How Can Businesses Maximize Their Travel ROI in 2025?

It’s official: business travel is on the rise again. According to Deloitte, corporate travel spending is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by late 2024 or early 2025, with industry events and in-person meetings driving the bulk of the recovery. 

As businesses return to travel, finance leaders and travel managers need to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring that every dollar spent delivers measurable value. 

At AllFly, we’ve seen firsthand how the business travel landscape is evolving. Companies are laser-focused on maximizing their ROI, which means making smarter decisions when it comes to flights, accommodations, and overall travel strategies. But how can businesses ensure they’re getting the most value out of each trip in 2025?

What Exactly Is Business Travel ROI?

Business travel ROI is all about measuring the financial return your company gets for every dollar spent on travel. Here’s the formula:

ROI = (Net Gain from Business Travel - Total Costs of Business Travel) / Total Costs of Business Travel × 100

A positive ROI means the trip was worth the expense. But not all trips offer the same return. Client meetings and deal closures often yield high returns, while other trips might not deliver as much bang for your buck.

In 2025, it’s more important than ever to be strategic about which trips you approve, focusing on those that drive tangible business results.

Key Insights from 2024

Last year, we saw companies reap significant returns from certain types of business travel. Customer meetings brought back up to $19.99 for every dollar spent, while conferences and trade shows returned $4 to $5.99 per dollar.

Even incentive travel yielded a positive return, with $1 to $4 coming back for every dollar invested.

As travel continues to ramp up, companies are striving to control costs while ensuring that essential trips still happen.

 In 2022, 62% of businesses reported higher-than-expected travel costs, with some fully remote companies exceeding projections by over 50%.

It’s clear that managing business travel is becoming more complex, but with the right tools and strategies, companies can ensure each trip delivers value.

What’s New for 2025?

In 2025, corporate travel is all about strategic investments. Companies are focusing on how to make each travel dollar work harder, leveraging new technologies and smarter practices to increase ROI. Here are four key strategies to maximize business travel ROI in 2025:

1. Incentivize Early, But Not Too Early, Bookings

Booking early can save money, but booking too early can backfire. Airlines often withhold discounts far in advance, waiting to see if travelers will pay higher prices.

The sweet spot for booking? 10 days to a month ahead of the trip. Incentivizing employees to book within that window can prevent last-minute price hikes, saving your company money.

2. Enforce Hard Approvals

In the past, soft approvals allowed trips to be booked with minimal oversight, leading to overspending. In 2025, many companies are switching to hard approvals, where managers must greenlight every trip. This ensures that only essential travel gets approved, helping control costs.

 With Quest, you can automate this process entirely. Our platform’s approval workflows make sure only compliant bookings get through, keeping your travel spend in check without manual intervention.

3. Go Green to Save Green

Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a smart business strategy. More companies are turning to green travel options, such as biofuel-powered flights and carbon offsets, to reduce their environmental impact.

Not only does this help reduce your company’s carbon footprint, but it also enhances brand reputation and customer loyalty, contributing to long-term profitability.

4. Leverage AllFly's Forecast Tool

Predicting and managing travel costs is critical in 2025. At AllFly, our forecast tool allows businesses to plan and budget future travel with greater accuracy, using real-time data and historical trends to predict costs. This tool empowers your team to make informed decisions, ensuring that each trip aligns with your ROI goals.

The Takeaway: Be Smart, Be Strategic

The corporate travel landscape is rapidly changing, and companies need to be more strategic than ever to maximize their ROI.

By focusing on early bookings, enforcing strict approval processes, embracing sustainable travel options, and leveraging technology like AllFly’s forecast tool, businesses can ensure that each trip delivers real value.

At AllFly, we’re committed to helping companies navigate these shifts in the business travel landscape. Whether it’s simplifying the approval process, optimizing travel spend, or ensuring compliance with travel policies, we offer tools and strategies to help you maximize your travel ROI in 2025.