Katie Virtue, Client Solutions Lead, Festive Road
Disruption is a word that can have
positive or negative meaning. On the positive side, it can be associated with
transformation and a change for the better. On the negative side, it can mean
impacted strategies and plans. I believe
disruption will play a critical role in business travel in 2023. The question
is, will it be positive or negative? Let’s see what you think at the end.
Our industry has certainly dealt
with disruptions in the past, but in 2023 I am seeing signs and hearing from
senior buyers that disruption will solidify its place as a core component of
travel management versus acting as an outlier which occasionally affects our
strategies and plans.
Forbes
stated in their Travel Trends for 2023 that the New Normal is No Normal with
travelers doing the unexpected. Eurocontrol
is warning of potentially “huge challenges” to the continued recovery of air
travel with 2023 set to be the most challenging year of the last decade. China has started to open and with Asia already dealing
with full capacities it will likely cause a demand bottle-neck within the
region, price increases and we’ve already seen instant reactions from countries
implementing new travel requirements.
Whether it’s supply chain and service issues and the related ongoing
talent shortage, disrupted distribution channels, heightened geopolitical
conditions or the increasingly unpredictable impact of climate change on travel
plans, managing travel won’t be steady in 2023 and the industry must adapt to
create agile, flexible and real-time solutions.
Returning to the relative steady, pre-pandemic practices would mean a
constant state of reaction and a great deal of time spent cleaning up
disruption issues. So, what does travel
management strategy evolution look like in the face of disruption? Here are 5
changes I see taking place in 2023.
Strategy review gets more frequent – Travel Risk
Management has been well developed to handle weather, political and other
crises with processes and technology in place. The pandemic introduced us to a
world where borders could close immediately and entry restrictions could
significantly affect travel plans. This laid the groundwork for both buyers and suppliers to
more effectively manage disruptions. But the issues are compounding and the
environment is unpredictable which means they need better monitoring.
Even
internally, companies are looking to provide more flexibility to employees.
This impacts who needs to travel, when and where. Sustainability goals continue
to progress and budget decisions face a weighting of cost containment versus
experience.
In response
to macroeconomic trends and shifting company strategies, buyers will review
their program strategies on a more continuous basis—not on a 3- to 5-year basis—to
ensure it flexes. Buyers will also utilize scenario planning and what-if
exercises to account for trends and will involve more stakeholders to
understand how different departments are changing.
Dynamic operations – The word “dynamic” will describe
more parts of a travel program in 2023. Dynamic policies, dynamic contracts,
dynamic tools. Essentially, it’s the realization that we can’t let things sit
on a shelf because they need to adapt to disruption.
A dynamic policy proactively considers different situations
that a traveler may face and establishes elements to support those situations.
A delay over a certain amount of time might, for example, may warrant a lounge
pass. New products introduced by an airline could shift a policy overnight, or
policy will apply to different people in different ways, or in different
circumstances.
Contracts will not just utilize historical trend data to
anticipate volume, but will have levers that are based on real-time and
predictive travel patterns. Flexible terms will take precedence with desire for
ease of changes during a trip.
Buyers will take a more microscopic view of the end-to-end
travel journey to understand solutions that can prevent and ease disruption. A fast-track
security pass at the airport could be offered if you are alerted that wait
times are long and a flight could be missed.
Supplier sourcing and management changes – Strategies
and operations that change more frequently will mean new expectations for
supplier partners. From a strategic level, buyers will want to understand how
key suppliers plan to adapt and manage for disruptions. Product strategies and
technology roadmaps will be assessed with a mindset of disruption as they can
exacerbate the problems or offer solutions depending on how they are deployed.
Buyers will want confidence that technology and systems have capability,
capability and flexibility to handle different situations.
Supplier resource training will be scrutinized to determine
how service in disruptive situations will be delivered. Problem solving,
empathy and communication skills are needed from those interacting with
travelers.
Predictive analytics, API connectivity and real-time
solutions – Execution of dynamic travel management will be reliant on data
and technology enablers to inform the future and proactively address
disruption. Past behavior and trends aren’t enough to predict the future,
especially with travelers doing the unexpected.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence will be
utilized to tell us how likely disruption will occur giving us information to
make informed decisions. For example, when booking a flight, what is the on-time
performance overlaid with typical weather and any major events planned in that
city for that day.
APIs, open platforms and blockchain will enable connectivity
and solutions for cross-supplier disruption management versus what historically
has been a fragmented trip that causes more challenges.
Buyers will look to use tools that allow them to communicate
and take action in real time, not just relying on post-trip survey data to get
a pulse of program performance. They will take hold of providing the right
message, in the right channel, at the right time.
Purpose Defines Action – And this brings me to one of
the most important changes we must make to ensure the industry evolves and does
not allow disruption consume us. We need to determine why people travel for
their role, company and personal career needs, rather than just looking at how
people get from point A to point B.
A defined purpose is a guide to decisionmaking through disruption.
More purposeful travel should equal more valuable travel and consequently
disruptions can have more costly implications to that value.
This aligns to an increased focus on traveler experience and
setting strategies and making decisions based on the desired experience while
knowing how disruptions should be handled. Buyers will look to showcase the
value of travel in their organizations and in turn get more support and buy-in
for proposed actions to mitigate disruption impact.
This brings us back to the meaning of disruption for
business travel in 2023. Will we evolve as an industry, using disruption to
transform? Or will the opposite happen and disruption remains a consistent
challenge we are firefighting to manage?
I believe we have the opportunity to use
disruption in a positive way, taking control to be proactive and letting it
spark ideas on how we become more flexible. Let’s challenge the status quo.