How AI and OBTs Are Revolutionising Approvals and Hotel Price Caps

Travel is not a static industry. It’s impacted by a range of factors, from political stability to fuel prices and health crises, like the Covid pandemic. Covid brought the industry to its knees, but it’s nothing if not resilient, as the 2022 GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook revealed a 5.5% increase between 2020 and 2021 alone. It hit $697 billion as people decided that while online meetings were convenient, there’s nothing like face-to-face contact to seal a deal. 

Unfortunately, the high cost of corporate travel can be prohibitive for small to medium-sized enterprises. Fortunately, business travel managers and agencies have stepped up their services to save costs and optimise benefits, placing national and global travel within SME’s reach. 

The Digital Shift

Virtually all aspects of travel management can be managed online. Online Booking Tools (OBTs) and AI do more than just secure the lowest travel and accommodation prices. They can use traveller-related data, including intent, preferences, and past behaviour to provide highly personalised travel plans.

For example:

A 2024 survey of 5000 consumers across the US, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore revealed that:

• 63% prioritise engaging interactions. 
• 59% prioritise personalisation.
• 57% prioritise eco-awareness.

According to data from the Hilton hotel chain, 78% of travellers want to plan and book their trips online only. SMEs in particular benefit from the resulting time- and cost-saving opportunities. 

Automation Improves Efficiency & Eliminates Errors

Large enterprises have more complex needs. These can be resolved using automated approval workflows. They keep travel programmes neat and tidy by adding budget requirements, policy compliance, security measures, and assorted risk management plans to a single online platform. AI tech and automation manage the majority of workflow processes, including:

• Routing requests to relevant managers or departments.
• Checking bookings against policy guidelines (compliance).
• Detecting policy violations and providing suitable alternatives within the policy rules.

The last point is a bit of a game-changer because businesses using AI tech have experienced a 30% drop in violations. What’s more, technology can detect high prices (out of budget), saving costs by 15-20%.

Dynamic Price Caps Manage Accommodation Expenses

Accommodation costs can vary, depending on things like travel season (peak or off-peak) and how far in advance rooms have been booked (earlier is often better). In an effort to control costs, some companies rely on static rate caps, which means their budget for accommodation is XX and nothing can change that, not even price drops. 

This is less than ideal. AI and OBTs use dynamic price caps that adjust to real-time price fluctuations, so your business always gets the lowest possible price.

For example:

• Dynamic caps tailor searches based on your company’s travel policy. 
• This protects your accommodation budget while still delivering excellent deals.

Look for corporate travel agencies that not only understand dynamic rate caps but also have a good record for delivering significant cash savings. 

You Always Need the Human Touch

AI, OBTs, and all other automation features are indispensable in modern business travel. But there’s something even more important, and that’s the human touch. Technology is great when you need data, and while Machine Learning algorithms can become quite adept at high-level personalisation, they just can’t understand context.

So, you still need a human travel manager or specialist business travel agency to make critical decisions. 

For example:

• Immediate action needed in emergency situations.  
• Flexibility to adapt to urgent scenarios, like last-minute changes to the schedule or approval for sudden spikes in hotel and travel costs.
• Over-riding rigid policies in favour of relationship-building processes.

In the last case, VIP clients might invite travellers to a formal charity event. Declining could sour the deal, but tickets are expensive and they might need to purchase suitable evening wear. A human travel manager can give them the OK ASAP, but because the situation doesn’t fall within policy rules, AI systems don’t have the information they need to process the request. 

It’s Not One or the Other

This isn’t an either/or situation. Instead, implementing a hybrid system can optimise your travel policy. Basically, AI and other online travel management tools can manage routine processes and use analytics to predict patterns and anticipate risks/opportunities for proactive decisions. 

On the other hand, human corporate travel managers remain in charge of strategic decisions, policy exceptions, and unexpected emergency situations, for example, kidnapping in a country where the risk is extremely low.     

Human judgement and AI technology complement one another. AI optimises the efficiency of travel policies and control budgets, while humans have licence to make strategic decisions, especially on-the-spot decisions that enhance travellers’ experience and the ultimate success of the trip. 

Posted on 24 April 2026 by VMR Travel