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AI personalisation is reshaping the business travel experience.
You already know that AI can boost productivity, with AI assistance improving worker output by 15%. Now, the latest generation of AI agents is bringing this power to business travel with a personal touch.
From instantly rebooking flights after a sudden cancellation to suggesting a quiet-zone hotel room, modern business travel demands the smart flexibility that AI tools can provide.
AI-powered personalisation holds the key to an improved business travel experience:
Yet many companies still manage travel logistics with a rigid, one-size-fits-all rulebook which leads to frustration and inefficiencies.
To uncover how to bridge this gap, we surveyed over 500 business travellers, as well as the decision-makers responsible for deciding which tools and processes are used to organize business travel, about their booking preferences.
The results are clear: personalisation isn’t a perk, it’s a priority.
An overwhelming 89% of business travellers find it important, a preference that is particularly strong among Gen Z and Millennial employees.
And with nearly all business travellers (90%) relying on mobile apps for support, the question is, how can intelligent AI tools transform these apps into personal travel concierges?
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into these insights to reveal how AI-driven personalisation can streamline logistics, foster meaningful connections, and turn every business trip into a smarter, more valuable investment for your company.
With 90% of business travel managers using AI in some capacity, it’s clear that this technology is already well integrated into the workplace – but how is it useful? An Ernst & Young report breaks down the three main areas where AI is making an impact on business travel:
Our own research also reveals that AI is commonly used for business travel throughout these three areas of personalisation, automation, and communication.
We found that nearly half (44%) of those surveyed are already using AI tools for business travel. Key examples include using OpenAI tools to book flights and hotels, arranging itineraries with assistants like Google Gemini and Apple Siri, or translating in real-time with tools like Google Translate and DeepL.
As you can see from the infographic above, once professionals start using AI, they realize the benefits and are more likely to integrate it at every step of the travel process, from planning a travel itinerary to submitting expenses at the end of a trip. It’s worth considering this AI integration to cut down your company’s manual workload.
We’ve identified how AI solutions can help you plan a business trip. But today, these tools go beyond basic travel planning. Using past search behaviours and booking data, personalised tools also remember each traveller’s preferences.
Why are these preferences so valuable? Efficiency, for a start. Without this automatic level of personalisation, coordinating individual business traveller preferences and integrating them into trip planning can be a lengthy, inefficient process.
Here’s an example of what this might look like in practice. Imagine that you’re a business traveller that needs to fly from London to New York to attend a client meeting. The AI knows that you prefer a morning departure to maximise productivity, and a window seat to enjoy the view. It knows you often stay in a Brooklyn hotel to be closer to the airport, and that you usually book a taxi to get there and back. When used for booking, the AI assistant will present you with preferred, personalised options first, saving time and stress.
As we can see from the example above, tech tools now remember, predict, and adapt, allowing each business traveller to feel seen and supported. Today, AI-driven personalisation isn’t a luxury; it’s a standard expectation in business travel.
Our report highlights how professionals define what makes a great travel experience:
We also found that preferences varied slightly with age. Though those who are senior in their career (Ages 60+) were the most likely to prioritize hotel location, those aged between 45-59 were most interested in airline preferences, and workers aged 18-44 prioritize ground transport.
Note: In our research, these career stages and ages are grouped into generations, with those aged 60+ classified as Boomers, 45-59 as Gen X, 29-44 as Millennials, and 18-28 as Gen Z.
The difference in percentage points between groups is relatively small, but these could reflect shifting demographic priorities. Older generations prefer the stability and comfort of a location close to meetings, while the sustainability of ground transport is a key focus for younger generations.
For example, the rail industry is using AI to personalise travel with better journey planning and disruption updates, while offering digital tickets and eco-friendly electric trains. To further support this trend, AI tools for sustainable business travel management can now track carbon emissions in real time, while guiding travelling employees to greener alternatives or routes.
The value of personalisation lies in this ability to adapt to each generation’s values and preferences.
AI, when used in business travel, transforms data into a more personal, human experience. It works behind the scenes with a combination of machine learning, generative AI, and natural language processing to combine behavioural data with contextual data. What’s the difference between the two?
AI algorithms then identify patterns and trends, grouping users into segments based on similar characteristics. The technology’s able to provide context-based recommendations most likely to meet an individual business traveller’s needs and wants. Essentially, these tools transform raw data into meaningful assistance.
While individual travellers gain better recommendations, the company benefits, too. Personalisation means that travel managers and admins enjoy smarter policy compliance, real-time adjustments, and reduced administrative workload – benefits cited by over 50% of travel decision-makers in our research.
