Improving the Business Travel Experience in 2023

Despite some ongoing spikes in infections, we are now hopefully past the worst days of the global COVID-19 crisis and experiencing a return to normal travel behavior.

This means the business section is starting to fill up once again as corporate representatives and executives jet around the world to meet new people and unearth fresh opportunities in the post-pandemic landscape.

However, according to 2022 research from Deloitte, corporate spending on business related travel is still 50% below its pre-pandemic levels and the prognosis for recovery is significantly more complex than that for its leisure focused arm.

"Over the remainder of 2022, corporate travel should grow significantly from its now-small base,” reports Deloitte Insights. "Team meetings that have been postponed multiple times will finally take place. More conferences will shift back from online to in-person, and those that already have will likely see attendance improve. Even international trips should grow significantly, although some regions will recover faster than others.”

This means we need to take a good hard look at the business travel experience from a procurement perspective and deduce whether improvements can be made to the process which will help this lucrative sector of the business recover along a more consistent trajectory.

Increased Centralization

One pattern we are seeing in the post pandemic travel world is organizations increasingly relying on dedicated travel arrangers to book business trips and oversee every element of the process from flights to hotels and rides.

This means the traveler themselves will increasingly have had no contact with the booking process and may therefore need additional assistance with their arrangements. Better communication between travelers and arrangers will help avoid any confusion during the actual journey and improve the business travel experience overall.

From the business procurement side, leveraging an increasingly centralized model allows the organization to have more control over travel spend. Moreover, because the majority of business travel decision making is handed over to the procurement department, better rates and deals can often be negotiated on the basis of repeat business, compared to when purchasing travel piecemeal by the traveler themselves.

Data Reliance

As with almost every other industry, data is going to be an increasingly used tool in the business travel procurement process and feeds directly into the corporate traveler’s experience.

With advanced data analytics in play, travel procurement departments can access up to data information of the best sources for related services. Those services can also be marketed using new levels of customization and personalization, tailoring the experience depending on, for example, the seniority of the traveler or the nature of the trip being undertaken.

Data will also increasingly be used to manage spending and track reputation in the travel business. With travelers now having easy access to rating platforms and heightened levels of transparency into the buying and travelling processes, the focus on delivering a superior and seamless business travel experience is going to become ever more critical.

Technology

Aside from data, we are seeing technology playing an ever-larger role in the corporate travel experience. From booking trips on the fly, to tracking expenses and more, digital technology platforms are giving corporations and business travelers more flexibility and control over their travel experience than ever before.

As we’ve already discussed, business travel arrangements are becoming more centralized. However, this shouldn’t be taken to mean the entire process is taken out of the hands of the traveler. There will still invariably be times during a business trip where the traveler must arrange additional or alternative journeys on the fly. Smartphone apps and other digital technologies will invariably be used to facilitate these additional purchases and travel brands need to make sure they are available through these channels if they want to capitalize on those opportunities and offer travelers the kinds of procurement experiences they expect.

Applications such as these can also be used to deliver travel paperwork and additional information such as route maps or itineraries to business travelers. All these periphery details work to augment the overall business travel experience and help one travel brand stand out from its competitors.

Final Thoughts

Corporate travel is back, and we are likely to see further increases in this area as we move through the final days of 2022 and into 2023. This is now an environment ripe for innovation and leveraging new procurement opportunities, and those brands which are able to exploit the latest technology and data applications, with a firm eye on the overarching business travel experience, will be the ones to draw the most value from them.

The business travel experience is sure to be part of the conversation at ProcureCon Travel 2023, being held in April at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells, Palm Springs, CA.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.