Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter September 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... p.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................... p. 2 Key Findings .................................................................................................................................... p. 2 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... p. 5 Demographics .................................................................................................................................. p. 6 Booking Methods and Channels ..................................................................................................... p. 8 Use of Alternative Booking Channels .......................................................................................... p. 12 How Far in Advance Do Travelers Book Their Trips? ................................................................. p. 15 Do Travelers Book their Flight and Hotel at the Same Time? ..................................................... p. 18 With Whom Do Travelers Communicate Before Booking Hotels? ............................................. p. 19 How Does the Booking Process Influence Hotel Selection? ...................................................... p. 21 Booking Priorities and Satisfaction .............................................................................................. p. 22 Devices Used to Book Hotels........................................................................................................ p. 25 Awareness and Adoption of Mobile Travel Apps ........................................................................ p. 26 Key Takeaways .............................................................................................................................. p. 32

INTRODUCTION Business travelers rely on a variety of resources to research and book trips. A recent study, published by Think with Google, found that business travelers typically use hotel websites/apps (60%), airline 1 2 websites/apps (53%), and online travel agencies (45%) when planning trips. These resources are made increasingly accessible by smart phones. In the same survey, a good number of business 3 travelers say they typically use their smart phone to research (36%) or purchase/book (28%) their trip. In addition, many companies are incorporating new technologies that allow them to track bookings made outside of their corporate online booking tool (OBT). Some observers feel these could lead to widespread adoption of “open booking”: policies that give travelers greater autonomy to decide how to book their trips. It is in this environment—of expanding choice, access, and freedom—that we see the emergence of the Millennial business traveler, and the timing could not have been better. In the popular view, they are tech-savvy travelers who are accustomed to having choices. According to one estimate, Millennials will 4 account for almost half of spending by business travelers on airfares by 2020. This creates the opportunity for Travel Managers to help new and seasoned business travelers book smarter. Taken together, these trends may pose a challenge for managed travel, but also offer many opportunities for travel programs to serve their travelers in a better and more efficient way. In 2013, the GBTA Foundation surveyed more than 800 U.S.-based business travelers, and found that out-of-policy decisions involving a hotel stay lead to an increased average cost of $232 per trip and $2,877 annually 5 per traveler. Many of these decisions are related to the booking process. These include booking a non-preferred hotel, choosing a higher hotel category than allowed, and using a non-preferred booking channel. While this is the case, it is up to travel programs to keep educating travelers and offer the tools to avoid increased costs and have a better handle on managed travel. When it comes to air travel, the same study estimated that out-of-policy travelers were about as costly 6 as in-policy travelers. However, this contrasts with another study, conducted in 2013 by the CWT Institute, which estimates, based on transaction data, that the airfares for CWT’s top 25 most booked 7 routes were 9% cheaper when booked through the company, compared to other channels.

1

Think with Google, The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision (Google, 2014).

2

Respondents were those who traveled at least three times for business in the past six months.

3

The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision.

4

Barton, Christine, Julia Haywood, Pranay Jhunjhunwala, and Vikrant Bhatia. “Traveling with Millennials” bcg.perspectives (blog),The Boston Consulting Group, March 18, 2013, https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/transportation_travel_tourism_consumer_insight_traveling_with_mil lennials/ 5

GBTA Foundation, Out-of-Policy Business Travelers and their Impact on the Bottom Line (Alexandria, VA: GBTA Foundation, 2013), 13.

6 7

Ibid, 2013.

CWT Institute, Where Now for Managed Travel? “Rogue” Spend, New Booking Technologies, and the Future of Travel Programs (Carlson Wagonlit Travel, 2013), 14.

OVERVIEW This study examines how travelers make bookings for business trips, focusing especially on hotel bookings. The study was conducted by the GBTA Foundation, in partnership with Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and based on a survey of more than 500 business travelers in North America. Respondents included full and part-time employees who traveled for business at least once in the past year. Many of these travelers appeared to work for companies that did not have a managed travel program. For instance, 28% have “no stated restrictions or guidelines to follow” when it comes to their 8 company’s travel policy. As a result, the focus of this report is not on what managed travel programs are doing in particular, but on the attitudes and behaviors of business travelers, in general. The primary goals were to discover: 1) The rate at which travelers made their own booking for their last trip, and who was most likely to do so. In addition, when travelers made their own booking, what traits or circumstances made them more likely to use their company’s online booking tool? 2) When travelers booked their last trip outside of their company or TMC, what alternative channels did they use? Are some groups more likely to use particular types of channels? 3) Do Millennials book differently than older travelers? What other group differences exist? 4) How often do travelers book their hotel and flight at the same time? 5) Were travelers satisfied with the experience of booking a hotel for their most recent trip? Were they more satisfied when they made their own booking, or when someone else booked for them? 6) What priorities do travelers have when booking hotels? 7) What devices do travelers use to book hotel accommodations? 8) How often do travelers have mobile travel apps on their smart phone and who is most likely to have them? For what purposes do travelers use these apps?

KEY FINDINGS •

A majority of business travelers (56%) made their own hotel booking for their last trip. Fortyfour percent indicate someone else booked hotel accommodations for them. These figures are identical for air travel.

•

Millennials were less likely than older travelers to book their own trip. This comes as a surprise given the popular image of Millennials as a tech-savvy generation that is accustomed to having choices. However, it may partly reflect their inexperience traveling for business and lower travel frequency.

•

Among those who booked their own trip, some types of travelers were especially likely to use a company’s online booking tool (OBT). For instance, employees of large organizations used one

8

Even when they do have a travel policy, however, they may not be within a managed travel program per se. For instance, among those who indicate their company has a travel policy, and also indicate they booked the hotel for their last trip through an alternative channel such as a hotel website or a third-party website, 28% indicate that their company does not have an online booking tool.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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more often, compared to employees of mid-sized and small organizations. This is probably because their companies are more likely to have OBTs. On the other hand, for small companies, alternative channels may be the only option. In this case, it may be important to have a carefully considered travel policy to enable capture of booking data and spend control. •

When travelers booked their last trip outside of a corporate OBT or travel management company (TMC), they relied on different types of channels. When it came to hotel accommodations, among those who made their own booking through an alternative channel, 54% percent used a direct channel, such as a hotel website, hotel app, or a communication with a hotel employee. Forty-one percent used a third-party website and 5% used an event registration site. The figures are similar for air travel.

•

There are significant differences between groups when it comes to use of alternative channels. Of those who used an alternative channel, Baby Boomers (age 55+) were especially likely to use a direct channel rather than a third-party website. Millennials more often used a third-party website.

