2020 U.S.-Booked Air Volume: $16 million
2020 Global T&E: $74 million
Primary U.S. Air Suppliers: American, Delta, United,
Primary U.S. Hotel Suppliers: Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott
Primary U.S. Car Rental Suppliers: Avis Budget
Primary U.S. Online Booking Tool: SAP Concur
Primary Global Payment Provider: American Express
Card Program: Individual Bill/Individual Pay
Primary Global Expense Supplier: Workday
Primary U.S. Travel Risk Management Supplier: WorldAware
Consolidated Global TMC: Amex GBT
Insurance and professional services firm Aon reported $11 billion in revenue in 2020 and saw its U.S.-booked air volume decline from $48.9 million in 2019 to $16 million in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the firm’s evolution toward global standards and further expanding its service, technology and travel risk platforms across all countries.
Aon changed global travel management partners in 2019 to American Express Global Business Travel, and in 2020 implemented 10 additional countries onto the platform, bringing the number to over 55 countries. In addition, the firm standardized and expanded travel technologies including booking tools, re-shop technologies and pre-trip approval tools.
In 2020 Aon fully integrated its travel and meetings program to expand its meeting and events service platform in key global markets, adding meeting registration and management technologies. The firm also focused efforts to build its hotel program by shifting more properties to dynamic rates and expanding the use of rate-shopping tool Tripbam to bring more spend under management and drive greater visibility into rate performance.
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Aon implemented firmwide essential-only travel and meeting policies. Its global T&E policies have not changed, but the company is in the process of refining the global policy.
The Aon Business Services operating platform has helped the firm reduce its physical office space, move on-premise data-centers to the cloud, and develop alternative communication solutions that allow Aon to limit air travel, which is one of the firm’s key four areas of focus in order to achieve its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In 2020, the firm reduced its Scope 3 carbon emissions, which primarily includes emissions from business travel, from 31,838 metric tons to 12,977 metric tons. Going forward, the firm plans to leverage specialized virtual platforms for many internal meetings, but client- and partner-facing meetings will largely remain in-person.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, the firm had approximately 50,000 employees in more than 120 countries, the same as it had at the end of 2019.