The 7 T&E trends we’re following in 2025

What developments lie ahead in the world of travel and expense?

To get a sense of what the industry might expect in 2025, we analysed data from the Navan booking platform and the results of a large-scale survey we conducted with Skift. The findings outlined in our guide, 7 T&E trends that will define 2025, can help you get out in front of these developments and take your T&E programme to new heights.

Here are the trends.

1. NDC extends its reach

The excitement around New Distribution Capability (NDC) is heating up. More airlines are realising the benefits of having more control over their content. And more companies are seeing firsthand how a travel solution offering NDC-enabled connections can help lower programme costs; 87% of managers in our survey said these connections are helping them save money.

NDC adoption could also help boost compliance levels. It’s an important point, as compliance has been in decline since 2022, according to the Navan and Skift survey. And this year saw a particularly sharp increase in the number of managers who said less than half of their travellers comply with company policies.

In addition, more than one in five travellers in our survey — 22% — reported booking off-platform more than half the time. A couple of the reasons, according to both travellers and managers, are a lack of inventory and lower prices. NDC could help with both, by offering more choices and more price points.

2. Finance pushes on automation

Another key finding from our survey: both travellers and managers are frustrated by the amount of time it takes to submit and process expense reports. A full 40% of travellers said it takes an hour or more to file an expense report. And 63% of managers said they’re still using at least some manual processes to process those reports.

Such companies are quickly falling behind peers that have adopted fully automated solutions, and more businesses are waking up to this problem. There’s simply too much competition for employees to be wasting time on manual expense reports when they could be focusing on tasks that drive value.

The other trends that will shape 2025

Here’s a preview of the five other trends we expect to be pivotal this year:

More travel and travellers — Almost three-quarters of business travellers and managers expect to take more trips this year than in 2024. Meanwhile, the number of departments travelling for business is growing as the reasons for taking trips expand.

It’s getting personal — Tech is helping to bring an ever-more personalised user experience to travel. Among the benefits for travellers are more tailored recommendations and greater time savings.

Real-time data is in demand — Many companies still aren’t getting travel and expense data in real time, even though they recognise the benefits. Among travel and finance managers, the survey results show real-time expense visibility is the feature they currently don’t have but desire most.

Going greener — An increased focus on sustainability was one of the most prominent developments highlighted by the survey. 77% of companies encourage employees to book more environmentally friendly options, a rise of 8 percentage points from last year.

All-in-ones become one for all —  A smaller share of survey respondents said their T&E solution met their needs compared to 2022 in a sign of shifting expectations. What’s more, there’s a growing appetite for a solution that unifies travel and expense management in one platform (21% to 37%).

For the full lowdown on each of the trends, and tips for how to make sure you’re set up for success, get the guide today.