Not much scope for improving the business traveller experience it seems in 2013 as travel managers focus firmly on reducing cost through various measures.
But it makes you wonder how far the Gen-Y population could push back on travel managers and travel management companies as they represent a large chunk of the business travel population.
As per the graph below, Gen-Y already accounts for 27% of business travellers worldwide, 58% in India, 45% in Brazil and 26% in the UK.
There may be a growing realisation from tech and travel firms that adoption and compliance of tools will go out the window if the tech does not resonate with what Gen-Yers use in the leisure world.
But, according to a
Carlson Wagonlit Travel survey, only 43% of travel manager are making traveller experience a priority ranking it 6th overall compared to, say optimising online adoption, which ranks 4th overall with 55% calling it a priority.
Top priorities are driving savings, improving policy compliance and optimising hotel content although there are some regional variations, such as Latin America, which ranks traveller experience as the 4th priority.
Of those travel managers who consider improving the traveller experience a top five priority for this year, 62 percent intend to implement a social media strategy. The plan comes in second after offering mobile services, 65%.
Social media crops up again when it comes to the measures travel managers are planning to achieve their priorities.
Only those travel buyers with global responsibility plan to tackle traveller compliance with the latest technology (or tech 2.0 as the study says).
Their top three actions to improve traveller compliance include offering mobile services to travellers, implementing a social media tool or apps and providing travellers with a web-based traveller portal.
This compares with actions from regional managers who are looking at more traditional actions such as communication and training on policy.
The variations by region of measure travel managers plan to put in place almost certainly have a lot to do with maturity and culture in those markets.
For example, travel managers in Asia Pacific intend to focus more on improving compliance and mandating preferred booking channels while travel buyers from Europe, the Middle East and Africa are tightening air and rail policies to further reduce air and ground costs.
CWT surveyed 706 travel managers in November 2012 for the Travel Management Priorities Report.
NB:Young business people image via Shutterstock.