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Travel Weekly
4 days ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
For American Express GBT, a double dose of good news
Paul Abbott, the CEO of American Express Global Business Travel, said the company hit a "key milestone" when the U.S. Department of Justice on July 29 dropped its lawsuit that sought to block the acquisition of CWT. "We look forward to creating even more value for customers, suppliers and shareholders," Abbott said during Amex GBT's second-quarter earnings call Aug. 5. The $540 million acquisition was announced in March 2024 (the transaction was originally set at $570 million but was reduced this past March). In January, the Biden administration's DOJ filed a lawsuit to block the transaction, on the grounds that it would stifle competition among the largest travel management companies that serve global and multinational clients. But with the dismissal of the lawsuit on July 29, the path has been cleared for the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter. It will marry two of the largest TMCs in the country. Amex GBT sits at No. 3 on Travel Weekly's Power List, with 2024 sales of $30.48 billion; only online travel giants Booking Holdings and Expedia Group are bigger. CWT is No. 6 on the Power List with $15.2 billion in 2024 sales. Two other global TMCs sit between them: BCD Travel and Flight Centre Travel Group. Just behind CWT is Chase Travel Group. During its earnings call, Abbot said Amex GBT's "experienced team is ready for the integration, and we are confident in the growth opportunity of the combined company." Abbott also called the deal a "compelling financial transaction" with around $155 million in net synergies. Amex GBT has successfully integrated large acquisitions and hit synergy targets before, he added. It has acquired a number of major Power List agencies in recent years, including Hogg Robinson Group in 2018 and Egencia (then the corporate-travel arm of Expedia Group) and Ovation Travel Group in 2021. Amex GBT exceeds Q2 expectations While some data indicate a potential downturn coming in corporate travel, Amex GBT appears to be bucking the trend with a solid quarter. The Global Business Travel Association in late July released data indicating corporate travel stakeholders were anticipating a slowdown. Among those surveyed, including corporate travel managers, suppliers and TMCs, optimism decreased from 67% in November 2024 to 28% by mid-June. Respondents cited two main long-term concerns: higher travel costs and increased administrative burdens. U.S. government actions, like tariffs and entry restrictions, were also noted as impactful to business travel. However, Amex GBT's financial results in the second quarter were better than expected, and the TMC raised its expectations of total revenue and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for the full year. Abbott said macroeconomic uncertainty impacted the TMC in April. But, he said the impact "was temporary, and our transaction growth inflected back into positive territory, up 2%, in May and June combined." "We continue to see green shoots into July that give us confidence that the demand environment has improved." Certain segments of clients performed better than others, Abbott said. For instance, those in IT, pharmaceuticals, business, professional and financial services saw growth in May and June. However, those that were more affected by tariffs, like mining, oil, consumer goods and retail, "continued to see slower demand." The most impacted was the automotive industry, but its transaction growth improved in May and June. Abbott said in a recent survey of GBT's top 100 customers, data pointed to a moderation of macroeconomic uncertainty. Customers are "seemingly less concerned or increasingly neutral on the impact of tariffs," he said. "We have seen little by way of tangible customer actions taken in terms of travel policy restrictions." Amex GBT recorded a 1% revenue increase in Q2, to $631 million. Adjusted EBITDA was up 4%, to $133 million. Abbott said GBT hit a milestone with more than $500 million in adjusted EBITDA for the last 12 months. Net income of $15 million was down 48%, mainly due to higher operating expenses, unfavorable foreign-exchange impacts and higher income taxes.
