AI may not replace your role in travel per se but those who don’t learn how to unleash the full potential of AI will be replaced as some point. 2026 is the year of the AI native! itm.org.uk

How does your garden grow?

Jack

Ramsey, Chief Executive Officer, TripStax

AS SPRING REMINDS US annually, we cannot control the inevitability of change, but we can prepare ourselves to recognise and seize the opportunities that change invariably brings.

in preparing the foundational environment for nature to take care of the rest.

We’ve learnt a lot about what it takes to nurture that natural flourishing each year. We don’t control the growth, but we can certainly guide it in the right direction.

challenges is the constant struggle to harmonise all these disparate pieces.

FACTS & FIGURES

During the Covid pandemic my family redesigned our garden, building five raised flowerbeds, surrounded by Cotswold stone and a picket fence.

Seasons are like travel, both inevitable and unpredictable. As an industry, we are vulnerable to an ever-changing ecosystem —

We designated a bed for vegetables, one for herbs, another for flowers, and in my daughter’s case, one bed was filled with animal statues and bird baths.

Each of us played a unique role

one influenced by global events, shifting regulations, supplier performance, traveller behaviour etc. Every trip generates data that moves through a maze of disconnected systems, each with its own standards, connectivity, formats, and nuances.

One of the industry’s greatest

Think of our flowerbeds. If we leave them to their own devices, the result will be a web of interwoven stems, attacks from seemingly magical weeds, threats from greedy bugs, and a lack of veg for my roast dinners.

So, we have a choice; spend time weeding, renewing the soil and replanting, or ignore the problem, hoping nature resolves it for us.

Like my family’s horticultural journey, travel technology has come a long way in the pursuit of managing what is a complex ecosystem.

From Open API-driven architectures, data normalisation and integrated data hubs like the TripStax Core, to industry collaboration, standardisation and smarter AI-based workflow automation, these are all developed to work with the elements, creating structure around the chaos.

None of this eliminates fragmentation at the source or the emergence of new complexities, but it does start to transform a once unruly flow of information into something navigable and meaningful.

The objective isn’t to control every single data point; that would be unrealistic. It’s to cultivate clarity, consistency and provide a trusted environment that can underpin the next season of business travel.

I believe that, like the natural inevitability of seasonal change, our industry will continue to perpetuate fragmented complexity. The winners will be the metaphorical gardeners, who have the tools to guide it in the right direction. tripstax.com

Almost two-thirds (63%) of business travellers feel overwhelmed by travel admin, according to a survey conducted in January 2026 by Opinium on behalf of Trainline Business. It polled 1,000 UK-based employees who travelled for work.

52%

Travel buyers are feeling increasingly undervalued by their organisations. An ITM survey in 2023 found 64% of buyers said the travel function was being perceived more favourably than the previous year, but this year the figure has slipped to just 52%.

The volume of US hotel bookings was 9.43% lower in 2025 than 2024. This was one of the key findings of the latest HotelHub Index. Yet total booking volumes in Canada rose year-on-year by 6.14%, despite a drop in bookings from US travellers.

Warm welcomes, close connections and making the right impression

James Dow, General Manager UK & IRE, Blacklane

CONNECTIONS

AND first impressions define business travel. I was reminded of this recently in Dublin, one of Blacklane’s largest markets outside London – and a city whose influence extends far beyond the Irish Sea.

famous musicians, actors, writers – and breweries.

As a proud Scot, I feel a special Celtic connection to Dublin. That connection grew even stronger on this trip, not just because of the city itself, but because of the people I met.

I joined our operations team in hosting luxury service quality workshops for chauffeur

I shamefully hadn't been to the fair city for a while. For business travel, it’s a strategic hub: the only European city to offer pre-clearance for travel into the US, a member of the Eurozone, and home to some of the world’s largest businesses.

As well as bringing business travel continents together, Dublin connects us culturally.

There are few cities in the world that can rival its roll call of

partners, listened to how they work with our platform, and discussed how we tackle improvements together.

The Blacklane sales team hosted engagement events where I met corporate clients who book travel for people on every continent, and who want assurance their travellers are taken care of in the same way in Tokyo, Texas and Tunis as they themselves experience on the

journey from Dublin Airport to Grand Canal Dock.

And, importantly, our clients had the chance to talk directly to our operations experts, with each able to understand more about how we all work together.

This is about taking the words in policies and agreements, and making them come to life through closer collaboration. I’m a firm believer that it's these connections that matter.

My commitment this year is to meet face to face as much as possible; I believe that collisions make energy.

And I’m not just applying that to Dublin. Next on the schedule are trips to Manchester and Edinburgh for more listening and learning, as well bringing to life what a chauffeur service is all about through learning activities with our clients and bookers, such as scavenger hunts, quests and games. Bring your competitive spirit!

I have also joined the GBTA Europe Transportation Committee to ensure that chauffeur services have a voice alongside airlines, hotels, TMCs and other ground transport options.

In each conversation I’m setting about my mission to reframe how ground transport is referred to and bumping it up the consideration list to be the ‘first mile’. Think about it first, remember how important that first impression is, and don’t expect me to sit comfortably if you keep ground transport framed as your ‘last mile’. After all, it’s the warm welcome – not the goodbye – that keeps me coming back to Dublin. blacklane.com

FACTS & FIGURES

The level of optimism among global business travel professionals is lower for 2026 than for 2025. The latest GBTA poll found 59% say they are optimistic about the industry this year, 12 percentage points down on the same poll last year.

Accelya data shows a sharp rise in New Distribution Capabilities (NDC) bookings and NDC volumes distributed via Global Distribution Systems (GDS), jumping by 168% and 162% respectively, year-on-year, in the final quarter of 2025.

83%

A survey of 500 senior decision-makers across the UK and the US by American Express GBT found 83% of SMEs say increased face-to-face interaction with clients and customers is a key part of their 2026 growth strategy.

From targets to traction

AS WE MOVE into 2026, the sustainability conversation in business travel is still a mixed bag.

Some organisations remain focused on standard CO2 reporting, some have progressed to more granular CO2 reporting, and others are taking that data and actively turning it into actions.

And then there are those with already mature programmes in place – carbon budgets, carbon pricing, year-on-year reduction targets, investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and/or high-quality carbon offsetting.

What has undeniably changed is that sustainability is now firmly on the agenda. It features in over 90% of client RFPs and re-bids, and for many organisations it has shifted from a “nice to have” to a business requirement.

Add in growing Greenhouse Gases disclosure obligations, and it’s clear that the pressure to move from intention to delivery is only increasing.

Setting targets, however, is the easy part. Turning them into meaningful outcomes is where organisations often struggle.

In corporate travel, that starts with understanding who is travelling, why, and how oftenand ensuring travel is purposeful.

That insight opens the door to real reduction opportunities: fewer but more productive trips, viable modal shifts from air or car to rail, choosing direct over indirect flights, and making more informed supplier choices.

The tools now exist to support this, from granular analytics to bespoke scenario modelling that shows exactly where emissions can be reduced based on real travel patterns.

So why do so many organisations still see limited

year-on-year progress in travel emissions?

A common misconception is that reducing emissions means restricting travel and therefore harming the business.

In reality, a well-managed, data-led travel programme can reduce emissions and, in many cases, costs too, without negatively impacting business productivity.

Another barrier to sustainability progress is leadership. Without strong endorsement from the top, net zero goals often fail to translate into actions.

This is where carbon data needs to be treated less like a reporting requirement and more like financial data.

Just as travel budgets are actively managed throughout the year, carbon budgets should be too.

Live, multi-modal data allows travellers and bookers to see the emissions impact of their choices before decisions are locked in.

Take, for example, the difference between flying and taking the train, which can be up to 80% more carbon efficient on viable routes. I often call this “visual guilt”: awareness that gently nudges behaviour and builds better habits over time.

This can be very effective without having to rule by the stick, which is certainly the approach I prefer.

In 2026, sustainability maturity isn’t about having more targets. It’s about using data to guide decisions, embedding reduction into everyday travel behaviour, and treating sustainability as an opportunity, not a constraint, to support wider business goals. atpi.com

FACTS & FIGURES

A survey of more than 1,400 international travellers by Global Rescue found 31% say that having an illness or injury abroad is their biggest concern in 2026 – the top worry by a wide margin. Civil unrest or terrorism ranks second at 21%,

Proposed changes to the ESTA programme, requiring wider social media disclosures, could lead to a reduction of 23.7% from ESTA countries in 2026 compared with a business-as-usual baseline, warns the World Travel & Tourism Council

One in five travel programmes are now purchasing SAF certificates to abate travel emissions in 2025, a 30% increase from the previous year, according to new research from the GBTA Foundation’s Acceleration Challenge.

ASK PETE

Supercharging travel teams

Pete

Ross, Pulse AI, part of

The business travel industry has heard plenty about AI, but how much of it is truly delivering value? Pete Ross at Pulse AI believes now is the time for travel management companies (TMCs) to rethink how they approach AI.

Where should travel teams even start with AI?

Don’t start with tools instead of outcomes. The first question shouldn’t be “Which AI platform should we buy?”, it should be “What are we trying to achieve?”. From conversations across the TMC community, it’s clear that AI isn’t just a technology question. It’s a question of how AI impacts the business across the board, especially the teams who’ll be using it. If AI is introduced without clarity or alignment, teams feel threatened. If it’s introduced with purpose, it supercharges them. The goal isn’t replacing humans. It’s freeing them to deliver better service, better judgement and more meaningful client relationships.

the Lokulus Group

Where do businesses typically go wrong?

Recent Gartner research suggests that at least 30% of generative AI projects will be abandoned after proof of concept due to poor data quality, escalating costs or unclear business value.

AI is powerful technology, however success comes when it’s connected to business strategy, culture and operational reality.

We’ve created Pulse AI Consultancy to close that gap.

What should TMC leaders be thinking about right now?

AI shouldn’t be observed from afar, and in isolation. Adoption should be informed by your commercial strategy and desired business outcomes.

The TMCs who will lead over the next five years will be the ones thinking about what will be better for their teams, how to best serve their customers and assessing exactly where AI can deliver immediate value.

When approached correctly, AI becomes a strategic capability — improving resilience, unlocking efficiency and elevating the customer experience at the heart of travel.

Can you tell us more about Pulse?

Pulse is built out of 20+ years experience deploying AI into live, high-pressure service-led environments. Pulse is an independent consultancy to bring enterprise expertise to help organisations make smarter, more commercially-grounded decisions about AI.

Pulse doesn’t start with a product, we start with your strategy, your culture, your service model and your people. Because AI only works when it aligns with all four.

How does that work in practice?

We use a robust six-stage advisory framework that covers the full journey, from assessment through to sustainable adoption. The best part? You only buy what you need and what works for the stage of your business, from alignment of knowledge through an executive briefing, sharing the possibilities of AI and how it’s being used across industries. Then we can move you from AI curiosity to confident execution - assessing your readiness, strengthening data, shaping a focused roadmap, supporting implementation, and ensuring your AI delivers measurable impact that lasts.

Is AI always the answer?

No, and that’s a critical part of our approach. Businesses need to stop thinking of it as some shiny new concept, but simply another option within the wider tech offer. Sometimes the biggest gains come from better process design, cleaner data or clearer accountability. Pulse is about gaining clarity over hype. pulseconsultancy.ai

The final Quarterly Market Update report for 2025, by serviced accommodation specialist SilverDoor, found the UK has seen a 6.5% increase in bookings year-on-year for tertiary locations, including Milton Keynes, Reading, Staines and Derby.

Reducing costs rather than sustainability will be the key focus for business travel managers in 2026, according to an Uber for Business study. It found 78% consider cost saving to be the top priority, compared to 55% who said sustainability.

