Travel managers have no shortage of data. Between TMC reports, expense systems, supplier data, policy metrics and ERP data, there are plenty of numbers available to explain what is happening within a travel program. The harder part is deciding which of those numbers actually matter to the rest of the business, especially finance.
That question was at the center of Cornerstone’s GBTA Convention 2026 education session, “Think Like a CFO: Turn Travel Data into Better Financial Decisions.” Cornerstone CEO Mat Orrego joined Scott Gillespie of tClara and Becky Schlereth, Travel and Expense Manager, to look at how travel teams can connect program data to the financial questions leadership is already asking.
Meet the Panel
Travel managers and CFOs naturally look at the program from different perspectives. Travel teams are close to booking behavior, negotiated rates, supplier performance, policy compliance and traveler experience. Finance is more likely to be looking at the ERP, budgets, cash flow and the company’s overall financial performance. When those views are not connected, travel can easily be reduced to a line item instead of understood in the context of what the business is trying to accomplish.
Looking Beyond the Cost of a Trip
A useful place to start is with the value of the trip itself. Gillespie posed a simple question: What’s the most this trip could cost and still be worth taking? The question shifts the conversation away from cost alone and asks the business to consider what it expects to get from the trip.
A simple way to frame trip value Maximum trip value: $4,000 Expected total trip cost: $1,500 Expected value above cost: $4,000 − $1,500 = $2,500 The estimate does not need false precision. It creates a consistent way to compare expected value with expected cost.
That approach becomes especially useful when companies need to reduce travel spend. A broad mandate to cut travel by 10%, for example, treats every trip as though it has the same value. Looking at expected value gives managers a way to protect travel that matters most to the business while taking a closer look at trips that may not justify their cost.
The business unit is ultimately in the best position to decide whether a trip supports its goals. The travel team’s job is to provide the process, policy and information needed to manage that travel well, rather than trying to decide which sales meeting, customer visit or internal trip is valuable on its own.
Showing the Value of the Travel Program
The value of a trip is only one side of the equation. Travel leaders also have to show what the program itself contributes. Savings has traditionally been one of the easiest measures to put in front of leadership because negotiated hotel rates, airfare performance and supplier agreements are easy to quantify. But a program’s value also shows up in compliance, traveler visibility, adoption, risk management and employee experience.
“Savings still matters, but it doesn’t have to be the entire story.” Becky Schlereth Travel and Expense Manager
The mix of metrics should change with the business. A CFO dealing with cash flow pressure will have different questions than one supporting rapid growth or expansion into new markets. Higher international travel spend, for example, may look like a problem until it is viewed alongside a new market launch or a change in where teams are working.
That makes business context just as important as the travel numbers themselves. Travel managers need to know what the organization is trying to accomplish and what leadership is focused on now. Cost may be the priority one quarter; risk, policy, culture or employee experience may matter more the next.
Understanding What the Data Is Actually Showing
Good conversations with finance also depend on data that can be explained and trusted. TMC data shows what was booked, expense data shows what was submitted and paid, and ERP data provides the financial view. Each source answers a different question, so combining them without understanding where the numbers overlap can create an inaccurate picture of total spend.
The more useful exercise is to compare those sources and look for the gaps. Differences between booking and expense data can point to changes in traveler behavior, off-channel activity or parts of the program that no longer match the way employees travel.
Hotel leakage is a good example. If travelers stop using a preferred hotel, it is easy to assume they are ignoring policy. But an office may have moved, the traveler population may have changed or the preferred property may no longer be convenient.
Nearly 30% higher In one example, travelers shifted to another hotel with rates nearly 30% higher while still booking through the approved channel. The issue was not simply compliance. Traveler needs had changed, and the hotel strategy had not changed with them.
That is why a travel program cannot be treated as static between annual sourcing cycles. Supplier agreements may be negotiated once a year, but traveler behavior and business needs can change much faster.
Making the Information Useful to Finance
A CFO does not need every travel metric available. The more useful question is whether the data points to something the business needs to understand or act on. Four questions help narrow the conversation:
RISK | COST | TIMING | IMPACT
- What is the organization exposed to?
- What is the financial implication?
- When does something need to happen?
- What if the organization acts, or doesn’t?
If hotel rates are expected to increase 8%, for example, the percentage alone is not the decision. Finance also needs to know which markets are driving the increase, when it will affect the budget, how large the impact could be and whether there is an action the company can take. That might mean renegotiating rates, changing a preferred property or simply planning for the increase.
“Signals beat reports.” Mat Orrego, CEO, Cornerstone
The same discipline helps when several issues are competing for attention. Rather than putting every metric or savings opportunity into one presentation, travel teams can prioritize the few items that matter most and be ready to explain why one action should come before another. That could be a policy change, a hotel renegotiation or a closer look at lower-value travel.
Bringing Travel and Finance Closer Together
There is no single KPI that proves the value of a travel program. What finance needs to see depends on the business, the decisions in front of it and the quality of the data behind those decisions. Travel teams can make that information more useful by understanding what each source does and does not show, connecting changes in spend or behavior to what is happening in the company, and focusing attention on the issues that require a decision.
For travel managers, the goal is not to fit every available metric into a report. It is to know which numbers matter, why they matter now and what the business can do with them.
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