Here’s What European Corporate Travel Managers Are Focused on in 2026

Simplicity.

That’s the No. 1 objective for European travel managers in 2026, according to a recent study from Navan and corporate travel consulting firm temoji. Not duty of care. Not cost savings. Not sustainability. Simplicity.

It makes sense. Business travel management is complicated enough. Overly complex operations can slow down processes, drain productivity, lead to cost overruns, and inhibit company growth. And many programs are trying to do it all with a legacy solution — or multiple legacy solutions — that require a lot of unnecessary manual work.

Navan and temoji discovered some of the most common issues quietly draining time, money, and goodwill by conducting a survey, in-depth interviews, and an in-person strategy session. And though participants hailed from Europe, their struggles are universal.

I led that strategy session, which was both enlightening and effective. As Navan’s Chief Travel Advisory Officer and a longtime corporate travel manager myself, I’m always excited to celebrate successes and to brainstorm solutions to new challenges.

Through all of our research, here’s a sampling of what we learned.

For all the findings, download 5 Ways to Uplevel European Travel Management in 2026.

Platform Adoption Remains a Challenge

According to our study:

• 36% of travel managers say off-platform bookings happen because travelers find lower prices on consumer sites.
• Traveler confidence drops by almost 15% when “access to content” becomes a barrier.

Many business travelers have had the same experience: finding cheaper fares on a consumer travel site than on the company’s booking platform. As a result, they may simply book off-platform — even though that creates challenges for policy, duty-of-care tracking, and negotiated supplier rates.

The source of this challenge, of course, is content breadth. Many legacy corporate tools still rely on a single feed — which leads to higher average prices, lower traveler trust, and a vicious cycle of non-compliance — while modern platforms aggregate fares from multiple distribution channels, such as GDSs, NDC connections, and low-cost carriers.

As one travel manager in the study said, “If I can find cheaper fares on consumer sites, why can’t my travelers find those same fares on our company’s solution?”

TMC “Fee Fog” Undermines Program Confidence

Our study also found that:

• 42% of travel managers don’t fully understand their TMC’s fee structure.
• 66% say they regularly have to defend those fees to finance leaders.

Here’s how that plays out. Flights are booked and rooms reserved … the trip’s total payment is clear, right? Not so fast. Depending on the TMC, the final invoice could include fees for things like “change processing” or “exchange handling” that can come as a surprise — and add up quickly.

This lack of transparency sours the TMC relationship and handcuffs strategic planning. When finance can’t accurately predict transaction costs, savings claims lose weight, and travel managers have to spend valuable time justifying invoices instead of improving the program.

Fixing the Travel Management Issues That Matter Now

When it comes to obstacles that travel managers deal with every day, these challenges represent only the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately, solutions exist for tackling these issues, and the report outlines actionable steps to take on the path to optimization.

Not coincidentally, many of these steps hark back to the thing travel managers want most: Simplifying the process of business travel management — and business travel. It’s a north star that has the power to uplevel every aspect of a travel program and help make 2026 your best year ever.

Get all of the optimization opportunities and action items: Download 5 Ways to Uplevel European Travel Management in 2026.