The world of work has undergone a transformation in recent years. The rise of hybrid working and remote teams, accelerated by the pandemic and technological advancements, has reshaped how companies operate on a fundamental level. And, as companies expand their search for top talent, employees have become increasingly distributed across geographies, time zones and cultures. In this new paradigm, one area that is prime for innovation is travelling for work.
Historically, business travel has been a highly centralised function. A single travel manager or small team would handle all the booking, itineraries, expense reporting and coordination for an entire organisation. This made sense in an era when most employees worked from a central office location and business travel followed a predictable cadence of conferences, client meetings and occasional team offsites. Â
Â
However, with fast-growing economies and consistent disruption, this centralised model is ill-suited for the realities of modern, distributed organisations. Coordinating travel for hundreds of employees joining an offsite from multiple hubs is significantly more complex than simply booking flights and hotels from a single office. It’s a logistical nightmare for centralised travel managers.
Travel management in 2025 and beyond
This is why one of the biggest trends shaping corporate travel is ‘decentralisation’. It’s about empowering employees to take ownership of their bookings, all within a framework of visibility and control for the company. Just as the future of work is hybrid, the future of business travel is flexible and employee-centric.
If the right tools are used, the benefits of this approach are clear. Employees gain autonomy and flexibility to book travel that fits their individual needs and preferences. HR teams and travel managers are freed from the administrative burden of micromanaging every reservation. The finance department gains real-time visibility and understanding of travel and expense spend.
Â
Most importantly, decentralised travel aligns with the philosophy of trust and empowerment that is at the heart of high-performing remote teams. By giving employees the tools and freedom to manage their own travel, companies are sending a powerful signal about the culture they aim to build.
When people are trusted to make decisions about where, when and how to travel in order to do their best work, a culture of ownership and empowerment emerges”
Organisational support
Of course, employee-centric doesn’t mean employee-only. Companies still need to be the controllers from a duty of care and financial perspective. The key is to use the right tools and set clear travel policies which can guide the employee’s behaviour without constraining it.
In recent research, we found less than half of companies (41 per cent) use an online travel management platform. The same proportion rely on consumer platforms and booking direct with suppliers, while 18 per cent book via phone or email with traditional agencies, both of which are highly fragmented processes creating a cascade of inefficiencies – endless invoices, emails and administrative burdens. Â
Â
Modern corporate travel platforms can play a pivotal role in the efficiency of business travel. By integrating booking, approvals, expense reporting and analytics into a unified system, these tools allow companies to set guardrails without having to manually review and approve every trip.
Real-time dashboards can provide insights and data for finance and HR leaders without putting the onus on employees to manually submit every receipt and reservation. For companies navigating the shift to decentralised travel management, bringing structure to their business travel programme is imperative, breaking down these siloes, streamlining both travel arrangements and expense management, and empowering employees to book efficiently within company policies.
Â
I’ve seen firsthand how giving employees autonomy within a robust corporate travel framework can be transformative for companies of all sizes. When people are trusted to make decisions about where, when and how to travel in order to do their best work, a culture of ownership and empowerment emerges. Your employees become company ambassadors and your culture thrives.
The future of business travel
Of course the reality of decentralisation requires thoughtful change management within businesses, alongside the right technology foundation. But for organisations willing to make the shift, the benefits are considerable – more empowered employees, more efficient processes, and a travel programme optimised for the hybrid future of work. In research from 2023, we found companies that invested in business travel – increasing their travel budgets to bring employees together – had 29 per cent lower turnover than those that cut back on travel spend.
Â
More than ever, the ability to connect in-person with colleagues, partners and customers distributed across geographies is a source of competitive advantage. Decentralising travel management is a key enabler of building a thriving, global organisation. The quicker companies embrace this shift, the more nimbly they’ll navigate the coming decade of increasingly flexible and international work.