European travel policies during the past 12
months have tightened, according to an annual study by Egencia and GBTA
Foundation, with one major exception: More companies are allowing business
class for long-haul flights. Otherwise, a growing number of European businesses
are imposing travel policies and toughening sanctions for noncompliance. Also, more
companies are requiring online booking, and—despite the opposite trend in the
air—reducing use of first class for rail travel.
Conducted between May 18 and June 8, the 2011
survey of 330 GBTA direct members and Egencia corporate customers and prospects
found the proportion of respondent companies permitting business-class flying
within Europe is unchanged from 2010 levels, at 14 percent. However, the number
of those companies permitting business class on flights between Europe and all
other regions is up by double-digit percentages. For example, 46 percent now allow
business class to North America, up from 34 percent last year. In contrast, the
share of respondents whose organizations permit first-class rail travel has
fallen to 33 percent from 42 percent, perhaps reflecting increased efforts by
travel managers to control this area of spend.
At a more basic level, 2 percent of respondents
this year said their companies have no written travel policy, down from 10 percent
in 2010. Among companies that do have a policy, they are split between "guidelines
that employees should observe" (50 percent) and mandatory rules that
employees are required to follow as a condition of employment (47 percent). The
number of organizations in which employees face no consequences if they fail to
comply with policy has dropped to 13 percent from 20 percent, while those that threaten
nonreimbursement for noncompliance have risen to 21 percent from 14 percent. Nine
percent of companies allow travelers to book with the travel management company
or supplier of their choice, although for companies spending more than €10
million annually on travel the figure is much lower at 2 percent.
European companies also are pushing online
booking harder, with those requiring self-booking wherever possible rising to
51 percent from 47 percent. The number of companies with no booking tool has
fallen to 20 percent from 24 percent.
Use of policy exception reports is also on the
increase. The number of travel managers who receive a report on travelers' failure
to accept the lowest logical fare has grown to 55 percent from 45 percent,
while those who receive reports on failure to accept a preferred vendor are up to
30 percent from 20 percent.
For the first time, the study quizzed European
travel managers about their policies on reimbursing additional fees imposed by
hotels and airlines. Their organizations are consistently less likely to allow
reimbursements than their North American counterparts, especially for hotel
spend. For example, as in North America, the most commonly reimbursed hotel
extra is parking, but it is permitted by only 76 percent of European companies,
compared with 89 percent across the Atlantic. Ten percent of European companies
reimburse no hotel extras, compared with only 2 percent of North American
companies.