Imagine logging into work from a beach in Bali or a café in Paris, with your employer’s full blessing. For employees at BCD Travel, this scenario isn’t just a daydream; it’s company policy. BCD Travel, a leading corporate travel management firm, has launched a formal “Work from Anywhere” program that lets staff work abroad for up to 60 days a year. This forward-thinking approach to remote work is turning heads in HR and tech circles alike. In this post, we’ll explore who BCD Travel is, what their 60-day remote work policy entails, why it’s so unique among large companies, and how it aligns with BCD’s values and earns praise from employees and experts.
BCD Travel’s Work From Anywhere Policy: Summary
BCD Travel is one of the clearest examples of a company that has turned Work From Anywhere into a formal, practical employee benefit rather than leaving it as an informal manager-by-manager arrangement.
Within employees’ home countries, flexibility is already built into how much of the business operates, with a large share of the workforce working remotely or in hybrid roles rather than following a traditional office-based model. But what really sets BCD apart is its international policy. Employees are allowed to work from another country for up to 60 days per year, while remaining on their home-country payroll and benefits. That gives people a level of genuine cross-border flexibility that is still rare among large employers, especially outside the tech sector.
The programme is not unlimited, but it is clearly structured. Employees can choose from a defined list of eligible countries, and the time limit creates enough flexibility to make the policy meaningful without tipping into the compliance complexity of long-term international moves. In practice, this gives staff the freedom to combine work and travel in a way that feels realistic, supported, and scalable.
What makes BCD especially interesting is how naturally this fits its identity. For a company built around business travel and global mobility, enabling employees to work internationally is more than just a perk. It reinforces the brand, strengthens its employer value proposition, and shows that Work From Anywhere can be operationalised in a way that feels authentic rather than experimental.
Meet BCD Travel: A Global Travel Management Leader
BCD Travel is not a tech startup or a work-from-home software company, it’s one of the world’s top travel management companies. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Utrecht with regional HQs in Atlanta, London, and Singapore, BCD specializes in helping corporate clients manage business travel smartly and efficiently.
With over 15,000 team members in 170+ countries and nearly $23 billion in sales in 2024, BCD Travel is an industry giant that “helps companies travel smart and achieve more”. In addition to booking flights and hotels, BCD provides meetings & events services, travel consulting, and digital tools that simplify travel for organizations. In short, this is a company deeply rooted in global mobility and travel, which makes its approach to remote work especially interesting.
Inside BCD’s 60-Day Work-from-Anywhere Policy
In 2024, BCD Travel officially rolled out a “Work From Anywhere” (WFA) policy as part of its flexibility initiatives. The policy’s headline perk is straightforward: employees can temporarily work outside their home country for up to 60 days per year But there’s more to it. Here are the key features of BCD’s WFA program:
- 60 Days Abroad – Employees are allowed to work remotely from another country for a total of 60 days each calendar year. This could be one long stretch or several shorter trips, adding up to about two months abroad annually.
- Dozens of Eligible Countries – The policy isn’t limited to one or two destinations. Staff have “more than 33 countries to choose from” when picking a remote-work location. (In fact, industry reports suggest the list of eligible countries may have expanded to around 48 in 2025 as BCD grows its global footprint.) The options span many regions, so employees can “travel through Sri Lanka… unwind on Copacabana’s beaches… or rediscover [their] family’s hometown abroad”, as BCD’s own career site puts it. The options are almost endless.
- Home Payroll & Compliance – Uniquely, BCD keeps it simple for employees by keeping them on their home-country payroll and benefits during the abroad stints. In other words, if you normally work for BCD in the U.S., you remain a U.S. employee (with the same paycheck, taxes, and social contributions) even while working from, say, Spain for a month. This avoids the tax, visa, and HR headaches that often come with longer international remote work. Employees don’t have to “transfer” to a foreign entity or risk running afoul of local laws, BCD has figured out the logistics so you can temporarily work overseas without jumping through hoops.
BCD’s internal communications around this policy have an exciting, travel-positive tone. “Where would you go?” the company teases on its website, encouraging staff to consider working from exotic locales and visiting colleagues worldwide. It’s an approach that not only enables personal adventure but also ties back to the business: as a travel management company, BCD is effectively letting its own people become “business travelers” in a new way. Employees can experience the life of a digital nomad or globetrotter, which can give them empathy and insight into the travelers they serve.
