Custom Travel Solutions

What Custom Travel Solutions does

Custom Travel Solutions (CTS) is a Calgary, Canada-based travel management company founded in 1995 by Beth Gardner. The firm operates a dual-segment model: corporate travel management, providing end-to-end booking for flights, hotels, ground transportation, and group events with policy compliance, real-time reporting, duty-of-care, and risk management, alongside a leisure division offering curated vacation packages including Alaska, Caribbean, European, and Asian river cruises, African safaris, and destination tours to Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

The technology stack is built around third-party platforms rather than proprietary booking engines. Corporate clients book through integrations with SAP Concur and Zeno by Serko, both of which provide AI-driven policy-compliant booking and expense workflows. CTS layers dedicated program management, charter flight coordination, and CIBTvisas document services on top of these platforms. In March 2026, CTS launched RouteStack, an AI-infrastructure product that connects large language model assistants (ChatGPT, Perplexity) to live hotel inventory for conversational booking, with planned expansion to flights, cars, rentals, and activities.

CTS monetizes primarily through service fees and commissions on corporate bookings, transaction-based pricing on leisure packages (typically $851–$6,634 CAD per person), and professional-services pricing for groups and meetings. The corporate motion is sales-led with dedicated account managers; the leisure motion is consultant-led (e.g., named advisors like Lori Zacher) with package-based pricing. The company holds an exclusive Travel Leaders Business Travel Partner designation in Canada and operates from Calgary and Mesa, Arizona, with 51–100 employees. No venture funding or institutional investors are disclosed; ownership remains with founder Beth Gardner.

Name

Custom Travel Solutions

Legal name

Custom Travel Solutions

Website

https://custom.travel

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Custom Travel Solutions is a Calgary-based travel management firm founded in 1995 that delivers corporate travel programs (via Concur and Zeno integrations) and curated leisure vacation packages to businesses and individual travelers across North America and select international destinations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Travel Management

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510), Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

TMC & OBT Selection, Implementation & Optimization (THACAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Duty of Care, Traveler Tracking & Risk Management (THALANAD), Duty of Care, Traveler Tracking & Risk/Alerting (THALAMAD), Travel Policy, Approval & Compliance Software (THAKANAC), Online Booking Tools (OBT) & Corporate Booking UX (THALAGAD), Travel Ancillary & Add-on Booking Platforms (Insurance/Baggage/Seat/Upgrades) (BPAMAIAN)

Keywords

• Corporate travel management
• Leisure vacation packages
• Travel booking technology
• Group travel services
• Duty of care solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Corporate Travel Management Services: End-to-end corporate travel management including booking flights, hotels, ground transportation, travel policies, reporting, risk management, and duty of care services. Revenue likely derived from service fees and/or commissions from travel bookings.
2. Leisure Travel and Vacation Packages: Curated vacation packages including cruises (Caribbean, Alaska, Asia, European river cruises), safari packages, destination travel (Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Mexico). Revenue from package pricing and booking fees.
3. Groups and Meetings Services: Planning and management for corporate events, conferences, and group travel including venue selection, event coordination, group hotel bookings, and transportation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Custom Travel Solutions (CTS) delivers end-to-end corporate travel management including flight, hotel, and ground transportation booking, travel policy enforcement, real-time reporting, risk management, and duty of care, alongside personalized leisure vacation packages (cruises, safaris, destination tours) and the AI-powered RouteStack booking infrastructure that connects AI assistants to live travel inventory.

Product overview

Custom Travel Solutions offers a comprehensive travel management platform combining corporate travel services with leisure vacation packages. The core portfolio includes RouteStack (AI-powered booking infrastructure connecting to ChatGPT and Perplexity), corporate travel management with Zeno by Serko and Concur Travel integrations, Groups and Meetings services, Charter Management, Program Management, Duty of Care solutions, and a Corporate Leisure Program. The leisure division offers diverse vacation packages including Alaska, Caribbean, Asia River, European River, and Christmas Market cruises, African safaris, and destination-specific packages to Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Antigua, and Mexico's Mayan Riviera. The company positions itself as a full-service travel management provider leveraging 30+ years of industry experience with technology-driven solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RouteStack: A service that connects AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity to live hotel inventory, availability and pricing, enabling users to complete bookings without leaving the AI conversation. Functions as an infrastructure layer for developers and product teams seeking to add travel transactions to AI-driven applications.

