tripactions The TripActions 2018 State of Business Travel Reporttripactions 2 1. Executive Summary: The TripActions 2018 State of Business Travel Report 3 2. In-person Connections Fuel Company Growth 5 3. Needs of the Modern Business Traveler Are Evolving 10 4. Legacy Solutions Arent Meeting Business Travelers Needs 15 T able of Contentstripactions 3 When it comes to establishing and growing the strong relationships that drive businesses forward, theres simply no substitute for connecting in person. Ultimately, the importance of these face-to-face connections is the very reason business travel exists. To make the most of the opportunities business travel affords, travelers should arrive at their destinations feeling rested, focused, and ready to connect. But corporate business travel programs are largely outdated, frustrating employers and employees alike. This is all in contrast to consumer travel sites and apps, which have made advancements that are simple, user-friendly, and modern. This disconnect between the consumer travel experience and business travel experience is aggravating people simply trying to travel for work. Business travel is a $1.5 trillion industry ripe for disruption, but moving confidently into the future means truly understanding the present. To get a better idea of the state of business travel in 2018, TripActions surveyed 2,900 travelers in June 2018 to get their perspectives on current travel programs and find out how they would like to see their business travel experiences evolve. From identifying travelers biggest pain points to looking at how Millennials are reshaping business travel, the following report digs into what we learned from our traveler survey results and offers advice to help your business travel initiatives move more confidently into the future. Executive Summary: The TripActions 2018 State of Business Travel Report - Ariel Cohen, TripActions CEO time they likely feel could be better spent prepping for the meetings theyre traveling for in the first place. This can lead many to altogether ignore company tools and policies as they look to personal preferences over the company dime, making it very difficult for businesses to track and optimize travel spend. In the long-term, offering a user-friendly solution that employees love is the clearest path to more effective business travel spend management and better visbility. TripActions Insight: Booking Travel Is Still a Pain Point For Manytripactions 18 Travelers feel like theyre on their own when faced with unexpected travel difficulties. 64% of travelers feel like they have to fend for themselves when something goes wrong. 8% report that their travel agent proactively reaches out when plans unexpectedly change. Travelers Feel Unsupported On the Road Business Travel Tip: To help travelers feel like someones got their backs when theyre on the road, make sure your policy details a clear path of action in the case of a delay, cancellation, or other unanticipated bump in the road. Also be sure to communicate all available resources so that your travelers know who they can turn to when things dont go according to plan.tripactions 19 Travel can be exhausting even under the best of circumstances. Given the key role travel can play in a business growth, a calm, collected, and focused traveler is essential to success. Unfortunately, when faced with unexpected difficulties like flight delays and cancellations or overbooked hotels, 64% of business travelers reported they felt they were left to deal with those issues on their own, leaving them isolated, stressed, and distracted. An ideal on-the-road experience should provide your employees with the same kind of support that enables them to succeed in the office. This means offering reliable resources that travelers can turn to when the unexpected does occur. New corporate travel solutions are able to closely track a travelers trip, monitor changes, and proactively reach out with alternative solutions, such as surfacing convenient options to book a new flight. Round-the-clock proactive support reduces stress for employees, giving them the ease of mind they need to better focus on the task at hand. And when travelers can focus on the business portion of their business trips, this translates directly to more productivity and success on the road. TripActions Insight: Travelers Feel Unsupported On the Road