•

When using an alternative channel, a good number of travelers are not required to share booking information with their company. Of those who booked the hotel for their last trip through a hotel website or app or a third-party site, 42% “are not required to share [their] information with anyone at their company.” These companies may have difficulty locating their travelers in an emergency.

•

Travelers generally book their trips about 13 days in advance. However, 37% percent booked the hotel for their last trip, and 36% booked the flight, one week in advance or less.

•

While 45% of travelers “often” book their hotel and flight at the same time, only 29% always do so. Fourteen percent “sometimes” do so while only 5% “rarely” or “never” do so.

•

Reasons vary for travelers “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never” booking a flight and hotel at the same time. Some travelers mention locking in a price for a flight, needing further time to finalize plans, or booking their own hotel while another person books their flight.

•

Even though 56% of travelers booked their own hotel for their last trip, half (49%) of these travelers communicated with at least one of three people prior to booking. These are a hotel representative (29%), company Travel Manager or person in charge of travel (24%), or a travel agent at a TMC (19%).

•

When Millennials booked their own hotel for their last business trip, they were more likely to communicate with others, including a hotel representative or travel counselor, prior to booking, compared to older travelers. This could be due, at least in part, to their relative inexperience traveling for business.

•

A large majority (74%) of travelers “agree” (44%) or “strongly agree” (30%) that the channel they used to book the hotel for their last trip influenced which hotel they chose. Agreement is especially high among those who booked on a third-party website. These sites perhaps offer steep discounts at selected hotels.

•

Travelers have diverse priorities when booking hotels. Interestingly, two top ranked factors concern the outcome of the booking rather than the process itself. It would seem obvious that travelers are invested in “finding the right hotel for [their] needs,” the top rated factor, or “getting free amenities,” which is included in the top three by two out of five (42%) travelers. More surprising, however, is their concern about “finding the right price.” After all, trips taken by the travelers surveyed for this study are likely paid for by their company. There are two possible reasons for this concern. Travelers may need to stay under a price ceiling, or they may even

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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care about their company’s bottom line. Regardless, they may be receptive to efforts by Travel Managers to convince them to book using methods yielding the greatest savings. •

However, this does not mean travelers do not care about the process itself. The most highlyrated factors—“finding the right hotel for [their] needs” and “finding the right price”—are barely ranked higher than other concerns, such as “ease of booking process” (53%) and “minimal time spent on booking process” (44%).

•

Travelers are almost universally satisfied with the experience of booking hotel accommodations for their last business trip. Two out of five (42%) are “satisfied” and more than half (54%) are “very satisfied” with the experience. Only 1% are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied.” When travelers booked their own hotel for their most recent trip, they are slightly more likely to say they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the booking experience, compared to those who indicate someone else booked for them. However, satisfaction is still high (91%) among those who say someone else booked for them.

•

Travelers use a variety of devices to book hotels for business trips. On average, in the past six months, 58% of business travelers have booked a hotel for a business trip on a laptop, 43% have used a desktop computer, and 39% have used a smart phone. Almost half (47%) have booked hotel acommodations for a business trip using at least two of the listed devices in the past six months.

•

Millennials and Gen-X travelers are more likely than Baby Boomers to have each of four types of travel-related apps on their smart phones. These are hotel, travel reservation, general travel (e.g. itinerary consolidation and destination information), and review (ie. air, hotel, restaurant) apps. When comparing Millennials and Gen-X travelers, however, adoption rates are largely similar. The one exception is ground transportation apps, downloaded by Millennials at a higher rate than Gen-X travelers.

•

Travelers were asked if they use travel apps for a variety of purposes. While one-fifth (22%) of business travelers do not use travel apps for any of the 13 purposes tested, a good number use them for checking their flight status (39%), flight check-in (38%), navigation (37%), looking up information (34%), booking hotels (33%), and booking car rentals (29%). They less commonly indicate using them for expense tracking (18%), making restaurant reservations (18%), and surprisingly, requesting an Uber/taxi (16%).

•

When it comes to how people use travel apps, Millennials are more likely than Baby Boomers to use apps for booking hotels, hotel check-in, booking car rentals, checking reviews, tracking expenses, and online translation. Millennials use travel apps for most purposes at similar rates as Gen-X travelers.

•

In general, travelers say their organizations do not recommend or guide them to specific travel apps. This is even true of travelers working for large organizations and those with policy mandates or guidelines. Companies with a managed travel program can perhaps do a better job recommending their TMC’s apps in an effort to promote booking through preferred channels.

D

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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METHODOLOGY An online survey was conducted of business travelers in the United States and Canada. The survey was conducted by the GBTA Foundation using a business travel panel from the company Lightspeed GMI. Fielding took place in April 2015. Respondents qualified if they were employed (full-time or parttime) and had traveled at least once for business in the past year. Five hundred and twenty-one respondents completed at least one question in the survey. Quotas were set for country, age, and gender to obtain a sufficient number of respondents from each demographic and thereby allow comparison between groups. After sampling, the data were weighted to roughly approximate the population of North America-based business travelers as determined in past research conducted by the GBTA Foundation. All percentages and sample sizes reported throughout the report are after weighting. See the infographic on the next page for the weighted country, age, and gender distribution of respondents. Results were tested for significant differences between comparison groups at the 95% confidence interval. When found, the significantly higher result is marked with the letter that corresponds to the significantly lower result. Comparison groups include: •

Age: Millennials (18 to 34); Gen-X (35 to 54); and Baby Boomers (55 or older);

•

Number of business trips in the past year: one to three; four to 11; 12 or more;

•

Organization size: Small (less than 500 employees); mid-sized (500 to less than 5,000 employees); and large (5,000 or more employees);

•

Travel policy: Mandated policy (“I am required to follow my company’s published and enforced travel policy”); Guidelines (“I am encouraged to follow general guidelines”); No policy (“No stated restrictions or company guidelines”);

•

Purpose of last business trip: Meeting/off-site work; special event, conference, or expo;

•

Who booked last hotel: I did; someone else did; and

•

Who booked last flight: I did; someone else did;

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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DEMOGRAPHICS

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Note: All figures shown are weighted

6

Note: All figures shown are weighted Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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BOOKING METHODS AND CHANNELS 9 How did travelers book their last trip? Business travelers rely on a variety of methods to book trips. A majority (56%) made their own hotel 10 booking for their last business trip. Forty-four percent indicate someone else booked the hotel for them. The figures are identical for air travel.

