For Today’s Business Traveler, Technology Remains Key to Productivity

Just about every business travel trends survey, report and thought leadership blog post lists technology among the most influential drivers of what’s shaping the industry. But let’s face it: technology is shaping virtually everything these days. Corporate travelers are taking technology with them on the road, and, along with their counterparts back in the office, they’re using it in a variety of different ways. Here’s a snapshot of exactly what they’re doing:

What Business Travels are Looking For: The Experience

The post 3 Hot Trends in Business Travel cites results from a recent Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Foundation study of today’s digital business traveler. They find that self-service and personalization are the names of the game. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of business travelers in the United States, 77% in Italy, 74% in Canada, and 73% in Spain prefer to use self-service technology to manage their travel, with rates just slightly lower in Germany and the Nordic countries. In terms of personalization, business travelers are willing to share at least some personal information with vendors in order to receive personalized experiences. See the GBTA Foundation website for more details.

What’s factoring into self-service and, to some degree, personalization? What else is important to today’s business travelers? Read on:

Omnipresent: Mobile Devices and Apps. People are reaching for their smartphones and tablets in record numbers to meet a variety of needs. For the business traveler, mobile devices enable them to manage their expense reports, check-in to flights and check flight status, book a hotel stay, order a ride to the airport, make a payment via a mobile wallet, stay in touch with coworkers, post reviews on social media and even adhere to their company’s duty of care requirements. Here’s more specific information revealed by the The Global Business Travel Alliance’s 2016 Business Traveler Sentiment Index:

• Among business travelers, supplier apps are more commonly used than travel management company (TMC), itinerary management and expense management apps

• 64% of all business travelers (and 72% of Millennials) use a mobile device to check their itinerary at least once a day

• Only 22% have used a mobile app to check-in with their company during a trip over the past year and only 15% have used a mobile app that allows their company to track their location

Visit Travel Apps: Usage, Awareness, and the Generational Divide.

Must-Have: Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is what connects people’s devices while they’re on-the-go, and more business travelers have the technology available to work around-the-clock. According to the GBTA Traveler Sentiment Index report, 75% of business travelers say Wi-Fi is vital to being productive on the road. In fact, 25% also say not having access to reliable Wi-Fi is the most frustrating part of their business trips—ahead of even getting from one place to another, the expense reporting process, and booking or changing travel plans. When it comes to meeting business goals, they even value WiFi access over clearer objectives, more time with clients, and a larger travel budget.

Nice-to-Have: Social Media. Half (50%) of all business travelers (and 61% of Millennials) use social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Xing or Mixi once or more a day for work-related purposes, says the GBTA Traveler Sentiment Index report. What else do they say about their social media use?

• 54% agree that it improves their ability to find reviews about hotels and other travel suppliers

• 53% agree it helps them make plans to meet up with friends when they travel for work

• 49% say they improve their ability to connect with colleagues or business contacts

Another GBTA report on global social sharing reveals that about one-third of travelers or fewer “often” or “always” use social media platforms to share experiences, while one-fifth to one-third “sometimes” use it. What are they sharing? Mostly non-work-related items such as airline and hotel reviews and pictures of local attractions. It should be noted that in every country surveyed, Millennials—to no surprise—are significantly more likely than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers to stay connected to their social media networks during business trips.

For more on Millennials’ travel habits, see Mobile and Millennials: 4 Ways Hospitality Brands Must Accommodate.

Increasing Productivity for Everyone

As more travel managers incorporate technology guidelines into corporate travel policies—and as their travel suppliers provide tech-fueled tools to their customers—we can be sure business travelers will continue using their devices in new ways. But an important piece of the productivity puzzle will be the continued integration of corporate digital systems enabling both administrators and travelers to work more efficiently across their devices. With system compatibility and more streamlined processes, everyone involved in corporate travel management will benefit from a more compliant, transparent, cost-effective and user-friendly experience.