Business travel can be costly and account for a significant portion of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) annual expenses.
Yet a survey conducted by Corporate Traveler and Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) found business travel managers aren't as focused on the bottom line as you might expect. When Corporate Traveler — part of Flight Centre Travel Group, one of the world's largest travel groups — asked 300 SME travel managers from across the U.S. to name their top priorities when it comes to booking travel for employees, only a small percentage reported cost savings as their top concern.
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Surprisingly, more than 40 percent of respondents said "traveler safety" was their highest priority, followed by cost savings, which was prioritized by just 19 percent of respondents.
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Eleven percent of respondents rated traveler experience as most important and another 11 percent rated technology integration as a priority. Policy compliance was important to eight percent of respondents and sustainability mattered most to five percent. Companies that spend less than $1 million in annual travel spending were more likely to rank saving money as the top priority.
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“At Corporate Traveler, we always pride ourselves on our ability to keep our finger on the pulse of the industry, which helps us best meet the needs of our clients,” said John Van den Heuvel, president of Corporate Traveler USA in a statement. “So, as the business travel world continues to evolve, we’re pleased to have worked with GBTA to develop this report, which reflects the true voice of today’s business traveler and the SME community across the country.”
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Respondents to the survey also noted spending on business travel remains a significant cost for SMEs which is why companies are testing out various strategies that can help achieve cost savings.
Reps from two-thirds of companies participating in the survey say they are implementing budget-friendly options (65%), while more than half of companies are working with travel management solutions (52%). Additional strategies include revising and reinforcing policy adherence (43%), negotiating lower vendor contracts (42%), or reducing employee travel (35%).
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Travel to expensive cities makes cost-savings difficult for businesses
One noted obstacle to cost-savings is the fact that much business travel is to expensive/high-cost areas, including San Francisco, New York and Las Vegas. Forty-five percent of respondents said employee behavior can make it difficult to save money because some employees prioritize comfort or convenience over savings when on the road. Add-ons and extra fees such as checked bags, priority boarding, or hotel room services, often pose additional challenges.
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The continued shift in the way travel is being approached led the majority (71%) of survey respondents to indicate their companies are currently evaluating a travel management company (TMC). A TMC is a travel agency that specializes in arranging corporate travel for businesses of all sizes.
“This research conducted by GBTA and Corporate Traveler addresses the increasing challenges faced by SMEs in managing their business travel programs. Underscoring the importance of traveler safety, cost savings and increased efficiencies, these insights will help inform companies as they seek innovative strategies to navigate these complexities,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO for GBTA said.
“Business travel supports millions of jobs and delivers billions in tax revenue, which is why it is important for policymakers to consider the impact on the industry when devising economic policies – and for sustainable solutions to be prioritized, funded and developed to help us abate travel’s hardest-to-abate sectors,” added Neufang in a June 2024 statement.
The Corporate Traveler survey was conducted online between June 17, 2024 to June 20, 2024. The target respondents were business travel decision-makers at U.S.-based SMEs across the country, including administrative and executive assistants, HR personnel, C-suite executives, and company travel managers. All regions of the U.S. were represented in the survey.
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