Business travel: Strategic investment or cost to reduce

Business travel are an indispensable tool for business development. With the unfavorable economic trends of the last decade, companies have been adjusting their investment, adopting a restrictive travel policy, which puts employee comfort before minimizing costs.

However, employee comfort and satisfaction in business trips has been gaining ground in recent years when it comes to adjusting corporate travel policies. So, what type of travel policy should be adapted? One focused on minimizing costs or one with greater investment aimed at increasing the comfort of your employees?

The culture of business travel

To organize the business trips of these employees, each company establishes a travel policy, which is an internal regulation that aims to provide a framework for the organization of their business trips. After the 2008 financial crisis, companies restricted their spending on business trips, and many of them booked economy class tickets instead of business class or rooms in lower standard accommodations.

In short, they are minimizing the costs associated with their employees' travel, but this reduction in comfort leads to a reduction in the traveler's motivation and efficiency.

4 main factors characterize the direction of corporate travel policy:

• The duty of care, safety is the main criterion of a travel policy
• Improving the traveler and their mobility
• Optimization costs and levers
• Listen to traveler satisfaction

According to a recent survey, 65% of companies have implemented a policy of care and protection for their travelers. And within this, they want to improve their experience during their stay, giving more and more importance to mobile phones. “With this, companies mainly want to improve the productivity and comfort of travelers while on the move, offer more assistance and guidance, and facilitate business travel. In particular, it is essential to be able to offer a new reservation in the event of an interruption, security and protection solutions, improve customer service or ensure better traceability of expense reports.”

“Although improving the traveler experience is an important focus for companies, this year the measurement of satisfaction as an element of building travel policy seems to have reached an impasse: 56% of companies say they measure traveler satisfaction, and 32% say they evolve their policy accordingly. However, companies state that they give more importance to listening to their employees: 57% of respondents say that their voice will have an impact on travel policy (+11 points), especially when choosing new booking tools (tablets, mobile phones, etc.) with 72%, preferred booking options (direct, through a travel agency, etc.) with 67%, or duty of assistance solutions with 62%”

In another survey conducted with travel managers in the United Kingdom, the duty of care (73%), as well as the well-being of travelers (70%), are at the center of their attention.

These results are correlated with the evolution of the travel phenomenon of Bleisure as demonstrated by a study conducted by Booking.com, approximately 75% of professionals extended their business trips for tourism.
For more information about Bleisure trips, we have written an article on the subject -> Bleisure

The benefits of a travel policy for employee comfort and satisfaction

When a company places the well-being of its employees at the center of its business travel policy, it makes them more motivated, focused and efficient during their trips. Since we must not forget that a business trip can create a series of limitations and represent a major source of fatigue.

Therefore, providing comfort to employees is a very important component of a travel policy. The convenience provided will make them happier and more available during their trips, which in turn will help build customer loyalty and maintain good relationships with the company's key partners. A good organization with complementary services will also reduce the stress and anxiety of your employees.

Finally, thanks to a travel policy that puts the well-being of its employees first, it will at the same time retain these employee-travelers who will tend to stay and promote the company in which they feel most comfortable.

What are you waiting for, offer comfort to your employees, they will thank you for it by being much happier and more efficient during their professional trips.

Vyootrip simplifies business travel

If after reading this article, you are considering investing in optimizing, simplifying, and better managing your company's business travel, Vyootrip offers you an integrated solution to achieve this goal.

Our platform and services will allow you to fully implement your corporate travel policy, to provide autonomy and comfort to all your employees when traveling. Also giving the management and administration part, automations that will allow them to better control all related processes, as well as freeing them from time spent on it.

What are you waiting for to offer your employees more time and comfort during their business trips?