To use the benefit, employees typically coordinate with their managers and ensure business needs (like time zone coverage or client service) are met. The 60-day limit is generous but also provides a clear guideline to avoid compliance risks. By capping at about two months and specifying eligible countries, BCD’s program hits a sweet spot and long enough to truly work from “anywhere” for a while, but not so long that it triggers the legal complexities of full expat assignments.
Why This Policy Is a Rare Standout Among Big Companies
BCD Travel’s WFA policy stands out because very few large companies have formally embraced international remote work to this extent. While many employers became flexible with work-from-home during the pandemic, allowing work-from-any-country is a different animal. Tax laws, employment regulations, and time zone issues make many corporations wary of letting staff wander the globe with a laptop. In fact, in some firms these unsanctioned trips have earned the nickname “hush trips”, employees quietly working abroad without official approval, to avoid HR noticing potential legal issues.
BCD took a bold, proactive stance by creating a structured program instead of shying away. Why is this notable? Consider that at many companies, international remote work is still handled case-by-case or with a limited “vacation work” exception. For example, Cisco Systems, a tech giant often praised for flexibility, doesn’t advertise a fixed global remote policy, it mostly trusts employees and managers to work it out informally. As one Cisco team member noted, “the general feeling is that as long as work gets done and you are available … nobody cares where you are.” Cisco encourages hybrid and remote work culturally, but it does not have a codified 60-day abroad rule. Typically, employees in such companies might take a few weeks to work from overseas if their manager allows it, but anything longer can raise red flags (often due to tax residency problems). In contrast, BCD’s formal policy lays down clear, company-wide guidelines: it openly says “yes, you can do this, here’s how long and where.”
Even among other forward-thinking firms, BCD’s approach is generous. Some tech companies like Airbnb or Spotify grabbed headlines for announcing “work from anywhere” flexibility, Spotify in 2021 let employees choose their location (with some pay adjustments) and Airbnb famously allows up to 90 days per year in another country. However, these are still the exception rather than the norm in the corporate world. BCD Travel appears to be one of the first in the corporate travel sector, and one of the few large companies overall, to bake a global remote work perk into its HR policies so explicitly.
The rarity of such a benefit has made BCD a bit of a trendsetter. HR professionals are watching closely because it addresses a growing employee demand: the freedom to “combine work and travel” beyond just taking PTO days. By handling the compliance issues behind the scenes (via that home-payroll mechanism and country list), BCD is effectively saying “Go have that experience abroad, we’ve got you covered.” This not only differentiates BCD in the talent market but also likely helps with talent retention, employees don’t have to quit or take a sabbatical to fulfill their travel ambitions.
Aligned with BCD’s Values and Industry DNA
Why would a company go to the trouble of enabling work-from-anywhere? In BCD Travel’s case, it aligns perfectly with their corporate values and their business. BCD’s mission includes “helping people and companies travel smart and achieve more,” and their vision is to be the most innovative and trusted travel management company. Embracing remote work innovation is a natural extension of that ethos. One of BCD’s core values is “Give your best”, fueled by passion for what you do, and being “inspired by the people and places around us.” The WFA policy literally lets employees find inspiration from new places and cultures. It sends a message that BCD doesn’t just manage travel for clients, it encourages its own people to explore the world and learn from it.
Industry-wise, BCD is uniquely positioned to walk this talk. As a travel expert, the company is undoubtedly aware of the logistics of global work. They know about visas, tax treaties, duty of care and all the nitty-gritty of crossing borders. You could say BCD made remote-abroad work viable because, as a travel company, they understood how to solve the puzzle. It also doesn’t hurt that BCD likely has entities or partners in many countries, simplifying the legal side. The result is a policy that feels authentic to their brand, it’s hard to imagine a company more naturally suited to championing a work-from-anywhere program than one built around corporate travel.
Moreover, in the travel management sector, demonstrating flexibility and employee well-being can be a competitive advantage. BCD Travel’s clients (other companies) care about things like traveler satisfaction and modern workforce trends. By leading by example, BCD can credibly advise clients on remote work travel policies or “bleisure” (business-leisure) travel, because they’re doing it themselves. It aligns with an image of being innovative, employee-centric, and global-minded.
