Why Corporate Travel Buyers Are Changing How They Evaluate TMCs (And Why That's Good For The Industry)

The latest feature from The Business Travel Magazine highlights something we've been watching develop for some time.

Corporate travel buyers are changing the questions they're asking.

Rather than comparing suppliers on functionality alone, organisations are increasingly evaluating how effectively a TMC can deliver real operational outcomes — particularly during disruption, customer servicing and day-to-day operations.

From a technology provider's perspective, that's an encouraging shift.

Because ultimately, travellers don't experience platforms. They experience outcomes.

The RFP conversation is changing

Historically, technology discussions often centred around features.

Today, buyers want evidence:

Can you identify disrupted travellers quickly?
Can you proactively rebook them?
Can your consultants access the information they need without switching between multiple systems?
Can you support customers consistently across every channel and region?

Those questions focus on service delivery — not software.

AI is moving from promise to proof

Corporate buyers are no longer asking whether a supplier has AI. They're asking:

Where is it deployed?
What operational problems does it solve?
What measurable improvements has it delivered?
How does it support consultants rather than replace them?

That's a significant shift.

The industry has moved beyond AI as a marketing message. Now it's about operational evidence.

Why outcome-first technology matters

One observation particularly stood out:

It's about your needs, not what the supplier's standard platform offers.

We couldn't agree more.

Every travel business has different operational challenges. Some struggle with disruption management. Others with email volumes. Others with agent productivity, traveller communications or fragmented systems.

The technology conversation should begin with those business objectives — not with a product demonstration.

That's why we believe organisations should define the outcomes they want first, then determine which technology is best placed to deliver them.

The future belongs to TMCs that align technology with customer expectations

Traveller expectations continue to evolve. They expect:

Faster responses.
Proactive communication.
Consistent service.
Personalised support.

The TMCs that thrive will be those whose technology strategy directly supports those expectations — not simply those with the most features.

Because in the end, buyers aren't purchasing technology. They're investing in better service, greater resilience and stronger operational performance.

Corporate expectations are evolving rapidly, and the questions being asked at RFP stage are becoming far more operational than technical. The organisations that succeed will be those that can demonstrate not just what their technology does, but how it enables faster decisions, better traveller experiences and more resilient operations when it matters most.

With disruption events — from geopolitical conflict to airspace closures and severe weather — becoming a regular feature of business travel, one question should sit near the top of every RFP: How will you continue to protect our travellers when things don't go to plan?

That's exactly why we recently explored what customer service excellence really looks like during major travel disruption — and why the moments that matter most aren't business as usual, but the ones you can't predict.

Read: Customer Service Excellence Matters Most When Disruption Hits (Part 1)