Workforce Lodging, Hotels, and Trains: Adapting Amid Economic Pressures and Changing Travel Patterns

On July 22, 2025, at the Global Business Travel Association’s annual conference, Corpay’s Group President, Lodging, Ryan Guthrie, moderated a panel featuring three hospitality experts: Leigh Ann Vernon, Director, Strategic Sourcing and Supply for BNSF Railway; Mechell Hoxie, Head of Global Sales for Sonesta; and Chris McLaughlin, Senior Director of National Sales for Aimbridge Hospitality. The discussion centered on how each organization is handling the current economic environment, including how to navigate evolving business travel patterns, rising operational costs, balancing customer needs with employee needs, ongoing market uncertainty, and more.

In a room filled with people working across industries in global business travel, the discussion resonated. With a poll taken by attendees before the panel showing muted expectations for business travel for the remainder of the year, it’s no wonder so many GBTA participants were eager to hear how Mechell, Leigh Ann, and Chris are navigating the times.

Here, then, is a look at the panel discussion and how these hospitality industry heavyweights are tackling today’s challenges and facing the future.

Changing Perspectives for Travel Suppliers and Travel Buyers

It seems there have been countless polls and surveys to gauge how business owners, investors, and workers feel amid today’s uncertain and rapidly changing economic landscape. GBTA – with its focus on business travel – has been no exception. 

In November 2024, the Global Business Travel Association conducted a poll to find out respondents’ outlook regarding business travel for 2025. At that time, 67% of respondents held a positive view and just 7% held a negative view. When GBTA repeated the survey question in Spring of 2025, sentiment had radically changed — just 31% expressed a positive view, while 29% expressed a negative view. 

Each panel attendee, in light of these numbers, was then asked, “How do these economic forecasts align or misalign with what you’re seeing on the ground for business and workforce travel?” The answers were insightful.

Mechell Hoxie: Workforce Travel is Still Strong

Mechell Hoxie from Sonesta acknowledged that forecasts and sentiment indicate some softening in hotel performance — particularly with RevPAR projected to decline through 2026. However, she emphasized that broad forecasts don’t quite match what is seen in workforce travel. Travel buyers are juggling a lot, such as navigating complex regulations and managing inconsistent guest experiences at the property level. Big picture projections often miss the real, “on the ground” challenges - like the unpredictability that comes with managing workforce mobility. Workforce travel is still strong, and what workforce travel buyers truly need are hotel partners who understand their business, anticipate traveler needs, and curate customized travel experiences tailored to traveler personas. 

Chris McLaughlin: Perspective is Key

For Chris McLaughlin, it’s important to keep perspective. Yes, 2025 isn’t living up to forecasts (for a variety of reasons), but this year is better than last year, and while the second quarter saw large declines across the industry, the third quarter is looking more promising. At the same time, key indicators like ADR and RevPar are maintaining a high level of consistency. 

He also pointed to the need to remember inflationary factors that actually suggest travel spend is up.

Leigh Ann Vernon: Optimism and Investment

For Leigh Ann Vernon with BNSF, optimism is on tap, from long-term growth and navigating current conditions to wading successfully through the current uncertain freight environment. Committed to meeting customers’ needs, BNSF is expected to spend $3.8 billion in track and network expansion, while also streamlining processes, leveraging tech, and managing costs to reduce overall operating spend. From a workforce lodging perspective, BNSF will remain strong and steady.

Rising Costs and Adaptive Strategies

When asked through another GBTA poll about top concerns regarding the long-term impact of government actions, the macroeconomic environment, etc. respondents listed their biggest concern as travel costs. Other concerns included administrative burdens, staffing concerns, and budget constraints. Travel willingness and safety, as well as duty of care, also made the list. 

On the heels of these numbers, the panelists were asked: As costs continue to rise and be a focus, how are you adapting your strategies to preserve margin and stay competitive?

Chris McLaughlin: Good Employees are Key

Chris emphasized that it’s important to acknowledge the inevitable answer for how to control costs: invest in technology. And while, yes, investing in AI will probably help, investing in the guest experience is key. Because no matter how good the tech is, the “on the ground” experience matters a lot. Hotel companies, then, need to invest in good employees.

The pandemic resulted in a loss of almost 680,000 hotel employees. Only 470,000 are back in the industry, which means a significant loss of institutional experience across most brands. So there’s no succession where veterans show newcomers the ropes. How do hotel employers get better employees to make that “on the ground” difference? With better salaries, better schedules, and better benefits. 

Mechell Hoxie: Balancing Customer and Property Needs

For Mechell, one of the keys to controlling costs is meeting customer needs while attending to and balancing property needs. To do this, Sonesta listens intently. They have a customer advisory council made up of customers from all segments and from all company sizes. This council gives them a good read on what’s important to different types of travelers, as well as insight into how traveler behavior is changing over time. A good example of what they learn? How the purpose of someone’s travel might need a different mix of amenities — a different type of curation. Are there needs early in the morning or late at night where hotels could better accommodate different travelers’ needs? 

Mechell also talked about the right fit. Sonesta works closely with operations teams at the property level to really look at cost comparison so that hotels and customers both win. With 1,100 locations with 13 brands that range from economy to luxury, Sonesta can truly leverage their offerings and match business segment with hotel type to make sure it’s a good fit for the traveler and the property.

