Many business travelers' preferences are shifting as a result of new technology solutions and ridesharing services are one of many new travel solutions that operate at the intersection of personal and work life.
NB This is a viewpoint by Lisa Fugere, mobility editor at Lyft.
The collision of business and personal travel is nothing new; travelers have been using the loyalty rewards points they earn on business trips to pay for personal vacations for decades. But there’s something different about the way today’s travelers bring work-life balance to their travel solutions: technology.
Traveler expectations are shifting as a result of new technology
Today’s employers now manage the most diverse, global, and connected workforce that has ever existed, and today’s employees have adapted to the new demands that come with it. We’re all more likely to respond to work emails after dinner or take calls during our commute.
For most Americans, the lines between work life and home life have blurred – a trend that is even more apparent amongst the most rapidly growing demographic in the workforce: millennials. At PwC, where millennials make up eighty percent of the workforce, seventy-one percent of millennials say their work demands interfere with their personal lives.
As the lines between work and personal life blur, employees increasingly opt for technology solutions that can serve them in every area of their lives. Employees do not use separate technology for work and home life; they simply use technology. And the way they travel is no exception.
In a world where travelers can respond to emails during the ride to the airport, check into a flight with a smartphone, and book a hotel room at the last minute from an app, travelers have come to expect the same technology experience whenever they travel, whether for work or personal trips.
Modern travelers demand convenience above all else
As technology evolves to meet the needs of a mobile and connected workforce, convenience is becoming the most important factor in the way travelers decide which solutions to use. A 2015 GBTA survey found that 49 percent of business travelers cite convenience as a top priority in selecting travel services.
Increasingly, convenience not only means selecting services that are flexible and easy to book but also services that offer a seamless consumer experience for travelers across both personal and business trips.
New technology is driving change across the corporate travel policy
Travel managers are no strangers to shifting traveler behavior. A Tnooz survey found that most members of the traveler community believe “disruption is the new normal.”
As travelers become increasingly dependent on technology, travel managers are adapting the corporate policy to include new solutions. And new solutions come with new challenges.
Today’s travel managers are finding themselves at the center of a conversation around the structure of the travel policy: how do you build a traveler-centric program that includes the apps travelers’ love and optimizes traveler safety across dozens of new technology solutions?
To learn how travel managers are designing the travel program of the future, Tnooz is hosting a free webinar with Lyft and Colleen Black a partner at GoldSpring Consulting on June 23rd, at 11 am PT.
For details on how to register, click here.
NB This is a viewpoint by Lisa Fugere, mobility editor at Lyft. It appears here as part of Tnooz's sponsored content initiative.
NB2 Image via Lyft.