Business Travel and Global Mobility Are Moving Closer on Accommodation. Here's What's Still In The Way

Business Travel and Global Mobility teams have more reasons than ever to work together on accommodation. Rising costs, closer scrutiny of travel spend and changing employee needs are driving organisations to rethink how they book, manage and pay for stays away from home.

Extended stays are a particularly interesting area. As project-based travel increases and international assignments become shorter, the distinction between a long business trip and a short-term assignment is becoming less clear.

With that, accommodation is emerging as a natural starting point for greater collaboration.

But while the case for bringing these two functions together is becoming stronger, many organisations still have some way to go before they can turn that ambition into action.

Collaboration Is Growing

In 2023, AltoVita surveyed more than 80 industry professionals to understand how Business Travel and Global Mobility teams were approaching accommodation. In 2026, we asked 100 senior travel and mobility professionals again, to see what had changed.

The share of organisations with Business Travel and Global Mobility collaborating on accommodation has risen from 42% to 49%.

Among organisations already working together, 83% cite cost optimisation as a key driver. Policy alignment follows at 69%, with duty of care at 67% and employee experience at 64%.

What's equally telling is the appetite for change among organisations that haven't yet made the move.

Of those not currently collaborating, 78% believe greater collaboration would add value. They also point to the same priorities: controlling costs, aligning policies, supporting employees and managing duty of care.

The message is clear: both groups recognise the opportunity. The challenge is making collaboration work in practice. So what's getting in the way?

Three Barriers to Accommodation Consolidation

Our research highlights three key barriers preventing organisations from bringing Business Travel and Global Mobility accommodation together:

• Governance: 59% of organisations not collaborating cite different reporting lines as the main barrier. Without executive buy-in and clear ownership, collaboration is difficult to implement.
• Policy: 67% of organisations have no defined policy for when employees should move from a hotel to a serviced apartment, leaving accommodation decisions inconsistent.
• Data: Accommodation spend is often spread across cost centres, booking channels and approval workflows. Without consolidated reporting, organisations struggle to gain visibility and identify savings opportunities.

Turning Collaboration into Action

The good news? Organisations don't necessarily need to overhaul their entire travel and mobility programmes to make progress. They need a clearer, more coordinated approach to accommodation.

Our research found that organisations making progress tend to share a few traits: a clear switch point between hotels and serviced apartments, one set of accommodation partners serving both functions, technology that connects accommodation data to travel, HR and expense systems, and shared ownership between the two teams.

Our white paper on consolidating accommodation for Global Mobility and Business Travel sets this out as a seven-step roadmap, with examples from live programmes across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and APAC.

Ready to explore what better alignment could look like for your organisation?

Download the white paper to discover the findings and explore the seven-step roadmap.