Note: This blog was originally posted on LinkedIn, which we’ve republished below.
If you’ve worked in corporate travel for any length of time, you’ve almost certainly used an online booking tool (OBT) like Concur Travel.
OBTs have been the backbone of many travel programs for years. They brought structure to decentralized booking, connected travel and expense, and gave companies a way to apply basic policy controls at scale. For their time, they were an important step forward.
But the world around them changed.
Traveler expectations changed.
Supplier distribution changed.
Data needs changed.
The complexity of global programs changed.
And now, something even more fundamental is changing.
Across every industry, real-time data and AI are redefining how decisions are made, how experiences are delivered, and how organizations operate. Systems are no longer expected to simply record transactions after the fact — they’re expected to anticipate needs, surface insights in the moment, and adapt continuously as conditions change.
Corporate travel is no exception — a reality we’re actively embracing at Direct Travel through our next-generation travel solution, Avenir.
But before the kind of progress we’re seeing with Avenir could happen, the underlying technology foundation had to be reevaluated and rebuilt to support real-time data, intelligent automation, and continuous optimization.
That’s where Spotnana comes in — and why it’s not accurate to describe it as “just another OBT.”
What Is An OBT, Really?
At its core, an online booking tool like Concur Travel is:
- A front-end application where travelers shop and book
- Tightly bound to the legacy PNR structure and GDS-centric content
- Connected to a separate mid- and back-office system used by agents
- Often deployed as multiple instances by region, each with its own configuration
- Integrated to expense tools and HR systems, but not always easily or quickly
In other words, the OBT is the screen you see, not the full machinery behind it.
This model worked well when the goal was to move from offline to online booking in a world where all content came from a single source – the GDS. In today’s world, OBTs and TMCs need to integrate with a much wider range of content sources to provide the best value to travel buyers.
Where the OBT Model Struggles Today
As programs have become more global and expectations have risen, the classic OBT model runs into practical limits:
- Content constraints
Deep reliance on GDS content slows adoption of NDC, direct connects, and non-traditional content sources, preventing travelers from accessing the best available prices, travel offers, and servicing experiences.
- Fragmented data
Profiles, trips, and policy rules live in silos across systems and regions, often leading global programs to manage configurations, traveler profiles, and policies separately by country rather than in one centralized system.
- Servicing gaps
Travelers book in one system, agents service in another — introducing friction when plans change and when travel managers make any changes to policies, preferred suppliers, and custom fields.
- Content constraints
Deep reliance on GDS content slows adoption of NDC, direct connects, and non-traditional sources.
- Limited flexibility
Integrations and enhancements are constrained by legacy infrastructure.
- Inability to keep pace with innovation
Built on static data models and rigid system boundaries, traditional OBTs struggle to take advantage of real-time data, AI-driven intelligence, and emerging technology innovations limiting how quickly new capabilities, content, and experiences can be delivered.
These aren’t failings of any one provider so much as they are characteristics of a category built for a different era.
Consider how classic OBTs depend on a PNR as the core data record for a booking. The PNR is an unstructured text file that was created in the 1960’s and pre-dates the creation of relational databases.
For OBTs to manage bookings, exchanges, and cancellations, TMCs have to write a tremendous number of scripts to handle PNR updates for the wide range of permutations that can happen across suppliers, geographic points of sale, and payment methods. New scripts have to be written to handle each new content source that is added. This is a big reason why classic OBTs and most TMCs offer a limited range of content.
What Spotnana is Instead
Spotnana delivers a modern travel platform, but its real breakthrough is replacing the outdated machinery that powers travel behind the scenes.
