What Travel Managers Want from TMCs
The expectations placed on travel management companies (TMCs) have changed significantly in recent years. Today’s travel managers are no longer focused solely on booking capabilities or transaction efficiency. Instead, RFPs are becoming far more strategic, centred on resilience, traveler experience, intelligence, and operational support.
In this article, we share the key trends shaping modern business travel RFPs – and what buyers are really looking for from their travel partners.
Disruption Management Is a Top Priority
One of the biggest shifts in RFPs is the increased focus on disruption support. Clients expect TMCs to proactively manage issues using technology and data to anticipate problems, automatically rebook travelers, and communicate updates in real time.
This support can include the more obvious types of disruption, such as strike action or flight cancelations, but also unexpected events such as the recent conflict in the Middle East. Clients want to know about emergency response processes and how they would be activated to manage situations. Importantly, “24/7 support” alone is no longer enough. RFPs now probe much deeper into:
• Whether support models truly operate globally or simply follow regional handovers
• Consistency of service quality across locations
• How technology reduces wait times during high-volume disruption events
• The ability to maintain traveler confidence during stressful situations
Service efficiency is now directly linked to both traveler satisfaction and program cost control.
AI Must Deliver Real Operational Value
Artificial intelligence has rapidly become a major focus area in TMC evaluations. However, buyers are increasingly sophisticated in their questioning. They are no longer interested in future concepts or vague innovation roadmaps. Instead, they want evidence of AI already delivering measurable operational value. Travel managers are specifically looking for AI that improves servicing speed, booking accuracy, agent productivity and traveler communication.
At the same time, organizations still expect high-touch human support for more complex situations. The expectation is that AI enhances service, rather than replaces it.
Sustainability and Duty of Care Are Embedded into Programs
Sustainability has evolved from a reporting exercise into an operational requirement. Travel managers increasingly expect carbon visibility at the point of booking, along with policy-driven prompts that encourage lower-emission travel choices.
There is also growing demand for actionable sustainability data that helps organisations make informed decisions and improve program performance over time.
Alongside this, duty of care and risk management are becoming more tightly integrated into RFPs. Buyers expect real-time traveler visibility, automated risk alerts, and clear communication processes during incidents.
The focus is increasingly on proactive risk management, ensuring organisations can quickly locate, communicate with, and support travelers when needed.
Industry-Specific Requirements Are Increasing
Another notable trend is the rise of highly tailored, industry-specific requirements.
For example, one of our clients is a large US fast-food chain with outlets regularly affected by hurricanes. During the RFP process, they wanted to understand how Take2Eton could support their internal corporate services team before severe weather events occurred. The requirement was not simply about responding after disruption but proactively helping evacuate staff and scaling support teams during critical periods.
In another example, a global architecture and engineering client needed help managing complex international tax exposure for employees working abroad for extended periods. By implementing a real-time tax tracking solution with automated alerts, the organisation was able to reduce unexpected tax liabilities and improve compliance.
These examples demonstrate how travel programs are increasingly connected to broader operational and workforce challenges.
Balancing Traveler Experience with Control
Traveler experience continues to be a major priority, but organizations also want to maintain governance and compliance. Modern RFPs increasingly test:
• Personalization within policy
• Seamless digital experiences
• Support for bleisure travel
• Human support behind digital tools
The challenge for TMCs is delivering flexibility and convenience without increasing operational or financial risk. At the same time, buyers are asking more detailed questions around virtual payments, fraud prevention, spend controls, and integration between booking, payment, and expense systems.
The Evolving Role of the TMC
Overall, today’s RFPs reflect a broader shift in how organizations view business travel management. Travel managers are no longer simply looking for a booking provider. They want strategic partners that can combine technology, operational resilience, human expertise, and actionable insight to support increasingly complex global travel programs.
