Corporate Traveler and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) have released a new joint research report, which offers a detailed look into the key trends, insights and behaviors that are shaping the small and midsize enterprise (SME) business travel market in the United States.
The survey was conducted online June 17–20, 2024. The study included responses from nearly 300 business travelers from U.S.-based SMEs, providing a thorough representation of the current state of the industry. The survey revealed the top priorities and biggest challenges for companies when it comes to business travel, the most important factors when evaluating a travel management company (TMC) and more.
The results revealed that traveler safety (40 percent) is the top priority for companies, followed by cost savings (19 percent), and traveler experience and technology integration (each at 11 percent). Policy compliance (8 percent), along with reporting and sustainability (each at 5 percent), rounded out the top five. A deeper analysis even showed that traveler safety was listed in the top three by 69 percent of respondents, while cost savings was listed in the top three by 57 percent of respondents, further indicating the importance of these priorities in today’s changing business travel environment.
The survey revealed that the biggest pain point, by a significant margin, is the cost of travel (63 percent) as companies deal with rising travel costs. Other issues associated with business travel include understanding the ROI and measuring success (38 percent), employee traveler tracking (37 percent), manual processes (37 percent), and the lack of data/reporting (35 percent).
Other Highlights of the Survey
Since spending on business travel remains a significant cost for SMEs, companies are testing out various strategies that can help achieve cost savings. Two-thirds of companies are implementing budget-friendly options (65 percent), while more than half of companies are working with travel management solutions (52 percent). Additional strategies include revising and reinforcing policy adherence (43 percent), negotiating lower vendor contracts (42 percent) or reducing employee travel (35 percent).
Despite this increased focus on cost savings, there are still internal and external factors that companies encounter that make implementing these budget-friendly options a bit more difficult. Travel to expensive/high-cost areas (57 percent) is the most common obstacle, followed by employee behavior (45 percent), as some employees prioritize comfort or convenience over savings when on the road. Add-ons and extra fees (40 percent), such as checked bags, priority boarding or hotel room services, often pose a challenge as well.
With the continued shift in the way travel is being approached, the majority of survey respondents indicate that their company is currently evaluating a TMC (71 percent), with the availability of travel (86 percent) being the most important factor when making this decision, followed by customer service (84 percent) and value/cost savings (82 percent). The biggest challenge for companies when evaluating a TMC is balancing fees and value (67 percent), followed by the issue in demonstrating ROI (50 percent) and identifying the right evaluation criteria (45 percent).
Source: Corporate Traveler
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