Who Booked Your Last Business Trip?

56%

56%

Booked their own flight

Booked their own hotel

I did

Someone else

I did

Someone else

Note: Figures were obtained from a recode using the two questions below. See footnote for further explanation. Now thinking about your last business trip, how did you book your own travel? Now thinking about your last business trip, which of the following channels did you use to book your hotel/air travel?

Of those who booked their own hotel for their last trip, 29% used a supplier (hotel’s) website, 28% used a third-party travel website, and 16% used their company’s online booking tool. Travelers used these channels at roughly similar rates to book flights. Use of company OBTs likely appears low for two reasons. First, these results are only for those who actually made their own booking. A good number indicate travel counselors booked on their behalf, and counselors would, in all probability, have used an OBT. Second, respondents included all business travelers, not only those in a managed travel program. Even though all results in this section are for travelers who say their company has a travel policy, this does not mean it has all features of a managed program. For instance, a good number of those who say their company has a travel policy indicate in response to a later question that their company does not have an online booking tool.

9

All figures reported in this section are only for respondents who indicated their company has a travel policy. When asked “…which of the following best describes (their) company’s travel policy,” these respondents indicated one of the following: (1)“I am required to follow my company’s published and enforced travel policies”; (2) “I am encouraged to follow general guidelines”; or (3) “My company has a travel policy, but I don’t know what it is.”

10

This figure, and the one for air travel, includes those who, when asked how they booked their travel, indicated that they made their own booking, and when asked which channel they used, indicated they used their company’s online booking tool or any alternative channel such as a hotel website, third-party travel website, hotel or TMC app, or communication with a hotel. Travelers were counted as having someone else book for them if , when asked how they booked their travel, they indicated that their company travel department, travel management company, or assistant booked on their behalf. This also includes those who indicated they made their own booking, but when subsequently asked which channel they used, indicated they emailed or called a travel counselor at their company or a TMC. In this case, the travel counselor, not the traveler, actually made the booking.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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Group comparisons Booking behavior varies depending on the characteristics of travelers. Four traits are especially relevant: age, travel frequency, organization size, and trip purpose. Millennials (ages 18 to 34) feature prominently in discussions about open booking. In the popular view, they are tech-savvy travelers who are accustomed to having choices. This could make them less willing to book through traditional channels. However, past research offers only tepid support of this view. In 2012, the CWT Institute analyzed hotel transaction data, and found that Millennials booked outside of 11 preferred channels at marginally higher rates compared to older travelers (22.9% vs. 17.4%). In the current survey, Millennials report making their own bookings less often than older travelers. However, this may partly reflect their inexperience traveling for business and their lower travel 12 frequency.

11

Where Now For Managed Travel?, 23.

12

On average, Millennials who say their company has a travel policy report taking 8.7 trips for business in the past year, compared to 10.2 among Gen-X travelers and 11.1 among Baby Boomers. Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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When it comes to travel frequency, low-frequency travelers make their own bookings less often, compared to medium and high-frequency travelers (see previous page). This is hardly surprising: As employees gain more experience traveling, they may feel more comfortable—and their companies may increasingly trust them—when making their own bookings. As for specific channels, Millennials who booked their own flight for their last trip were less likely to use their company’s OBT, compared to older travelers (see next page). When it comes to hotel bookings, however, they used an OBT at a similar rate as older travelers. The reason for this discrepancy is unclear. However, it could reflect the small sample size of respondents who made their own bookings through an OBT. For instance, only 29 respondents of any age used one to book their own hotel 13 accommodations, and only 36 used one to book their own flight. Further testing would be needed to verify these results. Corporate OBT use also varies by organization size (see next page). Among those who made their own bookings for their last trip, employees of large organizations used an OBT more often, compared to employees of small and mid-sized organizations. This is probably because their companies are more likely to have OBTs. On the other hand, for small companies, alternative channels may be the only option. In this case, it may be important to have a carefully considered travel policy to enable capture of booking data and spend control. These are not the only group difference when it comes to company OBTs. When employees traveled for special events such as conferences or trainings, and made their own bookings, they were less likely to use an OBT (see next page). When they traveled for a meeting or off-site work, they used one more often.

13

These figures, and all others in this section, are only for travelers working for a company that has a travel policy (mandates or guidelines). Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

10

Now thinking about your last business trip, which of the following channels did you use to book your hotel/air travel? Note: Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter Only asked of those who indicated they made their own booking. © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

11

USE OF ALTERNATIVE BOOKING CHANNELS 14

Alternative Channels Used to Book Last Trip

What alternative channels did travelers use?

Directly on supplier’s website

As mentioned earlier, a majority of travelers made their own hotel (56%) and air travel (56%) bookings for their last business trip. Of these travelers, a large majority booked through an alternative channel. These alternative channels were grouped into three categories. “Direct” channels include supplier websites, supplier apps, and phone calls with airline or hotel employees. “Third-party websites” are travel sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, and Priceline. “Event registration” websites can sometimes be used to book trips to a conference or

54%

56% Third-party website 41%

40% Event registration website 5%

4%

Now thinking about your last business trip, which of the following channels did you use to book your hotel/air travel? Note: Only asked of those who indicated they made their own booking.

event.

Of the travelers who booked their hotel through an alternative channel, 54% booked through a direct channel, 41% booked on a third-party website, and 5% booked on an event registration site. These figures are similar for air travel. Did travelers check their company’s OBT before using an alternative channel?

Before Booking Direct, Did You Compare Your Findings Against Your Company’s OBT? (n=103)

When it comes to hotel bookings, onefifth (18%) of travelers who booked on a hotel’s website or mobile app say they compared their findings against their company’s OBT before booking. Two out of five (42%) did not check an OBT and another two out of five (39%) did not have an OBT at their company. 15

18% Say “yes”

In addition, a good number of travelers are not required to share booking Yes No Company doesn’t have an OBT information with their company when they use an alternative channel. Of You mentioned you booked your last hotel through a hotel’s website or mobile app. Did you compare your findings with your company’s online booking tool before making your those who booked their hotel on a hotel reservations? Note: Only asked of those who booked hotel accommodations for their website or app or a third-party site, last business trip on a hotel app or website 42% “are not required to share [their] information with anyone at their company.” One out of five (22%) “have to share the hotel reservation with 14

The results reported in this section are generally for all respondents, not only those whose company has a travel policy, unless otherwise noted. 15

These figures are for travelers who say their company has a travel policy.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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the person in charge of travel at [their] company,” another one out of five (21%) “manually type [their] hotel reservation on [their] company’s travel platform,” and 13% “submit [their] hotel reservation through software that alerts [their] company of hotel accommodations (ie. TripIt, FindIt, and CWT to Go, etc.)” This suggests that companies may have trouble locating some of their travelers in 16 an emergency. Are travelers satisfied with the experience of booking through alternative channels? Travelers were asked to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of their most recent booking experience when they booked through a hotel’s website or a third-party site. With both channels, all of the aspects have high satisfaction rates among travelers.