A report by Navan and temoji, based on a poll of 120 travel managers across the UK and Europe, found 66% say they must defend travel management company fees to their finance teams, but 42% find pricing models too opaque to explain. FACTS & FIGURES

BCD Travel has appointed James Diaz as Vice President, Sales, UK and Ireland. He served as UK CEO of Travel Planet before establishing  Absolute Travel Management, a TMC startup focussing on SMEs, which recently folded.

Former Virgin Atlantic CEO, Shai Weiss, has joined the Board of Directors of Navan, the business travel, payments and expense management platform. Weiss served as Virgin CEO from January 2019 until December 2025.

Nel Flint has joined HRS as Managing Director to lead a new phase of strategic growth. She joins from BCD Meetings & Events where she was Director of Operations for Strategic Meetings Management and Life Science.

Delta Air Lines has promoted Matt Long to Managing Director, Alliances – Europe & Africa to work closely with joint venture partners Air FranceKLM and Virgin Atlantic. Since joining Delta in 2013 he has held several key positions.

London City Airport has named Andy Cliffe as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Alison FitzGerald. He has held senior leadership roles at Manchester Airports Group and most recently served as Group CEO of AGS Airports in the UK.

Jess Dunderdale has been appointed Sales Director for Direct Travel, which acquired ATPI in 2025. She previously worked for AltoVita as Senior Director of Client Partnerships and before that was Global Sales Manager at BridgeStreet.

ALSO ON THE MOVE... >> Focus Travel Partnership has appointed Francesco Deluca, Regional Director EMEA at Omega World Travel, to its Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director >> Jason Dunderdale, formerly Global Director of Sales and Account Management at Blacklane, has joined Kintela Group as Associate Partner, while Chris Crowley, formerly with BCD Travel, Duetto and Nina & Pinta, becomes a Partner >> Clarasight has appointed James Faux as Strategic Accounts Director >> Virgin Atlantic has made a number of senior appointments, including the promotion of Suzanne Roddie to Chief Operating Officer, Juha Jaervinen to the role of Chief Customer Officer, Dave Geer as Chief Commercial Officer and Ansar Hussain who becomes interim Chief Financial Officer >>

Entries close on Thursday April 2 for the 2026 Business Travel People Awards, celebrating the achievements of individuals and teams across all sectors of the corporate travel industry.

2026 CATEGORIES

• Account Manager of the Year

• Account Management Team of the Year

• Meetings and Events Team of the Year

• Business Travel Team of the Year

• Sales Champion(s) * NEW

• Marketing Champion(s) * NEW

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion(s) *

• Sustainability Champion

• Sustainability Team of the Year

• Travel Technology Innovator – Individual

• Travel Technology Innovators – Team

• Mentor of the Year

• People Manager of the Year

• Industry Newcomer

• Rising Star

• Shining Star

• Travel Manager/Travel Team of the Year NEW

• TMC Above and Beyond – Individual

• TMC Above and Beyond – Team

• Industry Contribution Award

• Chair’s Award

*Open to individuals or teams

Watch out for more details in The Business Travel Magazine's weekly newsletter and at awards.thebusinesstravelmag.com

2026 CEREMONY

Tuesday September 15 2026 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London.

With thanks to our sponsors

LUFTHANSA GROUP

GREEN FARES TAKE OFF

Patrick Borg Hedley, Lufthansa Group's General Manager Sales UK, Ireland and Iceland, gives an update on its Green Fares and other sustainability initiatives

What are Green Fares?

Green Fares are dedicated fares which already include a contribution to CO2 saving measures. This contribution corresponds to the estimated individual, flight-related CO2 emissions through the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the support of Lufthansa Group's climate project portfolio. Available on Lufthansa Group airlines – Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS, Edelweiss, Discover Airlines and Air Dolomiti – they were introduced in February 2023 on flights within Europe and in December 2024 they were extended to a wide range of intercontinental flights. For flights within Europe and North Africa, the contribution corresponds to the use of SAF in the

Climate protection is teamwork and we need to work with customers, partners and policy makers to achieve our targets”

amount of 20% of the estimated individual flight-related CO2 emissions and a contribution to high-quality climate protection projects for the remaining 80%. On intercontinental routes, the ratio is SAF corresponding to 10% of CO2 emissions and a contribution to climate protection projects corresponding to 90% of these emissions.

What is the price point?

Green Fares add another pillar to the Lufthansa Group fare structure. On flights in Europe, Economy Green sits alongside Economy Classic and Economy Flex fares and Business Green with Business Saver and Business Flex. For intercontinental flights, Economy Green, Premium Eco Green, Business Green or First Green fares sit alongside fares in the respective cabin classes. Green Fares also offer additional miles and points, as well as the option to rebook free of charge.

How can Green Fares be booked?

In just one click, Green Fares can be selected during the booking process. They can be booked on each airline’s website, as well as via travel agencies and travel

management companies that use an NDCenabled connection. Also, after the booking or the respective flight, customers have the opportunity to contribute to CO2 saving measures corresponding to their estimated individual flight-related CO2 emissions.

What other options are you offering to corporates who want to fly more sustainably?

For corporate customers, it's also possible to purchase SAF directly from the Lufthansa Group, where they will receive an official CO2 mitigation certificate to deduct Scope 3 emission for ecological balance reporting. In addition, PartnerPlusBenefit points can be redeemed for the purchase of SAF or contributions to climate protection projects via a high-quality portfolio from Lufthansa Group partners, such as myclimate.

How are these offers perceived by customers?

To date, more than four million passengers have chosen a Green Fares ticket, thereby making an important contribution to more sustainable travel, with the UK being within the top five countries with the highest take rates above average. In 2025, more than 5% of Lufthansa Group passengers opted for one of the more sustainable travel options, such as Green Fares – up from less than 0.1% only four years ago. Driven by this growing demand, the volume of voluntary SAF sold as part of customer products more than doubled in 2025.

What is Lufthansa Group’s sustainability strategy?

Through reduction and compensation measures, we want to halve our net CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2019. Longer term, we intend to achieve a neutral CO2 balance by 2050. We are focussing on a wide range of measures, with the continuous modernisation of our fleet, the use of SAF and operational efficiencies at the forefront. We invest billions every year in new, significantly more fuel-efficient aircraft and work closely with partners to advance the scaling of key technologies. But climate protection is teamwork and we need to work together with customers, partners and policy makers to achieve our targets and the goals of the wider industry. business.lufthansagroup.com

Line of QUESTIONING

Choosing responsible partners is now a top priority but how do travel managers avoid falling for the waffle, asks Gillian Upton

Aligning yourself with the right suppliers is key to meeting your sustainability goals, but how do you avoid being fooled by greenwashing and empty promises? For time-poor, resource-poor travel managers, it can feel overwhelming.

Amid growing concerns and confusion among their members, industry bodies have been busy compiling guides and information. Last year the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) launched ‘Sustainable Procurement Standards’, a practical baseline to show best practice.

It has also set an ‘Acceleration Challenge’, an annual benchmarking exercise based on almost 300 responses globally, guiding buyers on what to expect. Data shows that top criteria for selecting sustainable suppliers are concrete policies and targets, sustainability certifications, and emissions reporting.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Travel Management (ITM) has published the ‘BuiIding Responsible Travel Programme Guide’, put together by its Sustainable Taskforce.

Both bodies advise those starting out not to aim too high. “A common theme that runs across most buyers is that we should strive for progress rather than perfection,” says ITM CEO Scott Davies.

Where to start

Sustainable suppliers exist across all sectors – airlines, accommodation, ground transport, travel management –all committed to governance, data and policy alignment.

The most progressive suppliers set emission reduction targets, provide accurate data and can track how it’s calculated, hold external verifications, are transparent and willing to collaborate.

“The first conversation for travel management companies (TMCs) should

be around what you as a buyer are aiming for, to help the TMC understand the task at hand,” says Katie Garrahy, Global Travel Manager at Wood PLC.

“Then ask some simple questions –‘What can you do to help us today and can you evidence this with examples?’, ‘What is the roadmap?’, ‘What are you doing today with your own emissions?’.”

For airline suppliers, Garrahy suggests the questions could be around SAF inclusion, aircraft type and age, and all the components that impact sustainability.

Conversations with hotels and accommodation suppliers should focus on the ways they support the environment across their estate and functions, from the kitchen through to the bedrooms and bathrooms. That could be frequency of cleans or how they are working to reduce waste.

Move on from questions such as, ‘Do you measure emissions?’ and ‘Have ▶

you set a net-zero target?’ to harderhitting questions such as ‘How will the targets be delivered?’, ‘Is there a clear, time-bound roadmap with interim milestones and defined actions?’, and as a sign of sustainability maturity, ‘Are you measuring and actively managing Scope 3 emissions?’.

Sam Cande, Consultancy Director of Greengage's 360 Consulting division, observes: “Suppliers that can demonstrate capability and progress here are typically further ahead.”

To keep the focus on evidence rather than aspiration, Rich Johnson, Head of Client Solutions at Festive Road, suggests asking suppliers what’s changed in the last 12 months, what data can they provide at booking and reporting stage, and how is that data is verified.

“If you look at some of the information that’s publicly available on travel programme transformations, it shows that the highest performing suppliers are those who can demonstrate recent, measurable actions rather than long-

Sustainability is not a one-off conversation but an ongoing collaborative venture to ensure progress is made”

range promises,” says Johnson.

“Science aligned targets (e.g., SBTi) and independent audits should be part of the response, not optional extras.”

Sustainability extends to social value, so include questions to explore community engagement, charitable partnerships, volunteering, employee wellbeing, inclusion and development.

Keep checking in Sustainability is not a one-off conversation but an ongoing collaborative venture to ensure progress is made, which is key to avoiding the classic over-promising during RFPs and under-delivering post implementation.

As a starting point, Cande suggests checking what measurable reductions in emissions have been achieved over the last 12 months, and how this figure compares to the previous year?

Ask if there have been improvements in the quality, coverage, or accuracy of emissions reporting, particularly around Scope 3. “Incremental progress year-onyear is often a stronger indicator of intent than distant targets,” she says.

External benchmarking should also be reviewed and check on any policy evolution as regards sustainability, ESG or any carbon reduction policies updates over the past year. Also ask: “What’s coming in the following 12 months?”

These environmental metrics can be

tracked by regular meetings with suppliers.

Pippa Ganderton, Director of ATPI Halo, suggests quarterly business reviews and proactive communication from suppliers, and to ask existing suppliers what solutions are available that the client is not already using, to identify areas for improvement and how the supplier can assist with these, for example, modal shift from air to rail.

The business reviews should be attended by subject matter experts. “Buyers need to be clear about what they are looking for, enabling suppliers to share relevant information with them.

Especially when it gets to data, parameters can be set-up and saved, so that reports run against the right criteria time and again,” says Ganderton.

Kelsey Frenkiel, Director of Sustainability, GBTA Foundation, believes the key is consistency and folding sustainability performance into conversations about overall performance.

“When sustainability becomes a standing agenda item (rather than a special meeting), it signals that it actually matters,” she says.

Cande insists quarterly business reviews alone are not enough and that buyers should also schedule a dedicated annual ESG review with key suppliers, separate from commercial negotiations.

“This allows for a deeper, more strategic conversation focused entirely on sustainability and ESG,” she says.

The annual review should examine emissions trends, progress against reduction plans, Scope 3 measurement, improvements in certifications or scores,

and updates to governance and policies. It should also look ahead, aligning on regulatory developments and shared opportunities to reduce the environmental and social impact of business travel.

Festive Road’s Johnson stresses that transparency is key between supplier and buyer.

“Suppliers who openly share information about constraints, such as technology, data quality issues or lack of investment, tend to improve fastest when the buyer collaborates to remove those barriers. Repeatedly asking, ‘What’s stopping you from going further?’ uncovers more actionable insight than generic sustainability check-ins.”

Ellie Dixon, President – Sustainability, at Wood PLC, notes that the frequency of meetings will depend where the suppliers are in terms of maturity of their

own approach to sustainability.

