Revolutionary travel management companies do exist

A recent opinion piece on PhocusWire suggested that the corporate travel world is fundamentally broken and that most travel management companies (TMCs) are not fit for purpose. I strongly disagree, let me tell you why. 

In my 32+ years in travel, it’s very rare I hear a corporate saying “I love my TMC!”. What I do constantly hear and experience a lot is the corporate traveler absolutely loving Mary, Peter or Samantha, at their TMC. Many of us have a story about a consultant who went over and above, saved the day, managed to get the impossible done—all with a smile.

Travel is personal, it affects the customer far more than most purchases, and trust, strong relationships and knowledge about them when they purchase this product are all very important factors. 

Back in the days when I was a corporate travel consultant, we had the advantage of having a specific set of customers per consultant. I knew my customers really well, and when I was not there they sometimes did not even bother traveling—they refused to book with anyone else.

Another “luxury” we had was a lack of the internet, meaning clients only booked through their TMC. We also had fewer content sources (e.g. 100% GDS) and got paid handsome commissions by the airlines. Life was good.

In 2025, does that model still work?

For most, it’s near impossible to have a feasible business model where specific consultants deal with specific travelers, yet personalization is more important than ever. Content fragmentation is rife. Customers are requiring data from TMCs on stuff that did not even exist 10 years ago, emissions reporting, for one. Commissions are gone. For some content, TMCs are now paying the provider. Airlines are on a retail revolution warpath of their own. 

I could go on, but you get the picture. It’s a dramatically changed world, and to prosper, a TMC has to adapt on multiple levels.

Has the average TMC done that? No. Many still live in a world that revolves around whatever their GDS can provide them, and everything they do has to fit in with that world. That is a world which does not allow them to mix content, to use off-the-shelve financial or CRM solutions or to change providers easily ... the list goes on.

The GDS tech stack might have evolved, and yes NDC integrations are being done, but at the root of their business model is a fundamental flaw that creates an entire set of problems. The financial arrangement between GDS and the TMC needs to be flipped upside down—but that’s for another article. The same can be said for those corporates who still send out RFPs from the 80’s.

For the TMC still sitting in the position I describe above—and there are plenty, it’s almost too late. 

Brighter future

Let’s talk about TMCs that have already revolutionized their operations in this space and who are absolutely loved by their customers.

Travel Counsellors is a fantastic example of that magical combination of personal service via their independent consultants backed up by huge corporate investment in systems, tools, buying power and more to give the small to medium enterprise-type corporate the best of both worlds. Its “For Business” division is growing rapidly, turning over £250m in 2024 already.

Another United Kingdom-based shining star is Gray Dawes Travel, which massively grew its global footprint through a string of acquisitions and now offer its customers an always on 24 hour, around-the-world service from a central, data-driven desktop which can source content from multiple suppliers in their preferred distribution channel. 

Moving further afield, despite a challenging first quarter in its home markets and a substantial downturn in Asia, Flight Centre Travel Group recently managed to increase its underlying profit by 7%, aided by an increase of 2% in its corporate transaction values.

Another way to evolve is to be a specialist in a specific field of corporate travel and two names immediately come to mind; TAG, the U.K.-based entertainment industry travel specialist absolutely smashing it, and Sportscorp Travel, who from their headquarters in Ontario turned themselves into a leading sports and group travel specialist.

There are many more, and what we need is a round of applause for those TMCs who saw the future, invested in the tech required to get there and made their move. And look at how they have succeeded as a result!

A hunger for data, tech and working differently exists within many TMCs (and arguably, an ignorant attitude towards reality amongst many). I should know, I’ve been operating a specialist data business in this space for 15 years now, and it feels to me like we’ve just started—there is a lot more to do and TMCs are lined up and ready. It’s an exciting time to be in corporate travel. 

If you can't spot a revolution in the TMC space, you're simply not looking hard enough. There are plenty of revolutionary TMCs out there, the others just need to follow their lead.