Increasing number of companies measuring the satisfaction of their frequent travelers
Companies that measure traveler satisfaction now account for 71%, up from 56% last year, according to the latest American Express Global Business Travel barometer. Despite this, cost control and cost management are once again at the top of business travel managers' priorities, as a result of the intervention of different departments.
The management of the travel area by different departments is generating an important change in priorities. In fact, the control and cost management has risen to first place, followed by information security, which enters the ranking for the first time this year. security and traveler satisfaction move to third and fourth place, respectively.
Although traveler satisfaction is now fourth in the ranking of priorities, today 71% of companies measure this aspect, compared with only 56% the previous year. Two-thirds (66%) of companies use traveler satisfaction as a tool to improve engagement. All this isreflected in a move away from very strict travel policies, which have decreased by 16% between 2016 and 2018, and the implementation of more flexible models.
The study shows that there are different approaches to functional responsibilityfor the travel program within the company. Only 23% of respondents have a travel department within their structure. The remaining 77% assign responsibility for the travel program to Finance (28%), Purchasing (24%), Human Resources (14%) and Other (10%).
The current eighth edition of the Barómetro, the industry's longest-running study, captures highlights of emerging trends in corporate travel in 2018 as well as the outlook for the industry in 2019.The findings show spending growth in 2018 of 3.8%, up from the 3.4% forecast for this period in the previous survey. On the other hand, it notes that the number of people traveling for work has increased by 3.6%.
With regard to the forecasts for this year, the report advances an increase in Business Travel in Spain a around 6.8%, appreciably higher than the 4.3% estimated for Europe. In 2019, more than two-thirds (68%) of companies surveyed, regardless of size, plan to prioritize investment in travel within Europe and domestic over travel to other continents.
“It is interesting to note that, after a year of uncertainty, caused by geopolitical and economic factors and affecting GDP in the Eurozone, companies are still determined to invest in travel to build trade relationships and facilitate business growth,”, says Elyes Mrad, senior vice president and general manager, American Express GBT International.