Entertainment Technology Partners Gains Visibility and Efficiency with Navan

Region

NORAM: North America

Headquarters

Orlando, Florida

Industry

Professional Services

Products Used

• Navan Business Travel
• Navan Travel Payments
• Navan Expense

Previous Solutions

Egencia, Expensify, Other

Get the PDF Copy

Entertainment Technology Partners (ETP) is a shared services organization supporting a family of audio/visual (AV) brands that produce live events, touring shows, and installation work across the U.S. and Europe. Based in Orlando, with additional hubs in Las Vegas, Nashville, Baltimore, and the UK, the company relies heavily on travel to keep its technicians and other team members on site. That high travel volume made it essential for ETP to find a reliable, transparent, and intuitive travel platform — one that could eventually support expenses with the same ease.

Before Navan

Before partnering with Navan, ETP struggled with fragmented systems and poor user experiences. On the travel side, the company used Egencia. “We weren’t fond of Egencia due to a lot of hidden fees,” said Amy Benson, director of business systems and standards. “Anytime we wanted to make a change to a flight or any sort of booking, we were hit with different fees, and with the nature of our industry, we have a lot of last-minute adjustments.” With technicians routinely modifying trips up until the day of departure, the unpredictable cost structure made planning difficult and expensive.

Expenses were even more challenging. ETP had cycled through several platforms — including Expensify and Emburse — but none delivered the simplicity or speed their technicians needed. “Our old expense solutions were very clunky,” said Benson. “It was just very time-consuming for our users to import their expenses with the amount of travel that we do. It made it really difficult for them to get their expense reports done and submitted in a timely manner.” For teams constantly hopping between shows, this process created bottlenecks and slowed reconciliation.

“

We really liked that Navan was very upfront about how the fees were charged, and that the support was included.

Amy Benson

Why Navan

ETP adopted Navan Travel in 2020. “We really liked that Navan was very upfront about how the fees were charged, and that the support was included,” said Benson. The transparent, predictable pricing model immediately solved one of ETP’s biggest pain points.

The ETP team had built their expense processes around a corporate card solution they trusted. When Navan Connect was introduced in June 2023 — a unique feature that enables companies to switch expense management solutions without changing their corporate cards — they saw their opportunity. "As soon as Navan Connect became available, we jumped at the opportunity to sign up," said Benson.

“

These policies have helped us allow users to book their own travel while also limiting the expenses being accumulated day to day.

Sarah Barratt

Results with Navan

Navan Travel immediately improved the booking experience for both travelers and administrators. “Our users have a much better experience when booking their own travel,” said Benson, noting that travelers and admins now benefit from streamlined workflows and strong support. The accounting team benefited, too — from better visibility and clearer insights, which have helped power faster and more informed decisions.

Dynamic policy and approval flows became standout features that gave ETP control without slowing travelers down. “These policies have helped us allow users to book their own travel while also limiting the expenses being accumulated day to day,” said Sarah Barratt, project manager at ETP. 

The financial impact has been significant. “We've saved 28% on hotels just over the last year,” said Benson, crediting Navan’s custom rates and the Navan Lodging Collection for the savings. 

The improvements continued when ETP adopted Navan Expense. “As soon as an employee swipes their card, they can take a picture of their receipt, and then they’re pretty much done with expense reporting,” said Benson, which has led to a mobile adoption rate of 88%. Barratt added that automation “exponentially increases” the accounting team’s efficiency and makes reconciliation smoother. In fact, feedback across the entire organization has been overwhelmingly positive — a sentiment reflected in ETP’s 94% satisfaction rate with Navan support.

“

We love Navan because of the efficiency and visibility it provides us and the never-ending support we receive.

Sarah Barratt

Future with Navan

For ETP, Navan has become an essential partner for running a high-volume, high-complexity travel and expense program. “We love Navan because of the efficiency and visibility it gives us, as well as the never-ending support we receive,” said Barratt. 

Both Barratt and Benson agree that Navan has transformed the user experience, created meaningful savings, and provided clarity that the company once lacked. ETP looks forward to continuing the partnership and embracing future features to help keep the company’s traveling teams on schedule and make accounting and reconciliation processes even more efficient.