The divide between corporate travel and meetings management
is continuing to shrink, according to new research released ahead of this
month's Business Travel Show Europe.
A survey of 192 travel professionals found that 61 per
cent of corporate travel buyers are now responsible for both travel and
meetings management, up from 50 per cent in 2025.
The data reveals that 8 per cent of respondents were given
responsibility for meetings management within the past 12 months, while a
further 10 per cent took on the additional remit more than a year ago.
Another 42 per cent said they had always managed both functions.
Among the 40 per cent of respondents who do not currently
oversee both travel and meetings, more than one in five (22 per cent)
believe it is "only a matter of time" before the roles are combined.
The findings point to a growing trend towards integrated
travel and meetings strategies as organisations seek greater control over
spend, data and risk management.
Cost savings emerged as the biggest benefit of combining the
two functions, cited by 53 per cent of respondents. This was followed by
greater visibility and control (43 per cent), improved efficiencies (39 per cent) and better data and analytics (36 per cent).
Other benefits included enhanced collaboration (22 per
cent), improved compliance (20 per cent), stronger duty of care and risk
mitigation (20 per cent), better employee experience (19 per cent) and
increased flexibility and agility (8 per cent).
However, respondents also highlighted challenges. The most
significant concern was the risk of overloaded and under-resourced teams,
identified by 42 per cent of those surveyed.
Other drawbacks included technology integration issues
(11 per cent), reduced agility in decision-making (9 per cent), loss of
specialist expertise (8 per cent), conflicting KPIs such as return on
investment versus return on experience (7 per cent), duty of care
complexities (7 per cent) and potentially reduced negotiating power (7 per cent).
Louis Magliaro, executive vice president of 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, when 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."
The research was conducted in April 2026 among 192
respondents, including corporate travel buyers, procurement professionals,
meetings and events managers, and executive assistants from the UK, mainland
Europe and other international markets.
The findings come ahead of Business Travel Show Europe,
which takes place at Excel London on 24-25 June alongside The Meetings Show and
the TravelTech Show.
