Podcast: Direct Travel’s platform-powered transformation

Travel management is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by new technology platforms and a focus on data as a strategic asset.

For the 19th episode of The Travel Is a Human Emotion Podcast, Spotnana’s SVP of Marketing, Justin Schuster, spoke with Christal Bemont, CEO of Direct Travel, and Sarosh Waghmar, Spotnana’s founder and chief product officer.

The conversation explored Direct Travel’s strategic transformation, the launch of Direct Travel’s Spotnana-powered Avenir platform, and how data is reshaping what TMCs can offer their customers.

A return to travel with new perspectives

Before diving into Direct Travel’s recent transformation, Schuster asked Bemont about her personal journey. After a long career at Concur, where she rose to chief revenue officer, Bemont spent several years as CEO of Talend, a data integration company. Why did she decide to return to travel and become the CEO of a TMC?

“It’s a deep belief and conviction for something that [Spotnana CEO and Executive Chairman] Steve Singh talks about all the time, which is the passion for reinventing travel and reinventing what it means to solve problems for people that are in the travel ecosystem,” Bemont explained.

Her time at Talend proved formative in unexpected ways. “That really set the stage for me on the importance of what Sarosh has done with this incredible technology, which provides high-fidelity data, having high-quality data, having trusted and comprehensive data,” she said.

That foundation of understanding data as a strategic asset has been crucial as Direct Travel embarked on its transformation with Spotnana.

The ATPI acquisition: A powerful pairing

Direct Travel’s acquisition of ATPI in 2025 marked a pivotal moment for the company, forming a global TMC at a time when consolidation was reducing choices in the market. 

The two companies had maintained a partnership for more than a decade, making the acquisition a natural evolution.

The combination fundamentally expanded Direct Travel’s capabilities and market reach. “There’s a huge focus on how we show up as one face to the customer, to really expand our reach beyond North America,” Bemont said.

The acquisition also aligned perfectly with Direct Travel’s work with Spotnana. “There’s been a massive shift in the size and profile of our customers,” she said. “It’s expanded beyond what we focused on prior to working with Spotnana to really include multinational, global, strategic, large enterprise and SME accounts.”

This expanded footprint allows Direct Travel to serve customers who are specifically seeking Spotnana’s modern technology platform. 

“Our customers raise their hands and say, we love Spotnana. And we really look to have a global footprint to support our entire organization,” Bemont observed.

The ATPI acquisition also opened doors to specialty markets including rotational, offshore, sports, mining, marine, and energy sectors. All of these can benefit from Avenir, which combines Spotnana’s open travel platform with Direct Travel’s extensive service and technology offerings.

Understanding Avenir: Engine and driver

With the launch of Avenir, Direct Travel created a comprehensive travel solution built on Spotnana’s infrastructure. 

“Think of Spotnana as our engine,” she said. “The way Sarosh built this was intended to be extremely open. We’re taking Spotnana and supercharging that engine.”

Building on Spotnana as a foundation, Direct Travel adds unique value through 24/7 global servicing, enhanced services, additional data offerings, AI tools for travel managers, and strategic integrations across the industry ecosystem.

 “We’re fully leveraging Spotnana, which is open and e something that we can then build upon and solve critical problems,” Bemont said.

Reducing the cost of servicing through innovation

When Schuster turned to Waghmar, he asked about Spotnana’s focus on innovation to reduce the cost of servicing for TMCs. This is a critical challenge in an industry where margins are tight and operational efficiency is paramount.

Waghmar emphasized that truly adding value requires understanding TMC operations at a deep level. “The TMC does a lot of heavy lifting,” he said. “There is so much talk about AI, thinking that AI is going to replace human beings. I feel it’s going to enhance the workflows. I think it’s going to make travel agents a lot more efficient.”

This philosophy guided Spotnana’s approach with Direct Travel. “If you truly want to be the platform, we need to understand the inner workings of how Direct Travel works,” Waghmar said.

The challenge lies in data. Understanding booking patterns, disruption management, customer preferences, and operational workflows requires capturing, standardizing, and making sense of vast amounts of information. Once that data foundation is established, AI and automation can drive real efficiency gains.

Moving the travel industry forward

For Bemont, this evolution isn’t just about disruption for disruption’s sake. 

The key is starting with conviction about data, then determining how to leverage it.

“Solve the really high-value problems, and everything else falls into place,” she said, echoing a philosophy she learned from Steve Singh.

Looking ahead, Bemont sees fundamental changes in TMC business models. “I don’t believe we’ll be an intermediary,” she said. “I’ve actually said to our supplier partners, if I’m having the same conversations with you and the way that these business models are built and the way that we have value today, then I failed in a couple of years.”

Travel as a human emotion

When asked about the connection between travel and human emotion, Bemont returned to Direct Travel’s North Star: reimagining the way the world connects.

“I believe in people and technology, and the combination and the power of both of those,” she shared.

Travel remains challenging, she acknowledged, and needs to become easier. But at its core, it’s about human connection. 

“I feel a deep passion for helping people connect and making that a whole lot easier than it is today, because I believe in those connections. What makes us special is the ability to bring people together and connect.”