“With those that are at an early stage, more frequent check-ins are likely to be more appropriate. In sustainability, collaboration and knowledge is key to achieving our common goals.”

Cut through the greenwash Third-party verification is key. Look for suppliers with accreditations verified by eternal validation such as EcoVadis, SBTi, CDP, ECOsmart, ISO 14001, or B Corp status – and tied to measurable targets. Check the listings of verifications by sector listed in the GBTA Sustainable Procurement Standards.

“Most buyers are sceptical of vague sustainability claims and polished marketing language,” says ITM’s Davies.

“Questions that delve deeper into the operational impact help travel managers to understand substantiated

Asking, ‘What’s stopping you from going further?’ uncovers more actionable insight than generic check-ins”

transferrable programme benefits.”

He suggests asking ‘What has changed operationally as a result of this commitment?’, ‘How does this influence traveller behaviour or booking outcomes?’, ‘What are the limitations or trade-offs?’, and ‘Can this be measured, repeated and verified?’

“Greenwashing drops when buyers require suppliers to show just a single verifiable improvement each year, because it separates the ‘marketing-led’ from ‘action-led’ suppliers,” says Festive Road’s Johnson.

GBTA’s Frenkiel adds: “Credible suppliers will talk about these in specifics, as well as be honest about what they cannot do yet. Together, these elements help bring clarity and alignment to sustainability conversations between buyers and suppliers.”

Be realistic

Most buyers want to make responsible choices but are time poor and already laden with other responsibilities. Relying more heavily on your TMC, booking tool and sustainability team – if you have one – is one way to ease the workload.

“The key is knowing what to ask, when to ask it, and how to assess responses in a way that drives real impact rather than box-ticking,” advises Cande.

Programmes run by Festive Road demonstrate that using a single sustainability question set across all categories cuts buyer workload significantly. Tiering suppliers, applying rigorous reviews to the top spend categories and carrying out basic checks to the rest has helped organisations reduce assessment time by 30–40% without lowering standards.

Ultimately, pragmatism rules; accept that what you can achieve is good enough and avoid burn-out.

Ato sustainability REIMAGINING RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL

Experts at Direct Travel and ATPI outline how corporates should respond to the new approach

s Direct Travel and ATPI advance a unified sustainability strategy across global programmes, responsible travel is moving beyond reporting and into operational design, but what does this mean for clients navigating rising scrutiny, evolving regulation and growing traveller expectations?

There was a time when sustainable travel meant producing a carbon report at year-end. That time has passed.

Across global programmes, responsible travel is no longer an adjacent initiative owned quietly by sustainability teams.

It is being pulled into procurement, governance, finance, risk management and increasingly into the expectations of employees and investors alike.

According to Pippa Ganderton, ATPI Halo Director, the change has been both rapid and structural.

“We have seen a significant increase in requests for detailed travel and events emissions reporting,” she explains.

“And it’s no longer limited to air. Clients want visibility across rail, hotel and car hire, with clear methodology behind the numbers.”

More tellingly, organisations are no longer waiting to be mandated. Many are aligning disclosures with frameworks such as EU CSRD one to two years ahead of obligation, signalling that travel is firmly within the scope of corporate accountability.

“Improved methodology often changes, even reduces, emissions outcomes, but credibility comes from what you do with the insight.”

Pippa Ganderton

Advanced analytics now allow organisations to model future scenarios, introduce carbon budgets or pricing mechanisms, and nudge travellers towards lower-emission choices within the booking flow. Yet for many programmes, the gap between ambition and action remains significant.

“There is still a misconception that sustainable travel costs more. In reality, modal shift, careful supplier selection and stricter cabin policies can reduce emissions without inflating budgets," says Ganderton. The challenge, however, is not purely financial. It is cultural.

From add-on to architecture

But measurement alone does not constitute progress.

“Responsible travel programmes respect employee time, health and safety. Cost and emissions savings are often an indirect gain of getting that right.”

Louisa Toure

In practice, this means prioritising operational reliability over point-of-sale savings, reducing unnecessary connections, minimising disruption risk and designing schedules that support productivity.

What appears marginally more expensive at check-out can often prevent significant hidden costs later.

For Louisa Toure, ATPI Sustainability Officer, the defining shift is how responsibility is embedded into programme design itself. “Carbon reporting has become routine,” she says. “The harder task is delivering real emissions reductions without creating resistance.”

Historically, sustainable options have been positioned as compromises - slower routes, tighter policies, perceived inconvenience. Meanwhile, traveller expectations around wellbeing and security have risen sharply.

“The path forward is to redesign travel around better outcomes for both the traveller and the business,” Toure explains. “When sustainability improves reliability, safety and wellbeing, it stops being a trade-off and becomes a natural outcome of smarter decision-making.”

When responsibility is embedded from the outset, rather than layered onto an existing framework, it strengthens duty of care and builds cultural buy-in. Policies feel supportive, not restrictive.

Suppliers as co-architects

If programmes are evolving structurally, supplier relationships must evolve with them.

“Suppliers are not something to be corrected,” says Matt Esper, Director of Sustainability & Social Impact, Direct Travel. “They are co-architects in helping travel buyers translate climate commitments into operational reality.”

Scrutiny has increased, certainly. Buyers now expect transparency on safety standards, ethical performance and emissions reduction

plans. But the next phase is less about compliance and more about alignment.

“There is more sustainability data than ever,” Esper observes. “The real question is: what is decision-useful, and for whom?”

responsible catering, waste reduction and digital event solutions - it is standard.”

Clients now routinely request transparent footprint calculations and expect external sustainability credentials as part of RFPs.

Increasingly, they also look for positive local impact - cultural engagement, community contribution, measurable legacy.

Embedding credible sustainability information directly into booking flows at scale remains one of the industry’s greatest practical challenges.

Clients do not want bolt-on products; they want solutions that operate within their policy, contracts and financial frameworks.

“Sustainability does not scale through aspiration. It scales through alignment, expertise and economics.”

Matt Esper

Meaningful change, he argues, occurs when supplier initiatives are integrated into programme infrastructure, not sold as standalone add-ons. Measurement creates awareness. Suppliers make change possible.

Responsible events: expectation, not enhancement

This same shift is visible within meetings and events. For Janneke van Aartrijk, Sustainable Events Program Manager at ATPI, responsible events are no longer a differentiator, they are assumed.

“Responsible events are about delivering exceptional experiences while making conscious choices at every stage and being able to quantify the impact.”

Janneke van Aartrijk

Measurement informs decisions before contracts are signed, when venue choice, transport planning and catering design can reduce emissions. Action, again, begins early.

One system, not separate initiatives

As Direct Travel and ATPI move to a unified global model, this thinking is now being embedded across governance, supplier engagement and client delivery models.

Consistency of sustainability priorities strengthens supplier influence. Shared data standards improve comparability across regions. Internal governance alignment ensures sustainability operates as a coordinated system - not parallel initiatives.

“Sustainable travel is no longer theoretical,” says Esper. “It depends on organisations that can combine scalable technology with a deep understanding of clients’ priorities.”

“Sustainability is integrated into the guest experience,” she explains. “From selecting nonstop flights or rail where possible, to certified venues,

Credible travel programmes will be defined by visibility across the booking lifecycle, clear methodology, and reinvestment mechanisms, such as carbon pricing or SAF participation. But perhaps more importantly, they will be defined by trust from leadership that programmes withstand scrutiny, from employees that policies protect wellbeing, and from stakeholders that commitments are credible.

Responsible travel is now about designing systems that connect performance, governance and human experience in one coherent framework. It is quietly reimagining how our industry connects responsibility with progress. atpi.com dt.com

The real cost of PROGRESS

Does sustainable business travel have to come at a price and will this always be the case, asks Gillian Upton

‘Short-term pain leads to long-term gain’ is a phrase that strongly resonates when embarking on a sustainability journey. Yes, there might be some initial upfront costs, but be patient, stick to the path, and these will be offset by savings elsewhere, or in the long run.

The initial sting will come mainly from the cost of offsetting and from purchasing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but pursuing purposeful travel in the interim should counter some of those extra costs.

This means reducing one-day work trips, combining multiple trips into one longer trip, downgrading from premium to economy cabins (a saving in most cases), booking more direct flights, making better use of virtual collaboration, and driving modal shift from air to rail.

Sustainability will have an overall inflationary effect on travel costs and travel buyers need to be factoring that in if they do not take a more strategic approach in demand management”

Easy wins include incorporating modal shift into travel policy and timed messages into the booking tool. Longer-term wins include introducing carbon budgets to drive behaviour that lowers both travel emissions and travel costs.

"Programme compliance, better data and fewer last-minute bookings also help reduce spend and emissions simultaneously," adds Scott Davies, CEO of the Insitute of Travel Management (ITM).

“For some, the issue is less focused on cost and more aligned to system functionality and capabilities, which either make it more difficult to book or to identify a more sustainable option.”

Embracing sustainability as an investment is best practice, but some carbon reduction strategies can reduce costs, says Paul Tilstone, founder of consultancy firm temoji.

“For example, reduced cleaning requirements in hotels or government-led EV or rail pricing. So, we are likely to see an increase in some categories but not necessarily in all," he says.

“But sustainability will have an overall inflationary effect on travel costs and travel buyers need to be factoring that in if they do not take a more strategic approach in demand management.”

Sam Cande, Consultancy Director, 360 Consulting by Greengage, argues that sustainable business travel doesn’t always

have to cost more, and cites an example.

“For the same journey around the same time, I found a flight option that produced 50% lower emissions while also costing 23% less. Look not only for the lowest price but also the lowest emissions. It comes down to knowledge, awareness, and available options,” she advises.

“Hotels follow the same pattern. Three-

star, four-star, and five-star properties increasingly prioritise sustainability, and some have lower emissions per room per night. Corporate booking tools usually display these options, and travel management companies (TMCs) want to support travellers in making these choices.”

Demand management is key. “Reorganising the way you travel and decentralising travel

by replacing one global meeting with several virtual meetings will reduce travel emissions, and cost,” says Denise Auclair, Head of the Travel Smart Campaign.

Many companies have proved these strategies work, including AstraZeneca, Tetra Pak, Oracle, Nokia, IKEA, Kearney International, and NES Fircroft.

Accountancy firm BDO saved £361,000 in

Reorganising the way you travel and decentralising travel by replacing one

global

meeting with several virtual meetings will reduce travel emissions, and cost”

the UK with a smart carbon policy driving modal shift from air to rail, tighter trip approvals and implementing American Express GBT’s Egencia booking tool, which reduced carbon emissions by 26%.

Another, Swiss Re, reduced carbon emissions by more than 50% and scooped the gold standard of the Travel Smart Ranking awarded by the Travel Smart Campaign. “They don’t see this as a hindrance. It’s good for business, helps their reputation and employees want it to happen,” says Auclair.

ATPI’s client International SOS utilises tools like Thrust Calculator for granular GHG emissions reporting. “This data-driven approach allows them to make informed adjustments to travel policies and supplier selections, and they also demonstrate innovation in research management by repurposing residual airline loyalty points for purchasing SAF,” explains Pippa Ganderton, Director of ATPI Halo, a specialised service created by ATPI, a Direct Travel Company.

Some firms accept the reality of a sustainability premium, says ITM’s Davies.

“Many organisations already allow more sustainable options within defined cost thresholds (often up to 20%), or with linemanager approval,” he explains.

“This suggests that sustainability is being balanced against budget reality and supplier variables, for example, limited aviation capacity and hotel sustainability premiums.“

Big picture thinking and a long-term view are required, says Katie Garrahy, Global Travel Manager for Wood PLC.

“The efforts to drive sustainable ▶

The hope is that growth in SAF production will bring the price down and sustainable choices will become embedded in decision-making.”

practices, over time, should mean that sustainable travel becomes the norm rather than a cost premium,” she says.

Kelsey Frenkiel, Director, Sustainability Programme GBTA, concurs.

