BCD’s report highlights how organizations source and manage travel suppliers to leverage their travel programs

AI and automation are set to influence the direction of travel supplier sourcing

UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Oct. 28, 2025 – BCD Travel surveyed 132 travel buyers from around the world in top industries to understand how organizations source and manage their travel suppliers. The results reflect the importance of cost containment in travel sourcing through a variety of strategies, including reducing supplier costs, managing contract renegotiations, and leveraging technology. Nearly 70% of travel buyers believe cost savings is a key criterion when evaluating the performance of travel suppliers.

Priorities

When it comes to supplier management and sourcing, almost nine out of ten travel buyers prioritize cost savings as their top concern. Other key priorities include data collection (38%), compliance control (36%) and supplier consolidation (31%). For a quarter of respondents, reducing the level of effort is important, which may involve simplifying the Request for Proposal (RFP) process or leveraging AI.

Reasons for fluctuation in travel spend

• 42% of travel buyers reported an increase in their company’s travel spend in 2025 compared to the previous year, largely due to business expansion from new projects, organizational changes and rising supplier rates.
• 29% of travel buyers saw a decrease, primarily driven by cost containment efforts due to global economic uncertainty. A decline in operations, shift to virtual meetings and travel policy restrictions were also contributing factors.

Strategies to contain costs

Travel buyers engage in various strategies to cut costs, including supplier consolidation, renegotiating existing agreements and using reshopping tools; each used by approximately 40–50%. Also, two-thirds of companies mandate preferred suppliers (64%), while one-third prioritize lowest rates regardless of supplier status (35%).

Travel supplier agreements are intensive and come up for discussion with varying frequencies. Hotel agreements are consistent; with 87% renewed annually. In contrast, airline and car rental contracts tend to span longer periods; 40% are renegotiated every two to three years, while around one-third are reviewed annually. 

Contract negotiation and management are identified as the most time-consuming task, cited by over half of travel buyers (52%).

The future ahead

Travel sourcing doesn’t occur in a vacuum. In addition to travel management, procurement, finance, security, and HR are most often involved in sourcing travel suppliers. Third parties are also consulted to assist with travel sourcing. TMC reporting is the primary data source travel buyers rely on to monitor supplier compliance: six in 10 buyers (61%) lean on their TMCs, while roughly three in 10 (only 28%) engage external consultants.

Despite this broad approach, challenges lay ahead. Beyond high costs/rate volatility, other concerns when it comes to sourcing suppliers are fragmented content across channels, complex RFP processes and technological limitations.

“BCD enables travel managers to take decision making to the next level,” said Teri Miller, executive vice president, Global Client Team at BCD. “We streamline supplier data throughout the trip lifecycle, providing real-time information. This empowers travel managers with actionable insights, leading to improved budgeting, enhanced compliance, and more assured decisions.”

To help meet these challenges, new changes in supplier sourcing methods are anticipated to take root. In upcoming negotiations, buyers expect to seek more additional services (air: 38%, hotel: 30%, car rental: 15%) and greater flexibility in cancellation and exchange policies (air: 23%, hotel: 30%, car rental: 13%). They also foresee more SLAs, longer contract durations, and increased sustainability requirements. While opinions on air and car rental rates are mixed, more buyers expect hotel rates to decline (23%) than increase (8%).

Leveraging technology, such as AI and automation, may help shape the future of travel supplier sourcing. Currently, only 15% of buyers use AI in sourcing, while 80% do not. Among non-users, half are actively exploring AI options.

Among the trends that may influence travel sourcing, travel buyers cited the increased use of AI (61%), more multi-year agreements (46%), continuous sourcing (45%), supplier and platform consolidation (40%), and adoption of new payment methods (36%).

Advito, BCD’s consulting division, also has sourcing and supplier spend management solutions designed to help build and optimize managed air and hotel programs. Solutions are powered by data and driven by people with the expertise to achieve new levels of savings, sustainability, and satisfaction.

To view the full data survey report, click here.