Most travel buyers do not track ancillary air or hotel fees,
though many are making it a priority to do so within the next year, according
to a study of 651 travel managers, mostly in the United States, conducted by
the Global Business Travel Association Foundation and Egencia.
Only 21 percent of respondents indicated they are tracking
ancillary fees, although 41 percent said they plan to do so in the next 12
months. Most buyers who track them do so through expense management tools, though
about half also do so through their corporate card supplier.
The survey indicated that most buyers are willing to
reimburse travelers for bag fees and itinerary changes but not for other
charges. Only 47 percent reimburse for in-flight meals, and only 35 percent
reimburse for in-flight wireless Internet use. Very few reimburse for such
amenities as preferred seating, extra legroom and priority boarding.
On the hotel side, most buyers reimburse for parking,
Internet and airport shuttle use, but less than a quarter said they reimburse
travelers for late checkout or early check-in fees. Only about a fifth said
they reimburse for fitness center usage.
The survey also indicated slight tightening of compliance
rules compared with a similar 2010 survey. Most buyers (61 percent) said their
travel policy is a guideline; 36 percent said their policies were mandated, a
percentage point higher than in the 2010 survey.
Additionally, 22 percent of buyers said travelers face
possible nonreimbursement if they violate policy, up from 19 percent the
previous year. Even so, 56 percent of buyers said policy violations warrant "slap-on-the-wrist"
reactions, such as email directives to adhere to policy.
More buyers are enacting air travel booking-window
requirements, according to the survey. About a quarter require travelers to
book at least seven days in advance of travel, compared with 18 percent in
2010. Buyers with no advance purchase requirements or designated timeframe for
air travel booking, meanwhile, dropped from 38 percent to 33 percent.
Buyers also continue to increase restrictions on
premium-class air travel. Sixty-nine percent surveyed said they limited
premium-class travel during the past two years, up from 66 percent who said so in
2010. Even so, fewer buyers are taking the hardest line against it, with only
42 percent saying they do not allow premium-class travel under any
circumstances, down from 47 percent who said so last year.
Buyers are less restrictive in the hotel category, with only
28 percent saying they've updated policies to limit travel to certain hotel
tiers during the past two years.