“The more useful question for corporates isn’t, ‘Does this cost more?’ but, ‘What impact are we getting for this spend?’. For many organisations, these investments are increasingly tied to climate commitments, risk management, and credibility, not just travel budgets,” she notes.

“It’s short-sighted to say that sustainability always costs more. The upfront investment

can sometimes seem daunting, but the downstream impacts of operating a more resilient and ethical business can be massive. “

The hope is that growth in SAF production will bring the price down and sustainable choices will become embedded in decisions.

The current barriers slowing a broader uptake of SAF include uncertainty around accountancy standards, cost sensitivity and limited internal readiness, according to new research from GBTA Foundation’s Acceleration Challenge.

Festive Road Head of Client Solutions, Rich Johnson, believes improved hotel emissions reporting and the expansion of high-speed rail corridors will also help to bring about price parity.

He points to three drivers that will accelerate change: volume commitments that justify supplier investment, standardised data that allows fair comparison, and policy shifts like EU SAF mandates and rail investment.

And Ellie Dixon, President – Sustainability, Wood PLC, predicts that as we get closer to 2050 “there is likely to be a tipping point at which the more sustainable option is also the more cost effective”.

CLOSING THE GAP

It’s time to automate travel and spend – the final frontier – and free up your employees from the ‘shadow work’, says Nikita Miller, Perk Chief Product Officer

System redesign

We’re living through a strange paradox. We have entered the era of the AI agent, where Large Language Models can draft contracts, code apps and execute complex workflows in minutes. Yet in 2026, professionals still spend Sunday nights buried in ‘shadow work’ – the manual, invisible tasks of rebooking flights, reconciling receipts and hunting for trip itineraries.

Research from Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Perk, found shadow work costs UK businesses £95 billion annually in lost productivity. This isn’t just an administrative annoyance; it’s a failure of a system that is burning out our best people.

The automation gap

In digital transformation, we historically fixed the ‘stable’ processes first. Take payroll, for example, a success story because it deals with linear data. Your salary and tax code rarely change mid-cycle. It’s a clean mathematical equation that software solved a decade ago.

Travel and spend remain the final frontier for automation because the data is ‘unstable’. It is nuanced and in flux. An itinerary may change five times before a trip starts, while a London hotel receipt looks nothing like a Tokyo taxi invoice.

Because this data is messy, the industry settled for fragmented tools, forcing employees to act as a bridge between disconnected systems. We filled the gap with human effort because, until now, AI wasn't sophisticated enough to handle it.

Beyond standalone tools

For years, the gold standard was a best-ofbreed stack: a booking tool, expense software, and a card provider. But standalone tools, no matter how good they are, hit an intelligence ceiling. When tools are built in silos, their data is trapped.

The result is a fragmentation tax. The average traveller navigates four different systems to tackle shadow work, costing them 11 minutes of focus every time they switch tasks. True excellence today isn’t defined by a standalone feature, but by a natively AI-integrated architecture, where every part of the journey – from booking to spend and everything in between – is aware of the other elements in real-time.

Designing for the human journey

Closing the automation gap requires a move away from basic tools like legacy OCR (Optical Character Recognition) towards true system-level intelligence.

To do that, a modern system must be built on three non-negotiables:

• Intelligence that handles nuance: We don’t need more data capture; we need AI that puts data to work in the right ways to remove shadow work. Our systems, for example, recognise that a flight delay in an itinerary should automatically trigger an adjustment in the expense report and tax reconciliation without a human lifting a finger.

• A single policy engine: Rules shouldn’t be fragmented. A unified architecture allows AI to enforce policy across travel, spend and events at once, ensuring compliance without manual audits.

• Zero-training simplicity: AI should make software invisible. If an employee needs a manual, the design has failed.

Architect of impact

When we get the AI architecture right, the travel manager's role shifts. You move from being a ‘receipt chaser’ to an architect of ‘real work’. You stop managing the friction of broken processes and start leveraging a system that empowers people to do the impactful work they were actually hired for. It’s time to stop patching a fragmented system with yesterday’s tech. It’s time to redesign the process with AI at the core and finally close the automation gap. perk.com

Travel and spend remain the final frontier for automation because the data is ‘unstable’. It is nuanced and in flux”

STRAIN RELIEF

It’s time for your travellers to get out from behind the wheel and join the new rail revolution, says Joe Thurgood, Sales

Manager at South Western Railway,

Manager at South Western Railway

While British Rail’s famous call to ‘Let the train take the strain’ might be one of the country’s best-remembered advertising slogans, it was a message that never really cut through.

You can blame the 1970s for that, I guess. Strikes, under-investment, curled-up sandwiches and weak tea have a way of setting a tone, despite the overwhelming network and service improvements of the intervening years.

It’s no wonder domestic business travel has long been defined by one stubborn habit: if in doubt, drive.

Yet today, with sustainability, productivity

and safety the biggest concerns for business, driving is the transport method guaranteed to deliver heartache and hassle for both busy executives and their bosses.

Step away from the car

Getting people out from behind the wheel is a challenge for the whole rail industry. Unlike other parts of the UK, the Southwest isn’t wrestling with domestic air as a competitor. Our real challenge is the car – its convenience, its perceived reliability, and the assumption that it’s the ‘professional’ way to go. Yet that view is increasingly out of step with what businesses need.

So, what do we shout about first? If the Covid pandemic taught us anything, it’s that businesses must make every meeting count. The business travel community needs no lessons in why face-to-face meetings work –getting out to potential and existing clients shows you are committed to the relationship.

That means turning up prepared and ready for action. With Wi-Fi now standard on the vast majority of rail providers, a comfortable train journey is productive and billable time. It's emails sent and presentations polished, plus the chance to stretch your legs and arrive refreshed.

Businesses wouldn’t accept staff sitting at their desk in the office doing nothing, so why not expect them be useful while travelling?

Safe and sound

Train travel is also great from a duty of care perspective, since the whereabouts of every traveller are known. As a travel manager, do

you really want staff frantically battling motorway or town centre traffic jams while scoffing down a corner shop pork pie? From a safety viewpoint, that sounds troubling –remember, road transport is statistically the most dangerous way of getting anywhere.

And is arriving flustered for an appointment after a half-hour search for a parking spot the best way to create a good impression? In a world where employee wellbeing is taking centre stage, this sort of travel friction is an HR nightmare that can easily translate into a retention problem.

Surprisingly, the price of rail is less of a concern – particularly with the plethora of flexible fares available – since businesses know they are paying for convenience. As an industry, it is up to rail operators to point out the ‘hidden costs’ of road travel. Fuel, mileage claims and parking all add up.

On longer trips, being able to get a decent meal on a train could also present a saving, compared to having staff finding a restaurant in their destination.

Clear credentials

Another major concern for corporates is the new world of sustainability reporting. Keeping track of your environmental impact is now a legal requirement for many, and as a result businesses are increasingly mandating employees to cut carbon emissions and make ethical buying choices. Large organisations, such as Government departments and ethical cosmetics firm Lush, even insist on rail travel wherever possible, so it is incumbent

Modal shift isn’t a marketing slogan; it’s a behavioural change that can only happen when the alternative becomes undeniably better”

on the industry to explain clearly why lowimpact rail is a clear environmental choice. Allied to that, flexible tickets and systems such as the SWR Business Direct platform make fee-free corporate booking simple Refunds are handled almost instantly, and an integrated carbon calculator and reporting tool delivers best-in-class data.

Pushing forward

Service standards are non negotiable, too. The rail industry has invested heavily in delivering punctuality along with tools to keep passengers informed of any amendments, while guards on trains, new rolling stock, and well-lit stations and car parks add to a feeling of professionalism. The Government’s plans for a national network under the Great British Railways banner – with SWR the first operator under public ownership – heralds an era of fleet improvements and increased services.

Modal shift isn’t a marketing slogan; it’s a behavioural change that can only happen when the alternative becomes undeniably better. For business travellers, rail is already the smarter choice. The task now is to make it the obvious one and prove the strain really has been taken away. southwesternrailway.com

STAY ON TRACK

The latest Business Travel Lunch

Forum showed a growing awareness of the benefits of switching to rail for business travel

Travel managers and buyers from across the UK came together with experts for the fourth Business Travel Lunch Forum dedicated to rail travel.

Buyers shared their approaches to driving modal shift, with some mandating train travel for journeys under a specified time and others preferring to influence traveller behaviour through education, gentle prompts and reminders at the time of booking.

Some buyers pointed to the lack of support from travel management companies (TMCs), arguing that TMCs are often more interested in air bookings, which can earn them bigger commissions. Other buyers questioned the availability of data and were surprised to learn that accurate and meaningful data is readily available that can help corporates encourage more employees to switch from cars and planes to trains. They were also invited to speak directly to rail operators to negotiate corporate deals on routes where they can demonstrate a shift in market share.

UK-wide initiatives to simplify fares, improve onboard connectivity and strengthen the rail network are all progressing to help drive modal shift, buyers were told.

The Lunch Forum took place at The Caledonian Club, Belgravia, London, and was hosted by South Western Railway. SWR's Sales Manager Joe Thurgood was joined by experts from the Rail Delivery Group and Evolvi Rail Systems. Here are their top takeaways: Joe Thurgood, Sales Manager, South Western Railway

It’s encouraging to see that buyers are becoming increasingly interested in making that modal shift. They recognise that alongside the widely understood sustainability benefits, taking the train can also significantly improve the productivity and wellbeing of their travelling employees. It was interesting to hear about the different approaches being

taken by organisations, from gentle nudges to mandating rail for journeys of a certain length. While progress is being made, there are still a number of barriers, including a general disinterest in rail from some TMCs. One clear message for travel managers is to put pressure on their TMC partners to embrace rail travel and to invest in booking tools and other solutions that help facilitate modal shift. The technology is there, but if you don’t ask, you won’t get.

Darren Williams, Managing Director, Evolvi Rail Systems Ltd

Evolvi plays a fundamental role in the managed travel ecosystem for rail, so I was naturally keen to understand the insights and pain points from the travel buyer community. Rail is a crucial component to travel programmes, where convenience, productivity and sustainability are all clear advantages. Equally clear was feedback that the rail industry needs to do more. Key takeaways include that for a host of reasons, some rail continues to be booked direct, meaning we need to engage better with partners and the wider community to demystify booking rail. There also remains the need to address misconceptions about the non-availability of rail data. The data is there, robust and free, but we need to ensure this is more widely known. Underpinning this is confidence in the overall network itself, with infrastructural investment and a less fragmented system critical to buyers and travellers alike.

Marina Gray, Head of Retail Partnerships, Rail Delivery Group (RDG)

The rail industry has been working to simplify fares and offer flexible, cost-effective ticketing options that meet the needs of today’s travellers and

enhance overall customer experience. Today, we see that commuters, leisure and business customers continue to choose rail on a daily basis. We’ve learned that corporate companies promote internal green policies and drive modal shift towards rail, but what is more important is that individuals, especially Gen Z, make a conscious decision to choose green travel. The industry should capitalise on that to make sure we use this unique generational opportunity. As progress continues towards the creation of Great British Railways we continue promoting the benefits of rail as a preferred mode of travel and elevate projects such as Green Travel Data – a rail industry initiative to create a recognised industry benchmark for carbon emissions at the point of sale. Together we continue to champion rail and being sustainability ambassadors.

Eloise Ferrara-Neched, Business Travel Lead, Rail Delivery Group (RDG)

A huge thank you to Kirsty Hicks, Bev Fearis and South Western Railway for hosting

The Business Travel Magazine’s recent Lunch Forum: Spotlight on Rail. It was fantastic to see so many attending and plenty of new faces from the corporate world – proof that interest in the future of rail is stronger than ever among business travellers. The discussions were incredibly positive, focusing on optimising the customer experience, celebrating the progress made in recent years, and the importance of storytelling to share those successes. Collaboration was a key theme as we look ahead to Great British Railways (GBR), not only within the rail industry but across sectors, in order to create opportunities that will shape smarter, more connected travel strategies. These conversations are essential for meeting the evolving needs of business travellers.

