First impressions
According to Ben Custance, Direction Solutions Architecture at Navan, 95% of travellers will book an option that appears on the first page of the booking process, so it’s important to take this into consideration when talking with your travel management company (TMC) or online booking tool provider about how to encourage better booking behaviour.

Modal shift
We all know it’s more lucrative for a TMC to book an airline ticket than a rail ticket but the stark difference was brought home in a break-out session by Paul Dear, who worked at HRG from 1995 to 2020. He told the audience that HRG (now part of Amex GBT) used to earn just 19 pence on each rail booking compared to potentially thousands for a flight booking. Yes, 19 pence! Incidentally, he then went on to explain that SAP Concur (where Dear is now Regional VP Supplier Services EMEA) operates a different financial model and earns the same fee for both. It even sells Ryanair tickets. Say no more!

Mystery shopper
Travel managers don’t travel enough, and when they do they don’t travel in the same way as their organisation’s ‘regular’ travellers. This was an insight shared by Chris Pouney, Global Travel & Expense Lead at Astellas Pharma, who admits that when travel managers travel, they often get special treatment, such as room or flight upgrades or a personal welcome from the hotel general manager or sales manager, that most travellers wouldn’t enjoy. So, is it time to go undercover?

The right message
Communicating with your travellers is key but it’s not as simple as you might think. A fascinating session moderated by Katie Skitterall, ATPI Group Commercial Director, and Jenny Thornton, ATPI Director of Technology Solutions, concluded that the channels and tone you use depend on many factors, such as the age, culture and role of who you are trying to communicate with. One buyer recommended working closely with the marketing and communications team (if you have one), another suggested targeting new starters to get them engaged early on, and a few buyers in the room agreed that giving offers and prizes was an effective way to get people’s attention.

Hidden value
Even the Chief Customer Officer of a major TMC might not be able to fully justify the ROI of a business trip. Nick Vournakis at CWT admitted that when he was asked by temoji’s Paul Tilstone to fly from Minneapolis to Newport to be part of a main stage session on defining and measuring the value of business travel, he made the decision purely based on “doing right by Paul, with the expectation of very little in return”. On further consideration, however, he recognised the benefit of attending the ITM Conference to connect with customers, partners and to make new friends. The session concluded that relationships are a key reason for business travel but delegates agreed that it’s much easier to measure the ROI of making new friends/contacts than nurturing existing ones.

You got the power
Travel managers hold more power than they realise and aren’t making the most of it. In a session moderated by Festive Road’s Caroline Strachan, provocatively entitled ‘Getting uncomfortable – Is our industry broken’, Jim Davidson, Vice Chairman Accelya Group, told travel managers they are the “button pushers” but he added: “I don’t think you’re pushing enough buttons. When you’re sitting down with your partners, push those buttons. It might blow up in your face, but if you don’t push those buttons, you’ll never know.”

Full commitment
British Airways and American Airlines are both now firmly committed to the corporate travel market even though it hasn’t come back as strongly as the leisure segment. They also fully recognise the importance working with travel management companies because of the value they bring to corporates in areas such as reporting and servicing.

Super hero
Not all heroes wear capes. That’s what we learned from Jono Lancaster, the amazing inspirational speaker, author and the brainchild of the TV documentary Love My Face on Channel 4, who made a real impact on the ITM audience with his personal story. Abandoned at birth with a facial difference, bullied as a teenager (and still bullied on social media today), he explained how gradually, through random moments with strangers, he found self-love and happiness and turned his differences into his greatest strengths. What an incredible story.

Age-old institutions
The Institute of Travel Management and Artificial Intelligence are both older than you might think. According to a fun fact shared by ITM CEO Scott Davies at the beginning of the conference, it turns out they were both founded in 1956. This also means that the ITM Conference 2026, which is returning to Brighton, will mark its 70^th anniversary, so we look forward to seeing what that brings…