Ana Olbés: “Companies have begun to understand that poor travel experiences also come at a cost”

June 23, 2026

3 minute read

Ana Olbés, Global Corporate Travel Expert, has spent 30 years working in tourism and corporate travel. For more than 11 of those years, she managed the travel programme of a multinational company in the renewable energy sector. She therefore speaks from hands-on practice and accumulated experience.

Her career across Spain, the United Kingdom and France has given her an international perspective that combines supplier negotiation, duty of care management and a strategic approach to optimising costs without compromising the traveller experience.

As the driving force behind Business Travel Lab, Ana has created an independent space where leading Travel Managers in the sector meet in small groups to analyse real challenges, share practical solutions and build better ways of managing Business Travel on a day-to-day basis.

In this interview, we explore with her the most recent changes in travel policies, the indicators that should matter to modern Travel Managers, and why corporate accommodation can no longer be assessed solely on price, but rather on its impact on employee productivity and wellbeing.

Interview with Ana Olbés

On trends and the role of the travel manager

Over the past 2–3 years, what specific changes have you seen in the way companies design their corporate travel policies?

Travel policies have historically been designed almost exclusively with cost savings in mind. Today, the most advanced companies are also starting to focus on the cost of a poor travel experience.

This is not only about fares, but also about productivity, safety, sustainability and the employee experience. A poorly planned trip creates stress, fatigue and inefficiencies whose impact can far exceed the savings achieved.

Travellers have also changed. They are looking for greater flexibility and autonomy, which is leading many organisations to rethink their policies in order to strike a better balance between control, experience and outcomes.

“The major shift is that companies have begun to understand that poor travel experiences also come at a cost.”

Beyond fare savings, what other indicators should be on the radar of any modern Travel Manager?

If we only measure fare savings, we are analysing a very small part of the real performance of a travel programme.

Today, a Travel Manager needs visibility over indicators such as policy compliance, adoption of corporate booking channels, traveller safety, operational incidents and the time employees spend managing their business trips.

It is becoming increasingly important to identify hidden costs: out-of-channel bookings, manual processes, operational disruptions and unproductive time during travel.

What is not measured cannot be optimised. And many companies are still measuring price alone.

With the emergence of new technologies, what key skills does a Travel Manager need to develop?

The Travel Manager is increasingly becoming a manager of information and strategy.

Their differentiating value lies in the ability to interpret data, identify trends and turn that information into decisions that create business impact.

The challenge is no longer having access to more data, but being able to integrate it, analyse it and transform it into useful insight. Organisations need a single view of their travel programme in order to make faster, better-informed decisions.

The new Travel Manager is the person who turns fragmented data into decisions.

About Business Travel Lab

As the founder of Business Travel Lab, what topics or concerns come up most frequently when you bring together Travel Managers from large corporations?

“What concerns Travel Managers most today is how to gain visibility over their programme, integrate technologies, manage uncertainty and demonstrate the value that travel brings to the business.”

There is also growing concern around traveller safety, data quality, sustainability and the ability to anticipate incidents in an increasingly complex and fast-changing environment.

This is precisely why Business Travel Lab was created: an independent forum created by and for Travel Managers, where they can share real-life experiences, challenge ideas and build practical solutions based on the collective knowledge of the sector.

Could you share any insight or best practice that has emerged from Business Travel Lab?

One of the most interesting learnings to have come out of BT LAB is that we still spend a great deal of time negotiating prices, and not enough time assessing providers’ real ability to generate value.

In a recent session on TMC tenders, the consensus was clear: technological capabilities, service quality, implementation and traveller support should carry more weight than minor cost differences.

The main conclusion was that we are approaching tenders in the wrong way when price becomes the primary decision-making criterion. What is truly strategic is selecting partners who are able to support the evolution of the travel programme.

On corporate accommodation

The traveller experience is critical to talent retention. What elements distinguish an adequate accommodation programme from an excellent one?

An excellent accommodation programme is not the one that costs the least, but the one that enables people to live and work well while they are away from home.

The most advanced companies no longer assess accommodation solely on the basis of cost or location. They also consider factors such as comfort, flexibility, the ability to maintain personal routines and the impact the stay has on the employee experience.

“Corporate apartments are gaining prominence for medium- and long-term assignments, as they offer more space, privacy and a greater sense of normality than a traditional hotel room.”

When employees feel cared for during business travel, the impact goes beyond the trip itself and strengthens their connection with the organisation.

Tell us about a change you have made to the way accommodation is booked that has delivered greater control and/or savings.

Moving away from focusing solely on the average nightly rate and starting to measure how many bookings we are actually able to see and manage.

The greatest obstacle to savings is not a high rate, but an invisible booking. By increasing visibility and concentrating more volume within corporate channels, we improve control, strengthen duty of care and secure better negotiating conditions.

What cannot be seen cannot be managed, and is difficult to optimise.

Relationship with Apartool

When did your relationship with Apartool as a corporate accommodation partner begin, and what has it been like? What added value would you highlight?

Our relationship with Apartool stems from an increasingly common need among large corporations: finding alternatives to traditional hotels for certain traveller profiles and types of assignment.

For years, we assumed that hotels were synonymous with corporate accommodation. What we are now discovering is that many trips do not require a room; they require a space where someone can live temporarily. This is where Apartool adds value.

“Especially for long stays or temporary projects, Apartool offers more flexible solutions, tailored to different personal, cultural or family needs, helping travellers maintain a greater sense of normality during their assignment.”

The role of the Travel Manager here is to identify which solution delivers the most value in each situation, balancing traveller wellbeing, corporate control and cost efficiency. That is where real value is created for both the company and its people.

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Marta Marín

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Ana Olbés: “Companies have begun to understand that poor travel experiences also come at a cost”

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Ana Olbés: “Companies have begun to understand that poor travel experiences also come at a cost”

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