We’ve mentioned how AI tools work by grouping travellers into like-minded segments. Now, a growing trend in AI is the concept of hyper-personalisation. While segmentation groups users into similar categories, hyper-personalisation drills down even further to whittle preferences to a single user; what McKinsey calls a “Segment of One.”
At this level of personalisation in travel, the AI’s able to offer highly specific recommendations that adapt based on real-time interactions. The goal is to provide each business traveller with a full end-to-end experience adapted to their evolving contextual needs. Depending on the journey, this could mean real-time disruption alerts, proactive rebooking, and hospitality services tailored to the individual.
Personalisation in travel offers more than efficiency and convenience; it can support wellbeing, too. In our earlier exploration of employee travel health, we found that it was common for employees to experience some disruption to their usual health routines during work trips.
More importantly, we found that these health routines are highly individualized, which is something to consider when you’re planning travel for a group. In the case of sleep patterns, some business travellers in our study prioritized bedding quality, while others put an emphasis on temperature controls, and these all varied by gender, region, and age.
There are also generational variations in attitudes to personalisation. Younger travellers, particularly those starting out in their careers, find personalisation most important. While 54% of those booking business travel found personalisation to be very important overall, this number rose to 59% of Gen Z and 58% of Millennials but dropped to just 36% of workers over 60.
This difference is reflected in our earlier report examining the attitudes of Gen Z and Millennial travellers. Growing up in a time of rapid technological progress and pandemic-accelerated remote work opportunities, these younger generations prioritize flexibility and a healthy work-life balance, which personalisation supports. By contrast, travellers who are senior in their career are more likely to view working life in the long-term, and prioritizing stability and compensation above flexibility.
Still, 89% of business travellers surveyed listed personalisation as either somewhat or very important, showing it’s a trend that cuts across all age groups.
With AI providing a more personalised experience, business travellers can adapt their itineraries to suit their unique wellbeing needs. And by removing the complexities of business travel with the help of AI tools, travellers gain time for rest, reflection, and authentic connection, all key drivers of wellbeing.
Smart automation in bookings and expense reports frees mental space, reducing burnout and making travel feel purposeful. Here, AI and personalisation converge to create a more efficient, restorative journey.
Beyond improving wellbeing, personalising business travel ensures your travelling teams derive maximum value from business trips.
It’s time to rethink return on investment. Historically, a business trip’s ROI was measured purely with quantitative metrics like deals closed or cost savings. AI solutions can certainly help in this regard. One example is by identifying dynamic pricing trends and adjusting booking suggestions accordingly, potentially reducing costs by 10 to 15%.
But today, success also includes qualitative factors like networking and nurturing relationships. In a CBI Economics survey, 92% of businesses agreed that in-person meetings build stronger bonds with stakeholders compared to virtual meetings. And a similar percentage, 89%, felt that in-person communication was not only more effective, but more enjoyable.
This is supported by our new research. When asked to rank the most important benefits of business travel, respondents stressed the importance of human connection:
And our earlier Business Travel Health study found that 75% of workers were positively impacted, development-wise, by corporate trips. Survey respondents reported that exploring new destinations and having new experiences boosted their self-awareness and self-confidence, helping them feel more at ease.
It’s clear that travellers themselves derive immense benefit from work trips. When you add the satisfaction-boosting element of personalisation, it gives ROI an even higher boost. Every algorithm that saves five minutes gives your company time back for connection and creativity.
Our research finds that personalisation is a major plus for business travellers, particularly Gen Z and Millennials who form an increasing percentage of the workplace. So how can your business harness this data to better engage employees and maximise ROI? Start by leveraging today’s intelligent solutions.
AI personalisation tools improve the ROI on business trips by streamlining expenses and improving employee satisfaction. At the same time, all-in-one travel management solutions like Booking.com for Business further simplify the process by allowing business travellers to book their own flights, hotels, and car rentals according to individual preferences, while managers gain full oversight over itineraries.
Easily manage and book team travel in one place for better cost control
Looking ahead, corporate travel is shifting from uniform systems to intuitive ecosystems; journeys that adapt to each person’s needs while delivering business value. By embracing AI personalisation, your business can move beyond basic cost controls to deliver a human-first travel experience that turns preferences into high-value outcomes.
To source our insights into AI and personalisation, we recruited 502 business travellers, admins and decision-makers from across the US. Participants included a representative mix of genders, company sizes, industries, and job roles. All have travelled in the past 12 months and expect to travel in the year ahead.
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