If your business is considering returning to employee travel or you’re simply rethinking your current approach, you’ll want to review the trends in the current business travel landscape.

From pre-travel to post-trip, it’s time to think carefully about each element of your business travel program and how you expect your current or future travel management company (TMC) to support you.

Employee travel has become a more meaningful touchpoint for in-person collaboration and connecting people to company culture. The 2022 Business Travel Program Toolkit reviews the following:

• The value of checking in with your Employees
• Awareness of how your travel program compares to others in your industry
• Understanding the 2022 business travel landscape
• How to relaunch your business travel program

Download the toolkit for actionable insights on how to elevate your business travel program that embraces a corporate culture of employee connection and engagement.

1. The value of checking in with your Employees

   Don’t be an island: Create a network of stakeholders that touch on travel, employee well-being, and travel expense. Travel arrangers are in a unique position to elevate a travel program that reflects company values and employee experiences on business trips. Once you have a better understanding of your employee’s perspectives on travel after your check-in, you’ll be able to build a new corporate travel culture that reflects travelers’ needs and values in the shifting travel industry, as well as the perks that come with it.

   It’s crucial to understand the broad scope of requirements from across your company. From mitigating travel risk and shortages in the travel and tourism industry to managing travel expenses, tailor each conversation to your audience. Then listen and react to feedback to put together a strong plan for a modernized approach to travel.

2. Awareness of how your travel program compares to others in your industry

   It’s a good idea to know how other companies in your industry are approaching the return to travel through external benchmarking. With all this uncertainty, knowing what other organizations are doing can create comfort and confidence that you’re making the right decisions as well.

   FOMO is real as businesses begin to meet with customers for in-person meetings, optimize supplier agreements, and collaborate at conferences. A successful recovery of your travel program can be a competitive advantage in your industry.

3. Understanding the 2022 business travel landscape

   The business travel landscape in 2022 reflects a fresh view with opportunities to innovate on business travel trends like sustainability. The workforce wants to work for companies that demonstrate an understanding of individual preferences and provide more choices within travel programs and in-person initiatives.

   Employees like to see their international travel and domestic itinerary options and prioritize flexibility and choice, yet don’t want to feel as though they’re on their own for travel plans, which is the benefit of self-booking (especially when it populates with options that match previous preferences) combined with 24/7 human support.

4. How to relaunch your business travel program

   Face-to-face business travel helps your business grow - especially with an established travel management program that saves your team time and money. It’s essential to update your travel policies, create a risk management plan, and develop a business travel culture that has room to grow. The Business Travel 2022 Toolkit outlines how a travel management company can manage your current and future travel spend and risk assessment tools most effectively over the next year.