Otto blog

We're on a mission to make business travel easier, smarter, and more personal. Read our latest thoughts and insights.
Corporate Travel Management: A Self-Service Guide for Ops Leaders

Stop being your company's travel agent. Learn how to implement self-service corporate travel management that eliminates bottlenecks, enforces policy automatically, and reduces booking requests by 80%.

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Boost Your Corporate Travel ROI: 5 Proven Strategies

Cut travel waste by 40% with these 5 strategies. Track the metrics that matter, eliminate hidden costs, and boost your corporate travel ROI.

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Business Class vs First Class: When the Premium is Worth It

Should you upgrade to first class? This cost-benefit analysis breaks down when the premium is worth it for business travelers and deal closers.

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How to Achieve Corporate Travel Savings Without Enterprise Software

Cut corporate travel costs with smart booking strategies, policy compliance, and AI automation. Real tactics for small businesses.

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5 Travel Tools That Actually Work for Self-Booking Business Travelers

Discover the best business travel tools that handle disruptions, learn your preferences, and work like an executive assistant.

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Flight Delay Travel Insurance: What it Covers and What It Doesn't

Learn what flight delay insurance actually covers and why business travelers need real-time solutions.

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Which AI Travel Assistant Works Best for Business Travel?

Compare top AI travel assistants for business trips. Find the best tool for booking, disruption management, and personalized travel support.

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Top 9 Expedia Alternatives Built for

Compare 9 business travel platforms built for corporate needs. Find tools that handle disruptions, enforce policy, and deliver real support when flights get cancelled.

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Understanding Per Diem Rates for Business Travel: What You Need to Know

Master per diem rates with our IRS compliance guide. Learn high-low method calculations, avoid tax traps, and handle travel disruptions.

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Top 7 Reasons Flights Get Delayed and What You Can Do About It

Learn the 7 main reasons for flight delays, from crew timeouts to tech outages, plus actionable strategies to stay ahead of disruptions.

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Top Corporate Travel Trends Shaping 2025

Discover the 6 corporate travel trends transforming business trips in 2025. From AI assistants to sustainability mandates, see what's reshaping the industry. URL slug: /corporate-travel-trends-2025

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ChatGPT for Business Travel: What You Need to Know

ChatGPT recommends flights but can't book them. Discover why business travelers need AI that handles the full booking process, not just suggestions.

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B2B Travel Solutions: The Ultimate Guide

Explore four types of B2B travel solutions: expense platforms, booking portals, and safety tools. See how each category serves different business needs.

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Corporate Travel Policy Template for Growing Companies

Corporate travel policy template with booking guidelines, expense limits, and automation tips. Cut costs and save time.

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Mileage Runs: How to Maximize Elite Status Step-by-Step

Strategic mileage runs help frequent travelers earn elite status efficiently. Learn the 5-step system to maximize qualifying miles and dollars.

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AI Travel Safety Solutions for Business Trips

Learn how AI travel safety solutions protect self-managed travelers with predictive alerts, automatic rebooking, and real-time disruption support.

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Business Travel Compliance 2025: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Master business travel compliance in 2025 with this complete guide. Learn policy enforcement, duty of care, expense management, and AI tools that automate compliance.

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Solo Business Travel Expenses Management Guide 2025

Master business travel expenses with practical tips for tracking, reporting, and staying compliant. Save time and money on your next trip.

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9 Best Sites Like Expedia for Business Travel

Discover 9 sites like Expedia that enforce policy, automate expenses, and handle disruptions when your corporate trips go sideways.

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Business Travel Itinerary Guide 2025: Templates & Tips

Business travel itineraries break when meetings shift. See a 3-day example and how to handle last-minute changes.

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What Happens If You Miss Your Connecting Flight: What to Do Next

Miss your connecting flight? Learn what airlines owe you, how to rebook fast, and the exact steps that get you to tomorrow's meeting when connections fall apart.

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10 Best AI Executive Assistants for Busy Professionals

Compare the 10 best AI executive assistants for 2025. Find the right AI tool to automate meetings, travel, and administrative work for busy professionals.

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How AI Virtual Travel Assistants Automate Business Travel

Learn how AI virtual travel assistants automate flight research, booking, and disruption management for business travelers.

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6 Biggest Business Travel Challenges and How to Fix Them

Discover 6 business travel challenges road warriors face daily, from flight disruptions to expense tracking, and practical fixes that actually work.

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7 Best Travel Mobile Applications for Business Travelers in 2025

Discover 7 travel mobile applications that solve real business travel problems: AI-powered booking that learns your preferences, jet lag management, fast customs clearance, accurate translation, and more. Most are free.

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5 Strategies for Smart Business Trip Planning

Make business trips work for you, not against you. 5 strategies to arrive rested, avoid disruptions, and maximize your company's travel policy.

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Self-Booking Tools for Business Travel: A Complete Guide

Self-booking tools for business travelers: compare consumer sites, corporate OBTs, expense platforms, and AI assistants to find your fit.

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What Are Travel Management Companies? 2025 Complete Guide

Discover what travel management companies do, who uses them, and modern alternatives like AI assistants for business travel booking and support.

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Building Otto

A series of technical posts written by CD Wang, Otto's CTO. Read more to learn about how Otto is built.
Finding the Perfect Flight: Solving a 5,000-Option Search Problem at Otto

Searching SF → NYC isn’t scrolling through 250 flights - it’s navigating 5,000+ possibilities! Every route, cabin, fare rule, and baggage policy spawns a new branch in the search tree, and that’s before loyalty status, seat availability, or the real question: do you at least get snacks?

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Escaping LLM Collapse: Why AI Keeps Recommending the Same 3 Flights (and How We Broke It)

Model collapse happens when an LLM optimizes for probability instead of relevance - diversity dies and only the statistically common answers survive. To break that behavior, we override the model’s default priors with structured context, domain rules, and explicit constraints. Without that, Otto would still be suggesting “United at 9 AM and the Marriott by the airport” for every trip.

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