The Challenges of Modern Business Travel (and How to Solve Them)

It goes without saying that business travel is huge – and it is always growing. Last year alone, spending on global business travel activity totaled $1.33 trillion. Not only that, but corporate travel is also changing as fast as it’s growing. According to a recent GBTA report, travel managers say they’re now spending as much as 66% more time focusing on areas such as data analysis and reporting, evaluating or implementing new technology, and traveler safety.
And this ends up being the biggest challenge for businesses with managed travel: traditional travel solutions can’t keep up with all of the modern travel demands. As travel becomes more complex and the options for booking become more diverse and decentralized, capturing all that information becomes more difficult than it’s ever been before.
There has to be a better way to manage your business travel than the disconnected third-party systems you’ve been using – and now there is.
 

Bigger challenges mean greater opportunities

The multiple ways that people can now book flights, hotels, and cars has made their lives so much easier. That’s great news, but the consequence is that your employees want three main things from their travel: the flexibility to book how they want, better accessibility through mobile devices and popular apps, and greater security while they’re on the road.
But how do you balance those against tax regulations, reporting requirements, and other restrictions? The effective balance of all of these different necessities reveals the opportunity that this challenge presents: Every aspect of your unique travel ecosystem must be linked and sharing data in near-real time.
With a truly future-proof travel management solution, you can:

• Connect all the facets of your travel spending by bringing together data from suppliers, corporate card providers, and your ERP or accounting systems to your GDS and TMC partners.
• Capture itineraries, no matter where travel is booked and keep them all in one place and up to date.
• Give your travelers more choices while taking advantage of negotiated and published rates and fares.
• Reach your people wherever they are, with accurate data on employee locations and risk levels and two-way communication.

And much more. By enhancing your current solution to connect all employee expenses and travel expenses, you get the control you need while giving your travelers more choices – all while fortifying your business for the new world of travel.