Business Travel

3 important lessons from the GBTA x FREENOW business travel report

Dec 5, 2023
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There’s been a lot of change in the world of business travel in recent years. Remote working, advancements in technology and pressures to meet sustainability targets are all factors that, combined, have meant that corporate travel looks quite different in a post-COVID world.

To better understand what this looks like in practice, FREENOW partnered with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) to produce a report based on a survey they ran with business travellers and travel managers across Europe. By comparing survey data collected in 2020 with 2023 data, the report reveals the most important current trends in business travel and what we can expect for the future.

You can download the full report here. But in the meantime, here are a few stand-out insights that businesses can take from the report.

Travel programs must keep up with transportation trends

As Europe strives towards its Net Zero targets, interest in micro-mobility options is high, but not all corporate travel programs support it yet. However, the survey did show that options like carsharing, eScooters and eBikes feature in more travel programs than they did pre-pandemic.

68% of business travel programmes now support carsharing, compared to 54% back in 2020 and 57% now include eBikes (only 44% did so in 2020). The biggest change, however, has been regarding eScooters, which feature in 58% of travel programs now, compared to just 42% before the pandemic. That’s a 16% growth in just three years.

But while these numbers show substantial growth, there are still a lot of businesses who don’t address micro-mobility options in their travel policies. If you compare these numbers with rental cars, which are supported by 99% of travel policies, it’s clear that there’s still some way to go.

As transportation trends change and cities introduce greener forms of city travel, it’s important that businesses regularly update and adapt their policies in line with these trends.

Companies could do more to encourage employees to travel greener

With the European commitment towards Net Zero targets by 2050, it’s unsurprising that 4 in 10 (38%) of travel managers who took part in the survey said their company’s focus on sustainability has increased since before the pandemic.

But while sustainability is high on travel managers’ priority list, the report revealed it’s less the case for business travellers. According to the survey, business travellers care more about comfort and cost-savings when it comes to choosing transportation on work trips than they do about sustainability. Travel managers, on the other hand, have sustainability targets to reach, so it’s their job to care about keeping company ground emissions low.

To address this disconnect between business travellers and managers, companies can update their travel policies to encourage employees to make greener choices, and also give them the tools to do so.

Businesses could be getting more out of ride-hailing apps

Something that’s clear from the report is that ride-hailing apps are just as deeply embedded into how employees travel for work as they do in their personal lives. In the survey, 77% of business travellers said they use these apps during work trips, and an equal 77% said they use them for personal trips.

But what’s really interesting to learn from the report is the increasing need for businesses to have more formal relationships with these apps to make the experience more streamlined for employees. For example, business travellers value ride-hailing app features that are only available with a formal partnership with a provider, like being able to automatically bill rides to a company account or export receipts to an expense platform.

56% of business travellers also said they use the same app profile for business and personal travel. This means they need to spend time separating business trips from personal ones when managing expenses. Having a formal partnership with a ride-hailing app where employees have a business-only travel profile would lead to much more effective and efficient use of these apps.

And as if that’s not enough, 57% also said they want their employer to have a formal relationship with a ride-hailing app (49% said they already do). So clearly, there’s lots of opportunity there for businesses to create a more streamlined experience for their employees through stronger relationships with mobility apps.

If you found any of these insights valuable, this is just scratching the surface. For a whole load of other insightful data on business travel trends and developments, download the full report here.

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