BCD holds firm amid shifting travel management landscape

Stephan Baars is global CEO of BCD Travel. He
rejoined the company in 2023 having previously been CFO for 11 years. BCD achieved
$22.9 billion in global sales in 2024 and has around 15,000 employees.

BCD Travel global CEO, Stephan Baars, joined by several senior
colleagues, hosted a small media briefing this week, ostensibly to provide an
update on the company’s performance and strategy, including its five-year plan
and goal of doubling its UK business. The timing also offered Baars a chance to
weigh in on recent industry shake-ups, most notably the “strategic alliance”
between Concur and American Express Global Business Travel. The following interview blends Baars’ remarks from that roundtable discussion
with those of a one-to-one conversation with BTN Europe.

Speaking just four days after Concur and Amex GBT unveiled
details of their partnership – which includes an integrated travel and expense
platform and sees the former anoint the latter its preferred partner – Baars conceded
there is still much to unpack, not least how the union will affect other TMCs
and their customers.

Like many in the industry, he had heard the rumours of a
looming deal and had sought clarification from Concur, without success. “As a
long-standing customer we tried to find out in advance what was going on,” said
Baars. “We learned on Friday. They did give us a courtesy call up front with
some information but, honestly, I read more and learn more from the press.”

Is Baars concerned by the partnership? “In principle I’m not
because we were expecting something. Am I surprised? A little,” he said. “Amex,
even as the biggest [TMC] in our industry, only has a certain percentage of the
overall market. Would you put all your eggs in one basket and say, ‘okay, we
just go with one provider?’ I can’t think so.”

For that reason, Baars is hopeful that Concur will keep its
word and continue to innovate and invest in the new iteration of Concur Travel
(also known as T2).

“The thing that
worries me is that two giant companies are using their position to squeeze
customers in one direction. Our philosophy has
always been to give customers options,” said Baars.

Around
70 per cent of BCD’s customer bookings made via online tools come through
Concur, Baars stated. The remainder are made through a
combination of its travel commerce platform – which supports its proprietary
tools, TripSource and SME offering GetGoing – as well as API connections and
other online booking tools that the TMC supports, including Cytric.

“Concur is a dominant service provider to our customers. Are
they [customers] getting concerned? First reactions have not been that positive
but everybody is saying ‘ok, let’s see what it all really means’. We have seen over
past years a lot of noise in the market and then the delivery did not come or
they didn’t fulfil expectations. As we know a little more, we will reach out
actively to customers and share with them what we learn,” said Baars.

SHIFTING VOLUME

The TMC will continue supporting Concur – “they are still
important to us” – but may now steer more clients toward its own technology. “There
is a lot of volume going through our own technology already and that will
continue to grow. And the first reaction of some customers is ‘ok, we definitely
are open to looking at that’,” said Baars.

In communications sent to its TMC partners in the wake of
its announcement, Concur said its Elite and Select status levels would be
discontinued at the end of the year. “We are in discussions about what that
really means for us,” said Baars. “The reseller agreement is still in place and
we are one of the top resellers of their solution. There’s a lot for us to
understand before we can give concrete answers.”

Baars is clearly irked by Concur’s claim that working with
multiple TMCs has hindered its ability to innovate and delayed the rollout of
T2. The vast majority of BCD’s Concur Travel users – “99.5 per cent” – have now migrated to the new platform, with
the remainder holding off amid “uncertainty” about its readiness.

“It’s funny how they [Concur] positioned themselves. They
have said they couldn’t deliver as fast as they wanted to because the integration
of TMCs was holding them up… and that’s the reason why they now choose to go [down]
a new avenue,” said Baars.

“We feel as a service provider to our customers that we have
to challenge [new] solutions that come into the market. If we won’t do it, who does?
We have to test, we have to make sure
the promises they give are really delivered to the customer. If we don’t do that,
the customer will ask ‘Why have you implemented T2 for us when you knew it’s
not ready?’”

He continued: “If that is now held against the TMC community…
that is an interesting position to take. I see it as a fundamental role, at
least at BCD, to really challenge technology until it’s ready to deliver good
service. That was the same with NDC. It’s not that we have said we don’t want
NDC – it needed to be ready for us to deliver service to our customers.”

