Nearly three-quarters of U.S. travel managers surveyed in May by professional services firm Deloitte projected their organizations would spend more on business travel in 2024 than they did in 2023, with an average year-over-year spending increase of 15 percent, the company announced Wednesday.
About 6 percent of travel managers surveyed said this year's travel budgets would decrease from 2023, at an average of a 14 percent decrease.
Deloitte from May 16-28 surveyed 104 U.S.-based corporate travel managers "with various titles and travel budget oversight" as part of a larger study of corporate travel trends that included a May 28-June 3 survey of 1,389 U.S.-based corporate travelers.
About 20 percent of travelers surveyed projected they would take six to 10 business trips this year, and another 10 percent forecast they would take more than 10, up from 15 percent and 7 percent in 2023, respectively. Most like doing so: 83 percent called business travel "enjoyable," while 3 percent said they dislike it, suggesting pandemic-era jitters have all but fully dissipated.
The Deloitte results offer a sunnier outlook on business travel spending than a Morgan Stanley travel manager survey, also conducted in May, in which respondents projected an average 6 percent year-over-year increase in 2024 business travel budgets.
"Business travel has been slower to come back following pandemic slowdowns, but this could be the year that it accelerates to new heights," Deloitte & Touche LLP vice chair Eileen Crowley, also head of its U.S. transportation, hospitality and services practice, said in a statement. "More employees are traveling for business—and enjoying it—underscoring that in-person connection often remains a critical component."
Pricing Pressure
Still, many travel managers surveyed indicated that supplier prices are affecting some of their organizations' procedures. Half of those indicated they have been "encouraging or mandating" lower-cost flights due to high airfares; about 38 percent said they were doing likewise with hotels. About 38 percent said they had sacrificed the prospect of some amenities during contract negotiations with suppliers a cost-savings mechanism, while 41 percent suggested they were pushing for more perks to justify the prices.
Of the business travelers Deloitte surveyed, 834 "said they either oversee a travel budget or approve travel requests for their teams." Of that group, 51 percent said their teams are traveling more in 2024 than they did last year—mostly citing higher participation at events and more in-person client meetings—and 13 percent said they are traveling less. Of those cutting travel, 57 percent cited budget constraints, while 44 percent and 40 percent respectively noted high airfares and hotel rate costs.
Off-Channel Action
Meanwhile, 43 percent of the full set of traveler respondents indicated they "always" book business travel through company-approved channels, while another 23 percents profess their organizations don't have one or they're not aware of one.
Perhaps counterintuitively, Deloitte's survey indicated that older travelers—not tech-savvy Gen Z—are most likely to eschew corporate channels in favor of online travel agencies or supplier direct platforms.
"Awareness is part of the picture, as Xers and boomers are nearly twice as likely as Gen Zers and millennials to say, as far as they know, their company has no managed channel," according to Deloitte. "But even accounting for awareness, older travelers are more likely to say they never use company channels. Age is a much stronger predicter of booking compliance than travel frequency."
Younger travelers and less-frequent travelers are more likely to book through OTAs, while older and more-frequent travelers are more likely to book direct, per Deloitte.
"Overall, the biggest driver of booking direct with suppliers is easier management of trip changes, followed by earning loyalty points," according to Deloitte. "On the OTA side, deals are the biggest driver by a big margin, followed by easier shopping and change management."
On Sustainability, Promises and Action
About 46 percent of travel managers surveyed indicated that "they have a strategy in place to assign travel emission budgets to teams and individuals," according to Deloitte, up from 30 percent last year, and many are listing sustainability factors in corporate online booking tools to display during searches.
Notably, 39 percent of travel managers surveyed indicated they list in corporate booking tools whether airlines use sustainable fuel, while 25 percent include per-flight carbon emissions data for display. For hotels, about 34 percent display "chainwide sustainability standards and initiatives," while 27 display environmental certifications earned. About 37 percent display whether car rental suppliers have electric vehicles available.
Whether that information is affecting decisions remains an open question. About one in 10 traveler respondents indicated they "always" consider emissions in flight selection, the same share that always take hotel sustainability ratings into account. While far more travelers say they occasionally consider those factors, the question as to whether these steps are meaningful parts of sustainability efforts remains subject to examination.
"Travel managers indicate that the question of uptake is important," according to Deloitte. "Nearly half say that before investing in more concrete integration of sustainability in their travel purchasing path, they want to be more convinced that travelers will take action."