Travel
professionals are playing an increasingly large and influential role
in shaping and controlling business travel policy, aided by online
booking tools and fueled by a growing focus on cost-saving efforts,
according to a new report for Europe by the GBTA Foundation, the
research arm of the Global Business Travel Association, and Egencia,
the corporate travel arm of Expedia, Inc.
“Travel
professionals play a vital role in balancing the need to get
travellers on the road to make the face-to-face connections that
strengthen business ties while also spending corporate dollars
wisely,” said Paul Tilstone, managing director of GBTA Europe.
“This study shows travel managers are gaining more control over
budgets to help contain costs and ensure that road warriors can be as
effective as possible.”
This
third annual study, “Travel
Policy Trends: ‘Control’ – What Does it Mean and Who Has It”,
surveyed nearly 1,500 travel professionals in Europe, North America,
Asia and Latin America to determine, for the first time ever, what
“control” over travel policy means to them and how travel
professionals are adapting to new and evolving business travel
requirements. The majority of travel professionals worldwide (60%)
indicate that they have more control over travel policy compared to a
few years ago.
“Our
study shows that the impact of technology, such as mobile devices, is
reshaping both the travellers’ experience and travel manager’s
role in simultaneously supporting traveller needs and corporate
objectives,” said Christophe Peymirat, Senior Vice President,
Egencia EMEA & APAC. “We set out to understand how travel
professionals can better manage travel policy to make sure their
travellers have the important information they need to deal with
travel details without losing site of policy compliance.”
Top
10 Most Important Definitions of Travel Policy Control
When
travel professionals in Europe were asked to describe what “control”
over travel policy means for them, three in five (64%) selected
“driving savings and controlling costs.” In addition, the report
revealed the top ten most important definitions of travel policy
control, worldwide and across key regions:
Compared
to a few years ago, large majorities of travel professionals in
Europe agree they now have more control over travel spend data (76%),
reporting (69%), and visibility in the organization (73%). When
asked why they have more control over travel policy, travel
professionals said:
- Access to traveller profile information and data security (69%)
- Stronger support from C-level executives (65%)
- Having a broader role in their company (63%)
Mobile and Social Media: Changing the Game
In
Europe, travel professionals are using mobile phones and social media
to keep in touch with travellers and improve the traveller
experience. In fact, 62 percent indicated that they stay connected
with travellers to let them know they’re watching out for them.
Social media use amongst travellers is less prevalent, with only 35 percent using social media channels or mobile device apps in their daily travels to connect with other road warriors and quickly find information they need while on the road.- This is a notably smaller percentage than in North America and Asia, where travellers reported using social media more actively (48 percent and 51 percent, respectively).
Despite
the relatively low usage number, there is still need for improvement
when it comes to educating travellers on travel policy. For
example, only 14 percent of travel professionals in Europe integrate
information into mobile booking tools.
Technology
– Improving Policy Compliance
Technology
used for trip planning, booking and data is paramount to providing
managers with better insights and more control to improve travel
policy. Over the years, travel policy has advanced in lockstep with
technology improvements. In fact, 76 percent of respondents in
Europe agreed that they have more travel spend data and improved
reporting tools today compared with a few years ago, providing more
information to find gaps in compliance and bolster their ability to
negotiate with suppliers.
Online
booking tools (OBTs) have been instrumental to travel policy
improvements. Travel managers in Europe report 71 percent of
travellers use OBTs to book travel.
- Nearly half of travel professionals in Europe (51%) are integrating more information into OBTs to educate road warriors about staying within policy.
- The compliance rate of travellers using approved corporate booking channels in Europe is 80 percent, indicating that technology has become an essential tool to create and implement effective policy.