About 66 percent of travel and procurement managers expect
their companies will be less likely than before the pandemic to allow travelers
to book directly with suppliers, according to a recent survey conducted by the
Global Business Travel Association.
The GBTA survey was conducted from August 5 to August 8 with
approximately 440 travel manager and travel procurement manager respondents
globally.
Similar to the percent of respondents who said their
companies will place more restrictions on direct supplier bookings, nearly
two-thirds (65 percent) said the same restriction will apply to online travel
agencies, like Expedia or Booking.com.
That shift may also be reflected in buyers' attitudes toward
off-channel booking capture. Forty-five percent said their inclinations toward
those tools had not changed, while 25 percent said they were less likely to
adopt such tools, instead, favoring a stronger push for compliance through
preferred channels, rather than sweeping up off-channel data. That said, 14
percent of respondents said they were more likely than before the pandemic to
implement such tools. The prevailing argument on that side, according to buyers
who have spoken to BTN, is that all bookings need to be supported by duty of
care—no matter how the data enters the system.
In addition to more vigilance around preventing off-channel
bookings, travel and procurement managers are stepping up policies and
processes to ensure the duty of care for employees actively traveling.
More than half have added new rules about pre-trip approval
and 35 percent now have more frequent or detailed pre-trip communications or
briefings. Twenty percent who didn't mandate the booking channel previously
have now done so. Nearly a quarter are collecting health information from their
travelers (e.g. about potential virus exposure or preexisting conditions).
Twenty-two percent have clarified or changed rules about ticket credits/unused
tickets, and 20 percent have allowed more rental car usage.
Regarding what can be booked, companies may hew more sharply
toward known, negotiated product to ensure traveler safety. For example, 40
percent said their programs would be less likely to allow travelers to book
"restricted" airfares or hotel rates—i.e. those that have restrictive
terms and conditions, like basic economy or prepaid, nonrefundable hotel rooms.
Forty-seven percent said that option would be unchanged. For many travel
programs, however, those options were already discouraged.
Asked how company employees will react to traveling for
business during the first six months after restrictions are lifted, half said
some of their travelers would be willing to travel again. Slightly more than a
fifth said most employees would be willing, another fifth said only a few
employees would be willing to travel. Only 1 percent said most employees will
be unwilling to travel and 10 percent didn’t know.
Travel Suspension
In addition to travel and procurement managers, GBTA included suppliers, travel management company representatives and "other" respondents in the overall survey, for a total of 827 respondents. About 85 percent of all the survey respondents have said
coronavirus has caused their companies to cancel all or most travel. For
international travel, 93 percent continue to restrict all or most trips. For
domestic travel, 84 percent continue to restrict all or most trips.
Respondents who said their companies continue to ban all or
most business travel also were asked their position on resuming travel. About
47 percent said their companies have considered resuming travel in the "near
future" but do not have definite plans; 24 percent have said they do not
plan to resume travel in the near future.
The same respondents were asked which of their usual routes
had been most negatively impacted by the coronavirus. The vast majority cited
several markets in Asia. They were also asked which routes were most likely to
resume in the "near future." Forty-two percent cited the U.S.,
followed Europe at 38 percent—despite reports of spread in the U.S. and
outbreak clusters in the EU. Asia again was singled out as the last region to
which respondent companies would resume travel, despite reports of broad
control over virus outbreaks there.
These figures would be highly influenced by the organization's
home country and the status of current travel restrictions. Therefore, survey
demographics could skew these percentages. GBTA did not provide a breakdown of
respondents by country or region.
Business Travel Recovery Is Expected to Stay Slow
About 78 percent of all respondents said business travel is
resuming more slowly than they had initially expected after Covid-19 was
declared a pandemic in March. Eighteen percent said business travel has resumed
about as quickly as they expected; 4 percent said it has resumed more quickly.
Asked how they thought business trip volume would change in
the next three years if a vaccine or other public health measures greatly
reduced the risk from Covid-19, about 42 percent of respondents predicted business
trip volume will return to pre-pandemic levels within the next three years. Thirty-nine
percent predicted business travel would not recover to pre-pandemic levels in
that time, even with a vaccine.