I sat through the demos so you don't have to
Before Trip Happens, I bought and managed corporate travel for three decades — every executive move on UPS's global account, eight years running The Nature Conservancy's worldwide meetings and events, engagements with Coca-Cola and Tyler Perry Studios, and large-group bookings for MrBeast's TV show. From boardrooms to creator productions: I've signed the contracts, lived with the rollouts, and cleaned up after the tools that didn't deliver. Now I put that judgment to work for founders and People Ops leads at distributed companies — I tell you which tools I'd sign off on today, and what the demos won't mention.
Booking, policy, and spend control for recurring team travel. This category is my literal 30-year specialty — I managed it at enterprise scale before these platforms existed. Which one fits depends on your team size and travel pattern; my comparison guide covers it from the buyer's chair.
My verdicts →Hiring across borders before you have an HR department — contractors, EOR, payroll. The most common gap I see in distributed-team stacks, and the one with the most expensive mistakes when it's improvised.
My verdicts →When teams meet twice a year, the retreat is the retention play. I'll tell you which platforms are worth your budget, what venues won't volunteer, and where the quotes hide their margin. And for the right client, I still plan retreats end-to-end myself — by request.
My verdicts →Insurance for remote workers and eSIMs that mean nobody lands without data. The unglamorous layer that determines whether travel problems stay small. These I use personally.
My verdicts →