A New Era – Ready For It?
By Chris Crowley
Partner at Kintela Group
When Taylor Swift took her Eras Tour around the world, fans embraced the theme from the outset. Different “eras” represent different periods in life, different priorities and different ways of seeing the world. The Swifties recognised those changes because they had travelled through many of them alongside her. What resonated was the idea that people move through chapters of life, carrying experiences and memories from one into the next.
Business travel has been on its own eras tour. I have spent more than three decades in this industry, watching technology evolve, policies change, suppliers rise and fall, and a steady stream of acronyms come and go like costume changes at one of Taylor’s concerts. Through it all, the industry has rarely taken a backstage breather to ask fundamental questions about the programmes it builds and manages: Who is managed business travel for? What is it meant to deliver?
In the last five years, our industry has entered a period of profound change. Geopolitical instability, a pandemic, economic pressure, AI-driven transformation and changing workforce expectations influence how companies think about travel, value and human connection. The industry itself is changing quickly, too. Just recently, the world’s largest TMC agreed to return to private ownership through an acquisition deal with an AI-focused investment group. These developments feel like the beginning of a new era, rather than another industry cycle.
My first instinct was to frame travel management’s evolution through the metaphor of software versioning with Travel Manager 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. Upon reflection, the idea of eras better reflects how we transition over time, how expectations change and how people adapt.
Swift’s Eras Tour also left a real mark on the travel industry itself. Concert dates announced overnight triggered surges in demand. Hotels sold out within hours, restaurants filled and transport networks came under pressure before the first fans arrived. Revenue climbed rapidly, though it also exposed how difficult modern demand patterns have become to predict and manage in real time. The industry gave it a name: the “Taylor Swift effect.”
That experience says a great deal about the environment in which travel companies must operate. Demand can move suddenly, pricing can change, swiftly, and availability can tighten without warning. Consumer behaviour, live events, social media and global trends increasingly influence travel flows in ways that would have been difficult to imagine when a certain 16-year-old in cowboy boots released her debut album. Technology is developing rapidly in response, with modern data platforms helping organisations anticipate demand and respond more quickly to changing conditions. AI and automation are also improving forecasting, personalisation and service delivery while reducing manual work that once consumed travel teams.
Looking back through the eras of managed travel, the progression becomes easier to understand. The early years were defined by logistics, procurement and control. Travel managers were closely tied to finance teams, responsible for supplier negotiations, policy management and moving travellers as efficiently as possible. Paper tickets, telex machines and face-to-face negotiation formed part of everyday life. Those programmes were built from scratch and established the foundations of the profession.
The next era brought structure and scale. The internet transformed distribution and procurement moved into the centre of the model. Online booking tools, global distribution systems and expense platforms changed how travel was bought and managed. Travel managers became experts in sourcing, benchmarking and data analysis as organisations pushed for greater visibility, consistency and compliance across global programmes.
That period delivered enormous progress, though it also standardised much of the traveller experience. Journeys increasingly became transactions inside larger operational systems, measured heavily through cost, policy and reporting. Efficiency improved across the industry, though many programmes became more focused on managing movement than understanding the wider purpose behind it.
As the industry enters another era, the conversation is changing again. There is greater focus on why travel takes place, what value it creates and how it contributes to wider business goals. Programmes are being designed with more flexibility, giving travellers greater ownership while still operating within clear frameworks. Expectations around work and travel are evolving too, particularly among younger generations who emphasise experience, wellbeing and purpose.
All this changes the role of the travel manager. The job increasingly requires judgement, interpretation and commercial understanding alongside operational expertise. Travel managers are balancing traveller expectations, programme objectives, supplier relationships and fast-moving market conditions in ways that would have been difficult to imagine even a decade ago.
Author Joe Pine’s work on the transformation economy also feels increasingly relevant to where the industry is heading. Economies have evolved from commodities to goods, then to services and experiences, with the next stage focused on transformation and the lasting impact an experience creates for the individual or organisation involved.
Business travel already plays a role in that world. A trip can strengthen relationships, open markets, build trust and create opportunities that cannot be replicated over video calls. When programmes are designed around those outcomes, the value of business travel becomes easier to understand and easier to defend.
The best travel managers weave each era into a seamless production. They can pick up a guitar and strum a classic, then transition to a tightly choreographed dance routine with enough breath to sing a modern hit. From the first song to the encore, they know their audience and how to delight them.
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