Rail is a crucial component to travel programmes, where convenience, productivity and sustainability are all clear advantages”

Six of the best... SAF schemes

NESTE

Neste claims to be the world’s leading SAF producer, with a new plant in Rotterdam due to open in 2027. Its SAF purchase scheme, Neste Impact, means SAF is delivered direct to airlines, with corporates receiving a third-party verified report detailing volume, location of delivery, emissions reductions and raw materials. Neste says its SAF is made from renewables, and argues such direct purchase schemes reduce emissions rather than offset them.

LUFTHANSA GROUP

Lufthansa offers corporates the chance to buy SAF with a minimum €2,000 spend. The emissions data of flights is calculated and the corresponding amount of SAF used within the Lufthansa Group over the next six months. It also offers a Sustainable Corporate Value Fare for individuals, representing a SAF premium equal to a 20% cut in emissions. The carrier led the way with Green Fares and over 5% of corporate travellers now use its sustainable options.

AIR FRANCE/KLM

Air France/KLM is one of the most established SAF users and its flexible scheme allows corporates to purchase SAF volumes separately from tickets. It uses a ‘book-and-claim’ model, but reassuringly, SAF is uplifted within the AF/KLM network, while the green benefit is allocated to the customer regardless of where they fly. Options range from small volumes to multiyear commitments, with clients receiving SAF certificates needed for reporting.

EASYJET

EasyJet introduced its SAF scheme in late 2024 in partnership with corporate client Airbus, purchasing 106 tonnes of neat SAF, equal to a 30% blend for three months on easyJet flights for travellers making the journey between Airbus factories in Bristol and Toulouse. The innovative partnership has been extended until 2028, but easyJet, whose business passengers make up 14% of its total, admits no other corporates have yet become involved.

Originally a partnership with Shell, Avelia announced in July 2025 that it would evolve into a multi-supplier platform. Avelia, which has a partnership with American Express GBT, supplies SAF directly at 17 airports, including London Heathrow, London Stansted, Hong Kong and Dubai, with corporates benefitting from independent blockchain data and monitoring by Accenture. Avelia claims setting up on its platform takes corporates only five minutes.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

BA’s CO2llaborate Programme allows corporates to purchase SAF equal to 850 tonnes of CO2e – the measure of all greenhouse gases emitted from flying. An advantage is that SAF bought by BA is not derived from unsustainable palm oil or soya beans (it is actually made from used cooking oil at a plant on Humberside) and is sourced no more than two years after purchase, with a Scope 3 certificate provided.

HIGHLY REWARDING

We chat with Singapore Airlines General Manager Mohamed Rafi Mar about HighFlyer, the airline’s business rewards programme and one-stop portal

In a nutshell, what is HighFlyer?

HighFlyer is our rewards programme and a one-stop corporate portal rolled into one, designed for jet-setting businesses and travellers. The aim is to get more value from your business travel with Singapore Airlines. Businesses can earn HighFlyer points while travellers earn miles in every cabin. The bigger the spend, the bigger the milestone rewards and benefits. HighFlyer is free to join with no minimum spend.

HighFlyer points are a great way to redeem flight ‘add-ons’ or offsetting the cost of your next direct booking, including taxes”

Who is it aimed at?

HighFlyer is designed for businesses of all sizes – from start-ups to established enterprises with travel management companies (TMCs).

For smaller businesses booking directly, the HighFlyer corporate portal offers a convenient booking tool. Businesses with TMCs can also benefit. The local Singapore Airlines corporate team works with TMCs to ensure flights are earning points and spend is tracked.

The HighFlyer programme can also help TMCs that are keen to elevate service for their clients with a high spend, particularly to Southeast Asia and Southwest Pacific, with preferential air fares as a reward.

What are the key benefits?

Once HighFlyer points start building up, there are many ways to redeem rewards.

For businesses looking to cushion their bottom line, HighFlyer points are a great way to redeem flight ‘add-ons’ or offsetting the cost of your next direct booking, including airport taxes. There’s also the option to use points towards Singapore Airlines’ business carbon-offset programme.

We know it’s important for business travellers to arrive refreshed, and points can be redeemed for a global lounge pass, which can be used in more than 700 airports for added comfort.

HighFlyer members that are Silver Tier and above also enjoy upfront discounts on their most frequent routes, putting more value back into your pocket.

Is it easy to use?

Yes. There is a convenient portal that can be logged into via the Singapore Airlines’ website. The HighFlyer dashboard allows you to book directly, track spend, view points and offers options to redeem rewards. One platform caters for corporate travel managers and travellers.

Joining HighFlyer is simple with a fuss-free registration online. With four membership tiers available; HighFlyer, Silver, Gold and Platinum, there’s something for all sized corporates. The entry HighFlyer tier is ideal for small-to-medium sized companies, as there’s no minimum spend. Silver members and above with a net spend of a minimum $25,000 can look forward to preferential air fares, whilst Gold and Platinum members also receive priority privileges.

What’s new?

Singapore Airlines prides itself on being a leader in service excellence and innovation and we’re always looking at ways to elevate our service for corporate travellers.

HighFlyer was designed thoughtfully to reward business travellers whenever they fly, from allowing companies to convert HighFlyer points to KrisFlyer miles, to using points to instantly upgrade KrisFlyer membership all the way to Elite Gold status.

The best way to keep up to date with our latest news, or to join the growing community is by visiting singaporeair.com/corporate.

HOLISTIC APPROACH

James Dow, Blacklane Country Manager, UK and Ireland, outlines how the global chauffeur service is helping travel managers balance budgets with duty of care and sustainability

Give us an overview of Blacklane’s sustainability policies. How are you supporting clients in this area?

At Blacklane sustainability is a long‑term obligation. We have carbon offset journeys all the way back to our inception and continue to grow the proportion of bookings taking place in electric vehicles. This means clients can bring more sustainable options into policy without sacrificing reliability or service quality.

Data is just as important. Clients can access reporting on spend, kilometres travelled and associated emissions, giving them a clear picture of ground transport’s impact and a baseline for reduction targets. Behind the scenes, we use technology, including AI, to cut empty mileage by better scheduling journeys, further reducing the carbon footprint per trip. Crucially, we help translate all of this into policy. Our account teams work with travel managers and bookers to reframe ground transport policies so they reflect traveller demand for comfort and productivity, with sustainability sitting alongside duty of care.

What do travel buyers tell you about how they prioritise sustainability?

Buyers are very clear that cost pressures dominate today, but they also know sustainability can’t wait.

We regularly hear frustration that policies don’t always reflect values. Business travellers sometimes find their policies don’t match their preference for more sustainable options, which is a clear warning for policymakers. When booking choices are not aligned with traveller expectations or a company’s broader sustainability mission, out‑of‑policy behaviour inevitably creeps in. When travellers go against policy, the challenge is about far more than emissions tracking – it touches cost control, duty of care and the ability to report accurately – so it’s an area where buyers and suppliers need to collaborate closely.

Do you have any advice on what key considerations a travel buyer should have in mind when implementing a sustainability‑focused ground transport policy for the first time?

First of all, get visibility. Without ground transport in the travel policy, there is almost no insight into total cost, emissions or risk. Buyers work with us as a trusted global partner so they have simple centralised booking and invoicing, plus consistent data showing where, when and how people are travelling, the emissions of those choices and what this means for carbon footprint and duty of care.

With accurate data and insight, we can recommend policy changes that nudge towards more sustainable choices or introduce new services. Increasingly, clients look at our longer city‑to‑city routes alongside a short‑haul flight. This can deliver sustainability benefits, reduce dead time at security and boarding, and create a calmer experience that also supports traveller wellbeing.

Secondly, define clear use cases. Consider scenarios where a high‑quality, reliable and safe service is non‑negotiable: late‑night arrivals, higher‑risk destinations, senior personnel, those pitching for new business, or guests with multiple appointments and complex schedules where a flexible chauffeur booked by the hour can make the difference between a stressful day and a successful one.

Finally, build in reporting and review from day one. Agree what areas are important to measure – including sustainability indicators – and commit to evolving. The first policy should be a starting point, not the finished article.

Updating guidelines to add benefits or recognition for in‑policy, lower‑emission choices can really improve engagement

What role does the travel policy have in increasing compliance with sustainability‑led goals?

Where ground transport isn’t clear in the travel policy, we see gaps in cost control, sustainability reporting and duty of care –travellers book whatever feels easiest and those choices vanish into unmanaged spend. Our own research shows people frequently go out of policy to reduce journey legs, save time or improve comfort and productivity. If sustainable options are hard to find in approved tools, they will go elsewhere.

A good policy makes sustainable, in‑policy choices the path of least resistance: clearly signposted in the OBT, integrated with preferred partners and backed by service levels that travellers genuinely value. Positive reinforcement also helps. Updating guidelines to add benefits or recognition for in‑policy, lower‑emission choices – rather than focusing only on restrictions – can reallly improve engagement, especially when the sustainable option is an experience upgrade.

How do travel buyers balance priorities such as sustainability and duty of care in line with other challenges, such as having a keen eye on budget?

Forward‑thinking buyers now treat sustainability, duty of care and budget as interconnected. Our research into traveller behaviour shows that when journeys are fragmented and stressful, travellers can lose substantial productive time – in some cases up to a full working day for the most senior executives. Once you factor that in, the most price‑attractive option on paper is rarely the lowest‑cost choice overall.

From a policy perspective, it’s about using a chauffeur service where it delivers the greatest combined value. When you look beyond the price and consider a holistic cost – including wellbeing, productivity, sustainability and long‑term partnerships –high‑quality ground transport can deliver some of the most impactful returns in the entire travel programme. blacklane.com

Part of the CROWD

Making your travel programme work for neurodivergent travellers means improving the experience for everyone, says Nick Easen

Neurodivergent people can be reluctant travellers, with noise, stress-busting delays and sensory overload taking its toll.

At the same time, businesses increasingly value neuro-atypical employees who often bring innovation, creativity and dedication to the workplace. It’s why there‘s a new imperative to adapt travel policies and programmes for these people.

The case for inclusive travel makes economic sense for suppliers, including hotels, airlines, ground transport, as well as travel management firms, since this is one of the last untapped markets for growth; 42% of neurodivergent business travellers said they would travel more if their needs were met, according to a report, Calm in Motion, by consultancy firm temoji.

Historically, business travel has been designed around neurotypical employees, partly because two-thirds of neurodivergent workers choose not to let colleagues know about their condition, reveals research by Birkbeck University. With such invisibility, it begs the questions, how do suppliers approach neurodiversity, and what does best practice look like?

“The most important mindset shift is to not rely on disclosure to drive inclusion. Travel managers should assume

cognitive diversity as a baseline condition for their workforce. If one in four people are neurodivergent, your travel programme is already serving them, whether you know it or not,” explains Ian Jones, a consultant at temoji.

“Best practice should be embedded, not bolted on. Neuro-inclusion works when it’s invisible, when the experience feels simply calmer, clearer and more controllable for all travellers. Right now we’re beginning to see meaningful progress across the travel ecosystem.”

Mapping out what works

It starts out with a rethink of travel policy, building in more flexibility, choice and inclusive practices where possible. Best practice is particularly characterised by inclusive design.

“It’s always worth involving neurodivergent travellers in such a review. Internal training and building awareness for employees and travelbooking teams is also vital, so they understand neurodivergent needs,” says Katie Blount, Director of People Experience at Clarity Business Travel.

Let’s not forget rigid, compliance-heavy policies can unintentionally penalise such travellers. In the past, corporate travel has been focused on efficiency and standardisation.

“Neurodivergent travellers may

experience difficulty with uncertainty, disruption, crowded or noisy environments, unfamiliar layouts and multi-stage journeys involving many suppliers. Group travel and tightly managed itineraries can intensify these challenges, particularly when individuals feel unable to ask for flexibility,” explains Kerry Dougles, Head of Programme at the Institute of Travel Management.

