A new study conducted by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), in collaboration with Roomex, a professional travel group, revealed the state of business and project travel in 2022. The findings of the study, completed by more than 100 Travel Managers in the U. Canada between March 29 and April 15, 2022, showed the growth of post-COVID business mobility and the ways in which leading companies use the mobility of their employees.
Demonstrating the resumption of employee travel post-COVID, the survey found that one-third of businesses have significant overnight stays, with between 25% -100% of employees staying overnight at least once a week. Sixty-six percent said between 1% -24% of their employees stay overnight somewhere at least once a week, with only 1% saying they are currently homeless.
A third of the companies surveyed said the average number of room nights booked per month exceeded 500, with 13% booking between 200 – 500 and 18% booking 100 – 200 room nights per month. Project-based travel is the most common, with 39% of businesses saying their organization does “a lot” of project travel.
Rising costs featured prominently in the survey, with the cost of housing accounting for 82% of travel managers’ responses when asked: “What is most important when managing corporate travel?” Seventy-nine percent of respondents termed visibility and reporting as important, while 57% indicated the importance of safety/security work. Only 32% indicated the price of airline tickets.
Compliance has led the poll in bankruptcy matters, with 60% of travel officials admitting that making their employees comply with travel law is a challenge facing their organization at present. Fifty-one percent noted that passenger satisfaction is also an issue, highlighting the importance of maintaining strong employee relationships in the new COVID-19 environment. Keeping all business travelers (38%), keeping track of travel costs/budgets (30%) and inadequate housing types (17%) were also ranked among the challenges facing travel managers in 2022.
“It is clear from the research that while workforce travel has returned for most businesses, the challenges facing travel managers and finance teams have changed. Rising costs and a renewed focus on traveler satisfaction mean that travel managers need a flexible, efficient, and innovative solution to keep up with their organization’s travel requirements. Roomex solves this problem and enables every travel manager to take that extra coffee break, safe in the knowledge that they’ve got the best rate and their travelers will be happy.”
-Garry Moroney, CEO of Roomex
GBTA Research Director Christopher Ely said: “Through our GBTA research, we’ve seen the challenges facing tour operators continue to evolve. This data on program-based trips and overnight stays provides insight into what tour operators are thinking about their employees and businesses now, and how they’re changing because of the pandemic and other things.” generate ideas.
Hear Roomex Sales Manager Darin Peterson and GBTA Research Director Christopher Ely discuss the research findings again on GBTA’s “Business of Travel” podcast.
About Roomex
Roomex is an all-in-one travel and payment platform designed for businesses with a mobile workforce. Roomex helps you book, manage, pay and review all accommodation, train, and travel expenses in one place – saving you both time and money. Founded in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Boston, London, and Munich, Roomex’s mission is to make employee mobility and management as seamless and cost-effective as possible. Roomex is a pioneer in seamless travel booking with two nominations for accommodation innovation and payment innovation at the 2022 Business Travel Awards Europe.
About GBTA
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is an international business travel association and trade association based in Washington, D.C. The area operates on six continents. GBTA members generate more than $345 billion in international business travel and spending annually. GBTA provides world-class education, events, research, support, and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 operators.
