More than eight in 10 business travelers said they struggle with travel expenses, with such practices as using personal cards or booking through consumer travel platforms still prevalent, according to a TravelPerk survey of 4,000 business travelers.
The survey—conducted March 12-19 and with respondents split evenly between the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Spain—showed "most businesses still subject employees to manual, disconnected processes that our research shows creates real financial hardship," according to TravelPerk CFO Roy Hefer. For example, the survey showed that 26 percent of business travelers had used personal credit cards for large purchases, and 28 percent had faced delayed reimbursement—a combination that could put them at a risk of late fees and a personal financial burden.
A quarter of respondents also said they have lost receipts during travel, and 36 percent said they were booking through consumer platforms, each of which makes the reconciliation process more difficult for travelers and expense managers alike.
A significant percentage of business travelers also expressed confusion about the expense process at their company. Just under 20 percent of respondents said they weren't sure what expenses were reimbursable at their company, and a quarter said going over budget was a concern when they traveled. TravelPerk said that was an indication that policy guidelines were not embedded into the booking process at their companies.
In all, just under a quarter of respondents said the expense process was too complicated at their company, and the same percentage said they do not have sufficient time to submit claims. About a quarter of respondents also indicated that automated expense processing was a way that AI could improve their business travel experience, according to TravelPerk.