The time for technology to transform, disrupt and accelerate business travel growth is here – according to a new study, “The Future is Now: Technological Transformation in Corporate Travel,” published today by the Global Business Association (GBTA).
Based on a survey of business travel professionals in North America and Europe, the report reveals that while 88% of travel management company respondents, 74% of suppliers, and 59% of travel buyers generally feel their organisation does a good job with technology, a significant opportunity exists in actively integrating advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain into their travel programmes.
In addition, while travel programme spending on technology is expected to largely remain flat, most suppliers and TMC professionals say their company is ramping up technology investment in the year ahead. However, lodging suppliers are considerably less likely to do so than other types of suppliers. The report emphasises the need for all travel industry professionals to better understand and adopt advanced technologies to remain competitive.
“As both our everyday and professional lives have ever-increasing touchpoints with technology, it is in parallel that we see the reach of the technological footprint in the business travel industry,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA. “The report gives a view to the potential for technology to do more, to further enable and empower all aspects of our industry to greater services, tools, platforms and achievements.”
AI AND BLOCKCHAIN ARE TOP OF MIND. The corporate travel industry is increasingly open to integrating AI and blockchain technologies to enhance efficiency and traveler experience. Three-quarters of buyers (75%) are interested in adopting an AI-powered travel programme chatbot to automatically answer questions specifically about their programme. Half of buyers are interested in offering blockchain-based booking (51%) or payment (49%).
GROWING RELIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY IS DRIVING NEW ROLES. According to respondents, a third of travel programmes (29%) now have a full-time employee who focuses primarily on tech-related responsibilities, which could include sourcing new digital tools, configuring booking and expensing solutions, managing data collection, or driving technology transformation across the travel programme. The role is slightly more prevalent in Europe, with 36% of travel buyers saying their company has one, versus 22% of respondents in North America.
TRAVEL PROGRAMme TECHNOLOGY SPEND VARIES BY REGION. On average, travel buyers estimate 18% of their travel programme’s overall budget is spent on technology. Despite overall budget increases, only one-third (36%) of travel buyers expect their technology spending to grow this year, with European programs leading in tech investment. European buyers (43%) are more likely than their North American counterparts (30%) to expect an increase in spending on technology.
TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES (TMCs) MORE LIKELY TO INCREASE TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT THAN SUPPLIERS AND BUYERS. Most suppliers expect their company’s spending on internal technology (61%) and traveler-facing technology (56%) will increase this year. This is considerably lower than the share of TMC respondents who expect their investment in internal technology (83%) or their traveler-facing technology (79%) to increase. Only one-third of buyer travel programmes (36%) expect to increase spending on technology in the coming year.
HOTEL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IS MIXED. More than one-third of respondents who work at lodging companies (37%) – such as hotel properties or chains – say their company's use of technology has room to improve. This is higher than the number of other travel supplier respondents (10%) who said the same.
HOTELS THAT ADOPT TECHNOLOGY ARE HIGHLY SATISFIED. Hotels commonly use technology platforms to simplify processes, market their property, and respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from corporate customers. These include a Property Management System (95%), a transient RFP platform (81%), an event-focused sales, marketing, and RFP platform (75%), room block management software (63%), and event diagramming software (53%). Of the hotel respondents who use these platforms, at least two-thirds are satisfied with each technology solution.
“We have long believed in the power of technology to achieve more and improve how businesses operate, and the study results show that we are not alone in that belief,” said Julie Haddix, Senior Director of Marketing at Cvent. “While the business travel industry recognizes the importance of investing in technology, there is still a greenfield opportunity for both buyers and suppliers to truly embrace emerging technologies in a meaningful way.”
Data collection took place via an online survey of GBTA travel buyers, suppliers and TMCs in North America and Europe from February 6 – 19, 2024, with 388 participants completing the survey.
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