John Sturino is vice president of product and technology at travel management company Egencia
As business travel continues to bounce back from the events of the last few years, the entire global travel ecosystem has come under extraordinary pressure. With airlines, hotels and travel organisations still scrambling to get back to full operational capacity, disruption has sadly become par for the course, particularly during periods when business and leisure travellers typically collide – such as the summer and winter holidays.
When we recently asked frequent business travellers from the UK, France and the US about their experiences over the past few months, they told us nearly three-quarters of their recent trips had been disrupted in some way, be it delays, unexpected diversions, or even last-minute cancellations. This high level of disruption is putting stress on airline call centres and leading to even longer wait times.
Sadly, more than two-thirds of travellers now expect to experience disruption, leading many to change the way they travel. To alleviate inconveniences, some travellers are booking more early morning flights or avoiding certain airlines and airports where disruption is rife.
Despite these issues, nearly all the travellers we spoke to still firmly believe in the benefits of being back on the road, whether it be for face-to-face collaboration or the power of finalising deals in person. However, to maximise business success and keep employees happy, it’s imperative that organisations find ways to make travel as seamless and stress-free as possible.
Putting control in the right hands
Given the recent travel frustration, a fundamental change is happening within the industry. More and more organisations – and their business travellers – are turning to digital corporate travel solutions to ease the issues caused by unexpected travel disruption.
As a frequent traveller myself, I know that by its nature, disruption comes at inconvenient times, so having the ability to view, change and manage travel schedules online or through an app – rather than having to sit on hold, waiting to speak to a customer services agent – is a true game changer. Even more so when the tools are integrated into an environment already used throughout the business, such as Slack or Teams.
Many young business travellers share this view, with 75 per cent of those under 35 years old adopting tech-based travel solutions to manage their own disrupted schedules – a figure that will certainly grow over time as digital natives take over the workplace.
Ultimately it boils down to one thing – control. Disruptions to your itinerary can make you feel out of control, but having the tools to manage that disruption puts the power back in your hands. The more control travellers have over their itinerary, the more empowered they are to act decisively when disruption is encountered.
Travellers report that the top benefits of digital corporate travel tools include access to real-time travel updates, time savings, immediate personalised support, the ability to avoid queues, and more choice when making alternative arrangements on the fly.
Looking into the future, many travellers voiced a clear desire to have more automated options at their fingertips, helping smooth travel disruption even more easily. In fact, more than a third (34 per cent) said they would like to receive predictive flight alerts and 28 per cent said they hope their digital tools will one day automatically rebook flights when things go wrong. In short, travellers expect even more from corporate travel technology in the future.
Until lasting solutions can be found to the problems currently facing the global travel ecosystem, business travellers are likely to continue encountering disruption. While transport strikes and bad weather are beyond an organisation’s control, employers can at least help travellers control their own experience. The adoption of digital corporate travel tools means that when the next delay inevitably occurs, travellers can skip the line, pick up their mobile devices, and quickly find the help they need.