Cvent’s 2025 Global Travel Managers Report surveyed 1,600+ business travel decision-makers—more than half Millennials and most C-level execs—on travel volume expectations, key drivers, cost reduction, sourcing and negotiation trends. Here’s what they said.
Not surprisingly, curbing costs was a priority across the board, with 71% of managers expecting costs in 2025 to be higher than the year before. Still, the Cvent report noted, managers seem ready to manage economic pressures—over two-thirds are increasing travel budgets this year, with only 8% reporting budget cuts.
One cost management strategy is to synchronize business travel with meetings and events—83% of those managing both employee travel and meeting programs said this consolidation has resulted in cost savings. Negotiating lower hotel rates and reducing the number of people traveling were also cited as cost-saving measures.
However, unlike their global counterparts, only North American travel managers said event and conference travel (37%), trade shows (37%) and incentive trips (37%) were the top three to be cut due to budget constraints, with internal meetings (16%) or retreats (11%) least likely to be nixed.
Centralized Sourcing & Millennials Rule?
Worldwide, the integration of business travel and event sourcing isn’t just happening—it’s nearly complete. By 2017, 64% of programs were consolidated or in the process of doing so. In 2025, 91% of travel managers will handle hotel and venue sourcing for meetings and events. Their scope is broad, covering conferences (53%), training/workshops (45%) and seminars (40%).
In North America, while 42% of travel managers prefer a mix of fixed and dynamic pricing, 25% still rely solely on fixed rates (the highest of all the regions), highlighting a continued need for predictability in budgeting. It makes sense that over half (57%) of travel managers cite a lack of flexibility as the top reason negotiations have grown harder.
Meanwhile, who’s calling the shots in North American business travel? Millennials have taken the reins, narrowly outpacing Gen X with 60% identifying as primary or sole decision makers (compared to Gen X’s 59%). Though these Millennial travel managers maintain an optimistic outlook overall (85% positive), they’re treading more carefully than their global colleagues when looking ahead—three-quarters expect business travel to grow in 2025, revealing a blend of confidence tempered with practicality.
This Millennial takeover is by no means limited to North America; according to survey results, they are the primary decision makers in Europe, Asia and Australia while rising higher in the Middle East (where Gen X still dominates).
Other survey content addresses the challenges of finding suitable hotels as well as the need to redefine travel industry priorities in the age of remote and hybrid work models. What does the rest of the world say about face-to-face meetings?
Below is a quick look at the report’s seven key findings:
- Travel managers plan strategic cuts to curb costs.
- Centralizing sourcing management for travel and meetings is becoming
the new norm. - Rate strategies shift as travel managers face harder hotel negotiations.
- Despite the influence of digital content, travel managers struggle to
determine hotel suitability. - The evolving workforce is redefining travel industry priorities.
- Millennials emerge as the rising decision-makers.
- Sustainability remains a global issue, but priorities vary across regions.
Check out Cvent’s Global Travel Managers Report for a complete picture of survey results.
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