The UK FCDO updated its travel advice for Armenia, adding information about entering via the land border from Iran. FCDO advises against all travel within 5km of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and along the M16/H26 road between Ijevan and Noyemberyan due to border tensions.
SAP Concur introduces the 'Beyond the Balance Sheet' series, a thought-leadership series for modern finance leaders. Each 20-minute episode covers trends shaping finance, including growth strategy, AI, and the evolving role of business travel. Episodes include 'Vision for Growth', 'AI — Hype or Game-Changer?', 'The Role of Business Travel', and 'Integrations: Making Every Connection Count'.
In a SAP Concur Conversations episode, Saia LTL Freight's Director of Finance Operations Ed Hebert shares how the company transformed its travel and expense (T&E) data from a tactical process into a strategic storytelling engine. By analyzing patterns and automating a reconciliation process, Saia reclaimed approximately 42 workdays annually, reduced burnout, and improved decision-making across the organization.
Amadeus reported FY 2025 results: Group revenue increased 6.1% to €6,517.0 million, up 8.5% at constant currency; adjusted EBIT grew 10.2% to €1,893.8 million. Air Distribution revenue rose 5.9% with bookings up 2.8%. The company commits to low double-digit adjusted diluted EPS growth over the mid-term and launches a €500 million share repurchase program.
SAP Concur's guide highlights the strategic role of accounts payable (AP) in spend management for 2026. It offers five recommendations: remove manual friction, use invoice data for visibility, connect AP to total spend, build in risk and compliance, and design scalable processes. Citing Ardent Partners, best-in-class AP teams process invoices in 3.1 days at 80% lower cost.
Amadeus announced the acquisition of SkyLink, a New York-based AI technology company specializing in conversational automation. SkyLink's AI architecture enables booking flights and hotels via chat platforms in seconds, with tens of thousands of bookings completed. The acquisition will enhance Amadeus's corporate travel capabilities and expand AI conversational technology to airlines, airports, and hospitality.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Guinea due to crime, unrest, and inadequate health infrastructure, recommending increased caution. U.S. government personnel are prohibited from intercity travel at night. Crime is common in Conakry, and demonstrations may turn violent and disrupt transportation. Health infrastructure is limited, and drinking water is unsafe.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Malawi due to crime and unrest, recommending increased caution. Violent crime such as theft, burglary, and assault is common, and police resources are limited. Demonstrations may occur frequently due to political issues, with tear gas and roadblocks. Travelers are advised to avoid demonstrations, have an emergency plan, and purchase travel insurance.
The U.S. State Department updated the Guinea travel advisory, maintaining Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution) due to crime, unrest, and inadequate health infrastructure. The advisory includes a ban on U.S. government personnel traveling between cities at night, crime risks in Conakry, potential disruptions from demonstrations, and limited health facilities. Travelers are advised to avoid demonstrations, stay alert, and purchase travel insurance.
SAP Concur's guide explains the two main pricing models for travel and expense (T&E) management software: user-based (seat) and transaction-based. It compares pros and cons, highlighting that transaction-based offers flexibility, fair pricing, and scalability, and advises buyers to ask key questions to evaluate total value.
ACI World announced the 2025 ASQ Customer Experience Awards, showing airports outperforming other industries in customer experience as passenger satisfaction continues to rise. Nearly 707,000 passengers were surveyed in real time, with more than half of the world's air travelers passing through ASQ-rated airports. Border and passport control saw the largest satisfaction gains, while airport ambience and cleanliness were the strongest drivers of overall satisfaction.
European low-cost carrier Volotea has chosen to adopt Navitaire Stratos, an Amadeus company, to accelerate its retailing transformation. The cloud-native, AI-powered dynamic retailing portfolio simplifies and personalizes the travel experience with tailored offers, an easy-to-use shopping cart, and expanded self-service options, while enabling more efficient operations and revenue growth.