Recognition and Praise for BCD’s Remote Work Leadership
BCD Travel’s remote-friendly culture hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, the company has become a regular on “best companies for remote work” lists. In 2025, FlexJobs (a popular remote job platform) ranked BCD Travel #9 on its Top 100 Companies for Remote Jobs, marking the 10th year BCD made that annual list. Consistently being in the Top 10 worldwide is a strong testament to BCD’s commitment to flexibility. (For context, FlexJobs’ rankings analyze 60,000+ companies for volume of remote job postings, so BCD rubbing shoulders with tech firms in the top 10 is impressive.)
“Being recognized … is a testament to BCD Travel’s commitment to flexibility, employee engagement and work-life balance. Whether you’re working from a home office or abroad, we’re proud to provide a virtual environment where our people can thrive. Here’s to another year of proving that great work can happen anywhere.” – Christian Dahl, BCD Travel Executive VP of People & Culture
This quote from BCD’s HR leadership sums up how the company sees remote work: not as a concession, but as a strength. The phrase “great work can happen anywhere” really captures the ethos BCD is aiming for.
In addition to FlexJobs accolades, BCD Travel has earned other honors that indirectly highlight its flexible culture. For example, BuiltIn named BCD one of the Best Places to Work in 2025, and BCD was listed among the Top 100 Inspiring Workplaces globally in 2024. While these awards cover many aspects, flexibility is undoubtedly a factor in modern workplace awards. BCD was also ranked #14 on FlexJobs’ list of top companies for hybrid jobs in 2023, showing it’s not just fully remote roles and they support hybrid arrangements too.
Crucially, BCD’s workforce statistics reinforce this: as of 2024, about 13,000 of BCD’s employees across 170+ countries were working under a flexible model, whether fully remote or hybrid. In other words, the majority of BCD’s staff is not in a traditional office everyday, which is quite remarkable for a company of this size and global spread. This level of flexibility has made BCD something of a poster child for remote work in the travel industry (an industry that historically was office-bound).
Employee Reactions and Public Employer Branding
It’s one thing for a company to win awards, but how do the employees actually feel about these policies? In BCD’s case, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. On Glassdoor, BCD Travel’s “Work From Home” benefit (which encompasses the WFA policy) is rated 4.5 out of 5 by employees, a very high score for any workplace benefit. Many employees specifically highlight the work-from-anywhere freedom as a huge perk. As one anonymous BCD staffer wrote in late 2023, “It’s actually a ‘work from anywhere’ policy” emphasizing that the company truly lets you log in from wherever.
Multiple reviews mention that virtually all BCD teams are remote or virtual now, and that the flexibility has been transformative for work-life balance. Employees call BCD “one of the first employers that [truly] endorses WFH policy” rather than just tolerating it. This kind of employee word-of-mouth is gold for employer branding and BCD appears on lists of remote-friendly employers not just because of corporate policy, but because employees sing its praises.
BCD’s remote-work approach also garners attention on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed where prospective hires research the company. The company actively promotes its WFA benefit in recruiting materials: a BCD job page enthusiastically invites new hires to “join our team and enjoy the freedom and flexibility of our Work from Anywhere policy.” This strong branding around flexibility helps BCD attract talent who value remote options. In an era where knowledge workers often choose jobs based on flexibility, BCD has a competitive edge by being explicit and proud about their 60-day abroad perk. (It’s no coincidence BCD has been named a top remote employer by FlexJobs for 10 years straight, they know it’s a selling point!)
How BCD Stacks Up Against Other Companies’ Remote Policies
To put BCD Travel’s approach in context, let’s compare it briefly to others:
- Cisco (Informal Flexibility): As noted earlier, Cisco’s culture allows a lot of remote work, but without a formal global policy. An employee can often quietly spend a month abroad if their manager is okay with it, but Cisco doesn’t publish a “60 days anywhere” rule for all. “As long as the work gets done… nobody cares where you are,” a Cisco insider wrote. That laissez-faire attitude is great, but it relies on individual arrangements and doesn’t guarantee every worker the same opportunity. BCD’s policy, in contrast, makes it official and equitable, any eligible employee knows they have 60 days to use, no special permission beyond following the policy. It removes ambiguity.
- Tech Companies with WFA Programs: A few high-profile tech firms have embraced work-from-anywhere. Airbnb in 2022 announced employees can live and work from anywhere, with the caveat of up to 90 days per year in any single foreign country (to avoid tax issues). Spotify launched a “Work From Anywhere” program allowing employees to choose their country and city of work; interestingly, Spotify reported that this move cut attrition (employee turnover) by 15% as it greatly boosted employee satisfaction. BCD’s policy is very much in the same spirit as these, though tailored to 60 days and the travel industry. What’s notable is seeing a travel management (non-tech) company implement a WFA perk on par with Silicon Valley trend-setters, that’s rare and positions BCD as an innovator even outside its core industry.
