Changing the Game: From Legacy Systems to Limitless Solutions 

“This is the most excited I’ve been about what’s to come in business travel in nearly 25 years. Avenir is changing the game in North America, it’s a platform that travellers actually want to use, revolutionising and reducing the clunky booking process into a seamless and intuitive experience that takes minutes. It’s intelligent technology that reflects where business travel should be. Avenir will change business travel the way that Spotify changed music, Netflix changed buying and renting films, and the iPhone changed telecoms. And now pioneering European Travel Buyers are ready to change; and they are challenging the complexities of legacy architecture and processes with us.” 

But what does Spotify, Netflix and the iPhone have to do with business travel? 

Remember when we used to buy CDs and DVDs? When topping up your mobile meant scratching off a code on a card? At the time, it felt normal. But looking back, those systems were clunky, closed, and transactional. Then came streaming and subscription models with platforms that were seamless, cloud-based, intuitive and built around the user. 

Everything changed. 

But in business travel, we’ve stayed the same. Outdated revenue streams and innovations built around the travel equivalent of a vinyl player and a telephone box. Sounds crazy, right? 

When Daniel Ek launched Spotify, the idea of paying monthly for music you didn’t own seemed absurd. But it worked. Why? Because it offered something better and more valuable: unlimited access, simplicity, and control. For the same cost of one album you could enjoy unlimited content. And rather than searching for a CD only to find it missing, you were a few key taps away from finding your favourite song, a new hit or something you hadn’t heard in years. The possibilities were limitless. 

Spotify didn’t just change how we listen. It built a new digital ecosystem. Artists got paid. Piracy dropped. Personalisation soared. The same with Netflix and the iPhone. The technology skyrocketed, the models changed, and the industry exploded. 

These weren’t just products. They were paradigm shifts. They redefined how we consumed, reshaped expectations, and brought a new frontier in their industries. And the world adapted. 

We’ve lived through this digital transformation in every corner of our lives – except, it seems, in business travel. But now it’s our turn – and it’s long overdue. 

In travel we are – by nature – risk-adverse, but sometimes the greatest risk of all, is to be left behind. 

Avenir is reimagining business travel. A new ecosystem built for where business travel is going, not where it’s been. 

Across the ecosystem, we’re seeing the rise of modern, open API, cloud-based platforms that connect data and services in real time. These systems aren’t just more efficient; they’re transformative. They enable travel managers to see, shape and support the trip end-to-end. They give travellers the ability to self-serve confidently within policy. They allow for greater traveller experience through personalisation, flexibility and control. They turn fragmented journeys into connected experiences. 

And as the technology evolves, so too must the commercial model. 

If technology allows on-the-move changes and cancellations, but travellers still face endless transaction fees and secret charges, no one will utilise them. 

The old “transaction fee” structure was born in a world of offline bookings, GDS-driven workflows and it limited the customer experience. The fee model no longer reflects the value delivered or the way travel is consumed today. To truly support innovation, the model must evolve to ensure customers actually experience the value and flexibility being created by technology. After all, if you’re charged for every change, add on and service, you won’t use them to their full potential.  

We’ve become used to simple, predictive pricing in our personal lives. In the UK we’re paying £12.99 for Spotify. £8.99 for Amazon. £12.99 for Netflix. A monthly data plan for our mobiles. We know exactly where we stand with our monthly and annual spend. Yet in business travel, it’s rarely that clear. Out of hours fees, amendment fees, cancellation fees, separate charges for rail, air and hotel. It’s messy. 

Business travel is ready for its own model reset.  

Avenir has a simple and transparent trip fee model for this reason. One clear, simple cost per trip, making budgeting and forecasting effortless. A single fee gives travellers the freedom to access the best service at any time of day, with no guilt. The possibility to change and cancel bookings as many times as needed with no additional charge from your TMC. 

This is exactly the experience Avenir is built to deliver – frictionless bookings in minutes, full autonomy to amend or cancel on the go, and one transparent fee that covers everything. No hidden costs in sight. 

Amazon gives you unlimited next day delivery. Spotify gives you unlimited listening. Netflix gives you unlimited streaming. Avenir gives you unlimited content, choice, changes, add-ons and customer service. All from the moment you book, to the moment you arrive back home, for one simple and transparent fee. 

Simple, right? 

For travel buyers, this is a pivotal moment. The tools are finally catching up to the vision of a truly connected programme, one where data flows seamlessly, content is accessible everywhere, and value is measured in outcomes: cost control, wellbeing, sustainability, and traveller satisfaction. 

But we have to lean in. The future won’t arrive by itself. 

If we keep operating on old rails, we’ll keep getting old results. It’s time to demand better: modern infrastructure, transparent pricing, and a mindset that puts the trip, not the transaction, at the heart of travel management. 

We’ve seen what happens when industries embrace openness, integration, and user experience. Music, media, telecoms all evolved. 

Now it’s business travel’s turn. 

The next era belongs to those willing to take the leap from legacy to limitless. Pioneering travel managers are already moving beyond outdated models and infrastructure, embracing technology and experiences that truly reflect the future by joining our early adopter programme for Avenir. 

Because the question isn’t whether we change as an industry, it’s how fast we’re willing to let go of the legacy systems, models and thinking that is holding us back. 

Avenir is coming to the UK and Europe in Q1 2026, and pioneering travel managers are ready to go live.