Business Travel Needs Software and Service

At AmTrav, we live and breathe technology. We’re all-in on NDC we’re exploring what AI actually means for our industry, and we’re constantly pushing to modernize a business that too often clings to the past. 

So when I start talking about the enduring, critical importance of expert human service in business travel, a few of you might wonder if I’ve had a sudden and surprising change of heart.

I haven’t. My belief in the power of human service isn’t a contradiction to our tech-forward stance—it’s a vital complement. 

But first we need to be honest about what "service" means.

There are fundamentally two kinds of service in business travel today. The first kind needs to die a swift death. This is the “service” that exists purely because technology failed. It’s the call you’re forced to make because the online tool is missing fares, can’t book a split-carrier booking, can’t make a trip change or just plain doesn’t work. Let’s be blunt: TMCs charging extra when the tech breaks—they call it “online-offline”—is a problem. That’s not service, it’s a tax on bad tech, and it discourages problem solving and innovation.

Then there’s the other kind of service, the kind that’s not just valuable, but indispensable. This is the expert human intervention travelers genuinely want and need, especially when things get complicated or go sideways. Think about complex international itineraries, last-minute disruptions at the airport, or simply the need for a calm, empathetic expert when a traveler is stressed and needs a solution. This is where skilled, knowledgeable travel experts earn their stripes, providing value that technology alone can't replicate.

Our goal with technology—whether it’s building better booking tools, leveraging NDC for richer content and functionality, or intelligently integrating AI—isn’t to eliminate humans from the equation. It’s to eliminate the need for humans to compensate for dumb systems. Good technology should empower travelers to self-serve easily and effectively for the straightforward stuff. And it should empower our human experts with better tools and information so that when a traveler does want expert help, the agent can deliver it. As I’ve said before, even in a pre-AI world, travelers want to self-serve, but when disruptions occur, a human expert using AI-powered tools to deliver service with empathy will still be valued.

One other key point: Current TMC pricing models are fundamental to whether you get real innovation and stellar service, or just more of the same old headaches. If your TMC is still making high offline fees every time the technology breaks, there’s zero incentive for them to actually improve that tech. It’s a broken system that rewards failure and stifles innovation, leaving travelers frustrated. We need to move to flat, predictable models like per-trip fees or subscriptions. These approaches align incentives, pushing TMCs to build fantastic tech that actually works, so service is about expert help, not just fixing broken tools.

The vision is clear: Technology and expert human service aren't opposing forces. They are partners in delivering a business travel experience that’s efficient, reliable, and supportive. We’ll keep pushing the tech envelope, relentlessly. But we’ll also champion the irreplaceable value of human expertise for those moments when it truly counts. That’s not a surprise; it’s just smart business.