Christopherson Business Travel
| Industry | Travel |
|---|---|
| Founder | Merrill Christopherson Lucille Christopherson |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Mike Cameron (owner), Camille Cameron (owner) |
| Products | AirPortal, AirPortal 360, AirPortal 360 Mobile, SecurityLogic, AirBank, ValueLogic, Airtinerary, Hotel ReCheck, Virtual Pay, Hotel Attachment, Travel Approval |
| Revenue | US$687,000,000 (2019) |
Number of employees | 480 (2019) |
| Divisions | Andavo Travel, Andavo Meetings & Incentives, CV Humanitarian |
| Website | www.cbtravel.com/ |
Christopherson Business Travel operates as a corporate Travel Management Company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, established in 1953.
As Utah’s leading travel agency and the largest national affiliate of BCD Travel, Christopherson reported sales of US$682 million in 2018 prior to the pandemic and employed over 480 staff members.
The firm owns Andavo Travel, which is a consortium of independent vacation consultants; All Seasons Sports Travel, dedicated to fan-centric travel packages; and CV Travel, which specializes in humanitarian and faith-oriented travel.
Christopherson holds the designation of Contracted Travel Agency for the State of Utah.
History
Merrill and Lucille Christopherson founded the agency in 1953. Under the leadership of John L. Weenig, the company expanded to three locations within Utah by 1980. In 1981, Michael A. Cameron and his wife Camille became partial owners and completed full acquisition by 1990.
The merger with Andavo Travel in January 2008 positioned Christopherson among the top twenty travel management companies in the U.S. By March 2010, the Camerons had acquired all divisions of Andavo; business travel services continued nationally under Christopherson Business Travel while vacation-related operations remained with Andavo Travel.
In late 2013, Christopherson purchased All Seasons Travel based in Alabama. The business travel segment was integrated into Christopherson Business Travel; leisure travel merged with Andavo Travel; and All Seasons Sports Travel was created to handle fan-oriented travel packages. CEO Mike Cameron retained his leadership role throughout.
The addition of CV Humanitarian Travel in 2016 expanded services to non-profit and faith-based travel. Employees engaged in company-supported humanitarian trips prior to the pandemic.
In 2020, Travel Weekly ranked Christopherson #23 among U.S. travel management companies, a decline from #12 in 2018.
The COVID-19 crisis resulted in closures of offices in Birmingham, San Francisco, and Denver and led to over 100 layoffs—the first reductions in staff since the company’s inception. Following this period, Josh Cameron, son of CEO Mike Cameron, assumed increased leadership responsibilities.
In July 2024, additional workforce reductions occurred amid network system upgrades—marking the first layoffs unrelated to the pandemic in over five decades. Concurrently, a new iOS application was introduced under the Andavo brand to improve client interaction.
Products
During the mid-2000s, Christopherson Business Travel developed AirPortal—a comprehensive travel technology platform incorporating proprietary tools such as user dashboards, benchmarking and reporting capabilities, online booking features, and mobile applications.
In 2012, the company launched AirPortal 360: a dashboard designed for travel managers that offers access to corporate travel management software aimed at lowering travel expenses, managing duty of care obligations, monitoring unused tickets, viewing traveler profiles, and enforcing policy compliance. Alongside this release came My Travel—a personalized dashboard tailored for individual business travelers. The following year saw the introduction of AirPortal 360 Mobile—the first mobile app empowering travel managers to control programs remotely via smartphones or tablets. Development of a successor platform has been ongoing for several years; however, its launch date remains undisclosed.
Honors
- Positioned at number 11 on Business Travel News' 2014 list of top Business Travel Management Companies.
- Frequently featured in Travel Weekly's Power List highlighting leading corporate and leisure travel agencies from 2011 through 2017, achieving the 26th spot in 2017.
- Awarded the Utah Business Magazine Fast 50 distinction consecutively from 2015 to 2019.
- Recognized as the premier Women-Owned Company in Colorado by Colorado Biz Magazine each year between 2015 and 2019.
- CEO Mike Cameron received Utah Business Magazine's CEO of the Year accolade in 2012.
- Honored with Utah's Best of State awards within Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism for three straight years from 2010 to 2012.
- Acknowledged as the Fastest-Growing Private Business by the Denver Business Journal in 2010.
- Designated as Utah’s top Travel Agency by Utah Business Magazine.
- Earned the When Work Works Award for excellence in workplace flexibility and productivity from 2009 to 2013 and once more in 2016.