Which of the following best describes what happens after you book directly with a hotel or other online travel site? Note: Only asked of those who booked hotel accommodations for their last trip using a hotel website/app or third-party site.

Satisfaction with Aspects of Alternative Channels When Booking Hotel for Last Business Trip Hotel website Satisfied

Third-party website Very satisfied

Ease of booking (n=88)

28%

67%

95%

Ease of payment process (n=88)

33%

62%

95%

Ease of finding the right hotel (n=85)

41%

54%

95%

Room selection process (n=82)

34%

59%

93%

Clear description of terms and conditions (n=86)

33%

57%

90%

Clear description of all amenities (n=88) Customer service (via phone; n=39)

43% 20%

47% 66%

90%

Satisfied

Very satisfied

Wide range of hotel brands (n=108)

44%

52%

96%

Ease of booking (n=109)

43%

51%

94%

Wide range of pricing points (n=107)

47%

47%

94%

Clear description of hotel amenities (n=106)

44%

50%

94%

Ease of finding the right hotel (n=109)

40%

53%

93%

86%

Customer service (via phone; n=83)

52%

41%

93%

Customer service (live chat; n=32)

30%

54%

84%

Clear terms and conditions of reservation (n=107)

42%

50%

92%

Ease of using rewards points for reservation (n=47)

32%

49%

81%

Customer service (live chat; n=70)

42%

48%

90%

Thinking about your last business trip, what is your level of satisfaction with the following, when booking through a hotel website/online travel site? 16

GBTA Foundation, Keeping Travelers Safe through Travel Risk Management (Alexandria, VA: GBTA Foundation, 2015).

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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Group comparisons When using alternative channels to book their last trip, travelers were split between age groups. Millennials and Gen-X travelers used third-party sites at a higher rate, compared to Baby Boomers, who used direct channels more often.

Alternative Channels Used to Book Last Trip by Age

Hotel

D

70% 42%

52%

BC

Direct

D

D

73%

50% 45% D

42%

54%

BC

51%

D

25%

D

Third-party website

Air

8% 4% 5% D Event registration site

Direct

D

43%

D 25%D

Third-party website

7% 3% 2%

Event registration site

18 to 34 (n=73) B 35 to 54 (n=107) C 55 or over (n=72) D

18 to 34 (n=74) B 35 to 54 (n=119) C 55 or over (n=73) D

Now thinking about your last business trip, which of the following channels did you use to book your hotel/air travel? Note: Only asked of those who indicated they made their own booking.

Similarly, when using an alternative channel to book a hotel for their most recent trip, travelers were more likely to use third-party sites when working at organizations with no travel policy, compared to organizations with policy mandates.

Hotel 60% 58% 46%

Alternative Channels Used to Book Last Trip By Travel Policy

50% 40% 30%

53%

D

60% 55%

44%

Air

32%

45%

10% 2% 4%

3% 8% 0%

C

Direct

Third-party website

Event registration site

Mandates (n=64) B Guidelines (n=82) C No policy (n=105) D

Direct

Third-party website

D Event registration site

Mandates (n=57) B Guidelines (n=78) C No policy (n=109) D

Now thinking about your last business trip, which of the following channels did you use to book your hotel/air travel? Note: Only asked of those who indicated they made their own booking.

One possible explanation is that when travelers do not have any restrictions, they tend to check thirdparty websites first. However, when companies have a stringent policy, travelers may use an alternative channel only when they cannot find the hotel they need through a company/TMC resource or channel. This could explain why 36% of those who work at companies with policy mandates, and still Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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used an alternative channel to book their last hotel, checked a company OBT before booking, compared to 5% who work at companies with no policy. These travelers—who have already checked a company OBT-- have done some homework. They may have a good idea of where they need to stay, and may be inclined to use direct, and not third-party, channels. In addition, when companies do not have a travel policy, they appear less likely to require employees to share their hotel booking information, compared to companies that have mandates in place.

What Happens After You Book through a Hotel's Website or Mobile App?

D

46%

43%

40%

B

25%

22% 12%

I have to share the hotel reservation with the person in charge of travel at my company Mandates (n=40) B

Guidelines (n=71) C

I don’t have to share my information with anyone at my company No restrictions or company guidelines (n=89) D

How Far in Advance Did Travelers Book their Last Trip?

HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO TRAVELERS BOOK THEIR TRIPS? On average, travelers say the hotel for their most recent business trip was booked 13 days in advance. Almost 2 out of 5 (37%) booked their hotel one week or less in advance, one-third (31%) booked 8 to 14 days in advance, and one-third (33%) booked 15 days or more in advance. The figures for air travel are similar. Group comparisons Travelers tend to book at different times, depending on their profile. Four characteristics are especially relevant: age, travel frequency, trip purpose, and booking method. When it comes to age, Baby Booomers tend to plan ahead. They are least likely to say the air and/or hotel reservations for their most recent trip were booked 7 days or less in advance in advance (see page 17). They more often say it was booked 15 or more days in advance. It is not clear, however, whether this reflects age-related habits. Travelers of different ages may have different types of jobs, and travel for different reasons.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Estimated average: 13.2 days

Estimated average: 13.8 days

Less than one day 3%

4%

1 to 7 days 34%

32% 8 to 14 days

31%

29%

15 days to less than one month 18%

20%

At least one month 14%

16%

Thinking about your last business trip, how far in advance did you book your air/hotel?

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Travelers also booked at different times depending on the purpose of their travel (see next page). They were less likely to book hotels on short notice when traveling to a conference, training, or expo. They did so more often when traveling for a meeting or off-site work. These trips are probably more likely to happen on short notice. As for travel frequency, high-frequency travelers were least likely to book their trips 15 or more days in advance (not shown on next page). This is perhaps due to the nature of their travel. When asked about the purpose of their most recent trip, high-frequency travelers more often report traveling for a meeting or off-site work. Low- and medium-frequency travelers more often traveled for a special event such as a conference or training. Finally, when travelers made their own bookings, they were more likely to book 7 days or less in advance (see next page). They were less likely to do so when someone else booked for them.

