A 40-point chasm separates business travelers who say
they prefer to book all travel through one platform and those who actually book
on a central or corporate booking tool.
A study from travel and expense management provider KDS
found 74% prefer a single channel, but only 34% followed through. That's fewer
than the 37% who have booked corporate travel through supplier websites.
The discrepancy suggests that while travelers crave a
single platform, they want that platform to be quality. "In order to drive
compliance and adoption [of corporate booking tools], companies need to make
sure the platform they are providing to employees offers at least the same
convenience, user experience and choice of options that consumer-based services
do," according to the report.
KDS surveyed 1,216 U.K. and U.S. business professionals
in March. For those who booked directly with suppliers, 49% said convenience
was a factor. About one-third cited a wider choice of travel content, and 14%
named lower costs.
Almost half of those who booked policy-compliant business
trips spent five to 20 minutes researching and booking each business trip,
whether that's a flight and hotel or train and hotel. More than a third spent
20 minutes to one hour, and 8% spent longer.
The survey also found that 45% used an expense management
tool, but a similar number, 41%, used spreadsheets. Of those, 47% spent 30 to
60 minutes per expense report, and 18% spent as much as two hours.
On the road, three-quarters of travelers kept receipts in
one place like a wallet or envelope, 11% scanned or logged them online
throughout the trip and 15%, ending up with receipts in multiple places.
Twenty-two percent rounded up between one and 10 miles
for mileage reimbursement, and 24% inflate taxi receipts.
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Source: Business Travel News