Most business travelers avoid Travel Management Companies (TMCs) because they require enterprise contracts, minimum spend commitments, and corporate-level negotiations. You're stuck choosing between booking everything yourself or signing a big agreement that might not fit your company's size or travel volume.

Here's what you're missing by avoiding TMCs: direct relationships with airlines and hotels, access to corporate rates you can't get publicly, and most importantly, someone who handles the mess when things go wrong. When your flight gets cancelled at 11 PM in Cleveland, traditional travelers are calling offshore call centers while TMC users reach travel professionals who can rebook across multiple airlines.

Otto The Agent gives you the best of both worlds - all the TMC benefits without the contracts. Get that customized executive assistant experience with automatic policy enforcement and loyalty program management across all bookings. No more manually entering your frequent flyer (FF) number or wondering if that hotel booking will count toward elite status.

I resisted getting TMC-level service for years, thinking I could do better myself. Then I calculated the hours I spent searching for flights, managing changes, and filing expense reports. Otto saves me roughly 10 hours per month - time I can spend actually doing my job instead of being an amateur travel agent.

The best part? When travel goes sideways (and it always does), you have an advocate. While other travelers are standing in rebooking lines, Otto is already working on alternatives. It's like having a travel-savvy executive assistant who never sleeps - without the enterprise contract.