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Thinking aboutBehaviors: your last business how farTravelers in advance did you book travel? Booking Helpingtrip, Business Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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DO TRAVELERS BOOK THEIR HOTEL AND FLIGHT AT THE SAME TIME?

How Often Do You Book Air and Hotel Accommodations at the Same Time? (n=513)

While 45% of business travelers “often” book their hotel and flight at the same time, only 29% “always” do so. Fourteen percent “sometimes” do so while only 5% “rarely” or “never” do so. The travelers who say they “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never,” book their flight and hotel at the same time were asked why. Their reasons vary. Some mention locking in a price for a flight, needing further time to finalize plans, or booking their own hotel while another person books their flight. Selected responses are shown below.

75%

Say “Often”/ ”Always”

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Always

Doesn’t apply

For business trips that include a flight and hotel stay, do you typically book your air travel and hotel accommodations at the same time?

For business trips that include a flight and a hotel stay, do you typically book your air travel at the same time you book your hotel accommodations?

Group comparisons Hotel booking method When it comes to the frequency with which travelers book their hotel and flight at the same time, there are several group differences. Employees of large organizations are most likely to say they “often” or “always” book their flight and hotel at the same time, compared to employees of small and mid-sized 17 organizations. However, it is unclear why. It may have to do with travel policy or the booking channels/resources available, among other possible reasons.

17

The large organizations represented in this survey are more likely to have travel policy mandates.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

18

When respondents say their organization has a mandated travel policy, they more often indicate they “often/always” book their hotel and flight at the same time, compared to those working at organizations with no policy. Similarly, travelers who took their last business trip for a meeting or off-site work are more likely to say they “often” or “always” book their flight and hotel 18 at the same time. Those who last traveled to a meeting, special event, or expo are less likely to say so. Finally, when booking their own trips, travelers are perhaps less likely to book their flight and hotel at the same time. One-quarter (25%) of travelers who made their own hotel booking for their last trip say they “always” book their flight and hotel at the same time. This compares to 40% of travelers who say someone else booked their hotel for them. This is not shown in the chart at right.

WITH WHOM DO TRAVELERS COMMUNICATE BEFORE BOOKING HOTELS? Even though 56% of travelers booked their own hotel for their last trip, they were not necessarily on their own. Prior to booking, half (49%) of these travelers communicated with at least one person, often a hotel representative (29%), company Travel Manager or person in charge of travel (24%), or a travel agent at a TMC (17%).

For business trips that include a flight and a hotel stay, do you typically book your air travel at the same time you book your hotel accommodations? 18

This banner point was obtained from a recode using responses to the question, “Thinking about the last business trip you took, what was the purpose of this trip?” Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

19

The travelers who said they communicated with a TMC agent were asked how much the agent influenced their hotel selection. A large majority say the agent was “very” (61%) or “very influential.” They “extremely” (26%) influential. They give a variety of reasons why, and some of these are shown below.

With Whom Did Travelers Communicate Before Booking their Hotel for their Last Business Trip (n=307) Hotel representative

29%

My company's travel manager or orther person in charge of travel Travel agent from company's travel management company

24% 17%

None of the above

51%

Before booking your hotel accommodation for your last business trip, did you communicate (via email / phone) with one of the following people? Select all that apply. Note: Results filtered to only show results for those who booked their own hotel.

Group comparisons There are two key differences between groups when it comes to pre-trip communication with others. First, when Millennials booked their own hotel for their last business trip, they were much more likely to communicate with others before booking, compared to older travelers. This could be due, at least in part, to their relative inexperience traveling for business. Second, among travelers who booked their own hotel for their last business trip, those who say their company has travel policy mandates were more likely to communicate with others before booking, compared to those working for companies with guidelines or no policy. It is possible these travelers have a greater need to gather information to determine whether their hotel booking would comply with their company’s travel policy.

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With Whom Did Travelers Communicate Before Booking their Hotel for their Last Business Trip? –Group Differences Age 74% 37% CD

25% D

32% 34% 9%

Company Travel Manager/person in charge of travel

D

16%

D

31%

25% 19% 7% CD

0%

0% Other

18 to 34 (n=83) B

55 or over (n=80) D

None of the above

Travel Policy 25% 27% 20% Company Travel Manager/person in charge of travel

36%

26% 27%

39%

26% 19% 12% D

1%

Hotel Travel agent from representative travel management company

Mandates (n=83) B

Guidelines (n=95) C

0%

BC

B

1%

Hotel Travel agent from representative travel management company 35 to 54 (n=143) C

50%

54% 58% B

B

0%

Other

None of the above

No restrictions or guidelines (n=114) D

Before booking your hotel accommodation for your last business trip, did you communicate (via email / phone) with one of the following people? Select all that apply. Note: Results filtered to only show results of those who booked their own hotel.

HOW DOES THE BOOKING PROCESS INFLUENCE HOTEL SELECTION?

Did the Booking Channel Influence the Hotel Selection for Your Last Trip? (n=304)

How does the booking channel influence the selection? Travelers generally agree that the channel they used to book their last hotel for a business trip “influenced (their) decision on which hotel to book.” Three-quarters say they “agree” (44%) or “strongly agree” (30%). Only 7% say they “disagree” (5%) or “strongly disagree” (2%). Agreement is especially high among those who booked on a third-party website. These sites perhaps offer steep discounts only at select hotels. What is surprising, however, is that

75%

“Agree”/ ”Strongly agree”

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

Think back to the last time you booked a hotel for a business trip. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement. My method of booking—PIPE IN CHANNEL—influenced my decision on which hotel to book. Note: Only asked of 21 thoseSmarter who booked their own hotel for their last business trip. Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

the rate is not higher among those who used a company OBT. Since companies likely have preferred agreements with some properties and not others, company OBTs would seem especially likely to influence the selection. However, the results suggest they do not have more influence than other channels.

Do You Agree that the Booking Channel Influenced the Hotel Selection? % Who “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” by Hotel Booking Channel

85% 64%

63%

BCE

Company's Directly on online hotel's booking tool website (n=36) B (n=89) C

100% 68%

84%

79%

BCE

Third-party Via phone Event Via a hotel's Via a TMC's travel directly with registration mobile app mobile app website hotel site (n=13)* G (n=9)* H (n=108) D (n=35) E (n=14)* F

Think back to the last time you booked a hotel for a business trip. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement. My method of booking—PIPE IN CHANNEL—influenced my decision on which hotel to book. Note: Only asked of those who booked their own hotel for their last business trip. *indicates small sample size. These figures are shown for illustrative purposes only and cannot be generalized to the business traveler population.

