Travel Policy: Reality Versus What Travelers Think

What a company's travel policy is and what travelers think the policy is are disconnected. That maxim is well accepted in the corporate travel industry. A new report from the GBTA Foundation and HRS, though, quantifies just how big the gap is.

According to the report, which compares traveler responses from one survey with travel manager responses from previous research, 96 percent of North American business travelers say they are knowledgeable about their company's travel policies, yet misperceptions prevail. Half say their policies are mandated, while only a third of travel managers say that is true. Looking at something like rideshare policies, 24 percent of North American travel managers say it's prohibited versus half as many travelers.

"I'm not surprised at all," said HRS executive director of industry relations Carole Poillerat. "We knew it was going to be disconnected because when you look at the figures in terms of compliance and attachment rate of TMCs, it's very low."

GBTA and HRS conducted an online survey of 492 North American and European business travelers who have traveled at least four times during the past year and whose companies have formal travel policies. The survey was fielded from May 26 to June 14, 2016. GBTA and HRS compared these traveler responses to travel manager research and reports released by GBTA in 2015 and earlier in 2016. The travelers and travel managers surveyed are not from the same companies.

A major assertion of the report is that perception is more important than reality. While a travel manager may say, for example, that he or she emails important travel details to an employee pre-trip, that fact is irrelevant if the traveler doesn't see the information, read it or recall it.

"One thing that was surprising is that Generation Y wanted to have in-person meetings," Poillerat said. Just over half of travelers between the ages of 18 and 34 prefer to have someone explain the travel policy in person, according to the report. "Maybe it's because they're not used to travel policies and they want to make sure they understand," Poillerat said. Indeed, the research indicated travelers want to do the right thing, as 79 percent report that company policy has the greatest impact on their decision-making.

Beyond the obvious negative effects of policy noncompliance, Poillerat pointed out that miscommunications cost a company in more subtle ways. For example, 89 percent of travel managers negotiate free Wi-Fi in hotels, but 22 percent of business travelers are still expensing it. "It means they are not aware," Poillerat said.

The report suggests some ways to bridge the gap between traveler perception and travel policy reality, including collecting more in-depth traveler data, alerting travelers to noncompliant behavior before they book, keeping traveler preferences in mind and disseminating information through effective channels.

Embracing technology players that incorporate policy-compliant choices will help put travelers and travel managers on the same page, Poillerat said. Tools like Roadmap and Conichi can draw in business travelers with the convenience of consumer apps, and when travelers know travel managers have approved such apps and all activity that occurs within them, compliance approves.

"When you're traveling for business, whether you're going to meet a colleague or client or supplier, you don't have time to review [the entire travel policy], so you should get the information when you need it," Poillerat said. In addition to the more than three-quarters of travelers who said policy plays the largest role in their decision-making, 71 percent said convenience plays a large role, as well. "If you match those two, you're done," Poillerat said. "If you push the content in an easy way so that it's convenient and compliant, you've solved the problem."