These figures also represent the significance that travel management is assigned in different organizations. In smaller companies, it is one of many administrative tasks of the responsible people, and full-time travel managers are the exception. In contrast, the situation in large companies: in view of the significantly larger volumes, providing travel support to an average of 351 staff members requires very different strategic skills, for example, when negotiating corporate rates, consistently analyzing costs or continuously controlling the contingencies used.

These findings are the results of the AirPlus International Travel Management Study 2009 that interviewed 1500 travel managers in 15 business-travel markets around the globe on trends, costs and the organization of business travel.

Lucy Wang, Country Manager China, AirPlus International

Welcome to the fifth edition of the AirPlus International Travel Management Study. Each year we survey 1,500 travel managers on the state of their corporate travel programs. The respondents are based in 15 countries and cover every continent, so it is arguably one of the most comprehensive and authoritative research into corporate travel on the planet.

We are glad, for the first time, we release the Chinese edition of the AirPlus International Travel Management Study in China this year. It shows our high attention on this booming business travel market. We do hope this Study can be of help for you to get insights for Chinese travel management industry trend.

We at AirPlus have learned a lot from the study too. Our big hope is that next year’s study will show travel resuming its long-term upward trajectory and that the improved professionalism in travel management so evident in this year’s results has become established as normal practice.

Download AirPlus International Travel Management Study 2009 PDF

Volker Huber

Travel managers have never been more sought-after for pushing through cost reductions than right now. However, they are often not sufficiently backed by their companies’ managements to play out the aces they have up their sleeves. 

Travel managers currently have many reasons to be content. For one reason, the global recession draws more attention to them than ever before.Now that companies need to economize, travel managers are able to modify travel guidelines faster, introduce corporate credit cards or put into practice other ideas for process optimization – processes which were not often taken seriously a while ago. According to the latest study conducted by the global Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), 62 % of all travel managers believe that the recession has caused their companies’ managements to be more open to suggestions with regard to increased travel-management effectiveness. Even though – thanks to clever travel management – travel managers momentarily have good opportunities to distinguish themselves as cost reducers, they often have to adhere to tight limits when it comes to their daily work. The reasons are manifold.

Cost pressures and budget cuts
For the AirPlus International Travel Management Study 2009, 1500 travel managers from 15 business-travel markets worldwide gave detailed information on the framework conditions of their daily balancing acts: increasing cost pressures due to budget cuts on the one hand, the responsibility to – despite the situation – create optimal framework conditions for travelers on the other hand.

Flexibility helps to tap savings potential
Enhanced flexibility could improve work quality, and, hence, increase the results of savings measures – this was another one of the study’s main results. Very often, this wish was expressed by small and medium-sized companies. Enhanced flexibility mainly refers to receiving the opportunity to purchase more services from airlines, hotels or rental-car companies at daily prices.

Support by top managements
More support by top managements to achieve their goals also made the travel managers’ wish list. Interestingly, 16 % of travel managers in large corporations expressed this wish, as compared to only six percent in medium-sized and four percent in small companies. The reason may be the larger number of hierarchy levels in large corporations that generally complicates direct relationships between CEOs and travel managers.

Furthermore, the travel managers were asked to define the degree of professionalism of travel management within their companies. It may hardly be surprising that positive evaluations of the travel managers’ own professionalism increased with the size of the travel budgets they administered. What is astounding, however, is that about one third of those interviewed estimated their own professionalism as being only “mediocre”; another 16 % classified themselves as “under average.” These responses may be the clearest reflection of the gap between the travel managers’ demands on their own work and the lack of possibilities they are given to put these demands into practice in their daily work routines.

Full-time travel managers are the exception
However, these rather self-conscious appraisals are linked with a very different kind of problem that inhibits many travel managers: the permanent battle against time. One out of every three travel managers said that he or she does not have sufficient time to do a really good job in accordance with his or her own understanding of the tasks. Particularly in small companies, travel managers complained about their lack of time for optimally supporting travelers. Some figures to compare: on average, travel managers in small companies are in charge of 31 travelers; in medium-sized companies, there are 101 to each travel manager and in large companies 351 travelers. However, this also means that the smaller the company, the more varied the tasks the travel manager has to cope with besides organizing travels. Full-time travel managers are rather the exception than the rule in small and medium-sized companies. Albeit, the question remains how much more money could be saved, if companies allocated more resources to their travel management teams.

