To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live

Hans Christian Andersen

Modern business travellers are less frenetic and more deliberate. They travel for two reasons: to meet their corporate objectives and to support their life’s objectives. For a growing number of them, the first is meaningless if it doesn’t contribute to the second. 48% of travel managers stated in a recent Bloomberg article cited an increase in travellers’ work/life balance inquiries. The issue is so significant, that 25% of respondent travel managers are developing new key performance indicators (KPIs) based on the traveller experience.

The modern business traveller lives in an age of powerful, cost-effective and accessible technology. It is the era of multi-channel hyper-connectivity, personalisation, customisation and consumerisation. They are plugged into personal social channels and work platforms simultaneously. Travel suppliers and retailers invest heavily in giving travellers what they want, when they want and where they want. All of which equates to a far more comfortable, enjoyable and productive travel experience. With each passing quarter, business travellers are more empowered and increasingly knowledgeable – these are not the old ‘road warriors’ from yesteryear.

Experience is everything.

Rigid schedules, fixed plans are now (or should be) a thing of the past. Mobile tools give travellers convenience and more control over their travel experience. A large majority (76%) of travel managers have introduced, or plan to introduce, apps that give travellers access to real-time information while they are on the move and most have introduced, or plan to introduce, apps for mobile booking and expense management.

While corporations are ready to deploy connected technology to support travellers, there is less provision for those who request non-traditional places to stay (like AirBnB for example) or who wish to take advantage of flight auctions. Few corporations – just 1/10 from a recent poll on Amadeus – offer insurance to travellers who want to combine leisure with their business trip. It’s much more likely, however, for corporations with a large traveller population aged between 20-30 years old to offer this kind of cover.

Considerations for supporting modern business travellers.

1. Think about how people travel for leisure, and take those principles of decision making and bring them into how you deliver or might think about your business travel programme.
2. Be there when your travellers need you the most, offer them flexible options for lodging and exploring the city they’re doing business in.
3. Map out your business travel process and architecture (like our BrainPlan service) so you can openly see how you approach business travel, discovering opportunities and redundancies along the way.