Products and services

• RouteStack AI-powered travel booking infrastructure that connects AI assistants (ChatGPT, Perplexity) to live hotel inventory, availability, and pricing for transactional bookings within AI conversations; serves developers and product teams building AI-driven travel applications.
• Corporate Travel Management End-to-end corporate travel management for businesses including flight, hotel, and ground transportation booking; travel policy enforcement; detailed reporting; real-time support; and risk management solutions.
• Groups and Meetings End-to-end planning and management for corporate events, conferences, and group travel including venue selection, event coordination, group hotel bookings, and transportation.
• Leisure Travel Services Personalized vacation planning and booking services including beach vacations, adventure travel, cruise packages, and exclusive experiences delivered by dedicated leisure travel consultants.
• Caribbean Cruise Packages Caribbean cruise packages starting at $1,089.00 CAD per person, featuring sun-soaked beaches, turquoise waters, and vibrant island culture.
• Alaska Cruise Packages Alaska cruise packages starting at $851.00 CAD per person, featuring wilderness, glaciers, and wildlife experiences through the Inside Passage.
• Asia River Cruise Packages Asia river cruise packages starting at $2,839.00 CAD per person, featuring ancient temples, floating markets, and scenic landscapes along rivers such as the Mekong.
• European River Cruise Packages European river cruise packages starting at $2,999.00 CAD per person, featuring historic cities such as Budapest, Vienna, Amsterdam, and Paris along rivers like the Danube and Rhine.
• Christmas Market River Cruise Packages Seasonal Christmas market river cruise packages starting at $3,939.00 CAD per person, featuring festive Christmas markets along European rivers.
• African Safari - Kenya Packages Kenya safari packages starting at $6,634.00 CAD per person, featuring Big Five wildlife encounters in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
• Best of Spain Packages 7-day guided tour packages starting at $1,979.00 CAD per person, featuring Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, and Granada.
• Discover Italy Packages 7-day Italy packages starting at $1,839.00 CAD per person, featuring Rome, Florence, Venice, Tuscany, and the Amalfi Coast.
• Liberia, Costa Rica Packages 6-day all-inclusive beach vacation packages starting at $1,955.00 CAD for 2 adults at Occidental Papagayo, including access to Guanacaste region's beaches and adventures.
• Antigua and Barbuda Packages 15-day departure packages starting at $2,599.00 CAD for 2 adults at Royalton Chic Antigua, featuring Caribbean beaches and cultural experiences.
• Mayan Riviera, Mexico Packages 9-day departure packages starting at $1,518.00 CAD for 2 adults at Hotel Marina El Cid Spa and Beach, featuring Caribbean coast beaches and Mayan archaeological sites.

Quantifiable outcome

• Save time and money on corporate travel while ensuring policy compliance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Travel LeaderscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCustom Travel Solutions is an Exclusive Travel Leaders Business Travel Partner in Canada. Travel Leaders is actively engaged in reinventing the global travel business with evolving technologies. Through Travel Leaders Group's immense buying power and international recognition, CTS gains access to exclusive programs that reward travellers with bonus services and experiences they cannot secure on their own.
• CIBTvisassupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIBTvisas is a partner for seamless travel document solutions. They are the market leader trusted by 75% of Fortune 500 companies, offering global reach with local expertise, secure technology, and real-time order tracking backed by a 97% customer satisfaction rating. Provides visa and passport services for Custom Travel clients in Canada and United States.
• Concur Travel (SAP)coreTechnology or IntegrationConcur Travel is a leading online booking tool integrated with corporate travel policies. It provides easy online booking for flights, hotels, cars, and rail with built-in travel policy enforcement, real-time travel spend visibility, seamless integration with expense reporting, and mobile access.
• Zeno by SerkocoreTechnology or IntegrationZeno is a smart, intuitive booking platform designed for today's business traveler, combining AI-driven search with policy compliance and seamless workflows. Features include intuitive interface with personalized travel options, built-in policy controls and approvals, real-time spend tracking and analytics.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Travel Leaders Network: Travel Leaders Network is a US-based travel agency consortium and CTS's exclusive Canadian business travel partner. CTS operates as a Travel Leaders franchisee, sharing the same corporate TMC service model and supplier agreements.
• Frosch Travel: Frosch is a large independent US travel management company offering corporate and leisure travel services. Comparable in operating model—a privately held, high-touch TMC serving both enterprise and affluent leisure clients.
• Direct Travel: Direct Travel is a mid-market corporate travel management company with both corporate and leisure divisions. Comparable in scale and dual-segment strategy, and competes for similar Canadian and US mid-market accounts.
• Casto Travel: Casto Travel is an independent US corporate and leisure travel management company of similar size and boutique service orientation. Directly comparable in operating philosophy and target client profile.
• World Travel Inc: World Travel Inc is a US mid-market TMC offering corporate, leisure, and meetings services. Comparable in segment breadth and client profile to CTS's Calgary-based corporate practice.
• Tzell Travel Group: Tzell is a Travel Leaders-affiliated US corporate and luxury leisure travel agency network. Directly comparable as a Travel Leaders franchisee operating the same dual corporate/leisure model as CTS in Canada.

Broad incumbents

• BCD Travel: BCD Travel is one of the largest global corporate travel management companies, serving multinational enterprises. CTS competes with BCD for mid-market corporate accounts but BCD has substantially broader geographic coverage and proprietary technology.
• American Express Global Business Travel: Amex GBT is the largest publicly traded corporate travel management company, offering global OBT, expense, and meetings solutions. Represents the upper-bound incumbent competing for the same corporate clients CTS targets, with materially larger scale and R&D budget.
• CWT (Carlson Wagonlit Travel): CWT is a long-established global corporate travel management company. Like Amex GBT and BCD, it competes for the same enterprise travel RFPs but operates at much greater scale with proprietary technology investments.

Emerging players

• G Adventures: G Adventures is a global small-group tour operator offering curated leisure travel experiences (tours, cruises, safaris) similar to CTS's leisure portfolio. Comparable as a competitor for guided vacation bookings, though G Adventures is operator-led rather than agency-led.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CustomTravelSolutionsInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/custom-travel-solutions
• Instagraminstagram.com/custom.travel.solutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Custom Travel Solutions