BOOKING PRIORITIES AND SATISFACTION Booking priorities Travelers have diverse priorities when booking hotels. They were asked to rank the importance of seven factors influencing an “excellent hotel booking experience.” Most commonly ranked in the top three are “finding the right hotel for my needs” (61%), “finding the right price” (56%), and “ease of booking process” (53%).

Importance of Various Factors Toward Having an Excellent Hotel Booking Experience % Ranked AmongTop 3 Most Important (n=503)

Finding the right hotel for my needs

61%

Finding the right price

56%

Ease of booking process

53%

Minimal time spent on booking process

44%

Getting free amenities

41%

Ability to book on-the-go

23%

Availability to chat with an online agent Other

20% 1%

How important are each of the following toward having an excellent booking experience?

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

22

These figures suggest several things. First, the two top ranked factors concern the outcome of the booking rather than the process itself. It would seem obvious that travelers are invested in “finding the right hotel for [their] needs,” the top rated factor, or “getting free amenities,” which is included in the top three by two out of five (41%) travelers. More surprising, however, is their concern about “finding the right price.” After all, the travelers surveyed for this study are all employed, and their companies likely pay for their accommodations. While many travelers may need to adhere to a price ceiling, and are satisfied when they find hotels under this price, this could also mean that some travelers care about their company’s bottom line. Regardless of the reason, travelers may be receptive to efforts by Travel Managers to convince them to book using methods yielding the greatest savings. However, this does not mean travelers do not care about the process itself. The most highly rated factors—“finding the right hotel for [their] needs” (61%) and “finding the right price” (56%)—are barely ranked higher than other concerns such as “ease of booking process” (53%) and “minimal time spent on booking process” (44%). Booking satisfaction Travelers are almost universally satisfied with the experience of booking hotel accommodations for their last business trip. Two out of five (42%) are “satisfied” and one-half (51%) are “very satisfied” with the experience. Only 1% are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied.”

Satisfaction with Hotel Booking Experience for Last Business Trip (n=510)

92%

“Satisfied”/ ”Very satisfied”

Very dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Satisfied

Very satisfied

Thinking about your last business trip, what is your satisfaction with your hotel booking experience? Note: This question was asked of everyone. For the rate among those who made their own booking, see chart on next page.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

23

Group comparisons When it comes to priorities for booking a hotel, there are not generally interesting differences between comparison groups. There are, however, differences in satisfaction with the most recent hotel booking experience. Millennials (43%) less commonly say they were “very satisfied” with the experience, compared to Baby Boomers (57%). However, this does not mean they were dissatisfied. Rather, most Millennials who were not “very satisfied” indicated they were “satisfied.” As a result, compared with older travelers, Millennials are equally likely to say they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the experience. In addition, when travelers do not have to follow a travel policy, they more often say they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their booking experience, compared to those working at organizations with policy mandates. When travelers booked their own hotel for their most recent trip, they more often say they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the booking experience, compared to those who indicate that someone else booked for them. However, satisfaction is still high (91%) among those who say someone else booked for them. Finally, when it comes to specific channels, among those who booked their own hotel for their last business trip, travelers are more likely to say they were “very satisfied” with the overall booking experience when they booked directly on a hotel’s website, compared to other channels.

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24

DEVICES USED TO BOOK HOTELS

Devices Used to Book Hotel Accommodations for a Business Trip in the Past 6 Months (n=501)

Travelers use a variety of devices to book hotels for business trips. On average, in the past six months, 58% of business travelers have booked a hotel for a business trip on a laptop, 43% have used a desktop computer, and 39% have used a smart phone. Almost half (47%) have booked hotel acommodations for a business trip using at least two of the devices shown at right in the past six months.

Laptop computer

58%

Desktop computer

43%

Smart phone

39%

Tablet

25%

None of the above

13%

Group comparison

In the last 6 months, have you booked your hotel accommodations for a business trip Not surprisingly, highthrough any of the following devices? Select all that apply. frequency travelers have booked on three of the four devices at a higher rate than low-frequency travelers. These are a laptop, a tablet, and a smart phone. They have booked on a laptop and a smart phone at a higher rate than medium-frequency travelers.

Devices Used to Make Hotel Accommodations for a Business Trip in the Past 6 Months—by # of Business Trips in the Past Year 73% 59%

BC

B

44%

35%

47% 24%

19%

Laptop computer 1 to 3 (n=112) B

36%

B

B

15%

Smart phone 4 to 11 (n=255) C

Tablet

BC

30% CD

9%

7%

None of the above 12 or more (n=135) D

In the last 6 months, have you booked your hotel accommodations for a business trip through any of the following devices? Select all that apply.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

25

AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF MOBILE TRAVEL APPS

Smart Phone Adoption (n=501)

An overwhelming majority of business travelers use smart phones. However, while smart phones are practically universal, adoption of travel apps is not. Airline (46%), hotel (45%), travel reservation (34%), and general travel (23%) apps are each downloaded by fewer than half of the business travelers surveyed.

I use my own smart phone and I am not reimbursed by my company

How Do Travelers Use Travel Apps? (n=498) 67% 54% 51%

Search Social

49%

Banking

48%

Games

47%

Airline

46% 45%

Hotel (ie. Hilton, IHG, Marriott,…

41%

Music/movies

34%

Travel reservation (Expedia,… Photography

28%

Restaurant reservation

27%

Ground transport (taxi, Uber, etc.)

26%

Review apps

25% 23%

Expense reporting

21%

Language

20%

5%

5%

Which of the following best describes your mobile phone arrangement?

