Four tips for better business trips

Egencia and Sabre has released a joint report offering four key recommendations on how companies can help improve the lives of their business travellers.

In their whitepaper, “The Year of the Business Traveller”, the companies revealed that, based on analysis of Sabre’s global booking data, companies have the opportunity to increase traveller satisfaction in a series of key areas, with only minor updates to their travel programmes.

“Data is defining a new era of travel management today. Smart businesses can leverage travel insights in more creative ways to strengthen corporate programmes, while making trips more productive and travellers more satisfied,” said Wade Jones, interim president of the Sabre Travel Network. “Companies used to focus on compliance. With the data we have today, the strategic approach is simplifying the travel experience by putting the business traveller first.”

The main focus of the whitepaper is on providing advice for corporate travel managers to improve traveller satisfaction, reduce costs and increase compliance.

The Four Business Travel Tips:

1)    Lay the groundwork
2)    Prioritise perks
3)    Minimise disruptions
4)    Simplify the booking and travel process

The first of the four key tips outlined in the report is to “lay the groundwork” and discover the optimal times for flight and hotel bookings, in terms of how far in advance the trip is booked. The report found that the best deals on average air ticket prices can be found 21 or more days in advance.

The second is to “prioritise perks”, with the report urging companies to include traveller-friendly extras such as fast-track airport services and seat upgrade fees in their contracts. Thirdly, Egencia and Sabre say that companies should “minimise disruptions” by creating a global lounge programme in order to ease travellers’ discomfort during incidents of flight delays and cancellations.

Finally, the whitepaper states the need to “simplify the booking and travel management process”, allowing travellers to self-book and manage their trips via mobile apps.

“A few simple steps can help employees find the right mix of productivity and happiness. These are incremental, cost-conscious changes businesses can implement without blowing budgets. By incorporating travel perks and ancillaries within their travel programme, companies can introduce additional cost-saving measures to offset the investment. Businesses can also realise additional cost savings through increased visibility and control of business travel within the organisation,” the report concluded.