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Top 5 Trends to Watch in Business Travel & Global Mobility*
On June 27th, key leaders from the global mobility and business travel landscape gathered at London’s iconic ODEON Luxe for AltoVita’s 5th Smart, Safe & Sustainable Summit. Together, they explored the future of the industry and shared forward-thinking insights on how technology, particularly AI, is reshaping corporate accommodation.
Here are the top 5 trends to watch in 2025 (and yes, they’re all AI-related):
1. “Cross-org AI enables teams to focus on delivering value”
- Anton Reid, Director of Engineering, AltoVita
"What do you believe is the single most impactful way AI could transform temporary housing?"
This question sparked a lively discussion, with examples of how automation and large language models are driving efficiencies.
From real-time availability updates that prevent delays when a guest’s first choice isn’t available, to AI-powered employee support that handles repetitive queries, it’s clear: AI is removing the administrative load off teams and accelerating timelines.
So how is AltoVita using AI internally, in its operations and product to deliver value to clients?
Anton Reid, our Director of Engineering, showcased how AltoVita has embedded AI its operations and product suite to deliver measurable impact:
- AI Powered Customisations
- Generative Content & Translations
- Predictive Pricing
- Support Agents
- Integrated booking agents
- AI powered analytics
He then shared impressive results from AltoVIta’s internal AI adoption:
- 20% uplift in engineering team efficiency.
- 30% of HR’s time freed up through internal AI tools.
Plans are now underway for our Customer Success team to leverage AI to automate data input from booking requests into AltoVerse, allowing them to focus on more value-add client-facing tasks.
2. “AI Enhances Outcomes. Integration Enables Them.”
- William Taylor, SVP of Partnerships, Relocity
AI’s power to transform operations is undeniable. But its full potential is unlocked when systems talk to each other. Integration emerged as a key theme throughout the day.
Exploring the role of AI in the mobility industry, William Taylor shared a vivid example of a cancelled flight triggering a list of tasks that snowballs into a laundry list of tasks - rebooking tickets, amending parking reservations, contacting accommodation providers - and showed how AI can intelligently coordinate these complex, interconnected processes through Model Context Protocols (MCP’s).
So, how is AltoVita bringing AI integrations to life?
Anton Reid, AltoVita’s Director of Engineering, unveiled the company’s latest AI-driven innovations, demonstrating how Agentic AI is accelerating development, enhancing automation, and delivering greater value to clients. One of the key developments, VitaAI, is a fully realised AI engine designed to integrate effortlessly into clients’ existing ecosystems.
We’re also building Outlook and Teams apps with VitaAI embedded, enabling clients to submit and manage booking requests directly within their daily workflows.
These innovations are already underway. Sign up to experience them first.
3. “With AI, we reduced immigration processes from 6 weeks to 8 minutes”
- Ben Oghene, CEO, The Cozm
We asked top leaders from the mobility industry to share their biggest compliance pain points and the response was unanimous: immigration delays.
From visa bottlenecks to employee anxiety to knock-on effects on cost, the panel on “The Headaches of Policy Compliance” shared some shocking real-world stories.
Ben Oghene, CEO of The Cozm recounted how one of their clients - a large telecommunications organisation - was losing £1 million per day due to critical employees not being on the ground on time because of visa delays. He then shared how The Cozm’s platform uses AI to shorten visa application processes - reducing the industry standard of 6 weeks to just 8 minutes.
4. "How Can AI Deliver Next-Level Personalisation for Our Employees?"
- Karen FitzGerald, VP-Head of Global Mobility, NBCUniversal
While cost efficiency is critical, travel and mobility managers are equally focused on employee satisfaction. With multi-generational, diverse workforces on the move, personalisation is no longer optional.
During the Summit, speakers and delegates recurrently talked about how AI is enabling personalisation. Relocity’s William Taylor highlighted how the company uses in-app guides to personalise the user experience by leveraging large language models and will expand more on this in our upcoming webinar.
This level of hyper-personalisation also came to life during the grand reveal of AltoStay - AltoVita’s new guest experience mobile app. Aside from real-time notifications and 24/7 support, AltoStay empowers guests to explore their new area with confidence. By selecting their personal interests, guests can “train” the AI into offering tailored recommendations and local tips going far beyond generic alternatives, like Google maps. The result? A frictionless stay that helps employees settle in faster and feel at home.
AltoStay is set to launch in Q4 2025. Sign up for early access.
5. “Will AI Replace Us?”
- Everyone at AltoVita’s Smart, Safe & Sustainable Summit
One question echoed throughout the summit: “Will AI replace us?”
Luckily for business travel and global mobility managers, the future isn’t so grim. As Emma Balogun, Talent Mobility Business Partner at Stripe, noted, “I think the simple answer is: we need to have a hybrid approach. The automation and the AI is great for the mundane tasks and the 24/7 support for the really simple questions. But, global mobility is a hugely emotive area. We are always going to have cases that are nuanced. We’re going to have that need for connectedness, trust and empathy that only human beings at this time can provide.”
So how do we strike the right balance between automation and the human touch?
At AltoVita, we embrace technology to automate and streamline the accommodation process. However, our USP lies in our human-centred approach. Our flagship platform - AltoCurate - seamlessly blends technology with a personalised touch.
Ultimately, it’s not about replacing partners or people with AI, it’s about amplifying outcomes through coordination, technology, and trust using AI. As Jose Nunez, Corporate Travel Manager, at AMC Networks International UK put it “We should use technology to support us and to enhance our skills - not the other way round.”
The Smart, Safe & Sustainable Summit once again demonstrated why it’s a cornerstone for innovation and thought leadership in business travel and global mobility.
If you missed the London edition, don’t worry. You can join us in New York City on October 17 for more future focused conversations.
Save your spot for the NYC Summit
*Written by a human, improved by AI.
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