Navigation

None of the above

12%

I do not have a smart phone

Weather

1%

21%

I use my own smart phone and I am reimbursed partially by my company

Apps on Smart Phone (Travel-related Apps in Green; n=474)

General travel (ie. itinerary…

30%

I use my own smart phone and I am reimbursed completely by my company

Travelers were also asked how they use travel apps. While onefifth (22%) of business travelers do not use travel apps for any of

Other

31%

I use a company issued smart phone

Check flight status

39%

Flight check-in

38%

Navigate (GPS)

37%

Look up information

34%

Book hotel

33%

Hotel check-in

32% 29%

Book car rental

23%

Check reviews Make restaurant reservations

18%

Track expenses

18%

Online translation

17%

Request an Uber/taxi

16% 12%

Currency converter Other None of the above

2% 22%

26 Which Booking of the following apps do you currently have on your smart Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter For which of the following purposes do you use travel apps? Select all that apply. phone?©Select all thatand apply. 2015 GBTA its affiliates. All rights reserved.

the 13 purposes listed, a good number use them for checking their flight status (39%), flight check-in (38%), navigation (37%), looking up information (34%), booking hotels (33%), and booking car rentals (29%). They less commonly use them for expense tracking (18%), making restaurant reservations (18%), and surprisingly, requesting an Uber/taxi (16%). In addition, travelers were asked if they were aware of several common features of hotel apps. They are most commonly aware of using hotel apps for booking (53%), check-in/check-out (47%), and tracking rewards points (43%). They are less commonly aware of using apps to access a list of room amenities (31%) or an in-room service menu (28%). When travelers have a hotel app, almost half (47%) “often” (32%) or “always” (15%) book hotel accommodations through the app.

Awareness of Features of Hotel Apps (n=498) Booking

53%

Check-in/check-out

47%

Tracking rewards points

43%

Destination information

40%

Room selection List of room amenities In-room service menu None of the above

38% 31% 28% 24%

Are you aware of hotels offering the following services through their mobile app ? Select all that apply. Travelers were asked to name the travel apps they use most often for business travel. They commonly name third-party apps such as Expedia, Orbitz, and KAYAK.

In addition, when asked why they use travel apps, travelers commonly mention covenience, ease of use, and having access to information.

Most Commonly Used Travel Apps

Please name the top three travel apps you use most often for business. Word cloud shows relative frequency of responses. Please name the travel apps you use most often for business travel. Word cloud shows relative frequency of responses. Note: This was asked of everyone and many respondents said “Do not use,” “None,” “N/A,” etc. These responses were removed.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

27

Benefits of Travel Apps

Please list the top benefits travel apps provide you. Word cloud shows relative frequency of responses. Note: This question was asked of everyone, not only those who use travel apps, and many said “None” or “N/A.” These responses were removed.

In general, organizations do not recommend specific travel apps to their employees. However, when companies do recommend apps, travelers overhwelmingly say these recommendations are “useful” (49%) or “very useful” (42%).

Does Your Company Recommend or Guide You to Any Specific Travel Apps? (n=498)

How Useful Do You Find Your Company’s Recommendations of Travel Apps? (n=207)

91%

17%

Say “Useful”/ ”Very useful”

Say “Yes”

Please list the top three benefits travel apps provide you. Word cloud shows relative frequency of responses. Note: This was asked of everyone, not only those who use travel apps.

Yes

No

I don’t know

Does your company recommend or guide you to any specific travel apps?

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Not useful at all A little useful/Somewhat useful Useful/Very useful How useful do you find your company’s recommendations of travel apps? Note: Only asked of those who say their company recommends travel apps.

28

Group comparisons There are several differences between age groups when it comes to adoption of travel apps. Compared with Baby Boomers, Millennials and Gen-X travelers more commonly have each of four types of travelrelated apps on their smart phones. These are hotel, travel reservation, general travel (e.g. itinerary consolidation and destination information), and review (ie. air, hotel, restaurant) apps. When comparing Millennials and Gen-X travelers, however, rates of adoption are largely similar. The one exception is ground transportation apps, downloaded by Millennials at a higher rate than Gen-X travelers.

What Travel Apps Do Travelers Have on their Phones? by Age

D

D

D

48% 49% D

D 33%

41% D

D

D

35% D

22%

CD

D

35%

27% 25% D

D

13%

CD

D 25%

18%

D

30% 27% D

D

B 16%

Hotel (e.g. Travel General travel Ground Review apps (ie. Hilton, Marriott, reservation (e.g. (itinerary transport (Taxi, hotel, air, IHG, etc.) Expedia, Orbitz, consolidation, Uber, etc.) restaurant, etc.) etc.) destination info.) B

3% 4%

9%

None of the above

18 toapps 34 (n=150) B 35smart to 54phone? (n=211)Select C all that apply. 55 or over (n=113) D Which of the following do you currently have on your Which of the following apps do you currently have on your smart phone? Select all that apply. Note: Only travel-related apps with differences shown.

Adoption also varies by travel frequency. While medium and high-frequency travelers have similar rates of adoption, low-frequency travelers are less likely to have several of the apps tested.

What Travel Apps Do Travelers Have on their Phones? by # of Trips in Past Year

48%

57%

27% B

B

46% 32%

B

51% B 15%

Airline

22%

30% B

28% 27% 16%

B

Hotel (e.g. General travel Review apps (ie. Hilton, Marriott, (itinerary hotel, air, IHG, etc.) consolidation, restaurant, etc.) destination info.) 1 to 3 (n=97) B

4 to 11 (n=246) C

11%

24% 21% B

7% 3% 8% C

Expense reporting

None of the above

12 or more (n=131) D

Which of the following apps do you currently have on your smart phone? Select all that apply.

Booking Behaviors: Helping Business Travelers Book Smarter © 2015 GBTA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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When it comes to how people use travel apps, Millennials are more likely than Baby Boomers to use apps for booking hotels, hotel check-in, booking car rentals, checking reviews, tracking expenses, and online translation. Millennials use travel apps for most purposes at similar rates as Gen-X travelers.

For What Purposes Do Travelers Use Travel Apps? by Age

42% 38% 37% 35%36% D 29% 29% 28% D D 25% 23%20% 23% D D 23% D 19% D 16% D D D 8%

37% 34% D

Book hotel

Navigate

Hotel check-in

18 to 34 (n=152) B

Book car rental

Check reviews

Track expenses

35 to 54 (n=218) C

38% B BC B 21% BC

30% CD 15% D

7%

Online translation

10%

None of the above

55 or over (n=127) D

For which of the following purposes do you use travel apps? Select all that apply.

In addition, compared with low-frequency travelers, medium- and high-frequency travelers are more likely to use travel apps for nearly every purpose.

For What Purposes Do Travelers Use Travel Apps? by # of Trips in Past Year

43% 45%

42% 43% 41% 39% 37% 36% 37% 35% 34% B 29% B B B 24% B 24% B B 23% 24% 19% B B 20%BD B B

Check flight status

Flight Book hotel Navigate check-in 1 to 3 (n=111) B

Hotel check-in

35% 22% 17%20% 17% BC 18%19% B 9% B 8% B B

20% 21% 9% B

Book car Track Request an Online None of rental expenses Uber/taxi translation the above

4 to 11 (n=251) C

12 or more (n=135) D

For which of the following purposes do you use travel apps? Select all that apply.