Travelport Flights API release notes show new features for GDS Exchange APIs, including support for exchanges with exempt taxes, search by brand, and adding free seats and ancillaries during exchange. These updates aim to streamline exchange processes and increase flexibility.
Travelport Flights API release notes cover multiple updates, including NDC bundled offers, NDC disruption handling, Air Canada Flight Pass support, and Premium Flex Search for GDS. These enhancements aim to improve search, booking, and change management capabilities, providing developers and travel agents with more flexible tools.
The U.S. Department of State updated its travel advisory for Malaysia, maintaining Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions, but increased caution is advised for islands and maritime areas off the coast of Eastern Sabah due to kidnapping risk. The area from Kudat to Tawau has experienced kidnapping-for-ransom incidents, and U.S. government employees require special authorization to travel there.
The U.S. Department of State updated its Afghanistan travel advisory, maintaining Level 4: Do Not Travel. The advisory urges U.S. citizens to leave immediately and provides specific safety advice, including maintaining a low profile, monitoring local developments, and making contingency plans.
The U.S. Department of State maintains a Level 4 advisory for Afghanistan due to civil unrest, crime, terrorism, wrongful detention, kidnapping, natural disasters, and limited health facilities, urging U.S. citizens to leave immediately. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended operations in 2021 and cannot provide consular services.
Ardent Partners report highlights key AP trends for 2026, including agentic AI moving from pilot to core operations, global invoicing compliance becoming a real-time responsibility, AP data driving cash intelligence, tariff instability, data cleansing, and the death of paper checks. The AP role is shifting from basic invoice management to a strategic hub.
Utility operating expenses (OpEx) face new regulatory risks, with regulators demanding greater cost transparency and documentation. Travel and expense (T&E) becomes a visible signal of financial discipline, and spend management platforms like SAP Concur help utilities embed controls, automate policy enforcement, and provide real-time transparency.
Travelport Flights API release notes show a new Premium Flex Search feature, allowing flexible search dates and PCCs, supporting up to three PCCs and date ranges of up to three days before/after. This feature is GDS-only, not available for NDC, and requires specific customer provisioning.
Travelport's February 2026 Flights API release notes detail enhancements across GDS and NDC content. Key updates include support for exchanges on itineraries with exempt taxes (GDS), brand-based exchange search, expanded Premium Flex Search capabilities, NDC bundled offers and Air Canada Flight Pass, and loyalty cross-accrual. These changes aim to improve search flexibility, streamline exchange workflows, and bolster NDC support for travel sellers.
Travelport introduces the returnAllBrands object in Flight Specific Search reference payload requests, enabling the return of all brands in a fare family regardless of the anchoring flight's brand from the initial search. This feature is GDS-only and not supported for NDC. The update aims to provide travel sellers with more comprehensive brand options, enhancing search flexibility.
SAP Concur has been named #1 on G2's 2026 Best Accounting and Finance Software list, marking its sixth consecutive year receiving a G2 Best Software Award. The ranking is based on nearly 6,500 authentic user reviews. SAP also earned the top spot on the Best German Software list. Users praise its integration, automation, compliance, and ease of use.
SAP Concur has enhanced its integration with Uber for Business, enabling automatic employee directory sync, smart filters, and preview-before-invite. Admins can sync employee data directly from SAP Concur, filter by team, region, department, etc., reducing manual upkeep. SAP Concur remains the system of record, ensuring alignment across travel, meals, and expense data.
Based on user reviews from G2 and TrustRadius, SAP Concur earns higher ratings in long-term fit, efficiency, mobile functionality, rules enforcement, and reporting analytics. On TrustRadius, SAP Concur scores 8.3/10 overall, compared to Emburse's 7.9. User feedback highlights SAP Concur's strengths in automation, compliance, and scalability.
SAP Concur recaps 2025 innovations, including general availability of Joule AI assistant, Receipt Analysis Agent, Complete unified solution with Amex GBT, Microsoft Teams integration, enhanced Uber for Business integration, new NetSuite connector, support for over 90 languages, and more. These updates aim to improve travel and expense management efficiency, compliance, and user experience.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for Côte d'Ivoire due to crime, terrorism, unrest, health, and piracy. U.S. government employees are restricted from driving outside major cities at night and require two-car convoys. Crime includes carjacking, robbery, and home invasion; terrorism risk exists; medical facilities are limited.