- Other Travel Firms: So far, other large travel management companies (American Express GBT, CWT, etc.) have not publicly touted similar global remote-work allowances. Many are hybrid-friendly post-pandemic, but BCD is leading the pack in formalizing work-from-anywhere. This is drawing positive attention to BCD as a progressive employer in a field that isn’t always seen as tech-forward. It wouldn’t be surprising if competitors feel pressure to consider similar policies to compete for talent.
In short, BCD Travel has set a benchmark with its WFA policy. It shows that even a big, established company can implement a trusted, flexible work culture beyond borders. While some companies take a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to working from abroad, BCD basically said “let’s ask and tell, ask for what you need, tell people it’s allowed, and make it a win-win.”
Why BCD Travel’s Approach Is a Strong Example of the WFA Trend
BCD Travel’s 60-day Work-from-Anywhere policy is more than just a generous benefit, it’s a case study in how to make remote work truly global. Here’s why it stands out in the broader trend:
- Combining Structure with Trust: BCD hit the balance of giving employees freedom while still setting reasonable structure. The 60-day limit and country list provide clear guardrails (so the company can manage compliance), yet within those bounds employees have true autonomy. It’s neither a free-for-all nor a restrictive policy, it’s flexible and thoughtfully managed. This serves as a model for other organizations wondering how to permit international remote work without chaos.
- Alignment with Employee Desires: Surveys show that workers increasingly value experiences and flexibility over old perks. Especially after 2020, many people wish they could travel more or work nearer to family abroad. BCD took that to heart and created a benefit that directly fulfills those modern “work-life balance” desires. It’s no wonder their retention and engagement seem strong, they’re giving people a way to have their job and travel too. Companies looking to attract Millennials and Gen Z talent, who prize flexibility, can learn from this move.
- Business Benefits – Not Just a Perk: BCD’s policy likely yields business advantages, too. Employees who take international stints could gain global perspective, cultural awareness, and even face-to-face time with colleagues or clients in other countries. For a global business, that’s hugely valuable. It can improve internal collaboration and innovation (imagine visiting your European team for a month and sharing ideas), and it can even enhance customer service (employees who travel understand traveler pain points better). By framing WFA as a development and engagement opportunity, BCD makes a strong case that this isn’t just a feel-good perk, it’s building a more resilient, worldly workforce.
- Positive Branding and PR: In an era of headlines about companies ordering people back to the office, BCD’s story is a positive one. They’ve garnered praise from media and industry groups for this policy, which in turn raises BCD’s profile. Current and prospective clients see BCD as an adaptable, modern partner. And prospective employees see BCD as an employer that “gets it” when it comes to remote work. This kind of reputation can be a virtuous cycle, attracting more talent and business.
Finally, BCD Travel’s WFA initiative underscores a broader trend: the rise of the “work-from-anywhere” movement in mainstream companies. What started in tech startups and digital nomad circles is now reaching even large, traditionally structured firms. BCD’s example shows that with the right planning (and a bit of courage), companies can trust their people to work from wherever life takes them,’ without sacrificing productivity or performance. In BCD’s own words, “great work can happen anywhere”, and they’re proving it one 60-day stint at a time.
In conclusion, BCD Travel’s approach to remote work is a trailblazing one that combines the freedom of the digital nomad lifestyle with the stability of corporate support. It’s rare to see such a formalized work-from-any-country benefit at a large enterprise, and that’s why BCD’s 60-day policy is making waves. By aligning the policy with its travel-centric values, earning external accolades, and delighting employees, BCD Travel has positioned itself as a champion of the work-from-anywhere era. For HR leaders, remote workers, and anyone interested in the future of work, BCD’s program is a compelling example of how to make “work from anywhere” work, for employees and employer alike.
Donal Brady is Co-Founder and Head of Product at Work From Anywhere, a platform to help companies execute a successful workation policy. He has deep expertise and experience in the world of remote work having spent nearly twenty years working in finance leadership roles with global multinationals like PwC, before entering the world of global mobility with International SOS and then pivoting into the software industry with Accel-KKR backed Smart Communications. He walks the walk with Work From Anywhere, speaking 5 languages, having travelled to 65+ countries and worked in 10.
