We don’t have to look too far back in the past to see a
world without tablets, smartphone apps or ridesharing services. Indeed,
business travel was an entirely different experience only five years ago than
it is today. Rapidly emerging hardware and software and the new paradigm of the
sharing economy are forcing corporations to change the way that they manage
their travel purchases. Plus, the globalized business environment can mean
longer, more complex trips to farther destinations. In response, travel managers
are being asked not just to keep up with these trends but to stay ahead of
them.
Often, these new technologies represent new opportunities
for travel managers to further their goals of traveler safety, satisfaction,
productivity and cost control. Here is how:
Incorporate alternate suppliers into policies.
Travel managers constantly need to be updating their
policies to consider the next generation of travel providers, including
ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft and alternative lodging companies like
Airbnb and HomeAway. As the sharing economy emerges as a viable choice for some
business travelers, travel managers must protect their interests by
investigating the feasibility of these options for their company’s needs and
culture. Whether a company is ready to engage with these new suppliers or not,
it must set guidelines for employees in its policies.
Adapt to dynamic pricing models.
While some of us may remember the days when the airlines
simply asked “smoking or non-smoking?” we are now faced with a landscape that
is blossoming with new fees for new services, many of which once had been included
in the fare. Must a business traveler be confined to the middle seat by the
lavatory, or is it acceptable to purchase an aisle seat with slightly more legroom?
Travelers need guidance on their ability to expense these new ancillary fees
from travel providers or to purchase a more expensive fare in the same class of
service that includes some of these services. Incorporating clear guidance on
ancillary fees versus acceptable fares in travel policies will alleviate
confusion for employees and create consistency across the company.
Keep sight of employee satisfaction.
Increasingly, our clients are using traveler satisfaction as
a key element in competitive recruitment and employee retention. Here,
technology has a positive role to play as employees want to be able to do
everything—from booking to payment to expense management—from alternate devices
like mobile and tablets. Choosing the right forward-thinking partners that
consistently demonstrate their ability to integrate with the latest hardware,
software and applications is critical.
In our recent GBTA Business Traveler Sentiment Index, we
found that business travelers, for the most part, are “satisfied” or “very
satisfied” with their time on the road. However, in general, only slightly more
than half are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with airline travel (57 percent)
and getting through airport security (55 percent). Corporations should consider
how to alleviate these burdens—especially for frequent travelers. TSA PreCheck
or Customs’ Global Entry benefits are a good start: They help employees reduce
time spent getting through security. To mitigate the cost to the company,
travel managers might check with their payment providers about whether they
offer credits toward such services. Some do. In addition, mobile apps like
TripCase allow travelers to be notified of flight changes in real time, often
before receiving an update from the airline. And when travel disruptions occur,
these apps can offer alternate routes and update hotel and rental car information,
which allows employees to solve travel problems effectively and independently.
Businesses also can adopt mobile expense reporting apps to ease the universally
disliked chore of storing receipts and submitting expense reports.
Pay attention to nonemployee travel costs.
Many companies don’t have a plan for controlling the travel
expenses of contractors, seasonal workers, recruits and other nonemployees who
don’t enjoy the same travel infrastructure as employees. For example,
corporations may consider extending their use of virtual accounts for
nonemployee travel expenses in order to more seamlessly manage their travel.
The recent expansion of virtual card options in the business travel space is an
interesting one for this use case. Virtual cards can help travel managers get a
handle on these expenses without the reconciliation hassle that can come from
trying to centrally bill these expenses to a single card or cost center or reimbursing
expenses nonemployees incurred on personal payment products.
Work with travel management companies to stay ahead.
When employees question travel managers about new providers
or inclusion of new amenities on the road, travel managers often have to play
catch-up to add emerging providers or new fees to their policies.
Unfortunately, some TMCs become so focused on ensuring that the booking experience
is seamless that they don’t dedicate enough resources to be consultative to
their clients. The right TMCs offer corporate travel managers the latest travel
information and trends, as well as proposed solutions to proactively present to
their employees.
By embracing technological change, employers can realize
increased policy compliance and an improved employee experience. As a result,
travel managers can help make their employees more productive on the road while
becoming more competitive in terms of talent acquisition and retention.