“There is also an internal challenge within organisations: the perception that flexibility may be misused. However, organisations with mature inclusive programmes do not see widespread abuse. Instead, they see improved traveller confidence, safety and wellbeing.”

Raised awareness

There is now a move towards more sensory-aware travel programmes. “Our policy reduces cognitive friction by mandating a 15-day booking lead time to help with predictability. Using central invoicing also removes the stress of manual expense reports,” says Evelyn Hamilton, Global Bid Manager at Transcom. “An allowance towards noisecancelling headphones and 24/7 access to an agent when there’s a disruption can help. There doesn't have to be many additions to a travel policy, but small modifications can have a big effect.”

The booking process should also be crystal clear, with ‘what to expect’ information pre-trip. Real-time updates can reduce uncertainty, but they shouldn’t be too frequent so as not to overload the neurodivergent traveller.

“Booking tools also need to be decluttered and predictable. For someone with ADHD, complex userinterface flows or last-minute changes can cause real stress,” explains Scott Wylie, Chief Technology Officer for TripStax. “Clearly defined ‘reasonable adjustments’ such as; early boarding, private transfers and written itineraries can also make a difference.”

Calm it down

When it comes to air travel, the flexibility to choose quieter flights on quieter routes is valued, as is simplified check-in procedures.

“Airlines such as Virgin Atlantic and British Airways already use Hidden Disabilities schemes, which involves identifying travellers with the sunflower lanyard. Some airports also offer special assistance services for calmer navigation,” states John Stephenson, Managing Director at YTC.

BA also offers step-by-step visual guides

There is also an internal challenge within organisations: the perception that flexibility may be misused”

explaining the airport and flight experience, while United Airlines has rehearsal programmes allowing travellers to practise airport formalities in lowstress environments. Other carriers have embedded discreet self-disclosure options into the booking process, so crew can anticipate passenger needs without confirming them in person.

“At a number of airports we provide multi-sensory rooms that have calming lighting, reduced noise and, in some cases, an aircraft mock-up to help customers familiarise themselves with the cabin,” says a Delta Airlines spokesperson.

There’s opportunity in rail travel as well. “Some operators now provide a tunnel sensory guide, listing tunnels and how long you will pass through them. This can really help those with autism or sensory processing sensitivities,” says Tiffany Casson, Account Manager at Inntel.

Reducing the pressure

Hotels are now offering digital check-in and check-out, virtual room and facility tours, flexible room location requests and access to calm rooms. The aim is to reduce sensory stress and help improve traveller preparation. Hyatt is a standout brand in this regard.

“Properties can sometimes accommodate requests such as predrawn curtains, adjusted lighting, having the TV turned off, or a guided room orientation upon arrival. The issue is that neurodiversity looks different for everyone, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Best practice centres on

empathy, accessibility and personalisation,” states Kayleigh Rogers, Consulting Manager at Amex GBT.

Hotels are also leading the way with specially trained staff and more structured check-in environments, as seen with Radisson. Events and venues sometimes offer toolkits and wellbeing hubs for those attending meetings.

“Allowing travellers to access quiet zones in hotels may cost extra, but they can be worth it. Also allowing food deliveries to rooms can help them avoid noisy communal environments,” says Hamilton at Transcom.

When it comes to ground transport companies such as Uber, Blacklane and Bolt now offer ‘quiet modes’ to minimise social interaction with drivers.

“Policies that allow taxis where public transport may not be the most practical option for an individual neurodivergent traveller can make a difference, as can flexibility for late-night or unfamiliar journeys, since this reduces cognitive load,” details ITM’s Douglas.

She adds: “Travel management companies are also investing in specialist teams and training to support such travellers, offering personalised planning and proactive disruption management.”

Admitting that catering for neurodivergent travellers is a work in progress is a good thing. Crucially, best practice involves using post-trip insights and internal engagement to continually refine and fine-tune programmes.

“We’ve seen success where travel managers establish a regular forum to gather feedback. When travellers are invited to share their experiences, you get practical improvements,” stresses Tara Fisher, Senior Vice President for Customer Success at Corporate Travel Management (CTM).

So, what does the future hold? The use of artificial intelligence could help neurodivergent travellers, building personalised itineraries around sensory preferences. What’s interesting is that catering for neurodiversity is just another part of the travel management journey, where these travellers aren’t offered special treatment. Instead everyone is catered for, where an all-embracing, inclusive offering is on the table.

THE GOOD LIFE

Kevin Harrison, Director of The Good Travel Collective, talks about the group’s renewed commitment to social responsibility

The Good Travel Collective is strongly committed to social impact. Tell us more.

Our company philosophy is built around the 3Ps – People, Planet and Performance. Performance isn’t purely financial, it means operating at our best across all areas of the business, which in turn strengthens our commitment to People, Planet and our wider ESG approach.

Our parent, John Good Group, was founded as a shipping business in the 1800s, and from the very start there was a strong focus on the welfare of employees and the seafarers the company worked with. That ethos has continued through the generations. Today, sixth-generation owner Tim Good is more committed than ever to responsible business and giving back.

This goes well beyond financial contributions. It’s about supporting our employees, reducing our environmental impact, helping our customers do the same, and driving positive change through the Matthew Good Foundation. The Foundation is named in memory of Matthew Good, who was Joint Managing Director of the company but tragically died in June 2011, aged just 32, while running a marathon for charity. Through the Foundation, we donate 10% of our company profits, supporting smaller

charities and community groups where it matters most. Tim wants the Group to leave the world in a better place – acting as custodian for the next generation. It’s fortuitous having ‘Good’ as our name, because we’re committed to doing good and driving good.

How are you further strengthening this focus on social responsibility?

We’ve been committed to doing social good for a long time but we’ve been somewhat modest about it. With our rebrand and repositioning, we’re ready to galvanise what is already in place for our clients, employees and communities.

We are already operationally carbon neutral, though that currently includes offsetting. Our next step is to close that gap and to further reduce our actual emissions.

We run excellent volunteering programmes that enable our people to volunteer during work time in their local communities or further afield. With operations overseas, we’re also exploring social impact opportunities in India, where our tour operator Pettitts Travel has a team on the ground.

These projects are hugely motivational for our people and help us attract new talent who increasingly want to work for a business with a social conscience. Ultimately, we can only do these things

with a strong, profitable business – which comes back to the 3Ps.

How will you help your clients on their social impact journeys?

We’re seeing a real shift in client appetite for impact and social awareness. This year, we’re rolling out a range of new products for clients across our corporate, groups and events, and leisure divisions to support better buying behaviours, alongside growing our team’s expertise in this area.

As a socially-conscious business, we also want to share best practice. The Matthew Good Foundation is recruiting a Partnership Manager, and through this role we’ll create opportunities for clients to learn from and replicate what we’ve built. The Foundation has the infrastructure and technology to help businesses implement similar programmes – including our highly successful Grants for Good scheme – and to support clients more deeply in their sustainability and social impact goals, right down to identifying bespoke ways to minimise carbon impact or engage in tailored offsetting programmes.

What makes The Good Travel Collective well placed to be socially responsible?

We’ve been operating for 190 years under the same family ownership and we want to be here for another 190 and more. Our shareholders are modest, and their priorities are aligned to the 3Ps. They invest back into the business and take a long-term view. Decisions are based on long-term stability – creating a great place for our employees to work, a trusted partner for our clients, and a fantastic business to work alongside for our suppliers. It’s a privilege to be custodian of something this special. thegoodtravelcollective.co.uk

Home TRUTHS

More corporates are adding extended stay into their accommodation mix to meet traveller demand, but there are challenges to overcome, says Catherine Chetwynd

The arguments for corporates to put serviced accommodation into their travel programmes are increasingly compelling. Simply put, they provide the flexibility and home comforts that a growing number of road warriors require.

“Serviced apartments, aparthotels and other extended-stay concepts are firmly on the radar of travel managers and procurement teams looking to control costs, improve traveller wellbeing and provide flexibility in their accommodation strategies with a sustainable, bespoke product,” says Jo Layton, CEO of CAP Worldwide.

But the sector is complex and fragmented and travel buyers need to understand the different types of accommodation.

Serviced apartments are residential in style and are ideal for the longer stays, for those working on projects or relocating for a year or more.

Aparthotels provide the space to work and live comfortably but with hotel services such as food and beverage, fitness and laundry.

The choice is widening further as hotel companies such as Marriott, IHG and Hyatt move into the extended-stay market with their own branded products.

“We are also seeing more dual brand properties, where Marriott offers a Moxy hotel with Residence Inn, for example,” says Richard Dawes, Director at Savills Hotel Capital Markets.

Meanwhile, blended real estate has entered the fray. “Players like The Social Hub are constructing larger buildings with student, hotel and extended stay accommodation, communal space, and F&B, and they host wine nights or book clubs in that space,” says Dawes.

Trust issues

While the demand is strong, serviced accommodation is sometimes difficult to source and book alongside traditional hotels, and without a single rating system there’s a lack of standardisation.

Steve Lowy, CEO, AES and The Residence Apartments, also warns: “Aparthotels, in particular, are adopting dynamic pricing, taking bookings direct and through Online Travel Agents (OTAs). To incentivise them to work with travel management companies, aparthotels want to see the long-term benefits, either by getting bookings for

longer stays or by paying lower commissions than they pay the OTAs.”

The move towards dynamic pricing was one of several trust and transparency challenges raised in mysa’s The State of Corporate Accommodation, alongside Last Room Availability (LRA) caveats and blackout periods.

Channel inconsistencies are distorting booking behaviour and weakening programme performance, says the report, blaming this on systems, structure and behaviour that no longer align with how modern programmes must operate.

The way to mitigate this bumpy territory, it says, is to use the expertise of a travel management company or agency, which can create and verify programmes on behalf of corporates, ensuring bookings always comply with company policy and meet health, safety, security and environmental requirements.

Rules and regulations

Corporates should also be aware of the imminent introduction of a registration scheme, driven by a desire to understand and mitigate the impact of short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, on accommodation.

The C1 (short stay) aparthotel product is regulated through brand involvement and legislation in building development and the C3 residential model offers extended stay for 90 days or more to the corporate travel world.

“But since lockdown, business travellers tend to make fewer trips and stay away longer, so operators are having to find ways to plug gaps and many are reverting to OTAs. The serviced apartments end of business travel has largely been long stay, that is where the industry has built up its reputation and product. It was not about short letting,” says CEO of ASAP James Foice.

“Now, because they are letting via OTAs, many of our smaller owners and operators are being caught up in legislation aimed at second homeowners and local authorities are charging them double the amount of council tax when they are bona fide businesses. There are tremendous challenges facing the residential housing model and there is a lot of work to be done to raise awareness in government; it’s never been more important,” he says. To that end, ASAP is lobbying government through the Tourism Alliance.

Serviced accommodation is sometimes difficult to source and book alongside traditional hotels”

This increasingly applies to many destinations and SilverDoor advises buyers to keep abreast of changes to immigration laws, tax rules, temporary housing and rental regulations. “Take a flexible approach when working with your accommodation supply,” says Robert Wyatt, SilverDoor Senior Vice President Account Management.

Tech developments

Companies in the serviced accommodation sector have invested heavily in booking technology and to considerable effect.

As a result, procurement processes have improved significantly in recent years and traditionally manual processes are now supported by specialist sourcing platforms for short, mid and extended stays, with clearer rate structures for longer bookings, improved visibility and reporting for

procurement teams, centralised billing and simplified invoicing.

Adagio’s platform reflects this and enables customers to book long stays directly on adagio-city.com, including offers for stays of 91 nights or more.

The brand promises enhancements in automation and personalisation, and deeper integration with corporate booking tools will continue to make sourcing and managing long stay accommodation faster, easier, and more intuitive for travel managers and travellers alike.

