ProcureCon Travel 2026 brought together travel buyers, procurement leaders, suppliers, and technology providers to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping managed travel programs.
While the sessions covered a wide range of topics, several themes surfaced repeatedly throughout the event. From the evolving role of travel policy to the rapid adoption of AI tools like Microsoft Copilot, the conversations reflected a broader shift toward connected data, intelligent workflows, procurement orchestration, and more strategic decision-making.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from ProcureCon Travel 2026 and what they could mean for the future of travel management.
Rethinking Travel Program Metrics
One topic that surfaced multiple times was whether Lowest Logical Fare (LLF) is still (or was ever) a meaningful performance metric.
While LLF has traditionally been used to measure savings, traveler purchasing behavior, and policy compliance, many conversations focused on its limitations as a savings metric. Attendees discussed how LLF can overlook important business considerations such as traveler productivity, schedule requirements, sustainability goals (connecting flights versus direct), and overall trip value.
Instead, discussions centered on concepts like Highest Logical Value (HLV) and other approaches that evaluate whether travelers are making appropriate decisions within established guidelines rather than simply selecting the lowest available price.
The broader conversation reflected a shift toward understanding the business value of travel decisions, not just the transaction cost.
For travel managers, procurement teams, and finance leaders, the challenge is increasingly about balancing cost, traveler experience, and business outcomes rather than optimizing for the lowest fare alone.
Travel Policy Is Evolving, Not Disappearing
Despite ongoing discussions about traveler autonomy and AI-enabled decision-making, very few attendees suggested that travel policy itself is becoming obsolete.
Instead, the conversation focused on making policy easier to understand and easier to use.
During one session, Eric Bailey shared that while leading Microsoft’s $1B travel program, his team managed travel policy across approximately 120 countries with a two-page policy document. The point wasn’t that policy matters less. The point was that policy should be simple enough for employees to understand and follow.
Organizations are increasingly embedding policy guidance into tools employees already use, like Microsoft Co-Pilot, making it easier to access answers without searching through lengthy documents or navigating multiple systems.
Rather than living as a static PDF, policy is becoming part of the employee’s workflow.
Meetings and Events Continue to Drive Growth
Another recurring theme was the continued strength of meetings and events spending.
Multiple attendees noted that meeting and event volumes have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, reinforcing the value organizations place on in-person engagement.
As investment in meetings and events grows, many organizations are looking for better ways to connect event spending data, which often lives outside of normal reporting systems, with broader travel and procurement data. The challenge is no longer simply managing travel bookings but understanding the complete picture of business travel activity across the organization.
Microsoft Copilot Is Becoming the Standard
Perhaps the most visible technology trend throughout the conference was the widespread adoption of Microsoft Copilot as the AI tool of choice.
Many travel managers, procurement professionals, and travel advisors reported using Copilot as their primary AI tool. A common implementation involves loading policy content into SharePoint and using Copilot to help employees ask questions and receive answers in real time.
The goal isn’t simply to store policies digitally. It’s to make them easier to access and easier to understand.
What stood out, however, was that most organizations are still focused on using Copilot for knowledge retrieval rather than operational travel data.
While policy documents and internal guidance are increasingly available through AI-powered interfaces, relatively few organizations reported using AI to access travel and expense data to analyze travel program performance, identify trends, forecast spend, or answer questions using live travel data.
That gap may represent one of the largest opportunities for the next phase of travel technology adoption.
Collaboration Platforms Are Becoming Operational Tools
Several conversations also highlighted the growing role of Slack and Microsoft Teams in travel operations.
Organizations are increasingly exploring ways to deliver notifications, approvals, traveler communications, and operational insights directly within the collaboration platforms employees already use every day.
While adoption remains relatively early, the trend points toward a future where travel data and workflows are distributed through multiple channels rather than being confined to a single platform or dashboard.
Procurement Orchestration Is Gaining Attention
Another concept that surfaced repeatedly was procurement orchestration.
At a high level, procurement orchestration refers to connecting people, systems, and processes across the entire purchasing lifecycle. The goal is to create a more seamless experience by linking procurement, finance, contracts, accounts payable, and operational systems together through shared workflows and data.
For travel and expense programs, the concept reinforces a growing demand for unified data environments that reduce friction, improve visibility, and support better decision-making across departments.
As organizations pursue procurement orchestration initiatives, the ability to consolidate and connect data becomes increasingly important.
The Common Thread: Connected Data Matters More Than Ever
Across discussions about AI, procurement orchestration, policy management, collaboration platforms, and meetings programs, one theme appeared repeatedly: organizations want access to trusted information without having to hunt for it.
Travel leaders are no longer asking whether AI belongs in their programs. They’re evaluating where it can help employees find answers faster and make better decisions.
Most organizations aren’t moving away from policy. Instead, they’re looking for simpler, more effective ways to communicate it and guide traveler behavior.
The same is true for reporting. The goal isn’t to produce more reports—it’s to get useful information into the hands of decision-makers while there’s still time to act on it.
As travel, procurement, finance, and meetings become increasingly interconnected, the ability to connect data across systems is becoming a competitive advantage. Organizations that can bring together data, workflows, and decision-making will be in the strongest position to support travelers, control costs, and demonstrate program value.
That theme surfaced repeatedly throughout ProcureCon Travel 2026 and will likely continue shaping the industry’s priorities in the years ahead.
What This Means for Travel Leaders
The conversations at ProcureCon Travel 2026 made one thing clear: the future of travel management is becoming less about controlling transactions and more about enabling better decisions.
Travel leaders are being asked to do more than manage bookings and enforce policy. They’re expected to provide business insights, support procurement initiatives, improve traveler experience, and help their organizations navigate an increasingly complex technology landscape.
To keep pace, organizations should focus on three priorities:
1. Make Information Easier to Access
Employees increasingly expect to ask questions and receive immediate answers. Whether through AI tools, collaboration platforms, or self-service reporting, organizations should focus on reducing the effort required to find information and take action.
2. Make Policy Easier to Use
Policy remains a critical foundation for managed travel programs, but static documents alone are no longer enough. Organizations are finding success by embedding policy guidance directly into employee workflows and making answers available when and where they are needed.
3. Connect Data Across the Business
As procurement, finance, meetings, and travel become more interconnected, organizations need a more complete view of activity across departments. Connected data helps teams improve visibility, forecast spend more accurately, identify opportunities, manage risk, and demonstrate program value.
The recurring message throughout ProcureCon Travel 2026 was that technology alone is not the answer. The real opportunity lies in making information more accessible, connecting systems more effectively, and helping people make better decisions with the data already available to them.