Pity the poor business traveler under budget mandated programs. New research shows those traveling under mandated programs are working hard to stay within the budget but paying a personal price in their comfort level.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Concur released their Global Business Travel Study findings. Highlights:
—Travelers participating in a mandated program are significantly less successful with their business travel than those that are less managed or not managed at all.
ï· —More than two-thirds of business travelers are visiting new destinations although mainly traveling domestically to do so.
ï· —The majority of business trips, 33% on average, are used for meeting with colleagues, 18% for sales, 21% for training and or industry conferences and 9% for other uses.
ï· —Business travelers around the world tend to be college educated, 42 years old on average and two-thirds are male.
In the US, 21% of travelers are under "mandated travel programs where they must follow the company’s stated travel policies and/or use the providers or agencies chosen by their company.
Another third of US business travelers are "unmanaged,’ with no company guidelines.
About half fall in between or under some guidelines, says Concur.
"The research by GBTA shows that business travelers are eager to get on the road and make deals happen, but there is still a great need for companies to provide the technology, support and education to help make those business travelers more comfortable and productive so they can stay focused on business-critical goals," said Rajeev Singh, president and COO of Concur.
By David Wilkening