“Managing larger accommodation programmes is being transformed by easier reporting that helps manage budgets, and sustainability metrics will soon be integrated into booking tools as a matter of course,” says Senior Content Manager Situ, Rosie Thapa.

Extended-stay accommodation is finally

Procurement processes have improved significantly and traditional manual processes are now supported by specialist sourcing programmes”

catching up with the wider travel and luxury sectors. “It is being revolutionised by cloud-native platforms, modern booking engines and integrated distribution ecosystems that make serviced apartments as easy to discover, compare and book as a hotel room,” says Mustafa Gokcen, Global Head of Information Technology for Cheval Collection.

Cheval is pushing the boat out. “We are transforming our digital and operational stack, including a new website, booking engine, guest experience platform, cloud PMS with payments, workforce management and loyalty integration,” he says.

The aim is to provide faster sourcing, clearer policy alignment, fewer manual steps for bookers with real-time availability and personalisation from booking to checkin, access, billing and post-stay engagement for travellers. The next phase is to have

booking, CRM, loyalty and payments in one ecosystem with AI to recommend, price and package extended stays according on traveller intent, length of stay and behaviour.

SilverDoor is investing in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which powers a digital worker to extend online live rate and inventory content and increase the reporting capability of its OBT for clients and supply chain. RPA harvests, processes and tests live rates 10 times faster than a human.

“Our investment in robotic process automation will not only rapidly expand our online portfolio of instantly bookable apartments but it means we can ensure that our OBT only ever presents the most accurate, competitive pricing,” says Chief Technology Officer Hanish Vithal.

Real-time availability is available on City Retreat’s platform, with pricing and photographs, digital contracts, secure payments, and multi-building blocking for accommodating teams.

Dwellworks has a live sourcing platform and its suppliers respond within an agreed deadline based on the client’s criteria.

“Sometimes we receive work directly from the corporate or an RMC makes the selection and that is automated,” says Director of Operations for EMEA Corporate Housing Jake Bone. “And if clients want billing to be consolidated through the agency so that it goes to the right cost centre, we manage that as well.”

Dwellworks is investigating ways AI can support the team to improve that. The company also has a pre-inspection app for property partners to upload live images as they are walking round to show the condition of the unit before it is rented, and for guests, an explore app that gives information about the market moving into, such as restaurants or where to exercise.

CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB TIE-UP

MEETS ASCOTT'S SPORTING GOALS

The lyf Chelsea London is part of Ascott’s partnership with Chelsea Football Club and reflects the group’s strategy of embedding lifestyle accommodation into cultural and sporting institutions to tap into community.

Two Ascott Unlimited Collection properties – Mount Royal Hotel in Edinburgh and The Grand Hotel Leicester – follow the opening of Dublin Temple Bar Hotel last year.

EXPANSION AND DIGITAL ENHANCEMENTS FOR Q GLOBAL NETWORK

Q Global Network has been reacquired by QIG Holdings with an enhanced, faster digital platform providing a six-step accommodation vetting process, better transparency and integration, plus multi-currency billing, structured credit terms and 24/7 support.

The company’s brands are Q Apartments in Denmark, Aeria Apartments in London and Q Global Network worldwide.

It plans to expand into Asia and North America and shore up its presence in Europe and Latin America.

Adagio invests in coliving concept

Adagio Original London City East contains the first incarnation in London of Adagio’s coliving concept, in this case five coliving suites that each have four private studios. Each comes with an ensuite bathroom, plus a spacious joint living area and fully-equipped kitchen.

The brand’s renovation programme aims to refurbish 75% of the network by 2030 and sustainability features large, with 60% of the Adagio portfolio being Green Key certified. Longer term it is aiming for 100%.

The new Adagio Access Bordeaux Pessac has energysaving equipment, reduced water consumption, and the property uses locally-sourced products.

CITADINES OPENINGS

Citadines opens 20 properties this year, including Pier Hobart in Australia, Citadines Vue Aston Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Citadines Hongkou Plaza Shanghai and Citadines Huadu Guangzhou in China, plus aparthotels in Surabaya, Indonesia; Davao, the Philippines; and Casablanca, Morocco. In China the Modena by Fraser Shenzhen has 325 units, yoga studio, pickleball and a café, and Wujiaochang Shanghai has 307 units, yoga and meeting spaces.

CHEVAL TARGETS

SAUDI WITH NEW PARTNERSHIP

Cheval is making its mark in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Ladun Investment Company to open two buildings in Riyadh –Cheval Ladun Living, opening in 2027 with 130 apartments, gym, pool and sauna, and Cheval Maison Sulaymaniyah, with 140 units (2028). Also in 2027, Cheval Maison West Regent Glasgow launches with 70 apartments, a restaurant, lounge, gym and rooftop bar.

Social experiences are part of the mix

The Social Hub has launched a €60 million complex in Porto with 271 hotel rooms, 39 apartments, plus coworking and meeting space, a gym and a rooftop pool and bar. Through partnerships with local organisations and experts, the hub will host more than 200 community experiences each year, including cookery classes, skillbuilding programmes and vintage markets.

SILVERDOOR MAKES TWO KEY STRATEGIC MOVES

SilverDoor has merged with Synergy Global Housing.

As discrete brands, SilverDoor will provide global agency services and Synergy by SilverDoor will provide global corporate housing management.

Meanwhile, SilverDoor’s new partnership with IHG hotels gives clients online access to the brand’s extended stay portfolio.

And in other serviced accommodation news...

Wilde aparthotels has opened in Cambridge (227 units), Lisbon (95) and Vienna (136), while Amsterdam and Porto will follow this year. Vienna has also seen the opening of upmarket aparthotel A by Adina.

OakNorth has invested £77 million in Staycity Group, allowing it to triple its portfolio over the next five years, including five sites acquired in central London for Wilde and locations in Vienna, Warsaw and Belfast for the Staycity Aparthotels brand.

Part of this activity is the group’s sale, development and leaseback transaction with Bridges Fund Management and Citygrove that will see a derelict

office building in Wyvil Road, Nine Elms, converted into a Wilde aparthotel with publicly accessible reception, bar, coworking space, café, and pantry and artisan shop

Cambridge has caught the attention of Lamington Group, which has signed a 250-year lease for former offices, Shire Hall, for conversion to serviced apartments.

And Supercity apartments has opened in Edinburgh with 66 units, York (46) and Leeds (63), where Hyatt House set up shop last year with 88 extended-stay apartments, a restaurant, bar and meetings space in a dual brand development with hotel Hyatt Place.

TRAVEL PROGRAMMES

TAKE FIVE

Experts share five key considerations when incorporating extended-stay options into a corporate travel programme

1. The framework

Decide why you need a programme, for whom, where and how it will work, including which types of accommodation are appropriate for different lengths of stay.

“Engage internally to ensure you know the key stakeholders – HR, mobility, finance, and so on. It is important that travel and mobility are communicating, so that you capture all that spend,” suggests Katie Garrahy, Global Travel Buyer, Wood Plc.

“Decide your level of risk regarding onsite 24-hour reception, for example, and how and with whom the guest communicates if something goes wrong. We engage with our security teams. Know what you can do to negate risk.”

Jake Bone, Director of Operations EMEA, Corporate Housing at Dwellworks, advises buyers to align their serviced accommodation policy to the culture and values of their company, because the guidelines you give your chosen partner communicate a level of care to the assignee.

2 . The provider

If you have a global programme, consider partnering with an agency worldwide and see who has that coverage. Or decide whether you want multiple partners in different markets.

A good provider will have local knowledge on a global scale and will help you understand the nuances of the locations in your travel programme, says Rosie Thapa Senior Content Manager at Situ. Bone at Dwellworks adds: “Know your requirements – length of stay, locations, budget, and that will dictate the serviced apartment supplier you hire. If most of your business is mobility, you will need other services such as permanent home finding, shipping, visa and immigration.”

3. The policy

Policies must clearly specify mandatory requirements such as recognised accreditation, regular cleaning, in-unit selfcatering and laundry, Wi-Fi and more,”

recommends Gavin Pereira, Managing Director at Checkin Apartments. “Otherwise, bookers are effectively booking blind, compromising safety and resulting in their travellers staying in unsuitable private rentals or those found on ad hoc consumer websites,” he explains.

One of most common expenses is inefficiency, when the client is unsure whether their need fits into a travel or mobility policy and initiates both. Activity undertaken by a travel or relocation management company should be consolidated to eliminate duplicated work when the client sends the same request to two or three agencies. Also, they are normally going to the same properties, which creates inflated demand and can prompt disengagement by providers.

4. The traveller

Making the policy clear to travellers is key, says Garrahy at Wood. “When you are encouraging someone to use serviced apartments, make the minimum length of stay clear, so that you do not undermine your hotel programme, and be clear about the booking process. Your agencies may have an online booking tool but what happens when there is an offline element?"

Compliance can be tricky and does not always command the greatest attention from travellers, often leading to leakage. To ensure traveller/assignee buy-in, clear, regular communication on policy is vital.

Ensure policies are regularly reviewed and after updates, explain what the changes are and why they are in place, says Robert Wyatt, Senior Vice President Account Management at SilverDoor.

5. Communication

The ability to communicate with stakeholders worldwide is essential. Educate your people because they don’t always understand nuances of serviced apartments, what’s included and what to look out for.

“There might be softer cost savings like food because travellers can cook in the apartment, plus wellbeing benefits,” says Garrahy at Wood.

“The big point is check-in, which can make or break a stay. Make sure your travellers know how they are checking in. They must read the instructions properly, whether there is a lockbox or meet and greet.”

CHECKIN APARTMENTS

checkinapartments.com

+44 (0)20 3189 1269

Award-winning serviced apartment agency delivering comfortable, cost-effective and compliant accommodation, UK and worldwide, supporting your teams every step of the stay.

HOUSE OF FISHER

houseoffisher.com

+44 (0)118 951 4151

Stylish, fully-furnished serviced apartments in the Thames Valley. Central locations, studios to 3-beds, 24/7 support, flexible short/long stays and great value.

Q GLOBAL NETWORK

qglobalnetwork.com

+44 (0)20 3404 4040

Your trusted global provider for serviced apartments. 110,000+ vetted properties across 385+ cities. 24/7 support and payment solutions for seamless corporate travel.

STAYCITY APARTHOTELS

staycity.com

+44 (0)20 3744 7525

Home comfort meets personalised service in prime city locations. Staycity aparthotels offer the perfect blend of independence and hospitality for modern city travellers.

CITY RETREAT – SERVICED APARTMENTS

cityretreat.com

+31 8 50 02 42 01

Amsterdam’s pulse beats in our furnished havens where corporate nomads find temporary nests, turning serviced apartments into sanctuaries for life’s beautiful transitions.

MANSLEY SERVICED APARTMENTS

bymansley.com

+44 (0)131 381 1125

Award-winning serviced apartments for the business traveller. Find us in the centre of London, Edinburgh, Inverness, Cheltenham, and York. Your stay – Your way.

SILVERDOOR

silverdoor.com

+44 (0)20 8090 8090

SilverDoor delivers best-in-class service at unmatched speed, powered by market-leading tech, unrivalled buying power, a rigorously vetted supply chain, and leading sustainability reporting.

WEEK2WEEK SERVICED APARTMENTS

week2week.co.uk

+44 (0)191 281 3129

Week2Week provides people-first accommodation for professionals and contractors offering flexible stays, home comforts and hassle-free living for work, relocations or extended stays.

FRASERS HOSPITALITY

frasershospitality.com

+44 (0)20 7341 5599

One of the world's leading investors and operators of serviced apartments and hotel residences, dedicated to providing unparalleled accommodation experiences across the globe.

PREMIER SUITES

premiersuiteseurope.com

info@premiersuiteseurope.com

Spacious serviced apartments in 15 city destinations across Europe, offering a fully-fitted kitchen, living room, bedroom(s) and ensuite bathroom(s). Bringing home a little closer.