Leigh Ann Vernon: Meet Customer Needs 

AT BNSF, operations never cease, regardless of weather or holiday. For Leigh Ann, this means her crews can arrive at all different times of day and night — and they have different lodging needs that must be met. For some, BNSF only has 30 minutes to get people from the front of the train to their place of rest. Others travel in crews that can range from two to 60 people. Sometimes, they’ll have five or six gangs of 30 or 40 people on a project in a rural area. All those workers are hotel customers who need a room. 

The benefit of this to hotels is clear: train customers are always there, providing revenue day in and day out. They remain strong, but their needs need to be understood. As travel buyers, BNSF has expectations of their hotel partners. The main one? Availability.

When BNSF doesn’t have enough rooms, the trains stop. That’s not good for BNSF or the country. They need hotel partners that will honor their obligations and contracts and hold their rooms at the agreed-upon rates no matter what — even if the World Cup is in town — because BNSF is still going to need the rooms, and they’ve been faithfully filling them for years. 

The New Guest Experience is Tech + Human

Many hotel brands are making strategic changes to the guest experience to adapt and differentiate themselves from other hotels. Here’s a look at how Sonesta and Aimbridge are tackling the new guest experience.

Mechell Hoxie: AI and Sonesta Connect

For Mechell the new guest experience has a lot to do with technology. Sonesta is incorporating AI into the earliest parts of the guest experience. Now when a guest calls the call center to make a reservation, AI chat works with guests to handle common questions, last-minute bookings, and reservation changes. Freeing agents to hone in on more high touch, complex guest needs, which streamlines the process. 

In addition, they have a new proprietary front desk CRM designed to foster customer loyalty and satisfaction called Sonesta Connect. Deployed across their entire hotel ecosystem, Sonesta Connect makes it possible for front desk clerks at all their hotels to keenly profile travelers. Information about why the guest is traveling, the floor they like, preferences regarding room types, etc. are all available which allows for a very personalized experience each and every time a guest checks in.

Chris McLaughlin: Training and Education

For Chris, providing the best guest experience is all about training and education that goes beyond what brands usually offer. The hotel business is, in many ways, a simple business, and it doesn’t help to overcomplicate it. Still, profiling the right relationships, listening to the boots on the ground, and honing in on what involved customers say they want and need can help improve systematic training. It can also make up for the institutional knowledge gap that has existed since the start of the pandemic, while also preparing for the future. Chris emphasizes that it’s essential that the training and education hotel employees receive be human. Because even with all the technology that assists a guest’s experience, it’s still a very human industry.

First Impressions at the Check-In Experience

For many people the check-in process is anything but streamlined. How does a hotel still make a good first impression and cater to guests when right off the bat a guest’s experiences (e.g. a crew of 15 people are all checking in at the same time after a long day of travel or work and only one front desk clerk is available) are less than ideal?

Chris McLaughlin: A Case Study

For Chris, it’s about maintaining a level of professionalism that goes above and beyond, and that requires training, experience, and education. Yes, AI and other tech tools can streamline and speed processes, but it’s the human beings delivering the experience, and Chris just had a really positive experience that left quite a first impression on him. Here’s what happened.

Chris is a martial arts instructor, and with a test coming up, he needed a space to practice. So he found where his hotel reservation was, called, and asked if there was a local fitness center or health club that might have space for him to practice in. The person on the other end of the line said, “Well, we have a fitness center, but if you really need it…” and they proceeded to mention two local health clubs close to where he would be staying, at the Homewood Suites. 

When he arrived at the hotel, his room wasn’t ready, so he sat and waited. Not an ideal first impression. When his room was ready, they called his cell phone and let him know. He went up to his room, and in it, he found a note that read, “We are happy that you are here with us. If you want some private space to practice, we can open up the meeting space for you. Text me if you need anything. Erica.”

A remarkable level of service — provided after just one phone call — during what might be the busiest week of the year for that hotel in Denver. Where is it likely Chris will stay the next time he comes to Denver?

Mechell Hoxie: Excellent Service Thanks to Tech and People

Mechell knows that some guests have unique check-in needs, and Sonesta wants to streamline the guest experience based on what their particular needs are. Reservations are simple and can sometimes be handled by AI, but a lot of other things are more complex, and you do need staff that are more experienced and can navigate challenges.

So technology is something Sonesta relies on and utilizes to improve the guest experience. For example, they may have information in their CRM that lets them know when guests are arriving late at night. They could have a pre-check for those guests, already have their rooms assigned, and already have keys prepared for them in order to expedite the process of checking in. 

Regional and Industry-Specific Differences in Workforce Travel: Final Thoughts from Ryan Guthrie

What’s happening in a region or industry really can and does affect workforce travel. For Ryan Guthrie, President of Group Lodging, Corpay, the specifics matter. For example, with airline activity, the number of passengers coming into the country can be very different from the number of passengers going out. Also, a place’s political and economic environment can really affect the amount of travel in and out of it.

Then there’s the rise in catastrophe-type events, or CAT events. These situations yield a lot of unplanned activity, and they drive business in all of Corpay’s lodging sectors, from airlines and insurance to workforce, including utility crews, emergency respondents, and survivors.

Being aware and being ready to be responsive in all these situations is a core effort and something Corpay’s Group Lodging is very attuned to. Because as Leigh Ann Vernon pointed out: Availability matters. Particularly when you're talking about people who are not having their best day, it’s really important to make sure Corpay Lodging or ALE Solutions or TA Connections can get a distressed passenger or someone who has just lost their home in a wildfire into lodging fast.

The Changing World of Business Travel

No matter what the future holds for workforce travel and the hospitality industry, meeting guests’ needs will stay central — met best by a combination of properly applied and leveraged tech and positive human experiences.