Road Warrior Rules

Road warriors are a different breed. They tend to like the travel. Some feel energized by it. Others say it makes them feel important. Successful road warriors said the people they travel to see enrich their lives and work experiences.

The most senior road warrior among the 30 BTN interviewed for this issue has logged 25 or more trips every year for nearly four decades, including the 20 years in his current position as a media executive. "People who have been with [the company] a long time have become friends. Our clients have become my friends. Traveling for work [is] an opportunity to see the people I really care about," he said. A journalist said, "If I'm out of the office, I'm learning something; [I'm] in contact with people I normally wouldn't meet. … It gets me outside the echo chamber and really allows us to respond to what motivates people, what drives them." And a nurse practitioner who is "lucky to be home one week a month" thrives on the opportunity to "do something different with different people every week."

The work behind going on a trip, though, is a different story. A few of the pain points frequent travelers highlighted: shopping, booking, pre-approvals, standing in lines, trip disruptions and safety and security compliance. That said, road warriors have different priorities from other travelers when it comes to travel logistics and processes. Their No. 1 priority is staying connected on the road, a priority they say their companies have trouble addressing effectively, according to BTN's Traveler Happiness survey. Connectivity is followed closely by on-trip convenience like flight times and hotel locations and the power to make quick and confident travel spend decisions while on the road. "When I'm traveling for business, I'm definitely going to stay in a corporate hotel chain where I know there'll be a certain level of service and working Internet. I just want the least risky option," said a Washington, D.C.-based environmental attorney who logs 25 trips a year.

BTN also spoke with a New York-based investment bank director who traveled upward of 30 times annually, though she has cut back to about 15 trips as she gained seniority. "I just won't go to a city unless there is a Ritz-Carlton or a Four Seasons or a Langham. I also like a W on the lower end, but that's about as low as I can go," she said. "My work can be very intensive, and I need to know that I'm coming back to a place where I don't have to worry about other things."

A New York-based private investment firm director who commutes weekly across the country said his company goes to great lengths to keep him connected, comfortable and agile. That means five-star hotels and business and first class airline cabins. He enjoys the highest status on all domestic airlines so he can access lounges, whisk through security and have a rental car waiting for him at the terminal. "It's revenue above all else, in terms of our travel policy," he said. "Even more than when I was working at one of the big consulting firms, there's a lot of volatility in my travel pattern now; there was a stretch when I visited 10 cities in seven days or something like that, so we need the access, and my company values the flexibility at almost any cost."

Brokering Travel Experience

Not every company can afford the flexibility and services that come with full-fare first class travel on most trips, but few road warriors hesitated to pay for a flight change in order to get home earlier. They also find ways to approximate first class experiences, namely direct relationships with suppliers. "Loyalty has its rewards," assured the media executive. "I've continued to get the best rates possible, sometimes better than our agency can get, and I get benefits from the suppliers. They will make a seat available to me that may not have been on their website or a hotel will make a room available when they say they are sold out, or I get an upgraded car."

Loyalty programs also can benefit road warriors' personal travel. "If I'm paying for personal travel, I'm doing it wrong" was one frequent traveler's version of that theme. Some travel managers help road warriors game the points systems but stay within policy with preferred suppliers. It's an innovative engagement tactic, particularly for this type of traveler. Salesforce and other companies leverage social media feeds to allow preferred suppliers to market specific deals directly to travelers to pique their interest, and Microsoft does so through its Tripism platform.

Road warriors also use suppliers' apps to skip certain processes like printing boarding passes or checking in at hotels. BTN's survey showed that this is a particular pain point—and one that companies haven't solved to road warriors' satisfaction. More hotels have implemented smartphone-enabled keyless entry, which supports a line-free travel experience. "I avoid the counter or front desk whenever possible," said the media executive, who also inputs special requests through his hotel apps before he arrives so he can have a more personalized and expeditious experience.

It practically goes without saying that programs like TSA Precheck and Global Entry are de rigueur for road warriors. The investment banker's company sponsored a registration event at headquarters, and while travelers paid for their own registrations, the event was well received.

Opportunity: Travel Tech

Travel arrangers book at least part of the trip on behalf of half the road warriors BTN interviewed. The others go it alone with online booking tools through Concur, American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel or BCD Travel. Few sang their tools' praises. Attitudes ranged from acceptance—"I know how to kind of enter my parameters in such a way that I usually can find the flights and the hotels that I need"—to resignation—"I'm just used to it"—to humorous dissatisfaction, referring to the system as "that beast." One with a travel arranger said, "I know my assistant hates it because it crashes all the time."

Shopping and booking tools, though, aren't the most important issue for road warriors. Quality booking tools ranked sixth most important among the 23 trip factors on the survey. That said, the survey also showed this as an area of opportunity to engage road warriors, with a wide gap between how important these tools are to heavy travelers and how well companies are delivering technologies that meet their needs.

Nearly all travelers searched for flights or hotels outside their preferred booking tools. Their reasons ranged from content to usability, i.e., "not very user friendly." Others rarely use their companies' preferred systems..

Road warriors wanted more from travel apps, as well, particularly amid travel disruptions and itinerary changes. "I actually don't think [travel] technology has come as far as I'd like It to," said one HR executive who spends 90 percent of his work life on the road. "It always seems that if you have a canceled flight, they don't tell you until you're at the airport. The industry can do a better job." Smaller technology players like Flightsayer and Freebird appear to have effective offerings, but their adoption numbers are small among corporate travel programs.

While there remains a gap in delivering intuitive expense technologies, according to BTN's survey, road warriors and travelers of all frequencies note an improvement as their companies adopt more automated solutions. Now, receipt policies seem to be the major pain point. One big opportunity BTN has learned: Companies that forego receipts for expenses of less than $50 or $75 gain significant goodwill from their travelers.

Traveler Perceptions on a Scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (good)