Andrew Sheivachman

It was a year of surprising change in corporate travel. By embracing some of the innovations that are commonplace in leisure companies, travel management companies are slowly bringing themselves into the 21st century.

The U.S. travel industry at large appears to be falling carefully in line behind President Trump, regardless of the chaos and confusion caused by his initial travel ban last month.

Travel management companies are finally looking to approach corporate travel from a more traveler-centric perspective. The pressure is on to shift to a more progressive approach to travel technology, iterating based on what travelers actually want.

Travel agencies are using digital education tools to reach the new generation of agents. More valuable could be back-end innovations that make life for agents more fun than figuring out dated computer systems.

While the public outcry may have died down while Americans await the Trump administration's next move, the recent travel ban may still be affecting U.S. citizens who are Muslim.

For Avis Budget Group, strong overseas returns aren't offsetting weakness in the Americas. Through its partnerships with services like Uber and Didi, it's looking for another way to make money with its fleet when rental demand flags.

Companies like Marriott International, with its strong global presence, are in a good position to capitalize on hotel demand that may shift away from the U.S. due to political concerns.

As corporate travel technology competition heats up, a focus on developing the capabilities that travelers actually want to use is crucial.

Spirit Airlines had to reduce its guidance for 2017 following storm-related cancellations in early 2017. This represents a blip on the radar for Spirit, but questions remain about how Spirit will cope as legacy carriers introduce lower fares to compete.

Travel spending is stable globally. Nobody is really sure what 2017 will hold for leisure or business travel, however, given global instability and the high value of the U.S. dollar.