Business travel’s recovery, the need for traveler service expertise, and challenges of sourcing co-working meeting spaces are at the center of a new research report released today by HRS and GBTA.
The survey of travel and procurement leaders from Europe and North America illuminates how changes in workforce realities meshed with a faster-than-expected return to travel are transforming managed travel. The results spotlight issues driven by hybrid workforces including how recent trends have given rise to a new topic in many procurement departments: the sourcing of co-working spaces for staff to meet.
Results of the survey tied to the pace of business travel’s return are aligned with the travel challenges experienced in recent months. Here are just a few of the highlights from the report:
- 54% of those surveyed say business travel has rebounded faster than they expected.
- 77% report they are spending more time troubleshooting traveler issues.
- 67% believe that once all their offices are open, hybrid work scenarios will dominate.
- 40% report that their companies have reduced their office space.
- Only 17% say the procurement and management of co-working spaces is fully managed.
- 44% “don’t know” how their company procures co-working spaces.
- 71% say they would gain from having the consolidated data from hotel, meeting, and co-working bookings.
“The intersection of employee workplace trends and travel management is quite frenetic these days. These realities spur opportunities for forward-thinking finance, human resource, procurement, and travel leaders,” said Tobias Ragge, HRS CEO. “Technologies addressing these trends are being launched and refined, with friction-reducing automation improving the everyday experience for employees.”
Read today’s full announcement. The survey report is available via HRS and GBTA members can download a copy on the GBTA Hub.
Tags: Business travel, survey, GBTA