SITU GLOBAL ACCOMMODATION

staysitu.com

+44 (0)1392 690 079

Trusted extended-stay accommodation experts to organisations worldwide. Our global portfolio spans over 145 countries, offering a single point of contact for safe, compliant, quality hospitality.

WILDE wilde.com

+44 (0)20 3744 4402

In the heart of vibrant cities, our aparthotels pair boutique hotel style with home comforts, creating beautiful spaces to live, work and explore freely.

Reality check

THE HOTEL Following a major refurbishment, this dual-branded Accor hotel opened in summer 2024. The 12-storey property has 226 three-star Ibis rooms on the lower floors and 282 four-star Mercure rooms from the 7th floor and upwards, sharing a lobby and other facilities. The hotel is five minutes' walk from West Brompton Station and nine minutes from Earl's Court Station.

THE CHECK-IN Don't be put off by the unappealing concrete exterior. Once through the revolving doors there's a nicely-lit, buzzy, circular lobby lounge, with quirky art, a 24/7 café, and discreet check-in area where staff greet you at low level tables. It was peak check-in time but the queue moved quickly.

THE ROOM The Mercure rooms have a ‘Layers of Time’ theme, inspired by the tardis of Doctor Who, which stands in front of the nearby Earl's Court Station. Four-star frills include a 55inch flat-screen Chromecast TV (19 inch in the Ibis rooms), Nespresso machine, kettle, bathrobe and slippers,

hair dryer, ironing board and flat-iron, a large safe and a decent-sized desk. Power points are well positioned. Ibis rooms are similar but with less frills.

THE BUSINESS The ballroom (1,200 theatre-style, 800 seated for gala dinners) and five smaller, flexible meeting rooms have a separate outside entrance, or via the lobby, and have the latest tech and natural daylight.

THE FACILITIES Don't miss

Barnaby's, a relaxed first-floor, zoned restaurant serving international and British favourites for reasonable prices (fish and chips £17.50 and vegan or chicken curry with naan and poppadums £16.50). Bikash and his team looked after us well. We had held an awards event in Barnaby's a few weeks earlier and the service was equally as excellent. Breakfast is served in a large space on the same floor and was super busy, with guests spilling out to a seating area outside. The buffet had all the basics and more – not just scrambled eggs but fried and boiled

ROOMS ARE INSPIRED BY THE TARDIS OF DOCTOR WHO, WHICH STANDS OUTSIDE A NEARBY STATION

SERVICED APARTMENT: FIRSTNAME TOULOUSE RESIDENCE

too. There's indoor parking (£25 a day) and the lobby café with daily specials and ice cream counter. There's no gym.

THE VERDICT A good, solid business hotel where staff go the extra mile to cope with the large number of guests. The dual brand makes it ideal for groups.

THE DETAILS Classic Double Rooms from £149 per night, room only, and £109 at the Ibis. all.accor.com

Bev Fearis

THE HOTEL Part of the JdV by Hyatt collection of independent hotels, FirstName is a 'feel-good' brand from the Alboran Group, opening first in Bordeaux in 2023 and then in Toulouse in May 2025. The Toulouse property has 126 bedrooms and suites and 102 adjacent serviced apartments, which share the hotel entrance and facilities. It's in the city's tallest building, centrally located close to Matabiau station.

THE CHECK-IN Check-in for both the hotel rooms and apartments is at a reception desk set left of the lobby and the giant sheep (the hotel's mascot and one of the many fun and quirky touches). I was attending a conference and arrived with a group of colleagues but the reception was well manned and we were all allocated keys very quickly. The lift seemed slow until a staff member told me my 'third' floor apartment was, in fact, on the ninth floor, above offices.

THE APARTMENT The apartment was spacious (50sqm), with a small entrance

hall and storage area leading to an openplan lounge/dining room/kitchen, connected by another hallway to a bedroom, shower room and separate toilet. Large windows stretching along one side of the living area and bedroom made it feel big and bright and provided views across the rooftops of the pink city. The kitchen had a large fridge, hob and microwave and all the utensils for an extended stay. There's no desk but I was able to work from the dining table, with a power socket nearby. The 55inch TV had mainly French channels, but also BBC News. Soundproofing and premium bedding ensured a good night's sleep.

THE FACILITIES An 'urban canteen', Le Bada, serves local, regional and ecoresponsible cuisine. A lobby cafe becomes a cocktail bar at night and a cosy Japanese-themed speakeasy is tucked away behind a library. A fitness studio is open 24/7. Pets are welcome.

THE BUSINESS The 11 meetings and event spaces have natural light. The largest is 180sqm, seating 200.

A GIANT SHEEP, THE HOTEL'S MASCOT, IS ONE OF THE MANY FUN AND QUIRKY TOUCHES

THE VERDICT For business trips of four days or more, the Residence provides extra space and home comforts but with easy access to hotel services. 'FirstName' is a strange name for a hotel but it somehow suits the quirkiness of the brand – and it's memorable too.

THE DETAILS One-bed apartments start from €120 a night, depending on the length of stay. hyatt.com

Bev Fearis

THE HOTEL Located three miles outside of the town famous for its “Old” golf course and university, the 213room five-star property sits on a 520acre estate that runs to the edge of clifftops and the North Sea.

THE CHECK-IN The reception desks are located to the side of an extensive lobby/atrium area that features comfy sofas and chairs and artworks by local artists. Striking are the pair of large hanging textile tapestries on Scottish fabric that, I am told, represent two views of landscapes around St Andrews. When I arrived, three check-in desks were efficiently processing guests.

THE ROOM There are several room categories. I was in 1079, a Fairmont Room 2 Double. With a colour palette of browns and beiges and a splash or tartan, it featured two very comfortable twin beds, a work desk and amenities like an Nespresso machine, bathrobes and a hairdryer. I liked the fact the windows could be opened wide. A wellstocked mini-bar had several items by

family-owned, Yorkshire based company Cartwright & Butler. The large bathroom featured a bathtub and separate walk-in shower with a rain head. Toiletries were by Le Labo.

THE FACILITIES The hotel has two 18-hole courses that wind around the property: The Torrance and the Kittocks. There's also a 16-metre swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, steam room, decent-sized gym and the Fairmont Spa with treatments that use Ishga skincare products. Dining options include Squire, which serves an extensive breakfast, the Italian-themed La Cucina, and the two AA Rosette St Andrews Bar & Grill, known for its Scottish steaks and seafoods.

THE BUSINESS Wi-Fi is accessible throughout the hotel. There is a range of meeting rooms of various sizes and conference facilities, with the usual range of technical AV equipment. For company getaways, two standalone four-bedroom cottages, called Manor Homes, sit on the property, which can accommodate groups of up to eight.

SCOTTISH DESIGN, ART AND CULTURAL ELEMENTS FEATURE THROUGHOUT THE INTERIOR AND DÉCOR

THE VERDICT With excellent staff, several dining options and a host of leisure options, the Fairmont St Andrews offers a relaxed activity-based stay.

THE DETAILS Rates start from around £450 a night for a Fairmont Room 2 Double, including breakfast (when booked with free cancellation/no prepayment options). Other rates and specials are available. fairmont.com

Steve Hartridge

THE HOTEL Set within a former slate quarry on the edge of the breathtaking Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Slate Landscape of North West Wales, the hotel reopened in April 2025 following a refurbishment. It has 24 bedrooms, including several dogfriendly rooms. It's surrounded by outdoor activities, including mountain biking and ziplining, and runs corporate retreats. Guests can also stay in shepherd's huts and glamping tents.

THE CHECK-IN We arrived a few hours early and there was nobody around at first, but we eventually found a member of the young cleaning team who found someone to check us in at the reception/bar and directed us to our room up two flights of stairs.

THE ROOM Our loft-style, dogfriendly room had sloping ceilings and one small low window with views across the car park. The bathroom had a bath with a shower fitting. A clever storage unit had hanging space for clothes and

numerous shelves, some of which were used for a safe, kettle, cups, teas, coffees and shortbread biscuits. The decor was minimal except for two large modern prints of sheep.

THE FACILITIES The hotel is a short walk away from Zip World and is next door to a bike park with 14 downhill mountain bike trails. There's a large terrace for summer evenings, a bar/ lounge and a cosy, rustic restaurant that was busy with hotel guests every night. My chicken gyro (£17) was a bit dry but my husband enjoyed his burger (£17.50). Breakfast is served in the same space and some of the products, such as the yoghurts, are made in Wales. The hot breakfast was good and not greasy. There's a large car park and EV charging. Dogs are welcome and during our stay we saw many guests with their four-legged friends. The hotel even provides poo bags in a plastic wall dispenser on the terrace.

THE BUSINESS With a range of accommodation and challenging activities

right on your doorstep, Plas Weunydd is ideal for team getaways. But you'll need your own transport as it's quite remote.

GUESTS CAN ALSO STAY IN SHEPHERD'S HUTS AND GLAMPING TENTS

THE VERDICT The young, laid back team made it feel like a hostel at times, but it's a good option if you're looking for an affordable, adreneline-fuelled retreat.

THE DETAILS Rooms sleeping up to four from £120 a night. plasweunydd.co.uk

Bev Fearis

Dinner Club

The final Dinner Club of 2025 saw around 40 travel managers and travel management leaders enjoy some festive cheer at The Dorchester, London. The VIP event was sponsored by South Western Railway, Front, Etihad and Expedia TAAP. After a Champagne reception, guests were served a three-course dinner and then heard from guest speaker, Karen Hutchings, Cobb & Hutch Consulting, on the importance of staying relevant.

DINNER TIME

THE SPONSORS AND GUEST SPEAKER

FORMAL INTRODUCTIONS

Making a hash of breakfast

There’s some great things about being British. A sense of fair play, cricket on the village green, warm beer… you get the idea. Add to that the traditional fryup, which is even more of an essential for anyone getting stuck into a ‘free’ hotel breakfast.

Ah, but what’s this? News from Travelodge reveals that 41% of Brits now claim hashbrowns are an essential part of deal, making it their favourite brekkie item!

Meanwhile, pancakes (39%) follow closely behind in the breakfast stakes, outranking both bacon and scrambled eggs.

But although our friends across the Atlantic appear to be influencing our breakfast choices, it seems we’re still living up to the stereotype when it comes to our breakfast manners.

The budget chain’s survey found Brits say “sorry” an average of twice at the breakfast

Looking for a bit of peace and quiet? Then you'd better avoid Peru. Noise pollution, population density and nightclub concentration have crowned the following cities the loudest in the world. Don't forget your earplugs!

buffet, and that eight in 10 Brits admit to sitting down when being shown to their table, only to stand straight back up again. It also reveals that we generally go for seconds, and a committed 27% of us will sneak up for

Posh pooches

In the world of five-star hotels, the secret to standing out is adding services nobody ever thought they needed. So fair play to The Peninsula London, which has proudly opened a luxury dog grooming parlour, in association with upscale pooch pamperers Love My Human.

As you’d expect, a wash and brush-up for Fido in Belgravia doesn’t come cheap. A full groom could set you back £180, and that’s before an ultrasonic teeth clean (up to £58) and blueberry facial (a mere £35). Yep, barking mad!

thirds. Good work if that’s you, by the way.

But if you’re grabbing fruit salad or pancakes, make sure next time they’re topped with a slice or two of black pudding. It’s the patriotic thing to do.

Bogota, Colombia

Bangalore, India

While most companies are banking on AI to increase business productivity and efficiency, it seems their travelling employees have other ideas. According to research by SAP Concur, Google searches for ‘AI receipts’ soared 340% at the end of 2025, and at the same time around 70% of CFOs said they fear employees are using AI to attempt to falsify travel expenses. AppZen also noted that AI-generated expenses accounted for 14% of fraudulent documents submitted. Fraudsters beware: there’s also a growing breed of tech firms using AI to help spot the dodgy claims.