As corporate travel climbs in priority for businesses looking to connect face-to-face with coworkers and clients, one thing remains top of mind for companies prioritizing employee well-being: facilitating the corporate travel experience from start to finish.
When thoughtfully planned, corporate travel can be a powerful lever to shape the employee experience. In a survey of more than 300 full-time workers conducted by Business Travel News in April of 2023, 84% of respondents said business travel was “important” or “very important” for their job satisfaction.
Four in 10 employees also say business travel supports their personal and professional growth, according to a 2024 survey of more than 4,000 business travelers by travel booking and management company TravelPerk. Additionally, 31% of respondents said business travel made them feel more passionate about their jobs.
However, with corporate traveler preferences varying depending on employee and use case, companies can aim to personalize experiences as much as they can. They can tailor the corporate travel experience to better fit the needs of their employees and evolve the experience for this new era of corporate travel.
What does modern business travel look like?
The face of corporate travel is changing, with several key trends impacting travel spend.
Live event attendance is on the rise as employees and employers alike seek out industry events to enhance their career development. It was the top driver of increased travel spend in 2023, according to Deloitte’s 2023 corporate travel study, a survey of more than 330 travel managers and executives with travel-budget oversight, including 106 U.S.-based respondents. This trend is expected to continue, with more than half of respondents saying they expected industry events to increase their travel spend in 2024.
In terms of how and when employees travel, flexibility is key. Day-return trips – where employees fly to their destination and return on the same day – have declined, as employees increasingly seek to attend to their well-being with extended travel stays. TravelPerk reports day-return flights made up just 9% of their bookings in 2023, down from 19% in 2019. As a result, employers may face pressure to increase their travel spend to accommodate more overnight stays.
Finally, employees tend to crave more comfortable accommodations, driving up travel costs. Half of the decision-makers included in Deloitte’s survey cited employees’ luxury expectations – including business class travel – as a factor that increased their travel spend in 2023. Also, as employees seek more flexibility, including being able to modify bookings mid-trip and choose lodging like rental homes, employers may need to increase their spend and offer additional options.
Flexible travel policies and simplified expense reporting
Creating personalized travel experiences starts at home, with travel and expense policies that allow employees to book flights and accommodations to meet their varying needs.
For many organizations, this has meant expanding the accommodations included in their corporate travel policies. Policies that included non-hotel accommodations, for example, reached a tipping point in 2023, according to Deloitte’s survey. Nearly half (45%) of U.S. companies now include non-hotel lodging in their corporate travel bookings – a fivefold increase year-over-year. Just 10% of respondents said their company does not reimburse for non-hotel accommodation, down from roughly 50% year-over-year.
Leaders will also seek opportunities to simplify expense reporting and enhance the employee experience. Business travelers cited expense reporting as their most pressing pain point in the April 2023 Business Travel News’ survey, signaling a growing demand for seamless, centralized payment experiences.
Creating personalized corporate travel experiences
Here are four strategies to consider as you update your corporate travel policy.
1. Leverage technology to facilitate flexible booking.
Today’s employees crave flights and accommodations tailored to their needs, an area where technology can excel. Machine learning algorithms can suggest compliant flights and accommodations matched to an employee’s preferences or use case, as well as accommodate last-minute itinerary changes. It can also help employees find lower-cost bookings to help manage travel costs.
2. Offer a range of accommodations.
As employees increasingly seek out non-traditional accommodations for corporate travel, you can look for opportunities to offer a broader choice in accommodations while managing expenses. You can consider negotiating agreements with short-term rental companies, for example, or maintaining rental homes in common travel destinations.
3. Create frictionless payment experiences.
You can consider finding centralized payment solutions that simplify the expense process. Trip-specific travel cards, for example, can be added to employees’ digital wallets for easy payment during travel, while also offering guidance on travel policy compliance and insights into travel spend.
4. Offer personal travel benefits as a perk.
The opportunity to travel can be a motivator for employees, and employers can make it even better with membership rewards. You can consider selecting travel cards with built-in personal point benefit systems to allow employees to earn rewards for their business travel, such as gift cards, shopping perks and travel rewards.
5. Use data as your guide.
The right technologies and solutions don’t just help create personalized experiences for employees, but they also provide data that can offer organization-wide insights. You can use data to track travel trends and preferences across your organization, including unmet needs or areas of noncompliance that could be addressed with updated travel policies.
The Takeaway
Corporate business travel can play an important role in the employee experience. As employees increasingly seek out tailored travel experiences suited to their preferences and use cases, organizations have an opportunity to stand out with flexible travel policies. Doing this well can require leveraging the right solutions, including technology and payment solutions, to provide employees with a range of booking options while also managing travel costs.
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