Spotnana delivers:
- Broad, global content in one place, including GDSs, deep direct NDC integrations, low cost carriers (LCC), online travel agencies (OTA) like Booking.com and Expedia, direct supplier connections, and integrations to aggregators for rail, ground transportation, and more
- A modern, unified system of record for travel that does not rely on PNRs
- One global system shared by travelers, agents, and travel managers, instead of loosely stitched tools
- An open, extensible foundation designed to integrate and add new capabilities over time
- A modern, cloud-native and micro-services-based framework built to replace legacy travel infrastructure not a layer on top of it
It’s important to spend a minute explaining what we mean by “cloud-native” and “micro-services” and the benefits of them.
In practical terms, cloud-native means Spotnana was built for how software is used today: online, always available, highly scalable, and constantly improving, rather than adapted from older systems designed for a different era.
Instead of being one large, rigid system where everything is connected, it’s made up of many smaller components (microservices) that work together. This means that each part can be updated, expanded, or improved independently. This makes it possible to add new content, introduce new capabilities, and adopt emerging technologies continuously without large disruptions or long upgrade cycles.
The result is an infrastructure that can respond in real time, connect easily with new technologies, and evolve as quickly as the travel industry itself.
A Simple Side-by-Side View
Here’s a straightforward way to think about the difference:
Scope
- OBT: A booking front-end connected into legacy TMC infrastructure with limited content options and dependent on text-based PNRs for bookings
- Spotnana: A modern travel platform that provides comprehensive access to global content and operates independent of PNRs
System of record
- OBT: uses the GDS as the system of record and relies on TMCs to write scripts in a mid-office tool to automate PNR changes for exchanges, cancellations, etc.
- Spotnana: A modern data record living in a high-speed cloud database that supports booking and servicing for any content source across global markets
Global consistency
- OBT: Multiple regional instances, configured separately
- Spotnana: One global platform with consistent logic and real-time global analytics
Traveler and agent experience
- OBT: Travelers and agents work in different systems
- Spotnana: A single platform for travelers and agents with a shared, real-time view of content, trips, policies, and profiles giving agents full context and travelers immediate support when it matters most.
Extensibility
- OBT: Integrations are often complex and slow
- Spotnana: Open architecture enables faster integration and innovation
Why This Matters for Travel Programs
For travel managers and finance leaders, this difference shows up every day:
- Can both travelers and agents access the best content and prices through a single platform experience?
- Can you see your entire global program in one place?
- Can travelers self-service bookings, exchanges, cancellations, unused credit redemptions, and split payments without breaking downstream workflows?
- Can agents support travelers in real time with full visibility?
- Can travel data plug cleanly into your broader analytics strategy?
- Can your technology adapt as distribution and content evolve?
- Can you get a real-time duty of care insights?
Respect For the Past. Clarity About the Future.
Concur Travel played a critical role in the early era of online corporate booking. It brought order to a fragmented process and helped many organizations modernize. I know, I lived that era inside the company.
Today’s travel programs face a different set of challenges: global consistency, real-time servicing, broader content, and integrated data.
Meeting those needs requires more than a booking tool. Labeling Spotnana as an “OBT” overlooks the transformation it enables. OBTs improved online booking. Spotnana modernizes the underlying technology layer, consolidating data silos, expanding content access, enabling real-time servicing, and integrating across the enterprise.
Spotnana represents the shift from standalone OBTs to modern travel infrastructure. When paired with global service, operational expertise, and an integrated suite of complementary technology can function as a true comprehensive travel solution for travel programs of any size.
At Direct Travel, that foundation is what we used to build Avenir Travel, our next-generation travel solution powered by Spotnana’s modern infrastructure and supported by our global servicing network. This architecture gives us the flexibility to move quickly as the industry evolves. In the coming quarters, you can expect a wide range of new capabilities, including additional direct content integrations, AI tools for travelers and agents, and the next generation of modern travel shopping experiences.
The industry is moving beyond booking tools and toward unified infrastructures and operating models built for today’s reality. This is what’s needed to deliver on the vision of the perfect trip.
If you’re rethinking your program’s long-term direction, start with the infrastructure underneath it. After all, don’t your travelers and your business deserve systems designed for this era, not the last?
