Andrew Sheivachman

Corporate business remains strong for both hotels and airlines despite ongoing trade wars around the world. This seems unlikely to hold up in 2019.

It will be interesting to see if Lola's fortunes change as its partnership with American Express Global Business Travel ramps up. We're quickly finding out how big a market there is for the variety of apps catering to business travelers from small- to medium-sized companies.

Eventbrite's rise should be a lesson for the overall event tech ecosystem: Make something that is easy to use and powerful enough to scale, and customers will come.

Lola was a good idea with solid execution that fell flat. By partnering with the biggest company in corporate travel, Lola will find out whether its service is actually a fit for businesses around the world. And if not, maybe the mobile-first future isn't quite here yet.

Eventbrite is still losing money as it grows, but now has strong revenue growth and plenty of cash to spend while getting back on track. The state of the booming global events business is a big help.

Car rental companies are preparing for the future of mobility, even as their recovery continues to be a slow process. Renting a car remains mostly annoying but the experience will improve soon thanks to apps and more customer-centric design.

Investors are paying attention to the companies trying to capture the travel spending of small- to medium-sized businesses. As these startups attract increased venture funding, though, it's important to remember that corporate travel at large is extremely resistant to disruption.

While China is an attractive market, it’s traditionally been a tough place for corporate travel. Joint ventures between global travel management companies and Chinese travel providers are combining local market expertise with travel management standards to reduce friction for corporations.

Planners expect 2019 to be another tough year, with more commission cuts and increased expenses on the horizon. Succeeding will require doing more with less and getting creative about crafting killer events with a smaller bankroll.

Planners have to get creative as both expectations and costs are set to increase in 2019. Technology can only do so much and event design will shift to reflect the financial priorities of organizations holding events.