Despite all the calls for more time, rights and attention by top managements, on an international average, 82 of the interviewees responded that their work is generally appreciated within their companies. If it is possible to strengthen this appreciation, companies will continuously profit from boosted travel management and more self-confident travel managers. This, at least, would be one bit of good news in the current situation.

Author: Volker Huber, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Solutions, AirPlus

Corporate travel managers have meetings on the radar in 2009, according to a recent survey of 148 corporate travel professionals conducted by AirPlus International. More than 52 percent of respondents indicated they were “very involved” or “involved” in planning or sourcing meetings, while slightly more than 33 percent said they assisted other departments in planning such activities.

The going may prove to be tough for a good portion of these individuals as their involvement in managing meetings is likely ad hoc . Compared to the 85 percent of corporate travel professionals who touch meetings, only about 35 percent of respondents said that their company enforced a meetings policy. In contrast, more than 60 percent revealed that either the meetings policy was not enforced (23.8 percent) or there was no policy at all (38.8 percent). These numbers are likely to change in the near future.

Recent outrage over extravagant meetings and incentive programs hosted by AIG and other U.S. companies that received government bailout funds has shoved an unlikely industry into the public perception hot seat. The backlash derailed legitimate meetings business throughout corporate America, delaying business decisions and further damaging the hospitality industry already reeling from the economic downturn. According to the AirPlus survey, more than 31 percent of companies cancelled at least a portion of their existing or planned meetings as a direct response to the public scrutiny. More than 20 percent have placed new restrictions on acceptable meeting locations.

In those companies moving toward meeting planning best practices, corporate travel professionals are likely to be tapped as an important resource. Their diverse backgrounds in policy and compliance, travel management tools, travel procurement strategies and data reporting will serve them well. While the challenges to meetings management can be significant, the 85 percent of corporate travel professionals already involved in meeting planning activities will be a step ahead of the game.

Download the full report for complete results:

AirPlus… The Wire August 2009 (PDF, 258 KB)

Additional Resources:

Meeting Pros Share Lessons On ROI
http://management.travel/news.php?cid=meetings-return-on-investment.Jul-09.30

What Is The Value Of Meetings? Industry Justifying Benefits
http://www.procurement.travel/news.php?cid=what-is-the-value-of-meetings.Mar-09.31

Marrying Travel And Meetings: Daiichi Sankyo’s Centralization Bears Fruit In Form Of 15 Percent Savings
http://www.procurement.travel/news.php?cid=Daiichi-Sankyo-travel-meetings.Jun-09.30

In Challenging Times, Practice Strategic Meetings Management: 10 Reasons To Capture And Leverage Your Spend Now
http://www.procurement.travel/news.php?cid=strategic-meetings-management.Jun-09.30

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)

Mattew Talbot

Make a change in your corporate culture; so that when the economy rebounds, your business will be poised for even stronger results!

Today, many companies have a travel policy that is more of a guideline than anything else. However,  the best in class companies mandate AND strictly enforce the travel policy. In the AirPlus Data Lab, where Travel Managers visit to learn how to best utilize their data we’ve found that the corporate travel managers who’ve clearly communicated their policies, and then backed them up with financial repercussions, are succeeding.
Examples of real policies include:

• Booking outside the designated Travel Agency - No reimbursement 
• Failure to use the required form of payment - No reimbursement
• Using a non-preferred partner - reimbursed at the partner’s equivalent rate
• Not submitting expense reports within one month of the trip - No reimbursement

Extreme?  Yes, these are extremely tough mandates, but they do influence behavior in the travel policy’s direction.   Maybe these are too strict for some but the point is the time is right now for Corporate Travel Managers to influence change, building even more credibility to their role within the company.

According to the current AirPlus International Travel Management Study, important trends and scenarios are emerging that will shape the future jobs of travel managers.

1500 travel managers from Europe, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa as well as China, Singapore and Australia were interviewed for the study. In general, they expect a clear expansion of their tasks in the areas of procurement, advertised bidding and climate protection. Over half of those surveyed believe that their responsibilities will come to include yet other areas; another 20% assume that this will be at least partially the case. In addition, two out of three travel managers expect that they will also assume the role of event manager.

