The Tools Corporate Travelers Really Need — Corporate Travel Innovation Report

The Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report is our new weekly newsletter focused on the future of corporate travel, the big fault lines of disruption for travel managers and buyers, the innovations emerging from the sector, and the changing business traveler habits that are upending how corporate travel is packaged, bought and sold.

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The Future of Corporate + Business Travel

Skift’s look at new data on how corporate travelers book and expense trips posed a few ideas on how online booking tools and expense technology are not only wanted by travelers, but necessary.

More than two-in-three business travelers still keep physical receipts, without uploading them to a digital expense service while on the road, according to data from KDS. Just 28 percent said they use an online booking tool to purchase corporate travel that automatically limits spending to company policy.

At the same time, 78 percent said they wished they could book all their business travel through a single online booking tool.

Another new report from Travel & Transport shows that while 34 percent of business travelers would stay at an Airbnb property on their next trip, just 18 percent of companies allow travelers to expense Airbnb stays.

The truth is that you don’t even need data to see how corporate travel management booking tools can do a better job meeting the needs of business travelers.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

Social Quote of the Day

Travel managers are shifting #biztravel programs’ focus from “getting a good deal” to enhancing traveler experience. http://bit.ly/trvlexp — @AmexGBT

Business of Buying

Hotel Brands Quietly Give Travel Agents Access to Preferred Lower Rates: Hotels are beginning to leverage the power of travel agent partners in their conflict with online booking sites. Read more at Skift

4 Charts on the Reality of Expenses in U.S. and UK Corporate Travel: Corporate travel managers are doing a good job communicating travel policy to employees, but those same employees still aren’t using online solutions to track expenses while traveling. Read more at Skift

Elections Around the World Are Hurting Travel, Says Travelport CEO: Every four years, travel bookings slow as election season heats up in the U.S. 2016 is shaping up to be no different. Read more at Skift

Security + Safety

Mobile Tech Is Leading to a Resurgence of Private Jets in Biz Travel: New services are connecting private jet providers with corporate travelers in more flexible, and affordable, ways. Read more at Business Travel News

Uber, Lyft Suspend Service in Austin: After refusing calls from the city government to fingerprint drivers and provide better screening of drivers, both Uber and Lyft are no longer operating in Texas’ tech hub. Read more at Austin American-Statesman

Disruption + Innovation

The Manifesto for a New Generation of Meetings and Conventions: The meetings industry doesn’t really have a cohesive vision moving forward. All of the individual pieces are there, so we designed a framework to bring everything together in a succinct unifying theory. Read more at Skift

Zipcar Continues Expansion as Avis Budget Group Fights Reduced U.S. Car Rental Demand: Avis Budget Group’s rental business in the U.S. was unexpectedly weak in early 2016. The good news is that a European car rental resurgence seems to be in the offing for the company. Read more at Skift

Lola’s Booking Experiment Mixing Artificial Intelligence and Travel Agents Is Live: Lola wants to use mobile messaging, and an artificial intelligence system that learns traveler preferences, to reinvent how consumers book travel using a travel agent. Everyone else wants to cut travel agents out. Lola wants to deal them in. Read more at Skift

Comments

The Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report is curated by Skift editors Hannah Sampson [hs@skift.com] and Andrew Sheivachman [as@skift.com]. The newsletter is emailed every Thursday.

Subscribe to Skift’s Free Corporate Travel Innovation Report