How B2B Travel Agencies Work in 2025
by Ellie Smith / January 6, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Explore the evolving role of B2B travel agencies and how they’re simplifying corporate travel with smarter, greener solutions.
In the world of corporate travel, B2B travel agencies have emerged as indispensable partners for businesses navigating the complexities of global travel. As professionals in business travel, transportation and logistics, we’ve crafted this guide to explore the role the B2B travel agency will play in 2025, highlighting the innovative solutions reshaping how organizations plan and manage business travel.
Table of contents
What is a B2B travel agency?
A Business-to-Business (B2B) travel agency provides specialized travel services to businesses, focusing on corporate clients, travel agents, and organizations. These services include flight bookings, hotel accommodations, car rentals, and comprehensive travel management. According to Statista in 2024 global business travel spending reached approximately $1.5 trillion, marking a strong recovery from the pandemic. This shows the important role B2B travel agencies play in managing efficient, tailored travel solutions for businesses worldwide.
Role of B2B travel agencies in the industry at present
The global B2B travel market has seen steady growth, valued at $32.71 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $78.30 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.27%. Regionally, North America stands out for its advanced corporate travel management practices, backed by strong infrastructure and a concentration of multinational corporations. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing rapid growth, driven by economic expansion and increased business travel demand.
Key players such as Web Travel Group and HBX demonstrate the impact of well-established networks in providing diverse and tailored travel solutions. These agencies meet a broad range of corporate needs by prioritizing client-focused services.
Key components of B2B travel services
Business travel apps
Modern business travel apps are integral to corporate travel management, providing users with platforms to book flights, hotels, and other services seamlessly. These apps often feature real-time updates, expense tracking, and itinerary management, enhancing the overall travel experience.<br>
TravelPerk: Offers extensive inventories and competitive pricing, allowing businesses to manage their travel needs efficiently. It also includes features for carbon offsetting and integrates with other corporate tools for streamlined travel management.
Concur Travel: Known for its robust expense and travel management system, Concur Travel provides a comprehensive platform for booking travel, handling expenses, and ensuring policy compliance all in one place. It’s particularly valued for its automated expense reporting features.
Egencia: Delivers tailored travel options to corporate users with tools for managing travel policies, approval workflows, and comprehensive travel itineraries. Egencia also provides insights and analytics that help companies optimize their travel spending.
AmTrav: Designed to make business travel easy, AmTrav facilitates booking, tracking, and reporting in one platform. It offers 24/7 support and tools tailored to both travelers and travel managers, emphasizing a blend of technology and personal service.
Managing corporate travel budgets effectively is essential for businesses seeking to control expenses. B2B travel agencies play a key role by securing negotiated rates with airlines, hotels, and car rental services, enabling companies to achieve significant savings. Industry reports indicate that businesses using B2B travel agencies save an estimated 15% on travel costs, thanks to these preferential rates and streamlined management processes.
In addition to cost savings, integrated travel management tools such as Spendesk and Ramp provide businesses with complete visibility into their travel expenses. These platforms simplify tracking, reporting, and managing travel-related costs, further enhancing efficiency and budget control.
Corporate travel agent
Corporate Travel Agents are professionals dedicated to simplifying and optimizing business travel for organizations. Beyond booking flights and hotels, they develop and implement travel policies that align with company goals while identifying cost-saving opportunities. By negotiating with airlines, hotels, and other suppliers, they secure favorable deals and use travel data to optimize routes and improve efficiency.
These agents oversee all aspects of travel arrangements, including flights, accommodations, car rentals, and ground transportation. They provide updates, manage itinerary changes, and offer emergency assistance, ensuring seamless and stress-free travel. Additionally, they enforce compliance with travel policies, regulations, and security protocols to maintain both safety and adherence to company standards.
Traveler well-being is another priority for Corporate Travel Agents. They conduct risk assessments, prepare for emergencies, and provide essential travel resources, such as visa requirements and travel advisories.
Travel management services
Comprehensive travel management services simplify the complexities of corporate travel by integrating key components like booking, expense management, policy enforcement, and traveler support into a unified platform. These services provide businesses with greater visibility and control over their travel programs, ensuring compliance with company policies while optimizing costs. By consolidating all travel-related activities, they help streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enhance the traveler experience.
Key B2B travel agency trends to look out for in 2025
Sustainability and responsible tourism
Sustainability continues to be a central focus in the travel industry, with travelers and businesses alike prioritizing eco-friendly practices. B2B travel agencies are responding by promoting accommodations with green certifications and encouraging the use of low-emission transportation options. Recent studies highlight that 72% of travelers would choose greener flights if available, and 67% have purchased carbon offsets during booking. Moreover, approximately 70% of travelers are willing to pay an additional 16–20% for eco-friendly accommodations, reflecting not only strong interest in sustainable options but also a readiness to invest in them.
Personalization through AI
The integration of AI is revolutionizing travel by enabling highly personalized experiences. Advanced systems analyze past trips and current behavioral data to create hyper-customized itineraries tailored to individual preferences. Beyond personalization, AI optimizes pricing, manages inventory, and provides predictive analytics to forecast travel demand. These capabilities allow B2B travel agencies to allocate resources effectively and offer competitive, customized pricing, enhancing both client satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Rise of experiential travel
The demand for unique, immersive travel experiences continues to grow. Studies show that the experiential travel market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 7.5%, offering significant economic opportunities for travel companies. Additionally, 70% of tours and activities still occur offline, signaling substantial room for innovation in providing these services online. Travelers increasingly seek curated experiences that go beyond traditional tourism, offering meaningful engagement with local cultures and environments.
Event-driven travel
Event-driven travel remains a significant driver of demand in the travel industry, with major international events such as the Olympics and FIFA World Cup consistently drawing global attendance. This segment also aligns with the growing appetite for unique, immersive travel experiences, as highlighted earlier, attracting travelers who seek deeper cultural engagement through festivals and niche events. Recent data shows that over 61% of millennials and 63% of Gen Z attendees plan to participate in more global events. This trend reflects a shift toward prioritizing experiences over material goods, with 54% of Americans stating that attending events fosters a stronger sense of connection to their communities and cultures.
Blacklane: The ultimate solution for seamless corporate travel
As a leader in premium transportation, Blacklane understands the demands of modern business travel. Our diverse portfolio of services including airport transfers, hourly bookings, and city-to-city rides is designed to ensure efficiency, comfort, and reliability. In select cities, we also offer on-demand options, providing additional flexibility where available.
For B2B travel agents, Blacklane streamlines global ground transportation with an intuitive booking portal that allows effortless scheduling, modifications, and management of multiple client bookings. Our globally consistent service, combined with a local touch, ensures that executives, conference attendees, and frequent travelers receive high-quality, reliable transportation wherever they go. Our professional chauffeurs provide a reliable and stress-free experience, helping agents deliver exceptional service to their clients.
