Meeting the Needs of Your Company’s Business Travelers

Corporate travel managers are constantly working to balance their travel program’s budget needs with their employees’ needs—and the latter is in a state of evolution. Aside from successfully conducting company business while on the road, most business travelers today want to maintain a healthy work/life balance, which impacts travel policies and procedures. Take the phenomenon of bleisure travel, for example, or that of the always-connected, 24/7 workday. Enabling road warriors to remain productive—as well as safe and comfortable—is a job that’s made easier by understanding employees’ behaviors and preferences while out of town.

But just how well do today’s travel managers know their travelers?

That’s the question asked by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) and answered in their The Role of Traveler Centricity in Business Air Travel report.

“Traveler centricity,” ACTE finds, has “emerged as the most effective philosophy to increase trip productivity and compliance.” They collected feedback from corporate travel managers and buyers to find out if and how this concept plays into their travel programs and to uncover how effective communications can support it. Here are highlights of their findings:

In terms of the total airline offer, there’s a disconnect between what travel managers want and what travel managers think their travelers want.

Top priorities of travel managers:

• Destination/airline routes – 42% say top priority but a 98% say they are important
• Discounts/rebates – 37% say top priority, but 98% say they are important
• Traveler experience – just 15% say it is their top priority, but a full 94% say they are important

Top perceived priorities of travelers:

• Destination/airline routes – 94% say they are important
• Traveler experience – 25% say top priority and 94% say they are important
• Discounts/rebates – 75% say they are important

Travel managers are in charge of the travel budget, so they’re naturally concerned with costs, savings and other “practicalities” of travel. As travel buyers, they often seek a cost-based agreement with their preferred carriers and often overlook the things that they believe to be most important to their travellers. For example, 85% of travel managers believe WiFi and/or power outlets important to travelers, yet 26% of them don’t consider the factor in their choice of carrier.

Delivering on Employee Experience

The research results suggest that travel managers are addressing their travelers’ preferences and needs for a positive experience in different ways. Some build it into their travel program design, while others leave this piece to the airlines. In any case, according to ACTE, “in an era of traveller centricity, anything that is important to travellers should figure prominently on the travel manager’s agenda.” Indeed, this means striking the right balance between cost control and achieving traveller satisfaction.

An interesting side note is that another ACTE survey cited in the traveller centricity report revealed that 84% of travel managers are looking to traveller behavior rather than supplier cost reductions to drive future savings. That’s encouraging news for those looking to deliver a more positive business travel experience based on what’s most important to the employees on the road.

Communications and Feedback

To edge in on what travelers want, based on ACTE’s research, it’s helpful to see the top factors that generate traveler feedback:

• Flight punctuality (87%)
• Booking experience (87%)
• In-flight experience (78%)
• Airport check-in (62%)
• Airport security (61%)
• Pre-trip information (61%)
• Airport lounge (60%)
• Transfers from airport (52%)
• Arrivals experience (48%)
• Transfers to airport (45%)

While it’s important to note that unsolicited feedback can skew toward the exceedingly negative or extraordinarily positive, solicited feedback tends to yield more balanced results. Yet 54% of travel managers surveyed by ACTE don’t have any formal tools to collect feedback—they’re using a hodge-podge of methods including running their own employee survey (40%) or online user group (15%).

Travel managers are therefore encouraged to boost their feedback efforts and incorporate findings into travel program design. And Skift offers their commentary about the ACTE research results, stating that the priority gaps can be narrowed with “more engagement between travel managers and travelers.” This requires travel managers asking their travelers questions about their trips, getting details about good and bad experiences, and, always, keeping the lines of communications open.

For more ideas on how corporate travel managers can involve their corporate travelers in developing successful travel programs, read Service Reigns For Tomorrow’s Corporate Travel Managers.

Finally, ACTE offers these specific recommendations for travel managers:

• Run a reality check to make sure you know what matters to your travellers. Ask what works and what doesn’t work, and if you’re putting your nice-to-haves ahead of their must-haves?

• Build on productive relationships to share priorities and improve and enhance the traveler experience.

• Investigate potential for corporate loyalty programs that benefit both the travel program (costs) and individual travelers (conveniences).
  

For more insights, read Win Customers by Offering the Best Booking Experience.