Globally,
business travelers feel their needs are being met – but there is room to
improve – especially when it comes to serving the needs of travelers in managed
programs.
This is the
finding of Global Business Travel Association Foundation’s Global Business
Traveler Study 2012 – sponsored by Concur, a leading provider of integrated
travel and expense management services.
The study finds
that travelers under a mandated program are working hard to stay in budget and
be compliant, but it is at the price of their personal life and comfort. However,
more needs to be done to help them plan and have travel choices available that
do not overburden travelers, as well as have help available to re-juggle their
itinerary in-transit if needed to avoid hassles.
Travelers
“under guidelines” are successful with staying in budget and being compliant,
and given a little less structure in their program, are more comfortable during
their trips. However, they are exhausted from the travel and the in-transit
hassles, and it has an impact on their personal schedules.
Global
Findings:
• Travelers
participating in a mandated program are significantly less successful with
their business travel than those that are less managed or not managed at all.
• On average
67% of business travelers are visiting new destinations although mainly
traveling domestically to do so.
• The majority
of business trips, 33% on average, are used for meeting with colleagues, 18%
for sales, 21% for training and or industry conferences and 9% for other uses.
• Business
travelers around the world tend to be college educated, 42 years old on average
and two-thirds are male.
Mandates vs. Guidelines
The Global
Business Traveler Study 2012 – sponsored by Concur reveals the substantial
differences between travelers who operate under managed programs and those who
do not. In the U.S.
21% of travelers are under “mandated” travel programs where they must follow
the company’s stated travel policies and/or use the providers or agencies
chosen by their company. A third of U.S. business travelers are
“unmanaged,” having no stated company guidelines. Nearly half (47%) fall in
between or “under guidelines” where they may have to follow policies but are
only encouraged to use preferred providers, or must use preferred providers but
are only encouraged to follow policy.
Looking at all
road warriors in the U.S., the study found that they’re clearly working hard
and enjoying their trips, but more needs to be done to help them plan and
reduce stress while in-transit like making sure they’re comfortable when on the
road and ensuring they have the technology to do their jobs. U.S. business
travelers work in a range of industries and tend to be managers, directors or
senior managers. Overall, 74% of U.S business travelers stated they were highly
satisfied with nearly all aspects of business travel and 81% stating they were
able to successful reach mission critical business goals with nearly half
reporting they’d like to travel more if possible. However, only 62% of
travelers said they were satisfied with the ability to minimize personal
hardships.
Calculating
the Business Travel Success Index
To better
assess business travelers, this study is introducing the GBTA Business Travel
Success Index™ (GBTA BTSI™) sponsored by Concur, an overall measure of the
travelers’ perceptions of how well they are able to reach their goals when
traveling for work. The index is on a scale of 0-100, where 100 is completely
successful in meeting all of their goals.
The study finds
that travelers participating in a mandated program – with a BTSI of 72.7 – are
significantly less successful with their business travel than those who are
under guidelines (BTSI of 76) or unmanaged programs (BTSI of 78.6). Below are
the overall BTSI measurements of the travelers recently surveyed for this
research in the following countries:
Country
BTSI
United States 76.2
India
75.3
Australia 74.5
Canada
74.4
United States 76.2
“The most
important – and for far too long, the most under represented – component within
the corporate travel industry is the business traveler,” said Rajeev Singh,
president and COO of Concur. “The research by GBTA shows that business
travelers are eager to get on the road and make deals happen, but there is
still a great need for companies to provide the technology, support and
education to help make those business travelers more comfortable and productive
so they can stay focused on business-critical goals. Concur is always
innovating with the needs of travelers in mind, developing our T&E Cloud to
enable all aspects of the travel eco-system to work on behalf of making the
business traveler’s life easier and more productive.”
The Global
Business Travel Association Foundation is the research arm of the Global
Business Travel Association (GBTA). The survey of 1788 business travelers in
the U.S. , Canada , Australia
and India
examined the differences between managed and unmanaged travel programs from the
perspective of business travelers. Additionally, the study sought to determine
who the business traveler is in each of the four countries surveyed. U.S. and Indian
business travelers are the most satisfied with their business travel, while
Australian travelers are the least satisfied.
“Understanding
the individual needs of the business traveler will help companies develop
tactics that keep travelers productive and motivated. Investing in this
research will provide companies with the insights they need to support their
road warriors so they can get the most out of each trip,” said Michael W.
McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. “It is our hope that this study
will be used to inform the industry and guide marketing strategies and new
product development to meet the needs of road warriors.”
The
full report is available exclusively to GBTA members and offers detailed
insight for travel managers interested in understanding types of business
travelers in the market today. Non-members can purchase this study through the
GBTA Foundation website.