ACTE Survey: Travel Managers Will Do More With Less

Global business travel volume and spend will climb dramatically between now and 2017, but travel department resources will remain the same or even shrink, according to a recent survey from the Association of Corporate Travel Executives.

ACTE, which conducted the 2012 survey with support from RADIUS, explored the findings during a webinar last month.

Business will get harder
“A lot of what we heard about 2017 sounds like today in 2012,” said webinar moderator Chris McAndrews, RADIUS senior vice president for marketing and business development. “The only difference is that most travel buyers are saying this business is only going to get harder.”

Both costs and the need for business travel will increase over the next five years, while travel staff and resources will not, said
Carol McDowell, manager of corporate travel services for FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The situation will force travel managers to collaborate more with other departments, she added. “I’m already working with other departments, i.e. finance and IT, to get integrated reports to analyze for strategy,” she said.

Tough compromises will also have to made, according to McDowell.

“We will all have to do more with the same amount of money. So if hotel costs are expected to rise, we may cut back to limited service properties. That is a continuing theme over the next five years.”

More effective use of technology
How are travel managers going to do more with the same resources? More effective use of technology. End-to-end solutions that cover the entire life cycle of a trip from booking to expensing are the number one program priority for 65% of the travel managers surveyed. Data consolidation and reporting run a close second at 60%.

Also coming in at 60% is SoLoMo (social, local, mobile)  accessibility, followed by cost savings at 55%. Enhancing traveler choice is a distant fifth at 35%.

Travelers want choice
Enhancing travel choice may not be a top program priority for most travel managers, but it is the number one priority for travelers. And they are not shy about booking out of policy if they find a better deal or a more convenient choice on their own.

“We are very focused on cost savings with a strict travel policy,” said David Smith, travel manager, Americas, for telecommunications software provider Amdocs. “I am being challenged by travelers every day based on what they are seeing in the palms of their hands.”

Jodi Woods, strategic sourcing manager, global travel outsourcing services for medical device maker Becton Dickenson, sees the same demands from travelers for more flexibility. Booking out of policy is less a cost issue than a question of traveler safety and security and company liability.

Making it tolerable
“I am struggling with noncompliance when you give travelers too much choice,” she said. “I don’t see anything out there that would allow us to see all of our travelers if we open up our system. Since I can’t make travel more flexible, I’m working on ways to make travel more tolerable.”

More tolerable means additional benefits and perks for travelers, items like gold and platinum corporate cards, higher level frequent flier memberships, mobile apps customized for high-traffic destinations and concierge services.

Technologically challenged industry
Woods is also looking for external technology help to consolidate and streamline global data channels. The travel industry is technologically challenged, she said. There are too many incompatible data systems in broad use such as the various global distribution systems that adamantly refuse to communicate or cooperate.

That lack of interoperability is pushing companies to look to TMCs and third party vendors to consolidate data. That same lack of interoperability gives companies and travelers additional incentives to move beyond GDSs to internet-based travel management systems.

“Now that consumer technology is so much farther ahead of business travel applications, IT is going to be the most significant part of our future,” McDowell said. “Vendors need to look to traveler profiles to allow appropriate discounts and negotiated status.

“TMCs should be looking at the future and making data integrity more of a priority than the booking itself. TMCs need to shift to being an information source and aggregator and a resource consolidator” for their clients.”

The study also found that travel managers worldwide see their profession in transition.