Corporate Travel Programs: Bringing Business Travelers Back In
Skift Take
Years ago, the leisure travel industry embraced web and mobile technologies—offering everything from great user experience, to ratings and reviews, to discounts on optional services. Corporate travel evolved at a slightly slower pace, and business travelers were left with what appeared to be significantly fewer choices. Now, that gradual development is picking up speed in the face of intensifying consumer expectations.
People traveling for business today often book their hotels online through a supplier website instead of using their company’s booking platform, perhaps unaware that the company booking platform provides carefully negotiated discounts at “preferred” hotels. Only 29% of travelers book hotels at the same time as air, and 50% of all business travel hotel/accommodation stays are booked outside the company’s hotel program. Why?
User experience and choice
Two big factors drive many business travelers to book out of policy: they want a more engaging user experience and they question whether approved booking channels will meet their needs.
For many years, the corporate travel industry faced significant barriers to meeting traveler expectations while consumer-facing online travel agencies built impressive user interfaces calculated to produce sales conve
