It’s inevitable that travel and meetings will be increasingly booked and managed together. New research from Business Travel Show Europe indicates the extent and speed of the change as the research data reveals a significant shift in corporate travel roles. We have seen an 8.4% rise in travel managers who have taken on responsibility for meetings management within the last year. The dual responsibility of travel and meetings has long been the case for most Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants…
According to the survey of 192 travel professionals, 60.5% of corporate travel buyers are now jointly responsible for travel and meetings – up from 50% in 2025.
What does the data show about travel managers taking on meeting responsibilities?
- 4% were given the additional remit within the last 12 months
- 08% took it on more than a year ago
- 02% have always held both functions
- Among the 39.5% who do not currently manage both, 21.85% believe it is “only a matter of time”.
Cost savings, visibility and efficiency top the list of benefits
Respondents cited multiple advantages to integrating travel and meetings – these rank as follows:
- 53% Cost savings
- 86% Greater visibility and control
- 66% Improved efficiencies
- 13% Better data and analytics
- 85% Enhanced collaboration
- 17% Improved compliance
- 17% Stronger duty of care and risk mitigation
- 33% Better employee experience
- 4% Increased flexibility and agility
In contrast, the biggest downside by far was considered to be ‘overloaded under resourced teams’.
The challenges for travel managers taking on meetings responsibilities
- 02% Overloaded under resourced teams
- 92% Tech integration issues
- 24% Reduced agility in decision making
- 56% Loss of specialist expertise
- 72% Conflicting KPIs – ie ROI vs ROE
- 72% Duty of care complexities
- 72% Potential reduced negotiating power
The findings reflect a growing industry trend toward unified travel and meetings strategies, driven by rising cost pressures, the need for consolidated data and increasing expectations around risk management and sustainability.
Louis Magliaro, Executive Vice President, The BTN Group, said: “This data confirms what we’re hearing across the industry: the lines between travel and meetings management are rapidly disappearing. Organisations want greater visibility, stronger control and a more strategic approach to spend, and that’s pushing these two functions closer together than ever before.
“At Business Travel Show Europe, we’re hosting a buyer only strategic meetings management session on day two. In these sessions, attendees will be invited to confidentially share experiences, compare approaches and discuss what it takes to build visibility into meeting spend, strengthen governance and partner effectively with procurement. The conversation will be informal, candid, and grounded in real-world challenges. Not to be missed.”
Explore the trend at Business Travel Show Europe
Business Travel Show Europe, taking place 24–25 June at Excel London, is co-located with The Meetings Show and TravelTech Show. The event will feature expert-led sessions on strategic meetings management, data consolidation, duty of care, sustainability and the future of corporate mobility, as well as 200+ corporate travel suppliers on the expo floor and the Business Travel Show Innovation Faceoff Europe showcase, which features meetings start-ups Nowadays and Direct.
Registration is free for qualified travel, meetings and procurement professionals and one pass gives access to all three events. A limited number of hosted buyer places remain for UK meetings professionals to receive free travel, accommodation and networking including access to the pre-event conference on 23 June.
