Quality vs. Quantity

If there’s one thing BTN uncovered as we looked at how travel managers approach the business travel experience, it’s this: Travel managers are passionate about their programs, and they want the best for their travelers.

Traveler-centricity, however, isn’t always the most rewarded strategy for the travel manager. Conversation at a recent industry event turned to the concept of “putting travelers at the center of the program,” and while program managers always have that goal in mind, they said they are often rewarded more for year-over-year savings and cost avoidance. Especially in an environment of rising travel costs—like right now—those divergent objectives may not easily come together in the program.

Perhaps counterintuitively, some travel managers are turning the situation into an opportunity. Travel costs are higher, and only so much will be negotiated with suppliers in terms of rate. For many companies, however, travel volumes remain somewhat lower than pre-pandemic, and there is a sense—among travel management companies, among travel distributors and among many buyers—that we may be entering into the “new normal” with volumes remaining here as a steadier state.

Amex GBT said as much on its recent earnings call, telling investors it had started “to move away from recovery rates versus 2019.” The company has hit 76 percent of 2019 transaction volume at this point and that number is starting to look like a good industry benchmark. Amadeus, similarly, said bookings in its platforms ended the quarter right at 75 percent of 2019 transactions; Sabre reported 80 percent. ARC transactions are dancing around that number, and more TMCs are reporting similar volumes.

Accepting that travel costs more than it did previously but that many companies will be traveling a little bit less, travel managers are pivoting on an opportunity to improve the trip experience.

They are keying into traveler expectations, exploring a deeper focus on value as opposed to rate; they are looking at new ways to manage suppliers to better performance metrics; and, very importantly, looking at how internal program culture, policy and platforms define the business travel experience as part of the company’s overall employee value proposition.  

BTN looks at all these areas in this issue, and why they matter now more than ever. But first, we start with the traveler—and introduce a new survey tool for our BTN audience to use with their own travelers.

We hope you enjoy this issue, and we hope you will use the BTN Traveler Experience Index survey tool to begin your journey to improve the employee experience.