2026-08-12 · 12 updates
Daily Business Travel Briefing: August 12, 2026
Over the past 24 hours, several key developments have emerged in business travel: a guide to credible SAF procurement was launched, an earthquake in Colombia closed an airport, volcanic activity in Italy is affecting flights, and strike risks in Belgium are elevated. Meanwhile, hotel technology and payments are undergoing major shifts, including Mews securing an e-money license, Rain acquiring Ansa to expand stored-value wallets, and new methodologies for expense control and financial shared services.
BCD Travel and SQUAKE Launch Corporate Guide to Credible SAF Action
BCD Travel and SQUAKE co-hosted a webinar providing a practical framework for corporate travel programs on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), covering understanding SAF, evaluating credibility (evidence, documentation, chain-of-custody), and communicating progress safely. Inga Bösl of Siemens Switzerland shared real-world experience implementing SAF in corporate travel.
Editor note: BCD Travel and SQUAKE's SAF guide provides a credible framework for corporate travel procurement, emphasizing evidence and chain-of-custody, a key reference in sustainability.
Colombia Earthquake and Travel Advisory Update
The UK FCDO updated travel advice for Colombia following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Chocó on August 10, warning of potential travel disruption and airport closures, with Matecaña International Airport in Pereira currently closed. FCDO continues to advise against all but essential travel to parts of Colombia, including border areas with Venezuela and Ecuador, the Pacific coast, and central regions.
- Impact and considerations
- The earthquake causes travel disruption and airport closures, affecting business travelers' itineraries; they should monitor updates and adjust plans.
Editor note: The earthquake in Colombia has closed airports and disrupted travel, directly impacting business travelers; monitoring the latest travel advice is essential.
Italy travel advice updated: volcanic activity affects flights
The UK FCDO updated its travel advice for Italy, noting that Mount Etna's eruption is affecting flights and that there is a high risk of wildfires during summer. Travelers are advised to check with their travel provider and stay informed about safety.
- Impact and considerations
- Italy is a popular business travel destination; flight disruptions and wildfire risks may impact business itineraries, so companies should monitor employee safety and adjust plans.
Editor note: Volcanic activity in Italy is affecting flights, and wildfire risk is high; companies should remind employees to check flight status and safety information.
Belgium travel advice updated: strikes and EES
The UK FCDO updated its travel advice for Belgium, covering the European Entry-Exit System (EES) and warning of potential disruption from national strikes. Travellers are advised to monitor local news and check with providers for delays and closures.
- Impact and considerations
- Frequent national strikes in Belgium may disrupt business travel; companies should monitor strike developments and have contingency plans.
Editor note: National strikes in Belgium may disrupt travel; companies should have contingency plans and monitor EES implementation.
Mews Secures First E-Money License for a Hospitality Operating System in the EEA
De Nederlandsche Bank granted Mews Financial Services B.V. an Electronic Money Institution license, making Mews the first hospitality operating system in the EEA to hold regulated e-money status. The license allows Mews to natively process payments, safeguard guest funds, and build embedded financial products, unifying operational and financial ledgers with in-house risk and compliance. In 2025, Mews processed $19.7 billion in hotel transaction value.
Editor note: Mews securing an e-money license marks the evolution of hospitality operating systems into regulated financial institutions, potentially transforming hotel payments and infrastructure.
Rain Acquires Ansa to Expand Stored-Value Wallets Beyond Single Merchants
Fintech company Rain acquired Ansa, a provider of branded stored-value wallets and closed-loop payment infrastructure. Ansa founder Sophia Goldberg joins Rain as Head of Payments. The acquisition enables Rain to extend stored balances beyond single merchants, accepted on Visa and Mastercard rails at participating businesses, and plans to support agentic payments.
Editor note: Rain's acquisition of Ansa extends stored-value wallets to multi-merchant networks, potentially impacting corporate payments and employee benefits.
2026 Expense Control Vendors: Four Solution Types and Selection Guide for Mid-to-Large Enterprises
Maycur published an industry guide outlining four main types of expense control solutions: professional enterprise-level platforms, travel and payment-focused, ERP-extended, and OA-collaboration. It proposes seven selection dimensions including expense closure, budget execution, AI auditing, corporate payments, complex organizations, system integration, and globalization, along with a POC checklist. Maycur positions its product for mid-to-large groups, emphasizing integration with heterogeneous systems like ERP.
Editor note: Maycur's vendor overview provides four solution types and seven selection dimensions, helping enterprises reduce selection risks.
