Corporate travel agencies and travel management companies face a staffing crisis that's threatening their ability to serve clients effectively.
While business travel spending rebounds toward record levels in 2025, the very infrastructure needed to support this growth is crumbling under persistent labor shortages and escalating operational costs.
Your solution isn't necessarily to hire more staff. You can also bridge the staffing shortage by partnering with a proven 24/7/365 travel fulfillment center.
Here's why Hickory Solutions365 has emerged as the industry's leading choice for corporate travel agencies and departments seeking scalable, cost-effective staffing solutions.
Key Takeaways
- Corporate travel agencies face an unprecedented staffing crisis. While business travel spending surges toward $316 billion in 2025, 69% of agencies plan to hire, but only 7% find it easy to secure qualified candidates.
- Service gaps are costing agencies revenue and clients through inadequate 24/7 coverage, missed booking opportunities, and declining service quality that frustrates corporate travelers.
- Hickory Solutions365 eliminates staffing limitations with comprehensive 24/7/365 coverage, including live travel advisors, back-office support, group ticketing, international rate desk services, and OBT monitoring.
- Two service tiers match your market positioning. You’ll enjoy cost-effective Hickory Select for price-sensitive clients, or premium Hickory Ambassador for VIP corporate accounts demanding white-glove service.
- Award-winning results speak for themselves. Hickory's 2024 Travel Weekly Magellan Gold Award recognition proves this isn't just another travel call center, but a strategic solution, tailored to your travel agency.
The 2025 Staffing Crisis Threatening Travel Operations
You’re not imagining the staffing shortage. And it’s happening amid a rising demand for business travel.
The U.S. Travel Association forecasts business travel spending to reach $316 billion in 2025, representing 4% growth, while total U.S. travel spending is projected to grow 3.9% to $1.35 trillion.
Yet as demand surges, the corporate travel industry confronts what experts describe as “already-tight labor conditions,” according to the American Bus Association's January 2025 analysis. "They are likely to experience greater difficulty maintaining staffing and higher wage costs” due to uncertainties and shocks directly related to what it calls “a flurry of executive orders” from the U.S. Presidency.
For corporate travel agencies and TMCs, this creates an unprecedented operational crisis and exacerbates labor shortage trends from before 2025.
How the Labor Shortage Impacts Travel Agency Operations
A recent American Marketing Group survey crystallizes the challenge: While 69% of travel agencies plan to hire advisors in 2025, only 7% say it's easy to hire qualified candidates. This creates cascading operational problems:
Service Quality Under Pressure
Nearly six out of ten business travel suppliers identified rising costs as the industry's biggest challenge in 2024.
Understaffed agencies struggle to maintain service quality while managing these cost pressures, leading to client dissatisfaction and potential account losses.
You’ve likely had to diffuse an increased number of calls with customers frustrated by your “underwhelming” service.
24/7 Coverage Gaps
With limited staff, agencies cannot provide adequate after-hours support when travelers need assistance most. This gap becomes critical as business travel increases and travelers expect immediate resolution to urgent issues.
Missed Revenue Opportunities
Insufficient capacity means agencies cannot handle peak booking periods effectively or manage complex group travel requests that generate higher commissions.
As one industry researcher notes, "Business owners across hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and tour companies are feeling the pressure as they struggle to find enough staff to meet demand,” citing long-lasting effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, wage competition, and changing job expectations.
Hickory Solutions365: The 2025 Travel Fulfillment Solution
Rather than fighting the staffing crisis with outdated approaches, forward-thinking agencies are embracing travel call center solutions that provide comprehensive, scalable support.
Hickory Solutions365 leads this transformation by addressing every aspect of travel agency operations through a comprehensive 24/7/365 client fulfillment center.
That means: no more coverage gaps, poor service quality, or missed revenue opportunities.
Employing a travel call center is an especially powerful solution for smaller travel agencies or departments. Not only will you not have to add more team members, but you’ll free up their time to focus on more cost-saving or revenue-generating activities.
Complete Operational Coverage That Scales With Market Growth
Hickory Solutions365 eliminates staffing gaps through comprehensive service coverage that traditional hiring cannot match.
