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Know what business travellers care about? You should.

Know what business travellers care about? You should.

3 min
Posted: 15 September 2020
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When was the last time you checked in on your travellers to see what they value most and least about your travel policy? If you’re like most travel managers, you base your policy on financially driven priorities, or infrequent satisfaction surveys; however, listening to and crafting your policy around your business travellers can unlock greater opportunity to impact the company’s bottom line. From employee satisfaction, to retention and talent recruitment – understanding what drives your business travellers will ultimately inform and help shape your company culture. Today, Egencia released the findings from a survey of 5,545 business travellers to reveal what business travellers really care about. The biggest takeaway from the study is that convenience and control are the most important aspects of a travel policy to a traveller. They want:

  • convenient and safe hotel locations,
  • direct flights at convenient times
  • and the ability to manage their travel themselves.

As we dived a bit deeper, we uncovered key takeaways that every company should consider. Your business travellers want to be in control Business travellers say the most important element of a travel programme is the ability to control bookings themselves (48 per cent) – from initial bookings, to any needed changes – speaking to the importance of empowering them and providing travel management tools built for traveller ease of use. This is an easy win – give them a great user experience that crosses all of their devices. Your per diem could impact the safety and well-being of your employees With one third of business travellers prioritising convenient and safe locations, consider that your per diem in a city has the potential to push your travellers into unsafe parts of their destination city. Ensuring per diems and strong, relevant hotel inventory is key to prevention. Cost, happiness and safety are all intertwined. It’s important to have a policy and travel management company to provide the best traveller experience and assist with hotel negotiations and per diem setting. Quality matters The biggest complaint with corporate travel programmes is price constraints and their impact on quality of the hotel – with, again, one third of business travellers flagging as critical. The purpose of business travel is to further your business, so ensure you’re considering your policy’s impact on your travellers’ well-being and ability to effectively conduct business. They want to do right by you – 82 per cent always book within policy, so be sure you’re also doing right by them. There are several opportunities for you to tap into to meet the needs of your travellers and deliver greater impact to your business – from employee retention and productivity to overall company culture. Travel management companies like Egencia can help – with a simple platform that puts the traveller in control. Budget-friendly offerings like Egencia Advantage provide access to negotiated rates for popular perks like lounge access, parking and WiFi. Businesses of any size can effectively balance financial considerations with traveller productivity and well-being. To learn more about what business travellers value, read our latest press release here.

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