Does your travel program reflect where your business is headed, or where it has already been?
As companies grow in headcount and geography, their travel programs become more complex. Systems and processes that worked on a smaller scale often cannot keep pace with the demands of a larger, more distributed, and diverse workforce.
During the recent Business Travel News webinar, Global Travel Program Transitions: How to Implement, Scale, and Switch Successfully, industry leaders shared firsthand experiences navigating this transition. Moderated by Spotnana’s Claire Blades, the panel featured Michelle Amos of Qualtrics, Katherine Vaillancourt of Samuel, Son & Co., and Direct Travel’s Christine Sikes.
Below, we highlight the major themes that emerged during the webinar and attendee Q&A, including how travel managers can apply these insights to their own program. You can also watch the full webinar here:
Recognizing the Red Flags: When Your Program Outgrows Itself
Travel program transitions rarely happen all at once. More often, the need for change emerges gradually as organizations grow across regions and traveler needs evolve.
When travelers get frustrated with platform functionality, they are more likely to bypass the platform or contact their travel manager about booking issues. This puts pressure on small travel teams, forcing them to spend time managing reactive requests instead of driving program strategy.
Similarly, if data sits across separate systems and requires manual reconciliation every time a report is needed, that is far more than a maintenance issue. Fragmented data leads to a slower reporting process, which delays decision-making and forces travel managers to be reactive rather than proactive. 
“When content gets fragmented, when your data is slow, and your travelers start to feel the friction, that’s when your program needs a change. That complexity outgrows the tools long before many teams want to admit it.”
— Christine Sikes, Chief Operating Officer, Direct Travel
Managing the Transition with Confidence
Switching travel programs is not purely a technology decision; it is a change management commitment. The companies that have the most successful and efficient transitions are the ones that engage with stakeholders ahead of time rather than after the fact.
Before implementing a new solution, travel managers should seek alignment throughout the organization on why the current program no longer serves the business and what the new program should deliver. Consult with travelers, executive administrators, human resources, and other essential stakeholders across all regions to evaluate potential platforms before selecting the best fit.
Choosing the right platform requires more than just great features; it needs to perform effectively in practice. Travelers expect a tool that can deliver relevant supplier content, local currency support, and intuitive functionality. For organizations operating in multiple countries, features such as these are not only nice to have, but non-negotiable.
Even the most intuitive platforms generate questions during rollout, so consistent implementation support from your travel partner is key during the transition. How quickly and effectively your TMC answers questions can directly affect the adoption rate amongst your travelers.
Sequencing a Global Rollout: Big Bang vs Phased-by-Country
The “Big Bang” Approach
One of the most obvious benefits of a single implementation is the speed. Organizations achieve immediate alignment on one platform and faster realization of program value. If a company’s travel program scope is well-defined, processes are standardized, and internal change management discipline is strong, the big bang approach can be the ideal method. This choice provides a consistent experience across the organization to all employees from day one, manifesting savings early compared to a phased implementation.
Phased Implementation
However, some organizations may wish to identify gaps in their existing program and incorporate that feedback before scaling. In this situation, a phased implementation is a better fit. This approach carries a comparatively lighter change management burden and allows teams to course correct before full adoption. Complexity can be managed market by market, and training can be adjusted based on live feedback.
Driving Traveler Adoption Across a Diverse Workforce
One of the most effective ways to improve program compliance is to make the right choices easier for travelers to pick. When preferred suppliers and negotiated rates are clearly highlighted within the platform, it makes it simple for travelers to choose a policy-compliant option. The downstream effect is significant, with fewer calls to the travel team and less time spent managing out-of-policy bookings. 
“Ensuring our preferred suppliers and vendors appear first makes it easier for travelers to choose the right option. This is key and helps with fragmentation of our team booking outside our rates.”
— Katherine Vaillancourt, Director of Indirect Procurement, Samuel, Son & Co.
Multi-language support is another underestimated adoption factor, especially for organizations with a global workforce. A traveler who cannot navigate the platform comfortably in their own language will be far less likely to use it consistently.
Utilizing Travel Data as a Strategic Asset
Many organizations still mainly use data as a reporting function, but when consolidated and analyzed correctly, clean travel data can be a forward-looking tool that informs and influences supplier negotiations, budget decisions, and program strategy. 
“The question we should all be asking is, ‘So what?’ What does the data mean for me? What does it mean for my travelers? Data must be actionable. Ask yourself, what does the data actually tell us to do next?”
— Michelle Amos, Associate Director of Travel, Qualtrics
- Booking data can make a case for a preferred supplier or be used in negotiations for a better rate.
- Historical data can help managers identify patterns in traveler preferences and actions. Are there suppliers that travelers are naturally gravitating toward? Is there a recurring situation that’s contributing to program leakage?
- Compliance data can help determine which suppliers to bring into the program and which to phase out.
Some of the most valuable insights come from sets of data that programs might not historically analyze together. For Qualtrics, when analyzing card spend and expense spend together, a pattern emerged that neither revealed alone. Some cities with high meal spend but low hotel nights might not appear significant in isolation, but combined with ground car rental data, it surfaced a targeted opportunity to negotiate rideshare or car rental rates in those specific markets.
For Samuel, Son & Co., consolidated spend data gave finance teams the visibility to make informed budget allocation decisions across multiple travel teams.
Incorporating Agentic AI
Artificial Intelligence is already reshaping the booking experience. In this next phase, expect AI to move beyond booking recommendations. Agentic AI refers to a system that can take independent actions on behalf of the traveler but within defined parameters. It understands the company’s travel policy and constraints, and makes decisions accordingly.
Instead of manually comparing multiple options, travelers may soon be able to enter a simple request and receive a complete itinerary recommendation based on company policy, traveler preferences, and proximity to business locations.
Another near-future use case is natural language support. Today, if a traveler has a simple itinerary question, they may call a travel manager to verify. With agentic AI, the traveler can ask the platform directly in their language and receive accurate information, freeing up the manager for more complex service requests.
A Coordinated Global Program
Successfully scaling a global program begins with identifying if there are current solutions in place that are no longer serving the business. From there, the opportunity lies in using the right combination of technology, service expertise, and actionable insights to build in improvements that can continue to grow with your organization.
By approaching change strategically and keeping the traveler experience at the center, travel leaders can create a program that delivers both operational efficiency and long-term value.
To learn more about how to approach a global travel program transition at your own organization, watch the recorded webinar.