24/7/365 Client Fulfillment Center
Your clients receive expert support around the clock, ensuring no emergency goes unaddressed and no booking opportunity gets missed. That means you'll receive after-hours emergency service for corporate travel departments, travel companies, and groups.
This continuous coverage builds your clients’ confidence while reducing liability exposure in today's demanding market. Put unanswered phones and maddening phone trees in the rearview mirror.
Live Travel Advisor Chat and Phone Services
Professional travel advisors handle client interactions with the expertise and service quality your brand demands. These aren't generic call center operators. They're trained travel professionals who understand corporate travel management complexities.
Back Office Support and ARC/BSP Reporting
Critical but time-consuming administrative functions receive expert attention with Hickory Solutions365. Achieve compliance while freeing your core team to focus on client relationship management and business development.
Group and Meeting Ticketing
Complex group bookings that typically require extensive agent time get handled by specialists experienced in managing multi-traveler itineraries, venue coordination, and group rate negotiations.
International Rate Desk Support
Specialized expertise in international travel rates and regulations guarantees your clients receive optimal pricing while maintaining compliance with complex international booking requirements.
OBT/Queue Monitoring
Continuous monitoring of online booking tools and reservation queues prevents service disruptions, creating seamless traveler experiences. OBT support services are also available 24/7/365.
Scalable Labor Pool at Competitive Rates
Unlike traditional hiring, Hickory Solutions365 provides access to a scalable labor pool that adjusts to market demands without the fixed costs that burden corporate travel agencies during uncertain economic periods. You'll also have agents dedicated to both GDS and non-GDS fulfillment to handle books for you, however you prefer.
Special Access to Global Airline & Hotel Network
Via Hickory Global Partners, you get direct access to airline commissions and over 50,000 hotels in more than 8,057 cities across 184 countries, with negotiated rates for amenities, ensured room availability during peak periods, full loyalty benefits, and seamless booking through all major GDS.
Flexible Service Levels for Market Positioning
Hickory Solutions365 recognizes that different agencies serve different market segments with varying service expectations.
Two distinct service levels make sure everything aligns with your brand positioning:
- Hickory Select is a cost-effective fulfillment that delivers professional service while maintaining competitive pricing for your price-sensitive clients.
- Hickory Ambassador VIP Service provides premium-level support that matches the expectations of your high-end corporate clients who demand exceptional service quality and personalized attention.
Both service levels have 24/7/365 overflow for TMC operations.
Proven Results in a Competitive Market
While many travel call center solutions make impressive claims, Hickory Solutions365 has earned industry recognition.
Hickory has been honored with several Travel Weekly Magellan Awards, most recently winning gold in 2024 for Travel Services—a testament to the exceptional quality and innovation that define its approach.
With Hickory Solutions365, you’ll experience enhanced service quality that exceeds your clients’ expectations and expand your business without proportional overhead increases. You’ll benefit whether you’re booking travel accommodations for the ground, air, or hotels.
Seize the Growth Opportunity Today
Agencies that continue struggling with traditional staffing approaches face increasingly difficult competitive positioning.
Limited service hours, inconsistent quality, and overwhelming administrative burdens prevent these organizations from capitalizing on the projected 3.9% growth in total U.S. travel spending.
The choice becomes clear: continue fighting an unwinnable staffing battle in a declining staffing market, or partner with a proven travel fulfillment center that transforms your operations.
Corporate travel agencies and travel management companies no longer have to accept staffing limitations as barriers to growth in 2025's expanding market.
Hickory Solutions365 provides the comprehensive fulfillment infrastructure that enables corporate travel agencies to compete effectively while maintaining the service quality that drives client retention and business expansion.
The question isn't whether staffing challenges will continue—industry projections confirm they will intensify. The question is whether your agency will leverage proven solutions to transform these challenges into competitive advantages.
Ready to discover how Hickory Solutions365 can elevate your agency's potential while solving your travel staffing challenges? Visit Hickory Solutions365 today to learn how our award-winning 24/7/365 travel fulfillment center can transform your agency's operations and position you to capture growth in 2025's expanding travel market.