CTAN London Sept 2026 Dinner Recap: The State of the Travel Industry

On September 16, we hosted another Corporate Travel AI Network (CTAN) dinner in London. CTAN nights are one of the best parts of my quarter, and this one was no exception.

We often run these as Jeffersonian dinners. One conversation, one table, no side chats. A prompt to start, then a shared hour or two digging into deep personal connection, sharing where we have gaps, and actionable learnings on where  AI is helping travel programs and where it isn't. 

These are invite-only under Chatham House Rules, so I'll keep this high level. 

But the themes are worth sharing, because they tell you where this industry is right now.

Insights People Can Actually Use

Every program has data. And yet countless programs are struggling to ensure it reaches the people who need it in a form they can use. 

A CFO doesn't want a dashboard. A department head doesn't want a spreadsheet. They want a clear answer to "how is my team spending, and what should I do about it," built for their role. 

Turning fragmented information into a business-ready insight came up again and again.

Booking That Understands the Traveler

A lot of vendors are demoing chat-based booking tools right now. 

The direction is right. Travel managers want booking to feel smarter and faster, and there's progress here. 

But nobody has landed the "wow" moment yet at scale. 

The tools are getting better. The experience travelers remember hasn't arrived.

Data You Have to Be Able to Trust

This was the most dynamic exchange of the night. 

Here’s one line shared by a travel manager that resonated with so many there - “Data is the number one issue in every program, and if it's not number one, it's probably number two.” 

Travel managers are being asked to learn LLM prompting on top of an already full plate. But prompting a model against data you can't audit doesn't get you anywhere. 

Programs need a transparent, unified data model first, one where every field carries context and confidence, before any of the AI layered on top of it means anything.

Where Does That Leave the TMC?

We spent time debating this, and the table didn't land in one place. 

Some see the TMC's role narrowing as AI takes over more of the booking and servicing layer. Others see the TMC becoming the trusted operator that makes AI safe to run inside a program in the first place. 

No consensus was reached at the table, but this was likely the debate where the travel managers in attendance shared the most opposing views out of all the topics we covered.

The Travel Manager's Job Is Changing Fast

What it means to do the job well is changing fast: less time on manual administrative tasks and one-off escalations, more time on driving strategy and being a real partner to the business.

Travelers Don't All Want the Same Thing

We also talked through how traveler expectations split by generation. 

Newer travelers expect a booking experience that feels like the consumer apps they use every day. Others still want a person on the phone when a flight gets cancelled at 6am. 

Good programs are having to design for both at once.

On top of all that, the restaurant’s signature beverage was provided complimentary to us with dessert, which means I'm fairly sure we introduced a few people to their first sip of mezcal.

The Corporate Travel AI Network (apply here is the learning community for 350+ travel leaders building the future of enterprise travel. If you're a travel, procurement or finance leader and want an invite to the next CTAN dinner, reach out. I'd love to have you at the table.

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