Agentic AI could thrive based on all the rigid policies and approvals that permeate business travel.
“Managed travel, in many ways, was built for this moment,” Amex GBT's Evan Konwiser told Skift, in the story below. “We built systems that handle trusted transaction authority at scale, from the largest companies in the world down to the smallest companies, that give confidence that they are booking the right content, at the fair price, in policy — with the proper compliance and governance for the right decision by the traveler and the business.”
On the other hand, consumer travel is probably less weighted down with legacy technology than business travel. So that's the dichotomy.
Skift Aviation Forum
The leaders setting the direction of global air travel gather for one day in New York.
Luis Gallego of IAG, David Neeleman of Breeze Airways, and John Ackerman of Los Angeles World Airports headline the sixth annual forum at the TWA Hotel, JFK, for the conversations that set the agenda on profitability, capacity, and AI.
CURACITY + SKIFT
With 94% of hotels invisible in AI search, revenue leaders must decide who owns visibility, and shift budget upstream.
EDITOR’S PICKS
Corporate Travel’s Rulebook Is Its AI Booking Advantage
by Adriana Lee
August 2, 2026
Amex GBT and Kayak for Business moved AI booking into managed travel before consumer tools cracked it. The logic: policies, approvals, and audit trails are the preconditions an agent needs to transact. Consumer AI has to guess at all three.
Permira-Backed Engine Buys Options Travel to Build Corporate Booking Tool
by Sean O'Neill
July 31, 2026
Engine is a startup that spent a decade selling hotel rooms to businesses that never hired a travel management company for help. Now it's just bought a TMC, and plans to build the booking software it thinks all business travelers should use.
Reach corporate travel decision-makers and position your brand at the center of the business travel conversation by sponsoring Skift’s new report, The New Corporate Travel Landscape. Learn more today.
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Delta's SkyMiles platform is estimated at $30 billion. Marriott Bonvoy is worth around $25 billion. That is why Airbnb is building a loyalty program.
In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, Michael Goldin, Brandreth Canaley, and Jamie Lane break down the real financial logic behind Airbnb's loyalty push, who stands to benefit most on the platform, and why STR hosts have the most to gain while hotels on Airbnb may not see much upside at all.
SKIFT TRAVEL 200
How are public travel companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.
