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.
- 1 Table of contents
- 2 Respondent profile
- 3 TRAVEL POLICY OVERVIEW
- 4 Travel program priorities
- 5 Travel policy
- 6 Travel policy overview
- 7 Travel policy length
- 8 Travel policy themes
- 9 Traveler parameters
- 10 Stakeholders
- 11 Travel policy priorities
- 12 Travel policy challenges
- 13 Regional challenges
- 14 Impact of policy on talent
- 15 TRAVEL POLICY REGULATIONS
- 16 Effectiveness of travel policy
- 17 Enforcing travel policy
- 18 Mandated policy elements
- 19 Business class rules
- 20 In-policy air ancillaries
- 21 In-policy hotel ancillaries
- 22 Cost-control measures
- 23 TRAVEL POLICY UPDATES AND COMMUNICATION
- 24 Frequency of policy updates
- 25 Last policy update
- 26 Communication channels
- 27 The effectiveness of communication
- 28 Trends shaping travel policy
Table of contents
Respondent profile
![Respondent profile](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/respondent-1.jpg)
![Geography](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/geography.jpg)
TRAVEL POLICY OVERVIEW
Travel program priorities
![Travel program priorities](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/travel-program-priorities-1024x480.jpg)
![travel program priorities benchmark](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/travel-program-priorities-benchmark-1024x573.jpg)
Travel policy
95% of travel buyers say their company has a published travel policy, which is often combined with expense regulations.
![Availability of travel policy](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Availability-of-TP.jpg)
![combined te policy](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/combined-te-policy.jpg)
Travel policy overview
While most policies are cost-focused, few are based on KPIs and traveler feedback.
![Travel policy overview](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Travel-policy-overview.jpg)
Travel policy length
Over three-quarters of travel policies are under 20 pages long.
![Policy length](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Policy-length.jpg)
![Travel Policy](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/bild-3.jpg)
Travel policy themes
Around two-thirds of policies include trip purpose and pre-trip approval, followed by virtual meetings and traveler wellbeing.
![travel policy themes](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/travel-policy-themes.jpg)
Traveler parameters
Companies may have dedicated travel policies for senior employees, teams from specific business units and frequent travelers.
![travel parameters](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/travel-parameters-1024x684.jpg)
Stakeholders
In addition to travel management, Finance, HR and Procurement are typically involved in creating and updating travel policy.
![bild 4](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/bild-4.jpg)
![stakeholders](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/stakeholders.jpg)
Travel policy priorities
Educating travelers is the top priority of travel buyers when it comes to managing travel policies: Over half agree.
![travel policies priorities](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/travel-policies-priorities.jpg)
Travel policy challenges
Among the top-three challenges, buyers mention traveler education, working with policy exceptions and managing travel policy across regions.
![travel policies challenges](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/travel-policies-challenges.jpg)
Regional challenges
Local laws and regulations prove to be a major complexity when it comes to managing policies across regions.
![Regional challenges](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/bild-5.jpg)
![Regional challenges - Local laws and regulations](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/regional-challenges.jpg)
Impact of policy on talent
According to three out of 10 travel buyers, travel policy has a positive impact on attracting and retaining talent.
![Impact of policy on talent](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Impact-on-talent.jpg)
![Impact of policy](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/pic-6.jpg)
TRAVEL POLICY REGULATIONS
![bild 8](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/bild-8.jpg)
Effectiveness of travel policy
Two-thirds of travel buyers consider their travel policy to be extremely or very effective.
![Effectiveness](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Effectiveness.jpg)
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.
![Enforcing travel policy](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Enforcing-travel-policy.jpg)
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.
![Mandated policy elements](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Mandated-policy-elements-1024x472.jpg)
![Business class](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/bild-7.jpg)
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.
![Business class rules](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Business-class-rules.jpg)
![Prohibited travel suppliers](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Prohibited-suppliers.jpg)
![plane](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/plane.jpg)
In-policy air ancillaries
Travel policies rarely include airline priority boarding,
lounge access or class upgrades.
![In policy air ancil 2](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/In-policy-air-ancil-2.jpg)
In-policy hotel ancillaries
Among in-policy hotel ancillaries, Wi-Fi charges are covered most often, while room upgrades aren’t included.
![In-policy hotel ancillaries](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/In-policy-hotel-ancil.jpg)
![In-policy hotel ancillaries](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/bild-10.jpg)
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.
![Cost-control measures](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/cost-control-measures.jpg)
![Recent travel budget reduction](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/recent-travel-budget-reduction.jpg)
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.
![Frequency of policy updates](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/frequency-ploicy-updates.jpg)
Last policy update
Two-thirds of travel buyers have recently revised their policy.
![last policy update](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/last-policy-update.jpg)
Communication channels
Intranet is the primary instrument for communicating policy updates to company employees: Three-quarters use this method, followed by half using email.
![Communication channels](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/communication-channels.jpg)
The effectiveness of communication
Buyers’ views are split over the effectiveness of travel policy communication.
![Effectiveness 1](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/Effectiveness-1.jpg)
Trends shaping travel policy
Sustainability and duty of care are expected to keep shaping travel policies in the near future.
![trends shaping travel policy](https://www.bcdtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/trends-shaping-travel-policy.jpg)
The post Travel Buyer Survey: Travel Policy first appeared on BCD Travel.