5 Corporate Travel Trends to Watch

In our digital age, when people can easily conduct business using a computer and mobile device, it’s easy to imagine a world without the need for making a tangible, personal connection. Yet corporate travel, where people are transported from one location to another for old-fashioned face-to-face collaboration, is alive and well with no signs of slowing down.

Let’s take a look at the top trends—tech-driven and otherwise—shaping the corporate travel industry today:

Online and Mobile Tools

Smartphones and tablets are common for personal use and business use, and they’re most certainly being put to use by travel professionals. Business travelers can stay productive on the road thanks to connected devices, WiFi, and any number of mobile apps. With these, travelers can research destinations, self-check their baggage at the airport, and get work done on the airplane. They have come to expect their companies and travel partners to provide them with time-saving amenities to promote efficiency while on the go, making organizational web and mobile strategies more important and relevant than ever.

According to SITA, travelers consider website (86%) and mobile (70%) to be their top two airfare booking channels. Travel managers are getting the message, and exploring ways to enhance their processes and meet their customers’ needs with web-based tools. Looking ahead, we’ll be seeing more travel professionals using social media and gaming techniques to communicate with and engage employees in travel policy compliance.

Focus on Costs

Budgets are a perennial issue facing companies—and travel managers are being called upon to make travel expenses more transparent and keep overall costs under control. The 2016 Global Travel Price Outlook from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) projects global air prices to rise 0.5%, global hotel prices to rise 2.5%, and global car prices to rise 0.1% in the coming year. These price increases underscore the ongoing need for travel managers to address their sourcing strategies, connect the dots between business travel and business unit goals, and keep their travel policies up to date. On a tactical level, this means travel managers will continue to focus on strengthening vendor relationships and taking advantage of corporate discounts, while exploring new ways of saving money (e.g. dynamic pricing).

The Rise of the Millennial

Travel Market Report says that by 2020, 50% of the U.S. workforce will be under the age of 32 and Millennials will make up half of all business travelers. This tech-savvy generation wants a consumer experience while they’re on the road for the company—this means they want the process to be easy and efficient. These travelers, today and tomorrow, want to enjoy greater control of their journey by making use of technology at every step. Millennials grew up with technology and expect features like e-booking, e-ticketing, mobile access to their productivity tools, and free WiFi. Travel professionals assisting these employees will need to be mindful of their preferences, while remaining sensitive to travelers in older generations who may require a more traditional approach.

Bleisure

The blending business and leisure is a prominent topic explored in a Virgin Atlantic study of today’s business traveler. The study found that 9 in 10 travelers mix pleasure into every business trip they take. What’s more, the 2014 Bleisure Report from Bridgestreet reveals that the majority of business travelers (60%) have taken bleisure trips, with 30% adding two vacation days to business trips. It’s no secret that business travelers want to enjoy their trips away from home—and the travel managers of today are helping them taking advantage of their opportunities to have some fun.

Implementation of Virtual Payment Solutions

A Carson Wagonlit Travel survey shows that introducing virtual payments to their payments strategy is a high priority for 32% of travel managers. Aside from streamlining administration, many travel managers use virtual credit cards today because they address their need for enhanced travel program data. Findings from a 2014 GBTA Foundation study suggest more companies will implement the solution in the coming years. Their survey reveals the majority of U.S. Travel buyers not using virtual payment solutions were “interested” or “very interested” in the solution’s benefits of easier reconciliation of payments to booking, improved security and compliance, and centralized payment of hotel or air.