Bookings for business travel programs have increased steadily in 2022 in all industry segments (Airline, Hotel, and Rental Car), and in some instances are coming close to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 for domestic travel. However, international travel bookings still lag well behind 2019 levels as global travel restrictions are slowly (and inconsistently) lifted around the world.

While multiple factors such as supplier capacity issues, staffing shortages, higher fuel costs, and lingering Covid concerns are hindering the complete return of travel, there is no doubt that business travel is on its’ way back and that business travelers are once again hitting the road. This raises the question for those individuals tasked with the responsibility of managing travel, “Is your business travel program ready?”

According to the recently released Business Travel Trends In 2022 report from BCD Travel (BCD), companies looking to effectively manage travel in today’s environment should be focused on the following areas:

Recognize the Value of Business Travel

The last two years saw most business travel disappear due to widespread travel restrictions and the development of new virtual meeting technologies such as Zoom. But the last two years have also shown us the limitations of those same technologies and demonstrated how much in-person interactions matter. In fact, in a July 2021 survey of 738 business travelers by BCD, 75% of the respondents said that business travel helps them perform their work efficiently and provides an irreplaceable opportunity to meet with their clients, colleagues, and business partners in person.

Duty of Care Considerations

Simply put, Duty of Care refers to a company’s legal and moral obligation to protect employees from risk or harm. Organizations should take all the necessary steps to promote the safety and well-being of their employees traveling for business. For companies that adopted an “Open Booking” approach to travel before the pandemic (where a company allows their travelers to book through any website or channel they wish in an unmanaged environment), meeting their Duty of Care obligations in a time of crisis has become extremely challenging. Accordingly, companies should consider updating their policies to require that all bookings be made through an approved channel to ensure that the company is better positioned to render aid and assistance to the traveler through their approved Travel Management Company (TMC) when needed.

Sustainable Business Travel

As mentioned in BCD’s Business Travel Trends in 2022 report:

“November 2021’s COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference has put climate change and sustainability firmly in the global spotlight, and it’s a theme that’s seeing widespread adoption. As more countries and multinational non-governmental organizations, such as IATA (International Air Transport Association), make commitments towards a net-zero carbon future, the pressure will grow on everyone, including companies and the employees that travel on their behalf, to make their own contributions towards lower emissions.”

Some of the ways companies are looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their travel programs include the following:

• Select suppliers that demonstrate a shared commitment to sustainability and green business practices.
• Share appropriate information with travelers at the point of booking to enable them to make more sustainable travel choices.
• Fully engage with their TMC on ways to reduce the carbon emissions of their travel program.

Unused Ticket Tracking

Over the last few years, the sheer number of unused tickets has increased dramatically due to the inability of travelers to fly and to the airlines extending the exchange period for unused tickets. Estimated to now be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the total value of these unused tickets represents a huge opportunity for companies to apply the value of any unused tickets to future business trips. Companies not currently working with a TMC have limited visibility into their current unused ticket inventory and will find the exchange process for any unused tickets to be problematic.

As your company and your travelers resume traveling once again, please let us know if Covington Travel can assist you in any manner.