2025 sales: $24.4 billion
Previous ranking: 4
Employees: More than 15,000 full-time
Europalaan 300 3526 KS, Utrecht, Netherlands
U.S. headquarters:
2060 Mount Paran Road NW, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30327
(678) 441-5200
Executives
GLOBAL CEO, BCD TRAVEL: Stephan Baars
GLOBAL CFO, BCD TRAVEL: Cees Batenburg
GLOBAL CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, BCD TRAVEL: Mike Janssen
COMPANY FACTS
* Privately held B2B travel management company reaching more than 170 countries.
* BCD Group is the owner.
* Owns BCD Meetings & Events and corporate travel consultancy Advito.
DEVELOPMENTS
* Expanded NDC adoption through key partnerships, connecting NDC from 54 airlines to its systems; by year's end, NDC bookings represented up to 65% of itineraries where enabled.
* Launched partnership with SkyLink, an AI-powered corporate travel assistant that integrates with Microsoft Teams/Slack.
* Expanded access to online booking and trip management solution TripSource to 10 languages across 150 countries, while accelerating rail-content development, NDC content integration, virtual card capabilities and car payment options.
* Scaled agentic AI across operations following a multicustomer pilot that automated email-based service requests.
* Advanced contact center functionalities.
* Expanded small- and medium-size enterprise solution GetGoing into the U.K., France, Netherlands and Belgium; achieved RailUK accreditation; advanced SNCF and Eurostar accreditation; and made progress on airline retailing readiness.
* Grew BCD Great Rates program to more than 55,000 properties and achieved 91.7% hotel virtual payment account acceptance and 92% invoice collection.
* Launched Advito's Hotel Sustainability Index and Carbon Strategy Planner.
* BCD Meetings & Events strengthened its creative services and expanded its ability to manage large-scale events in the life sciences industry in Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as in Latin America.
LOOKING AHEAD
* Expanding the footprint and capabilities of value-added solutions to improve the traveler experience, data-driven intelligence and open access to innovation, whether delivered by its platform, TripSource, GetGoing or third parties.
* Continuing to invest in seamless, personalized service and support across every channel; expanding multisource content and booking capabilities to empower travelers and agents; accelerating the use of AI to improve the traveler experience; introducing a TripSource traveler experience across web and mobile; launching an AI-powered data- and spend-management solution; and prioritizing API-first design to streamline partner and data integration.
* Launching the third generation of BCD Marketplace -- vetted third-party innovators and service providers.
* Helping clients move from sustainability ambition to measurable action by integrating carbon insight, reduction strategies and smarter decisions across the program.
* Expanding its virtual payment solution to give managers visibility and control of spend, help combat their risk of fraud and give travelers an easy way to pay for hotel expenses.
* Expecting year-over-year transaction growth by 5% to 10% across all regions fairly evenly through 2026.
* Projecting global airfares to rise an average of 1.1%, with regional differences adding complexity (the full impact of the war in the Middle East on airfares had not been factored into this projection).
* Forecasting global hotel rates to rise 4.9%, with variation driven by labor costs, tourism surges and tax shifts; company is advising travel programmers to consider earlier negotiation cycles to secure inventory and mitigate ADR (advanced daily rate) escalation.
* Expecting sustainability issues to move deeper into operational planning, with more emphasis on audit-ready data and credible reporting frameworks, since organizations are facing increased scrutiny over sustainability performance and the financial impact of travel emissions. Businesses are encountering greater operational and financial risk when emissions data is incomplete or inaccurate, and stakeholders are less tolerant of gaps in reporting or progress.
* As emerging technologies mature, AI will make travel programs more predictive, personalized and cost efficient.
* Interconnected hazards are widening the travel risk landscape; crisis plans should account for multiple simultaneous disruptions. Top risks include geopolitical tension; extreme weather; crossing international borders; AI-accelerated misinformation crises; health and disease; and congestion and availability constraints during mega-events.