GBTA and Egencia® Study Shows Travel Professionals Gaining Control of Travel Policies in Europe

Report Ranks Top 10 Most Important Factors in Defining Policy 

Alexandria, Va., Bellevue, Wash., Paris, London, Munich, 2012-10-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — Travel professionals are playing an increasingly large and influential role in shaping and controlling business travel policy, aided by online booking tools and fueled by a growing focus on cost-saving efforts, according to a new report for Europe by the GBTA Foundation, the research arm of the Global Business Travel Association, and Egencia, the corporate travel arm of Expedia, Inc.

“Travel professionals play a vital role in balancing the need to get travellers on the road to make the face-to-face connections that strengthen business ties while also spending corporate dollars wisely,” said Paul Tilstone, managing director of GBTA Europe. “This study shows travel managers are gaining more control over budgets to help contain costs and ensure that road warriors can be as effective as possible.”

This third annual study, “Travel Policy Trends: ‘Control’ – What Does it Mean and Who Has It”, surveyed nearly 1,500 travel professionals in Europe, North America, Asia and Latin America to determine, for the first time ever, what “control” over travel policy means to them and how travel professionals are adapting to new and evolving business travel requirements. The majority of travel professionals worldwide (60%) indicate that they have more control over travel policy compared to a few years ago.

“Our study shows that the impact of technology, such as mobile devices, is reshaping both the travellers’ experience and travel manager’s role in simultaneously supporting traveller needs and corporate objectives,” said Christophe Peymirat, Senior Vice President, Egencia EMEA & APAC. “We set out to understand how travel professionals can better manage travel policy to make sure their travellers have the important information they need to deal with travel details without losing site of policy ompliance.”

Top 10 Most Important Definitions of Travel Policy Control

When travel professionals in Europe were asked to describe what “control” over travel policy means for them, three in five (64%) selected “driving savings and controlling costs.” In addition, the report revealed the top ten most important definitions of travel policy control, worldwide and across key regions:

Compared to a few years ago, large majorities of travel professionals in Europe agree they now have more control over travel spend data (76%), reporting (69%), and visibility in the organization (73%).  When asked why they have more control over travel policy, travel professionals said:

• Access to traveller profile information and data security (69%)
• Stronger support from C-level executives (65%)
• Having a broader role in their company (63%)

Mobile and Social Media: Changing the Game

In Europe, travel professionals are using mobile phones and social media to keep in touch with travellers and improve the traveller experience. In fact, 62 percent indicated that they stay connected with travellers to let them know they’re watching out for them.

• Social media use amongst travellers is less prevalent, with only 35 percent using social media channels or mobile device apps in their daily travels to connect with other road warriors and quickly find information they need while on the road.
• This is a notably smaller percentage than in North America and Asia, where travellers reported using social media more actively (48 percent and 51 percent, respectively).

Despite the relatively low usage number, there is still need for improvement when it comes to educating travellers on travel policy. For example, only 14 percent of travel professionals in Europe integrate information into mobile booking tools.

Technology – Improving Policy Compliance

Technology used for trip planning, booking and data is paramount to providing managers with better insights and more control to improve travel policy. Over the years, travel policy has advanced in lockstep with technology improvements. In fact, 76 percent of respondents in Europe agreed that they have more travel spend data and improved reporting tools today compared with a few years ago, providing more information to find gaps in compliance and bolster their ability to negotiate with suppliers.

Online booking tools (OBTs) have been instrumental to travel policy improvements. Travel managers in Europe report 71 percent of travellers use OBTs to book travel.

• Nearly half of travel professionals in Europe (51%) are integrating more information into OBTs to educate road warriors about staying within policy.
• The compliance rate of travellers using approved corporate booking channels in Europe is 80 percent, indicating that technology has become an essential tool to create and implement effective policy.

The full report is available exclusively to GBTA members by clicking here and non-members may purchase the report through the GBTA Foundation by emailing pyachnes@gbtafoundation.org.

 

CONTACT:
Meghan Henning, 703-236-1133, mhenning@gbta.org
Rebecca Carriero, 212-446-1897, rcarriero@sloanepr.com
Raphaelle Boissicat +33 6 12 56 32 26, r.boissicat@egencia.com

About the GBTA Foundation

The GBTA Foundation is the education and research foundation of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization.  Collectively, GBTA’s 5,000-plus members manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA provides its network of 21,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, with networking events, news, education & professional development, research, and advocacy. The foundation was established in 1997 to support GBTA’s members and the industry as a whole. As the leading education and research foundation in the business travel industry, the GBTA Foundation seeks to fund initiatives to advance the business travel profession. The GBTA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information, see gbta.org and gbta.org/foundation.

About Egencia, an Expedia, Inc. Company
Egencia is the fifth largest travel management company in the world. As part of Expedia, Inc., (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world’s largest online travel marketplace, Egencia helps businesses get ahead by offering the only truly integrated corporate travel service. Egencia’s industry expertise helps drive results that matter, delivering meaningful advancements that have a real impact. By combining a powerful offline and online service, Egencia delivers a complete corporate travel offering supported by global market expertise and a best-in-class technology platform. For more information, go to www.egencia.com.

Egencia and the Egencia logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners
© 2012 Egencia, LLC. All rights reserved. CST # 2083922-50.

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