Choice Still Matters. How Travel and Expense Leaders Adapt and Decide What Comes Next
TMC acquisitions are creating one of the most disruptive moments the corporate travel industry has seen in years.
For many buyers, change is no longer optional. Travel programmes are being migrated, operating models reshaped, and long-standing relationships redefined, often with limited clarity on what comes next. Travel Managers are left asking a fundamental question.
Will this new reality still deliver what our business and travellers need?
As more organisations actively shop, or prepare to, in 2026, this moment represents far more than a supplier change. It is a rare opportunity to step back, reassess, and make a deliberate choice about the future of your travel programme.
Uncertainty as a Catalyst, Not a Constraint
Acquisitions create uncertainty by default. New technology roadmaps, new account management structures, and new priorities competing for attention.
The danger is not disruption itself. It is defaulting into a future that no longer fits.
Inaction is still a decision. And often, it is the one that locks programmes into misalignment for years to come.
Three Real Options: Stay, Go, or Rethink
There is no universally correct path forward. The right decision depends on your business objectives, traveller needs, and appetite for change.
Stay: Make the New Model Work for You
Staying can be the right choice if it is intentional.
Key considerations include:
- What is staying the same and what is changing
- Whether existing SLAs, KPIs, and service constructs will still be upheld
- Which technologies are staying or going, and whether they still serve your programme
- How account management will change, including access to specialist roles and analytical support
This can also be an opportunity to reset expectations, improve governance, and resolve long-standing friction points.
Go: Proactively Choose an Alternative
Some organisations will decide that the new reality does not align with where they are headed.
Choosing to go requires:
- Clear alignment with organisational goals such as cost, experience, sustainability, and risk
- A realistic understanding of effort, time, and change management
- A defined view of what must be replicated and what should evolve
Without clear requirements, moving often results in recreating the same model elsewhere.
Rethink: Are You Ready for Transformational Travel Management?
For some organisations, disruption becomes a catalyst to reassess how their programme is designed.
Rethinking focuses on understanding what your business truly requires from travel today and in the future. It often involves:
- Rebalancing control and convenience across services and technology
- Reassessing ownership of data, platforms, and decision making
- Reducing reliance on a single supplier roadmap
- Designing flexibility into the programme to support future change
This path typically requires greater investment in time, capability, and change management, but offers the strongest foundation for long-term adaptability.
”Change is already underway. What matters now is determining the level of transformation and resources required to support future business and traveller needs.
– Lora Ellis, Head of Consulting
