Objectives
An established global travel technology company had processed billions in bookings each year for more than two decades and consistently ranked among the top online travel platforms worldwide. Even before COVID, the legacy airline model was coming under significant margin pressure, and hotels and packages could not compensate at the scale required.
The post-COVID market behaved differently from the one leadership had mastered. While everyone agreed new growth engines were necessary, there was no shared conviction about where they would come from.
The mandate was urgent. Leadership needed to identify what to build next and make it credible and scalable.
Challenges
Several market theses competed for attention. Corporate travel, B2B2C platforms, agency infrastructure, and rich media experiences all had executive sponsors and legitimate logic behind them.
Each path also came with serious competitive gravity from companies such as Expedia, Google, and TripAdvisor. Without a common framework, discussions circled rather than converged.
Before we owned the initiative, strategy was heavily influenced by product vision and roadmap thinking. The cultural assumption was that if something compelling were built, customers would follow. Yet the primary buyer, the trigger for purchase, and the economic path to revenue remained only partially defined.
Finance needed a more predictable bet. Without quantified opportunity and defensible economics, the CFO organization could not confidently support major investment.
Meanwhile, the CEO and the President wanted to move faster as travel demand returned. Continued evaluation without commitment was becoming its own risk.
Decision
We grounded the conversation in new market realities. Corporate travel recovery would be uneven, consumer demand was rebounding, and premium experiences were gaining momentum.
From there, we introduced a framework designed to reduce options rather than expand them.
We first evaluated market opportunities against competitive dynamics. Then we examined where the company's technology, supplier relationships, and global scale created an advantage others could not easily replicate.
One direction became clearer.
The strategic shift required:
- Enabling high-value travel fulfillment for rewards-focused consumer brands
- Serving loyalty operators, credit card ecosystems, and rewards managers with built-in audiences
- Leveraging infrastructure, inventory access, and operational maturity for reliability at scale
The executive team aligned around enabling high-value travel fulfillment for rewards-focused consumer brands. Instead of serving the entire universe of possibilities, priority shifted to loyalty operators, credit card ecosystems, and rewards managers with built-in audiences.
We articulated why this company could win. Its infrastructure, inventory access, and operational maturity allowed it to deliver reliability at scale.
Finally, we defined how the move would occur through partnerships, integrations, and targeted commercial programs.
Equally important, leadership became explicit about what would not be pursued in the near term. Corporate travel and media ambitions were deprioritized so attention could concentrate on a single strategic path.
Ambiguity narrowed, and energy concentrated.
Execution
Once the choices were visible, the strategy evolved into a practical plan.
We sized the addressable market and built multi-year penetration scenarios. Platform capabilities and APIs were translated into outcomes that buyers inside loyalty organizations would value.
We tested market appetite, refined pricing logic, and shaped partnership structures that matched real procurement behavior.
Finance could now evaluate an investable business case rather than react to abstract opportunity.
Because the customer, value proposition, and advantage were explicit, product, sales, and partnership teams aligned more naturally around shared priorities.
What Changed
Decision velocity increased because the enterprise operated from common assumptions.
Leaders knew which initiatives deserved immediate funding and which could wait. Groups that had previously advanced parallel strategies redirected their attention toward the agreed target.
The CFO organization moved from periodic skepticism to regular engagement. With an economic thesis in place, discussions focused on execution discipline and risk.
For the first time, the company held a credible path from intent to market entry.
Measurable Outcome
The organization emerged with a defined strategy centered on rewards-driven consumer brands. Early validation followed.
- Leadership aligned around product focus, priority customers, differentiated advantage, and required investment
- Commercial teams entered the market with a unified narrative supported by financial logic
- The company developed a repeatable capability to leverage existing assets when entering large adjacent markets
Why This Matters
Large organizations rarely fail to generate ideas. They fail to convert possibility into commitment.
Leaders must eventually decide what they will build, who they will serve, why they can win, and what they will postpone. Without those choices, motion remains theoretical.
Clarity is what allows execution to begin.