As the world of business travel continues to evolve at pace, so too should your policies that cover it.
At Gray Dawes Travel, we’re busy preparing for the start of a new year and all of the opportunities and challenges that are symptomatic of a fast-moving (and forever changing) corporate travel environment. It’s also the perfect time for travel bookers and buyers to reassess their own travel policies, asking questions about what worked in 2025, what needs to be changed, and how to keep ahead of the curve.
It’s vitally important. Next year is guaranteed to arrive with its own list of things to consider, from increased cost pressures, shifting traveller expectations, sustainability goals, and the unavoidable topic of AI and its role in shaping travel beyond the confines of technology.
In this article, we outline ways in which organisations can future-proof their travel policies for 2026 and beyond.
Understanding what Factors Might Shape Travel Policies in 2026
Before rethinking your travel policy for the coming year, it’s essential to understand the key, external factors that might define business travel and beyond in 2026. We’ve picked out our top 3: The AI revolution, economic volatility, and sustainability.
1. The AI Revolution
It’s abundantly clear that AI has long since shrugged off its status as a “future concept” and has arrived as a major player in the here and now. The technology is already transforming how travel is booked, managed, and enhanced. Ignoring artificial intelligence when building your travel policy has the potential to be a costly mistake.
AI-powered tools can predict traveller preferences, suggest optimal itineraries based on historical data, and identify cost-saving opportunities in real time. Virtual assistants can handle routine booking queries, freeing up travel managers to focus on strategic decisions. Remember: this is only what we know for now. The technology is evolving at such a pace that there is no telling how it may be utilised in the future.
Travel policies must establish checks and balances around AI use:
- Clearly define which AI tools should be approved for booking and expense management to maintain data visibility and control.
- Set parameters for AI recommendations to ensure they align with cost, sustainability, and duty of care priorities.
- Don’t prioritise AI over human expertise. The personal, High Touch approach to business travel management is still vital.
- Establish boundaries around what data can and can’t be shared with AI personalisation tools.
2. Navigating Economic Volatility
Travel is not immune to the rising costs across the globe. Airfares, hotel rates, and ground transportation have all seen significant increases, and economic uncertainty will undoubtedly make budgeting more challenging. For 2026 policies, this reality demands a more sophisticated approach to cost management.
Embedding policy guidance into the booking flow itself can help make this process smoother. Rather than expecting travellers to reference a separate policy document, integrate real-time policy information, personalised recommendations, and nudges to cost-effective options directly into their booking tools – just like Gray Dawes Travel’s YourTrip online booking tool.
- Advance booking incentives: Policies should try to reward early booking while building in reasonable flexibility for last-minute changes.
- Look beyond the ticket price. A £50 cheaper flight that adds three hours of travel time may cost the business far more in lost productivity.
- Negotiated rate compliance: Policies should drive travellers toward preferred partners, particularly those outlined by your TMC, while remaining realistic about availability.
3. Increasing Sustainability Considerations
Sustainability has moved from being something that’s “nice to have” to a core pillar of any good (and conscientious) business travel programme. Governments, trade organisations, and travellers themselves are increasingly demanding action on reducing corporate carbon footprints, and business travel is often the largest controllable source of emissions. The challenge for travel policy builders is making sustainability actionable without creating any headaches:
- Carbon visibility at point of booking: Modern booking tools can display emissions data alongside price. Policies should require this information to be shown to encourage more informed choices.
- Modal shift incentives: Where practical, policies can encourage rail over air for short-haul routes, alongside other schemes such as car-sharing.
- Offsetting and reporting: While carbon offsets shouldn’t replace reduction efforts, policies can establish when and how the organisation purchases offsets, as outlined in our LEGACY programme.
1
Move Away From Rigid Rules
Don’t rely on inflexible rules: specific airlines, hotel caps, and tightly defined booking windows. While control is important, overly prescriptive policies can frustrate travellers. Instead, try adopting principle-led policies, setting clear guidelines that empower travellers while setting boundaries. For example, outline a rule that prioritises direct routes where possible to reduce traveller fatigue.
2
Build Around Booking Experience
A policy is only effective if it’s accessible to travellers and easy to follow. Travel bookers and buyers should ensure their policy is embedded directly into the booking workflow, not hidden in a PDF. Key considerations include establishing pre-trip approval rules, flagging in-policy options at the point of sale, and offering real-time messaging, i.e., to explain why a booking might sit outside of approved policy.
3
Balance Cost Control with Wellbeing
Cost remains a top priority, but traveller expectations are always changing. Flexibility, comfort, and personal wellbeing now directly impact work productivity and retention. A better 2026 travel policy should define when flexibility (changeable fares, premium seating) is justified, recognise the impact of long-haul travel and time zone changes, and allow reasonable personalisation within approved budgets.
4
Make Sustainability Practical
Sustainability is moving from an aspirational goal to concrete expectations. However, rules around greener travel that are vague or unrealistic risk being ignored. Effective policies should encourage lower-emission choices where cost and time differences are reasonable, use data to show the carbon impact of travel decisions, and align sustainability goals with wider business and supplier strategy.
5
Strengthen Duty of Care
With increasing geopolitical uncertainty, climate change implications, and the increased awareness of mental health alongside physical wellbeing, duty of care is a growing priority. A modern travel policy should clearly define approved booking channels to ensure traveller visibility, required traveller information and contact preferences, and who is responsible for what during travel disruptions or emergencies.
6
Continuously Refine the Policy
The best travel policies are not static documents that exist in a void. Travel bookers and buyers should treat policy as a living and breathing framework, informed by comprehensive and in-depth travel data. Key metrics to monitor include out-of-policy booking trends, approval rates and exception reasons, and (if possible) direct traveller feedback and satisfaction scores to inform future trips.
Looking Ahead to 2026
For travel bookers and buyers standing at the threshold of 2026, the opportunity to reimagine travel policy not simply as a cost-control centre, but as a way of advancing organisational goals, has never been clearer.
In an environment shaped by rising traveller expectations, sustainability commitments, the growth of AI, and ongoing economic pressure, travel policy can no longer be static and inflexible. Organisations that successfully make the shift to a more fluid policy will see them become more than necessities but genuine differentiators.
Ultimately, the most effective travel programmes will prove that traveller empowerment and cost-saving initiatives are not mutually exclusive. Organisations that strike this balance will not only save on cost but also support business growth and reinforce trust between travellers and the organisation.
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