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. “We’re entering an unprecedented time for travel — what I’m calling the platinum era of travel — thanks to employee-driven innovations,” said Brian Kelly, Founder of The Points Guy, at the Global Business Travel Association Conference.
And for today’s employees, travel has become more important than ever. 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 to adapt to shifting workplace trends and advancements in technology.
In terms of how and why employees travel, business travel for client meetings remains companies’ top priority for driving ROI. Organizations are also investing in business travel for employee education and training, as well as attending company meetings.
“Professional development has become a top driver of business travel,” said Fernando Iraola, EVP & GM, Global & US Large Enterprises at American Express, at the panel. “The ability to meet colleagues in person has become very important to enriching the company culture, particularly in this era of remote and hybrid work.”
On the technology front, Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in business travel. According to the Amex Trendex: Business Travel Edition1, more than four in five travel decision-makers (82%) report they use AI in their business travel processes, up from 69% in 2023.
For the most part, organizations are leveraging AI to manage travel spend. Three-quarters (75%) report they use AI to process or analyze travel expenses, including managing/submitting expense reports and ensuring employee expenses adhere to compliance with travel policies across the organization.
For today’s business travelers, flexibility is key
As businesses and consumers alike crave more flexibility, airlines have adapted their business models, with more generous refund policies even on cheaper fares. As a result, organizations have been able to adopt more flexible travel policies with less impact on travel costs.
“We’re seeing a shift toward easier-to-follow travel policies rather than tighter policies, explained Iraola. “Fraud prevention, spend management and risk management are still very important, but we’re seeing employee engagement and the employee experience become more of a factor when selecting which vendors to work with.”
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 Corporate Travel Study 2023, a survey of more than 300 travel managers, including more than 10 U.S. respondents. 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.
Streamlined expensing has become essential
As the employee experience increasingly takes center stage in business travel, leaders will also seek opportunities to simplify expense reporting.
Expensing is currently a significant pain point, with 65% of Amex Trendex respondents saying that having to upload individual receipts for expenses was worse than having to check a bag for a work trip.
The good news is that expense reporting is getting easier, as more organizations invest in travel management software and streamlined solutions, such as corporate travel cards. Nearly half (44%) of business travelers now say it’s easier to manage their travel expense report for reimbursement compared to just a year ago.
Creating personalized corporate travel experiences
Here are several 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.
In addition, consider writing flexible travel policies that allow employees to mix and match travel perks — such as airport lounge access or laundry service — to personalize their experience.
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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METHODOLOGY:
The business traveler survey was conducted among a sample of 1,012 respondents who are employed full time, traveled by air for work 2 or more times in the past 12 months and submit their own travel expenses. The business travel decision-maker survey was conducted among a sample of 502 respondents who are employed full-time as business travel decision makers for companies with 50 or more employees. Both online surveys were live on June 7-14, 2024.
The Trending Business Travel Destinations were selected based on American Express commercial customer transactions at US hotels, looking at growth over a 12-month period between April 2022-March 2023 and April 2023-March 2024.
