While mobile travel tools and applications have become plentiful in the leisure travel market, few solutions have targeted corporate travel. Many business travelers are using their own mobile devices and adapting leisure-focused tools to meet their own needs.

This year, however, has seen a flurry of activity on the part of corporate travel vendors as they race to release mobile applications and specialized mobile websites dedicated to the business traveler. Recent and upcoming releases of mobile solutions this year include enhancements to expense reporting tools, itinerary management, traveler alerts, security and status features, and the promise of what’s been the holy grail of corporate travel management – online booking that embeds corporate policy.

In a recent online survey, AirPlus International asked travel stakeholders about their current mobile travel management strategies in the face of a rapidly changing marketplace. According to survey respondents, the early jumps in adoption of mobile technology have slowed down, at least temporarily, when it comes to the numbers of business travelers carrying smart phones or other wireless-enabled devices. For example, according to survey respondents, 38.1 percent estimated that more than 90 percent of their company’s travelers currently carry a smart phone or other wireless-enabled mobile device, up only 3 percent from the 35 percent estimated in 2010.

It’s likely, however, that corporations will continue to see increases in adoption of mobile technology as such devices jump in popularity through the population at large. Nielsen reports that 31 percent of all mobile subscribers owned smart phones at the beginning of this year and predicts that 50 percent of mobile phone.

Click here for complete survey results:

AirPlus The Wire_May 2011

Additional Resources:

Killer Apps & Mobile Menaces: Travel Apps Most Apt
Mobile Booking Apps Are Only Just Starting to Deliver

Ask a simple question and get a complicated answer.  That’s what AirPlus International did in a recent joint survey of 99 travel management professionals by asking whether travel budgets in 2010 would increase, decrease or stay the same when compared to 2009. On the surface, the answers were simple: 23.4 percent of respondents looked forward to budget increases, while 19.5 percent felt sure their budgets would take a turn for the worse. The majority, just over 57 percent, were confident that budgets would hold steady at current amounts. Dig a little deeper, however, and the numbers show a more complex situation.

Corporate travel budget cuts were all over the map in 2009. This year, 7 percent of respondents worked with travel budgets that were reduced by less than 5 percent; 14 percent of respondents’ budgets were subject to 5 to 10 percent decreases; and 13 percent of respondents’ budgets were cut by 10 to 15 percent. Larger groups of corporate travel pros were subject to even greater budget reductions: 18 percent saw budget reductions of 15 to 20 percent, while more than one-quarter of respondents were hit with budgets decreased by more than 20 percent.

A lucky few-6 percent of survey respondents-actually saw travel budget increases in 2009, while about 15 percent enjoyed budgets that were on par with 2008 levels. More than 80 percent of the programs with budgetary stability in 2009 will hold steady or even increase further for 2010.

For the 80 percent of survey respondents who cited budget cuts in 2009, the future is more volatile. Those with the smallest budgets cuts in 2009 (less than 5 percent, but more than zero) are the most likely to experience additional cuts in 2010. Indeed, nearly 43 percent of these respondents anticipate additional cuts. In contrast, those companies that cut budgets by 5 percent to 10 percent are the most likely to hold budgets steady. Nearly 86 percent of this category indicated unchanged budgets for 2010, but none indicated budget increases.

To be sure, the corporate travel industry and the professionals managing programs and travelers in this environment are likely to have an interesting ride as 2010 unfolds. The after-effects of 2009 are clearly rippling into 2010 even as the economy begins to improve and corporations take cautious steps to return to a focus on investment and growth. Click on the PDF to read the full study results.

Download the full report for complete results:
AirPlus..The Wire December 2009 (PDF, 263 KB)

In a recessionary economy, corporate travel departments have worked hard to cut costs while maintaining service standards for their travelers. A survey of 147 corporate travel professionals conducted by AirPlus International shows that even while under extreme budget pressure, corporations must stay focused on how to keep their travel programs effective — and they are willing to invest in products and services that are central to that effort.

The survey shows that travel departments consider criteria beyond savings opportunities and cost in every major supplier category. More importantly, it is clear that service and other considerations consistently trump cost and savings when sourcing certain types of suppliers.

Data reporting is the most significant standout, far outweighing cost and savings opportunities criteria when respondents choose partners in two supplier categories: travel management company and payment solution. Only 43 percent of respondents indicated that cost was among the company’s most important considerations when choosing a TMC. Savings opportunities were important to only 53 percent of respondents. Rather, more than 72 percent of survey respondents indicated that they looked for experienced TMCs that can provide their travel department with the data they need to make smart decisions about travel program tactics and strategies.

The payment category tells a similar story, with data reporting/compatibility outpacing cost considerations by about 21 percentage points. Nearly 53 percent of respondents indicated the importance of good data reporting when shopping for a payment solution. Convenience, often expressed in terms of the number of merchants where the card can be used, ran a distant second at about 39 percent, while cost and savings were less important to corporate travel professionals.

Product and service excellence proved an interesting criteria. It far outranked cost considerations for TMC partners with a gap of more than 20 percentage points. It narrowly outpaced cost by just 1.5 percentage points in the hotel category. In all other categories, it fell short of cost and savings considerations by a fair margin.

Download the full report for complete results:
AirPlus… The Wire July 2009 (PDF, 267 KB)

In the most recent survey conducted by AirPlus International, more than 190 travel professionals weighed in on their company’s current use of travel alternatives, from virtual conference technology to increased conference calls. While many companies have ancillary motives for offering technology solutions to reduce overall corporate travel – such as employee quality of life and CSR initiatives – the resounding message was that steep budget cuts are forcing travelers to find new modes of connecting to colleagues and clients.

When the economy began its dramatic decline in last quarter of 2008, the idea of demand management had already made headway in many corporate travel departments. An ACTE survey conducted in June 2008 indicated that corporations were already researching opportunities to reduce travel by offering technology alternatives. The current survey shows that many have implemented changes since then.

When asked to rate the rationale behind their travel alternative strategies, more than 63 percent cited budget cuts. Nearly 44 percent indicated that increased travel costs were their most pressing concern. Only slightly more than 9 percent of respondents submitted employee quality of life as their top rationale for the change. In addition, corporate social responsibility – i.e. the effort to reduce the company’s carbon footprint—was cited by more than 22 percent as “urgent.”

The ultimate question, of course, is how effective virtual travel is when compared to actual face-to-face meetings, and the jury may still be out on this issue. Only about 6 percent of respondents characterized virtual travel as “almost always” as effective as meeting in person. And almost 4 times that, at nearly 25 percent of respondents wrote off travel alternatives as rarely or almost never as effective as face-to-face meetings. Over half at 67.4 percent stated only “sometimes.” This could depend on the priority status of a meeting. It may be higher priority if it’s a new business contact or where necessary to finalize a contract. Whereas video conferencing might be an alternative for meetings internally or with well-established partners. However, as the data clearly shows, these are not overall substitutes for face-to-face contact. Business travel is still relevant even in today’s economic climate.

How well the technology enables corporations to forward their business relationships, while cutting costs today, will determine its long-term viability. Ultimately, it’s the economics.

For more results, click here:

AirPlus…The Wire June 2009 (PDF, 225KB)

Additional Resource:

Autodesk Pulling Demand Management Levers to Optimize Global Travel Program