This survey explores modern corporate travel policies and looks at the policy changes happening under the influence of travel buyers’ shifting priorities and the new trends shaping business travel.
The results are based on an online survey of 211 travel buyers conducted from April 3-17, 2024.
Table of contents
Respondent profile
TRAVEL POLICY OVERVIEW
Travel program priorities
Travel policy
95% of travel buyers say their company has a published travel policy, which is often combined with expense regulations.
Travel policy overview
While most policies are cost-focused, few are based on KPIs and traveler feedback.
Travel policy length
Over three-quarters of travel policies are under 20 pages long.
Travel policy themes
Around two-thirds of policies include trip purpose and pre-trip approval, followed by virtual meetings and traveler wellbeing.
Traveler parameters
Companies may have dedicated travel policies for senior employees, teams from specific business units and frequent travelers.
Stakeholders
In addition to travel management, Finance, HR and Procurement are typically involved in creating and updating travel policy.
Travel policy priorities
Educating travelers is the top priority of travel buyers when it comes to managing travel policies: Over half agree.
Travel policy challenges
Among the top-three challenges, buyers mention traveler education, working with policy exceptions and managing travel policy across regions.
Regional challenges
Local laws and regulations prove to be a major complexity when it comes to managing policies across regions.
Impact of policy on talent
According to three out of 10 travel buyers, travel policy has a positive impact on attracting and retaining talent.
TRAVEL POLICY REGULATIONS
Effectiveness of travel policy
Two-thirds of travel buyers consider their travel policy to be extremely or very effective.
Enforcing travel policy
Most employers enforce travel policy applying rules in online booking tools, improving traveler communication or managing travel expenses. Rewarding compliant behavior isn’t common.
Mandated policy elements
Among the travel policy elements, air class is mandated most frequently: Nine in 10 travel buyers say so. Over half mandate use of corporate cards, car rental class and meal allowance.
Business class rules
Most travel policies factor in flight duration when defining the rules around traveling business class. On average, business class is allowed on flights over seven hours long.
In-policy air ancillaries
Travel policies rarely include airline priority boarding,
lounge access or class upgrades.
In-policy hotel ancillaries
Among in-policy hotel ancillaries, Wi-Fi charges are covered most often, while room upgrades aren’t included.
Cost-control measures
Six in 10 travel buyers say their company reduced its travel budget in the past few years, and 96% introduced cost-control policies, most popular aiming to reduce the travel volume.
TRAVEL POLICY UPDATES AND COMMUNICATION
Frequency of policy updates
Over half of buyers revise travel policy every couple of years or more often, while three in 10 do this when needed.
Last policy update
Two-thirds of travel buyers have recently revised their policy.
Communication channels
Intranet is the primary instrument for communicating policy updates to company employees: Three-quarters use this method, followed by half using email.
The effectiveness of communication
Buyers’ views are split over the effectiveness of travel policy communication.
Trends shaping travel policy
Sustainability and duty of care are expected to keep shaping travel policies in the near future.
