Merging two travel programs after acquisition.
After an acquisition doubled the company's size, Balboa joined the merge task force — unifying platforms, renegotiating vendor agreements, and lifting traveler survey scores by 70%.
Executive SummaryBalboa provided a representative to the merge task force to ensure seamless change for 'new' company employees. The team supported the transfer of users alongside a simultaneous travel policy change for the entire organisation — and remained engaged well beyond go-live to manage the transition through stabilisation.
The Challenge: A company doubling in size
- Multiple divisions blending — extensive coordination to move every traveler to one platform.
- Overburdened internal staff and confusion among stakeholders for whom everything was changing.
- Vendor programs rendered obsolete by the significant increase in volume.
The Solution: A structured change-management plan
- Comprehensive program assessment — policies, suppliers, technology, traveler behaviours, and contracts.
- Technology standardisation — single OBT, TMC, payment solution, and reporting platform.
- Data integration — consolidated traveler profiles, reporting structures, and department coding.
- Coordination — weekly stakeholder meetings to resolve challenges as they arose.
The Results: Customised outreach drove conversion
New travel resource page built into the internal library.
Single Balboa helpline established as the workforce's point of contact.
Vendor renegotiations delivered over $150K in first-year savings across air, car, and hotel.
Booking delays slashed by eliminating multi-resource research.
Traveler survey scores lifted by 70%.
