Analysis
this was not yet a major item on the corporate agenda. However, others involved in
managed travel are more concerned. A travel manager at a mid-scale London advertising agency, which has a higher proportion of Millennials on its staff than most companies, said there “are issues of compliance, because this group want to get more involved in their travel experience to make it more personal”. Ryan Johnson, head of land products for FCM Travel Solutions and Corporate Traveller, also suggests that this demographic’s computer savvy skills and awareness of travel websites makes them think they can probably do a better job than a travel management company (TMC). “They think that by booking independently they will impress their bosses and save
“There are issues of compliance, because this group want to get more involved in their travel experience”
the company money – although they are probably unaware of the benefits a TMC can bring from route deals and hotel programmes, which will generate much greater savings overall.” Some Millennials may also prefer
a travel policy “that sets financial limits on how much they can spend, allowing them a degree of choice within cost guidelines and an ability to book via a smartphone or another device”, suggests Chambers Travel Group sales director Paul Broughton.
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(ANTI)SOCIAL MEDIA Yet Millennials can also affect corporate travel policies in other ways, which travel managers are perhaps not fully taking into account. For example, they are more likely to voice their displeasure online about their business travel experiences – potentially creating possible legal issues of defamation if they go too far with their comments. Last autumn, for example, a young businessman made headlines by paying for a ‘promoted tweet’ to lambast British Airways online for losing luggage on a flight to Paris. The Future of Travel survey also
found that Millennials “were freer with their company’s money when travelling”. Some 42 per cent of the
RISE OF THE ‘ALWAYS ON’ GENERATION
FROM BABY BOOMERS to Generation Y, the story of the decades since 1945 has been characterised by the desire to create a consistent narrative of the demographic changes that have shaped the US, UK and many other Western countries since then. Baby Boomers are loosely defined as those
born after the Second World War and up until about 1964 (when Harold Wilson first became Prime Minister). The name originated because of the surge in births following the end of the conflict, but also coincided with the post-war economic recovery. By 1957, the then-PM Harold Macmillan was able to claim (perhaps a little early) to the British people that they had “never had it so good”. The impact of both a growing population and
prosperity was characterised in the US, for example, by the development and expansion of the chain hotels such as Holiday Inn, founded in the early 1950s, and Marriott. But it was the advent of fast jet travel that marked the real start of the global travel boom for leisure and business, typified by the introduction of Boeing’s 747 Jumbo in the 1970s. The Generation X demographic that followed the Baby Boomers – broadly those born
Millennials surveyed globally said they frequently spent more on expensive meals when travelling on business than they would with their own money. But only a quarter of those aged 46-65 said they would do likewise. This clearly has expense management implications. And this survey also revealed that Millennials were more comfortable mixing business with pleasure than their older counterparts, being more likely to extend a business trip into a personal holiday. This suggests some confusion
among younger business travellers as they appear to not only regard travel as something to be enjoyed but also feel an entitlement because of the impact on their personal lives. Not surprisingly, Millennials believe strongly that they should receive the benefits from loyalty programmes even though travelling at their company’s expense. And that, perhaps, sounds more Generation Me than Generation Y. ■
from the mid-1960s to around 1980 – was characterised by some commentators at the time by its involvement in the counterculture (such as in music) of the 1980s and 1990s. But Gen X now – the mid-30s to 50s – forms the bedrock of current business travel, with largely ‘unchallenging’ attitudes regarding adherence to travel policies and expectations of service from hotels and airlines. Although there is some overlap with the Gen-Xers and the Millennial generation – also known as Gen Y – those that came of age in the 21st century may have less of their own money to spend on travel and work for companies with tighter budgets, but there are also sharp differences in attitudes which reflect their greater access to real-time data and connections via smartphones and tablets. Some eight out of every ten UK Millennials,
for example, use their smartphone or tablet for booking travel and monitoring their itineraries, according to Expedia/Egencia’s recent The Future of Travel survey, which covered 8,535 employed adults in 24 countries. The report recognises Millennials as the
“always on” generation, willing to work across “multi-platforms” which has accelerated the trend towards “the blending of work and leisure travel habits and experiences”. Over the next decade, it adds, we will see business travel become “an inspirational experience through personalised, technology-infused services”. But already there are those looking ahead to the impact of Gen Z – the generation now being born who will shape the travel world as the 21st century unfolds in ways yet to be seen.
MARCH/APRIL 2014
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