From Promise to Performance: How to build a defensible business case for AI investment

AMIR BALAISH, CEO, WENRIX / JUNE 28, 2025

The business travel landscape is shifting faster than ever, and Travel Management Companies (TMCs) are right in the middle of the storm.

Margins are shrinking. Agent pools are thinning. Corporate clients expect seamless digital experiences that rival their favorite consumer travel apps. At the same time, new Digital First TMC challengers are raising the bar with agile, tech-first platforms that make business travel look — and feel — more like an OTA experience.

The question isn’t who wins. It’s who adapts faster.

TMCs still hold the strategic high-ground. Their deep industry knowledge, consultative relationships, and high-touch service remain irreplaceable. But even the most established players know that the traditional way of doing things can’t keep pace with modern demands.

That’s why a growing number of TMCs are borrowing from an unexpected —but powerful—source: The OTA Blueprint.

OTAs have spent years refining how to scale efficiently, drive margin, and optimize content across channels — including NDC. Here’s how forward-looking TMCs are using OTA-inspired tactics to future-proof their business, and deliver even more value to corporates.

1. Free up your agents — without losing the human touch

Agent time and experience are a TMC’s most valuable assets. But too much of that time is spent on manual servicing — itinerary changes, cancellations, and refunds that, while important, add little strategic value.

Leading OTAs have solved this differently.
They’ve learned that the real unlock isn’t just building chatbots — it’s fixing the infrastructure beneath them. Chatbots alone can’t automate servicing if the systems underneath are fragmented or inconsistent.

By investing in deep servicing automation, OTAs have been able to automate up to 90% of post-booking scenarios, including the hard edge cases that typically drain 80% of agent time. They’ve achieved this by connecting AI-driven decisioning directly into their mid- and back-office systems — where the real work happens — freeing their human agents to focus on high-value interactions, not low-value tasks.

Now, TMCs can take the same approach:

• Automate complex servicing across GDS, NDC, and LCC content

• Accelerate response times while improving accuracy and traveler satisfaction

• Free up skilled agents to focus on policy, complex itineraries, and traveler care

This isn’t about removing the human touch — it’s about making it count where it matters most.
Automation shouldn’t replace service. It should elevate it.

2. Simplify NDC — and unlock new value

NDC brings richer content, new fare options, 1.5x – 2.5x price volatility over EDIFACT — and a whole lot of unwanted complexity. TMCs are expected to advise clients confidently, even as the distribution landscape grows more fragmented.

OTAs, one of the earliest adopters of NDC at scale, addressed this challenge head-on by optimizing offers and fares across both EDIFACT and NDC, TMCs now using similar tools benefit from:

• Better visibility into which channel delivers the best value
• Driving more savings for their corporate customers via cross-channel optimization
• Automate the channel selection without the need for heavy developments and complex support.

3. Compete on flexibility and differentiated offers

Today’s travel programs are judged on more than just savings. Clients – especially SME’s want unique content, and flexibility — especially in a world where policies and traveler needs don’t always align.

TMCs that offer:

• More in-policy itineraries, with unique offers
• More competitive, dynamic fare options
• Flexible cancellation/change protections in extension to what the fare allows.

Will gain a clear advantage in RFPs, renewal cycles, and traveler satisfaction. This is where curated choice and operational agility become true differentiators.

The Path Forward

The OTA playbook isn’t a replacement for TMC strategy, knowledge, or white-glove service—it’s a framework for strengthening them. Efficiency and service aren’t in conflict; they reinforce each other when powered by the right technology.

At Wenrix, we’ve spent nearly a decade building automation and predictive intelligence for the world’s largest OTAs—designed for scale, speed, and margin growth. Over the past eight years, we’ve adapted that same technology for the complexity of the TMC world: integrating into legacy systems, navigating policy and compliance requirements, and delivering real results in high-touch environments.

Today, 30% of our business is in corporate travel, and we’re continuing to invest—refining our technology to meet the evolving needs of TMCs.

Find out more in our interview with Business Travel News.