Financing and controlling will continue to be among the most important travel management tasks. Over 80% of those questioned expect that their travel budgets will increasingly be examined based on a branch-by-branch or international level. At least as many (67%) expect a distinct or at least partial (16%) increase in the significance of financing. This is hardly surprising given the fact that almost 60% of all travel managers must adapt to expectations that their companies will be confronted with rising expenses for business travel in the future. Only every tenth of those questioned believes that costs will decrease. Climbing expenses will probably most clearly affect companies in South Africa, the Asia-Pacific area and the USA. 70 to 80% of travel managers in these countries expect rising budgets.

Flights are considered to be the primary ‘price boosters’. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed expect prices to rise (some even expect sharp rises). Another third assumes that expenses for flights will gradually settle down at current levels. Those questioned consider price booster number two to be hotels. Over half expect rising prices in this area, 40% expect them to remain the same and only 6% think prices will drop. In the expense segment ‘meetings and conventions’ and rental automobiles, some 30% of those surveyed anticipate their costs to rise in coming years.

Due to additional burdens on their budgets and added responsibilities, travel managers are also worried about the negative effects on their jobs. Even today, over 40% of travel managers feel clear pressure when they plan business travel; 60% can only devote a quarter of their work time to their actual responsibilities due to their additional tasks.

Read also: “The role of travel managers: All that glitters is not gold”.

Which news about travel managers do you want first – the good or the bad?

Let’s start with the good news: companies are appreciating their travel managers more and more. One out of every two of the 1,500 travel managers surveyed in the latest AirPlus International Travel Management Study believes that their position will gain importance in the coming years. The reasons for this positive development are clear: travel costs may be rising, but so is the number of business trips. At the same time, cost-cutting measures are being implemented and business trips handled more individually. Around 80% of the respondents expressed the opinion that they are so well regarded as travel managers because they have to accomplish this ‘squaring of the circle’.

But there is another side to this issue, because the study also showed, in addition to a generally positive assessment, alarming trends in travel management:

• 42% of travel managers feel time pressure when planning business trips
• 36% feel restricted in their work due to a lack of empowerment
• 60% spend only a quarter of their working time on their actual tasks due to other responsibilities

Negative opinions such as these explain why most of the respondents are so disappointed that their guidelines receive so little consideration. ‘Good’ and effective travel management can only work when those responsible also have the freedom to waive guidelines and also enforce sanctions when they are broken. That is why 80% of all respondents wish they either had more time or more sanctioning abilities. A third of them are even asking for both.

A further problem is becoming even more urgent, according to the respondents: it is becoming more and more difficult, mostly because of cost reasons, to cater to the individual needs of business travelers – although it’s also becoming more and more important. That’s why over 80% of travel managers hope for more intensive and coordinated collaboration with the finance department.

Travel managers are split beings. That at least is the impression you could get from reading the results of a study about the assumptions and expectations for the upcoming year: they have to give highest priority to costs savings, and yet a quarter of travel managers have no specific policy in the areas of flights, overnights, rental cars or train travel – although that is a significant condition needed to achieve lasting cost reductions.

But that’s not all: according to the study, 7 percent of companies have withdrawn their travel policies altogether. Particularly companies in Italy, Spain and Brazil are showing ever less interest in travel guidelines.

Another example: on the one hand, almost two-thirds of all travel managers assume that further savings potentials can be found and utilized in the areas of plane travel and overnight stays. But this positive message is tempered by the fact that travel managers, particularly in the USA and European countries, have to cope with a reduction of savings potential associated with their individual contracts with key service providers. Where travel managers a year ago could expect an 18% savings through contractual agreements with airlines compared to regular prices, in reality it has turned out to be only 16%. Even companies with high amounts of travel could not save more than 20%.

Most contracts with travel service providers are made in the area of overnight stays: two-thirds of all respondents had negotiated special deals in this area. Half of all companies had made a contract in the areas of rental cards and flights. Almost 40% have agreements with meeting or convention centers and 16% with rail services.

Travel managers will have to take on even more duties and responsibilities in 2009 than they have in 2008. In addition to applicable methods to increase savings, individual support given to business travelers will become ever more important, especially in western European countries. On a scale from one to five (very important to not particularly important), the support of travelers had the second-highest priority, with an average of 3.1 (reducing travel costs had 1.8). Next comes the optimization of internal processes (3.2), the introduction of travel policy guidelines (3.3), and reporting on costs for management (3.5).

1,500 travel managers from Europe, the USA, Mexico and Brazil, South Africa as well as China, Singapore and Australia were surveyed for the latest AirPlus International Travel Management Study.

Quelle: AirPlus International Travel Management Study 2008