Transavia, the low-cost carrier in Air France-KLM Group, has expanded its global distribution agreement with Amadeus, providing access to all fare types, including Smart Fare and Fare Family Upsell, via the Amadeus Travel Platform. The agreement covers Transavia France and Netherlands. Transavia is strengthening its presence at Paris Orly, operating routes to Marseille, Nice, and Toulouse from March 29, 2026, targeting business travelers.
Booking Holdings reported Q4 and full year 2025 results. Q4 room nights grew 9%, gross bookings grew 16% (11% constant currency), and revenue grew 16%. Full year room nights grew 8%, gross bookings grew 12%, and revenue grew 13%. The company achieved approximately $550 million in annual run-rate savings through the Transformation Program and approved a 25-to-1 stock split.
The U.S. Department of State maintains a Level 2 travel advisory for Côte d'Ivoire due to crime, terrorism, unrest, health, and piracy. The northern border region is Level 4: Do Not Travel. U.S. government employees are restricted from driving outside major cities at night and require two-car convoys. Crime includes carjacking, robbery, and home invasion; terrorism risk exists; medical facilities are limited.
Booking Holdings announced it will release its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results on February 18, 2026, at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET via a press release on its Investor Relations website. A conference call to discuss the results will be held at 4:30 p.m. ET the same day, with a webcast and audio replay available for seven days.
Amex GBT announced an increase of $300 million to its share repurchase authorization, bringing it to $600 million. The company also reported strong preliminary Q4 2025 results: revenue up 34% to $792 million, TTV up 45% to $10 billion, and adjusted EBITDA up 17% to $130 million. Full-year revenue grew 12% to $2.718 billion, TTV up 17% to $36 billion. The company reiterated 2026 guidance with revenue growth of 19-21%.
Travelport Flights API has released several updates, including support for Air Canada NDC flight passes, NDC bundled offers, NDC disruption handling, and GDS features like Premium Flex Search (flexible dates and PCCs), search by brand, and fare quote per passenger/segment. These updates aim to enhance flexibility and efficiency in search and booking.
Radisson Hotel Group and Amadeus have built an API connectivity between Radisson's EMMA Central Reservation System and the Amadeus Travel Platform, moving beyond traditional GDS protocols. The connection updates in real time and uses AI-driven data mapping to streamline search and booking, providing travel sellers with more accurate and timely hotel inventory and rates.
Booking.com has been named the Official Travel Partner of the Route 66 Centennial in 2026. The historic route stretches 2,448 miles through eight states. Booking.com offers thousands of accommodations and car rental options along the route and will be integrated into centennial events to support road trippers.
Based on user reviews from TrustRadius and G2, SAP Concur outperforms Coupa in overall rating, willingness to buy again, value for price, and travel and expense management features. SAP Concur scores higher on mobile experience and AI automation, while Coupa is less mobile-friendly.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 1 travel advisory for the Kyrgyz Republic, advising normal precautions. Some areas have increased risk due to political, economic, religious instability, and demonstrations or armed conflict may threaten safety.
The U.S. Department of State updated its travel advisory for the Kyrgyz Republic, maintaining Level 1 but adding an 'unrest' risk indicator and removing 'other'. Caution is advised within 30 km of the Tajikistan border due to a history of border clashes.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 1 travel advisory for Slovakia, advising normal precautions. Travelers are advised to enroll in STEP, avoid demonstrations, and purchase travel insurance.
The UK FCDO updated its travel advice for Cameroon, no longer advising against all but essential travel to most of Adamawa Region, but continues to advise against travel to Bakassi Peninsula, within 40km of borders with CAR, Chad, Nigeria, Far-North, North-West, and South-West Regions.