THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 39


 Savings rule, not traveller experience THE REVIEW ›› TECHNOLOGY


THE dichotomy between the traveller experience and business priorities was put on the debating table early in 2013 with two separate reports highlighting the issues, writes Linda Fox. First up was Carlson Wagonlit


Travel’s Travel Management Priorities report which shows travel managers focusing firmly on reducing cost in 2013, with traveller experience ranking a paltry fifth or sixth place on the list for most respondents. Even optimising online adoption


levels, which you might think of as being fairly crucial to driving savings, only ranks in fourth place or a priority for 55 per cent. This comes after the top priorities of driving savings, improving policy compliance and optimising hotel content. In fact, overall the latest


technology does not figure that highly in terms of priorities and it is only travel managers with global responsibility who are thinking about using the latest services – such as mobile and social media – to help tackle out of policy behaviour. The global managers’ plans to


improve traveller compliance include offering mobile services, implementing social media and providing travellers with a web- based traveller portal. This compares to regional


travel managers whose measures to improve compliance include better communication and training on policy. The differences between regional and global responsibility are likely to be down to levels of maturity in those individual markets. Travel managers in Asia-Pacific


plan to focus on improving compliance and mandating preferred booking channels, while their EMEA counterparts are looking to tighten air and rail policies to further reduce costs. CWT surveyed 706 travel managers in November 2012 for its study while the Amadeus 21st Century Business Traveller report takes into account the views of 400 business travellers, mostly in senior positions. The global distribution


company is looking to create some debate around the need


for more flexibility in travel policy, also where travel managers can step in and add value and how technology can help the process. Key findings in the 21st Century Business Travel report show how online bookings tools are now the majority and not the exception (66 per cent have the ability to book travel via them), but there’s still plenty of ground for mobile device usage in the booking process; only 34 per cent of travellers said they could book via mobile or tablet. It’s worth pointing out that the


survey is an attempt to discover current attitudes as opposed to digging deeper into why certain things are happening. That will come in phase two. The study also throws up some


interesting findings in terms of understanding of travel policy. Only 51 per cent say they fully understand policy, how often changes are made to bookings, how effective the travel department is perceived to be in facilitating changes and how travellers feel about the travel department, with 15 per cent saying it hinders their ability to do business. Amadeus also used research


from hosted travel buyers at the Business Travel Show in February


“Travellers want access to booking tools that mirror what they do in leisure travel, but views on this are divided, with some taking a hard line and saying travellers will have to do what they’re told or be refused travel”


2012, which showed 43 per cent getting traveller feedback on travel policy only once a year. Amadeus marketing director


Rob Sinclair-Barnes believes travel managers need to be in touch with and listen to travellers more in order to find out where they can help them and where they can let them self-manage their travel and drive further online adoption. He adds that travellers want


access to tools that mirror what they do in leisure travel. Views on this are divided with some taking a hard line and saying that travellers will have to do what they’re told or be refused travel. Others, however, believe that adoption will be hard to drive if systems aren’t familiar and easy-to-use. Interestingly, the CWT study


finds that Generation Y already accounts for 27 per cent of business travellers worldwide, including 58 per cent in India, 45 per cent in Brazil and 26 per cent in the UK. This is the segment, born


between 1978 and 1994, that has never known life before the internet, email, social media and mobile devices, so if anyone can change attitudes and drive traveller experience up the agenda it is them.


46 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE


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