2026 Financial Shared Services Center Construction: Seven-Step Method
Maycur published a guide for building financial shared services centers, proposing a seven-step method: clarify strategic positioning, assess current state, establish standards and exception mechanisms, restructure organization and roles, build end-to-end digital platforms, govern master data and metrics, enable AI in reviewable scenarios, and continuously optimize with operational metrics. The article emphasizes synchronized design of strategy, processes, organization, data, and technology, and provides POC and acceptance checklists.
Editor note: The seven-step method for financial shared services provides a systematic approach for group enterprises, emphasizing synchronized design of strategy, process, organization, data, and technology.
Siloed Revenue Manager Model Leaking Profit for Modern Hospitality Brands
Thibault Masson, Head of Product Marketing at PriceLabs, argues that the traditional siloed revenue management model is no longer suitable for scaled hotel and short-term rental operations. Revenue decisions are distributed across marketing, operations, finance, and other departments, causing data misalignment, slow response, and profit leakage. The article suggests integrating revenue management systems across the business and using AI to expand analytical capacity and make revenue insights accessible to more teams.
Editor note: Siloed revenue management leaks profit; integrating systems and leveraging AI can improve responsiveness and profitability.
Airbnb partners with Tripadvisor to scale Experiences
Airbnb has partnered with Tripadvisor Group to bring a selection of Tripadvisor experiences to the Airbnb platform, with certain tours and activities bookable later this year. The move aligns with Airbnb's strategy to scale Experiences, as CEO Brian Chesky noted on the Q2 earnings call that they added 1,000 new experiences, increasing supply by nearly 80% year over year.
Editor note: Airbnb's partnership with Tripadvisor to scale experiences may reshape OTA and experiences distribution, offering more options for business travelers.
Toast, Square Expand Google Partnerships to Bring Agentic AI Ordering to Ask Maps via Universal Com…
Square and Toast expanded their integrations with Google, bringing US restaurant operators into Ask Maps, Google Maps' conversational AI interface. Built on the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), diners can discover, customize, and complete orders via natural language prompts while operators maintain control over menus, pricing, and first-party guest relationships. Orders flow directly into operators' workflows, bypassing third-party commissions.
Editor note: Toast and Square's expanded Google partnerships bring agentic AI ordering via UCP, potentially reshaping restaurant distribution.
PREHOST Releases 7-Point Web Infrastructure Resilience Checklist for Hospitality Tech Leads
PREHOST released a Hotel Website Infrastructure Resilience Checklist, based on Google CrUX data from 17 million websites, to help independent hotel and PMC tech leads evaluate web hosting performance, backup protocols, and vendor SLAs. The checklist covers seven areas including real-world server responsiveness, security edge, disaster recovery, SLAs and redundancy, and vendor transparency.
Editor note: PREHOST's web infrastructure resilience checklist helps independent hotels evaluate hosting performance and backup protocols, safeguarding direct booking revenue.
Analysis and perspective
This briefing covers multiple critical themes. On sustainability, BCD Travel and SQUAKE launched a corporate guide to credible SAF action, providing a framework for evaluating evidence, documentation, and chain-of-custody, helping avoid greenwashing and advancing industry sustainability. On travel risk, the earthquake in Colombia closed Pereira's airport, Mount Etna's eruption is affecting flights in Italy, and national strikes in Belgium may disrupt travel, directly impacting business itineraries; companies must monitor and adjust plans. In hotel technology, Mews secured the first e-money license for a hospitality operating system in the EEA, signaling a shift toward regulated financial infrastructure; PriceLabs highlighted that siloed revenue management is leaking profit, recommending integrated systems and AI. In payments and expense control, Rain's acquisition of Ansa extends stored-value wallets to multi-merchant networks, potentially transforming corporate payments; Maycur published guides on expense control vendor selection and financial shared services construction, offering structured methodologies. Additionally, Airbnb's partnership with Tripadvisor to scale experiences may reshape OTA and experiences distribution.
Conclusion and outlook
Overall, the business travel industry is undergoing multiple transformations: sustainability is a core agenda, travel risks require continuous monitoring, and hotel technology and payments are accelerating integration and innovation. Companies should ensure compliance in SAF procurement, strengthen risk management, and evaluate emerging technologies' impact on travel and payment processes. Looking ahead, as e-money licenses and stored-value wallets proliferate, hotel and payment infrastructure will become more integrated, and enterprises should adapt proactively.