Baars questions whether Amex GBT can manage
both its new partnership and tech roll-out with Concur while simultaneously
integrating newly acquired CWT. “There is a lot going on for them to deliver on
their promises.”

Baars believes Concur and Amex GBT “have put all their
energy together to get through the challenges that the whole industry has to”,
but questions whether they can do it any faster. “The proof will be in the future.”

STAYING THE COURSE

As the companies’ plans became clear, Baars said BCD has kept
faith in its own strategy. “We might have to tweak some things and maybe double-down
on artificial intelligence – which is anyhow part of our plan – and really take
advantage of the situation because customers in the future will want to see an
alternative.”

Many corporates who were due to go to market in the last 18
months were left in limbo during Amex GBT’s drawn-out acquisition of CWT, but
Baars said that RFP activity has already accelerated. “The pipeline is growing
and a lot of discussions are already happening right now. This is going to be a
busy last quarter and 2026 seems it will continue like that too,” he said.

The UK and India have been identified as two “extraordinarily
important” opportunities for BCD. It intends to concentrate its efforts on the
sectors it serves best in the UK, doubling its sales from £860 million in 2024
to £1.72 billion by 2030, and is eyeing a blossoming mid-market in India.

Baars
would not disclose the company’s overall 2030 growth goals but did not rule out
acquisitions as part of its strategy. “There is acquisition potential,” he said. “We have the
financial strength and the support of our shareholders. We are definitely
looking into opportunities that will fit our strategy.”

While Amex GBT, CWT and Concur chart a new course, rival
Navan nears an IPO, Direct Travel has acquired ATPI, and Trip.Biz is expanding
beyond its Asian stronghold – all confirmed within the past five weeks. “Each
of those is a lot to swallow,” said Baars, but none have shaken his belief in the
TMC’s strategy.

“We don’t see any of those events fundamentally changing what
we have addressed in our long-term plan. Will there be short-term adaptations
of that strategy or will we accelerate certain technology developments? ‘Maybe’
is the answer to that.”

He continued: “We have always looked for new opportunities and
we will continue to do that. But do we now force another big merger [on the
industry] or do we feel forced to do another acquisition? No, we will do what
is good for our customer base, for our shareholders, and as well for our
employees. We hold the course.”

FAMILY FOUNDATIONS

The company’s family-owned structure is something he frequently
points to, underscoring its flexibility and stability. A recent restructure saw three grandchildren of BCD founder John Fentener van Vlissingen join
the company’s ‘family board’.

“They have reached an age where they have their own opinion about
how the company is run and developed,” said Baars. “They also have one thing in
common – that’s a long-term view on BCD, their
willingness to invest, and their willingness to give us the resources to stay
relevant and on top of everything in this industry.”

Strong technology, investment in AI, and a rich marketplace
that provides diverse choice to its customers are among the key pillars of BCD’s
strategy. “Our plan is driven by what clients are telling us. We have put that
into a long-term plan with the flexibility of a family company. We are not
driven by quarterly results,” said Baars.

Pointedly, he added: “We focus on what customers want and
don’t just put them in a box and say ‘because we have now a partnership with X,
Y, Z, this is the best solution for you’.”

BCD has “50-plus” service providers in its marketplace,
something Baars believes gives the company a “huge” advantage, enabling customers
to “pick and choose” the tools and services they want. “Customers want
empowerment and support – the freedom to decide which technologies and third-party
providers are servicing them best, and they want to have the support from our
agents when they need it.”

That sounds straightforward, said Baars, but there remains an
industry-wide shortage of staff with the right expertise. Technology, and AI in
particular, can help remedy that.

BCD has recruited some 1,600 employees in the last 10 months
but, at the same time, has agreed a partnership with AI-based travel assistant
SkyLink to offer users an “autonomous and touchless travel experience.”

Baars explained: “We don’t invest in artificial intelligence
with the aim of reducing our workforce – we want to enhance the service
offering that they are giving to customers.”

AI is there to take away the “boring manual work” and “make
the organisation faster and more effective.” He also cautions that the tolerance
level for AI errors is low. “There are a lot of fields where we can use AI but
always with human intelligence behind it.”