Skift
01-08-2025
- Business
- Skift
Unmanaged Business Travel Still Dominates as SMBs Seek Flexible, Consumer-Style Booking
Despite a rebound in global corporate travel, much of the industry remains stuck in an old pattern — unmanaged, but cheaper employee travel. A recent Euromonitor International report estimates that nearly 65% of global business travel spending, which is projected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2029, is still unmanaged. Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), defined as companies with 1–200 employees, represent 26.1% of the total business travel market and are projected to grow the fastest, at a CAGR of 7.1% through 2029, according to the report, which was commissioned by Navan. Despite frequent travel needs, SMBs remain the least likely to use a travel management company. For travel management companies (TMCs), this represents both a problem and a massive opportunity. Unmanaged Business Travel's Pitfalls and Advantages Eva Fouquet, SVP of Strategic Partnerships at Kayak for Business, sums up the paradox neatly: 'Unmanaged travel sticks around because it feels easy, until it's not.' In practice, unmanaged travel often means employees booking trips themselves on consumer platforms like Kayak, Expedia, or even directly through airline websites. Receipts get lost, reimbursements are delayed, and no one's sure who's where at any given moment. 'You don't know where your travelers are. If they have to change their plans, it's not that easy,' Fouquet said. Still, the perceived flexibility and familiarity keep many SMBs from switching to managed platforms. Amy Butte, CFO at Navan, argues that the problem stems from the fact that traditional travel management solutions simply weren't built with SMBs in mind. 'Legacy platforms often neglect the end user, making the booking process clunky and frustrating,' she said. 'Employees want tools that are as easy to use as consumer apps, and if they don't get that, they tend to book outside the system.' For many SMBs, it's not just about ease; it's also about economics. Butte points out that a large portion of unmanaged travel is driven by cost perceptions. 'They believe managed solutions aren't financially accessible or the cost can't be justified for their volume,' she said. What SMBs Actually Want When asked what small businesses care about most in a travel solution, Fouquet was clear: It's not just about cost, control, flexibility, or simplicity; it's all four, and they're deeply interconnected. Ray Slater Berry, founder and CEO of the content agency DSLX, is exactly the kind of SMB leader TMCs are trying to convert. So far, they haven't succeeded. 'Everyone books their own travel and invoices us after,' he said. The company once experimented with TravelPerk years before its rebrand, but found it clunky and often more expensive than booking directly. 'The user experience just wasn't good enough, and we felt we could find cheaper deals on our own,' Berry said. Today, DSLX's decentralized, do-it-yourself approach works for its size and needs, but Berry admits that if the company scaled dramatically, it might consider switching to a more centralized platform. And that's the catch: most SMBs won't prioritize change unless something breaks. Fouquet sees this pattern repeatedly. 'Travel isn't the first priority for SMBs. Unless something feels broken, they keep the status quo.' For her team, the focus has been on education, showing how platforms like Kayak for Business can offer better travel adoption rates, less manual reconciliation, and real-time reporting, without the pain of a traditional onboarding process. The Future of Business Travel The future of corporate travel, both Navan and Kayak argue, isn't necessarily tightly managed in the traditional sense. It's smartly optimized. That means lighter controls layered over flexible, self-serve platforms. 'The future is mirroring consumer travel,' said Fouquet. 'Employees should be able to book wherever it's easiest, whether that's on our platform, on the United app, or by calling an agent, and have it all sync into one system for the company.' Butte agrees: ' Businesses are recognizing that an unmanaged approach doesn't deliver the savings, efficiency, or traveler support they need in today's environment. There's a huge opportunity to show SMBs how easy it is to switch, and how quickly they can benefit from smarter, more efficient travel management.'
Skift
28-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Hilton Pushes Direct Sales by Targeting Small Business Travelers
Everyone in corporate travel is trying to cut out the middleman, which is awkward because half the people in corporate travel are the middleman. Hilton's gained traction with a new program for small- and medium-sized businesses and easier processes for payments. Hilton has shifted its corporate travel strategy in recent years to focus more heavily on small- and mid-sized businesses, aiming to reduce reliance on intermediaries and drive commission-free, direct bookings. These travelers now account for 85% of Hilton's business bookings, up from 76% in 2019 — a shift fueled both by faster post-pandemic recovery among smaller companies and Hilton's targeted outreach. Last year, the company launched Hilton for Business, a platform designed to streamline travel management for these companies and deepen direct customer ties. "A couple hundred thousand accounts have registered," said Frank Passanante, Hilton's senior vice president for global sales. "We launched a partnership with American Express in December 2024 that has accelerated enrollments." Participating companies must join Hilton's Honors loyalty program, creating repeat customers that hotels prefer over traditional commissioned bookings. "It's a
Travel Weekly
09-07-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
CWT launches tool for AI data dialogue
CWT (No. 6 on Travel Weekly's Power List) has developed a new AI analytics tool that enables conversational interaction with travel data, the travel management company announced. Called Tim, an acronym for trends, insights and metrics, the tool expands on the AI capabilities added to its Analytics reporting tool in November. With those earlier capabilities, users could search and ask questions of their data using natural language. With Tim, those capabilities are expanded from single questions to dialogue, with users able to ask follow-up questions and conduct a conversation around data trends and outliers, according to CWT. Tim is available at no additional cost as a part of CWT's Analytics offering, the TMC said. The TMC said Tim's conversational capabilities "democratizes" access to travel data, letting stakeholders outside the travel department who might not have the same analytical skills or understanding of corporate travel jargon access and act upon travel data. "This conversational AI analyst makes it easier for users to explore complex insights in a more fluid, intuitive way, helping them uncover the 'why' behind the numbers and ultimately better understand the return on investment of their travel spend," CWT chief product officer Erica Antony said in a statement. Source: Business Travel News
Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Ison Travel
Rank 73 Annual sales growth over three years 71.55% Travel management Whether it's chartering a private jet or finding last-minute flights for a professional football team, this Woking-based business is expert in arranging corporate travel. The chief executive Helen Cannon, 49, started Ison Travel in 2013 after deciding that she couldn't make the corporate world work for her and her family of five children. Annualised sales including all booked travel were £48.9 million last year, when Ison made two acquisitions — one in the UK and the other in the US — adding to bases in Dubai, the Philippines and India. Explore the Sunday Times 100 — interviews, company profiles and more