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As for awareness of features of hotel apps, Baby Boomers are most commonly unaware of all of the listed features. Similarly, when it comes to travel frequency, low-frequency travelers are most commonly unaware of all features.

Awareness of Features of Hotel Apps % Aware of None of the Above

Age

Travel Frequency

43% 33%

BC 23% 9%

B

18 to 34 (n=152) B

4 to 11 (n=219) C

CD

12+ (n=127) D

1 to 3 (n=112) B

B B 22%

B 20% B

B

4 to 11 (n=252) C

12+ (n=135) D

Are you aware of hotels offering the following services through their mobile app ? Select all that apply.

Finally, when travelers do not have any restrictions or company guidelines when traveling, they are less likely to say their company recommends travel apps. However, this may simply reflect the absence of a managed travel program. However, even when their company has policy mandates, 68% of travelers say it does not recommend or guide them to specific travel apps. Similarly, three-quarters (75%) of empoyees of large organizations say their company does not recommend travel apps. When companies have a managed travel program, they can perhaps do a better job recommending TMC apps in an effort to promote booking through preferred channels.

Do Companies Recommend or Guide Travelers to Specific Travel Apps? % Yes

Travel Policy

# of Employees

27% CD

D

Mandates (n=161) B

20%

17%

Guidelines (n=170) C

15%

18%

8%

No policy (n=145) D

Less than 500 500 to less than 5,000 or more (n=192) 5,000 (n=174) (n=120)

Does your company recommend or guide you to any specific travel mobile apps?

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KEY TAKEWAYS •

Millennials appear less likely than older travelers to book their own trip. This comes as a surprise, given the popular image of Millennials as a tech-savvy generation that is accustomed to having choices. However, it may partly reflect their inexperience traveling for business and lower travel frequency. For Travel Managers this serves as an opportunity to train Millennials to use the appropriate tools even when booking themselves, but this can only be achieved if they perceive the tools are up to par with main stream booking tools available to all.

•

Among those who booked their own trip, some groups were especially likely to use a company’s online booking tool. For instance, employees of large organizations were much more likely to use one, compared to employees of small and mid-sized organizations. However, these large organizations are, in all probability, more likely to have OBTs. For smaller companies where there might not be an established travel program or where an OBT might not be available, booking through main stream channels might be the only option. If this is the case it is recommended to have a policy in place to capture the booking data to make sure they can serve their travelers in the most efficient way.

•

A good number of travelers are not required to share booking information with their company when they use an alternative channel to book hotels. Of those who booked the hotel for their last trip through a hotel’s website or mobile app, 42% say they “are not required to share (their) information with anyone at their company.” These companies may have difficulty locating their travelers in an emergency. Ideally all travelers should share their travel itineraries with their companies to make sure they can be supported if the need arises. For those travel programs that are more established an alternative to capture non-traditional channel bookins is to use software to capture this data or to have policies in place that call for the traveler to share this information.

•

Even though 56% of travelers booked their own hotel for their last trip, they were not necessarily on their own. Prior to booking, half (50%) of these travelers communicated with at least one person, often a hotel representative (29%), company Travel Manager or person in charge of travel (24%), or a travel agent at a TMC (19%). This serves as an opportunity for the different touch points (TMC agent, Travel Manager, or Hotel representative) to remind or encourage following travel policy and thus increasing compliance.

•

There are two key differences between groups when it comes to pre-trip communication with others. First, when Millennials booked their own hotel for their last business trip, they were more likely to communicate with others before booking, compared to older travelers. This could be due, at least in part, to their relative inexperience traveling for business. As mentioned before, if Millennials are reaching out to their person responsible for travel, this creates the opportunity for them to be engaged and trained on best practices for their corporate booking.

•

Travelers use a variety of devices to book hotels for business trips. Results show the increased use of mobile devices for corporate booking and the importance of offering travelers the right tools (apps / software) for them to do so. If the corporate OBT meets the travelers expectations, this can encourage travelers to stay within the system and not seek out non-traditional corporate channels for when booking their travel.

•

The importance of the previous takeaway is further explained by knowing Millennial travelers are more likely than Baby Boomers to have booked a hotel on three different devices in the past 6 months. Nowadays it is not enough to make an OBT compatible with a laptop

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32

computer and different browsers. Companies must ensure it works seamlessly with mobile devices like smart phones and Tablets because travelers are increasingly using more than one device to book their travel. •

While smart phones are practically universal among business travelers, adoption of travel apps is not. Airline, hotel, travel reservation, and general travel apps are each downloaded by fewer than half of the business travelers surveyed. These figures are comparable, however, to adoption rates of other types of apps including banking, games, search, and navigation. This is another opportunity for travel programs to assess and incorporate the mobile apps that they consider useful and could help travelers not only be compliant with travel policy but make the experience of business travel a better one.

•

Given Millennials and Gen-X travelers are likely to have at least four travel-related apps on their smart phones, Travel Managers can make sure they have influence on what those apps are and bring consistency to the use of travel apps within their travel programs.

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WORKS CITED Barton, Christine, Julia Haywood, Pranay Jhunjhunwala, and Vikrant Bhatia. “Traveling with Millennials.” bcg.perspectives (blog).The Boston Consulting Group. March 18, 2013, https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/transportation_travel_tourism_consumer_insigh t_traveling_with_millennials/ CWT Institute. Where Now for Managed Travel? “Rogue” Spend, New Booking Technologies, and the Future of Travel Programs. Carlson Wagonlit Travel, 2013. GBTA Foundation, Keeping Travelers Safe through Travel Risk Management. Alexandria, VA: GBTA Foundation, 2015. GBTA Foundation. Out-of-Policy Business Travelers and their Impact on the Bottom Line. Alexandria, VA: GBTA Foundation, 2013. Think with Google. The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision. Google, 2014.

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ABOUT THE GBTA FOUNDATION The GBTA Foundation is the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. Collectively, GBTA’s 5,000-plus members manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA provides its network of 21,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, with networking events, news, education & professional development, research, and advocacy. The foundation was established in 1997 to support GBTA’s members and the industry as a whole. As the leading education and research foundation in the business travel industry, the GBTA Foundation seeks to fund initiatives to advance the business travel profession. The GBTA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information, see gbta.org and gbta.org/foundation.

facebook.com/GBTAonFB

linkedin.com/company/gbta

gbta.org/twitter

D

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