A corporate travel management company looked at traveller behaviour, booking patterns, airfares and popular destinations for an indication of what the top business travel destinations are.
For example, booking behaviour has very much remained on par with 2022.
“Businesses are booking on average 15 days before travelling. What has changed, however, is the top 5 international and regional business destinations and the airfares to get to these destinations,” Smith says.
London, UK
It comes as no surprise that London is a popular destination for South African business travellers and will remain so for 2023.
In addition, Smith says Heathrow is one of the top international airports for corporate traffic originating from South Africa with many South African businesses having headquarters in the UK or being listed on the London Stock Exchange. “We are therefore not surprised to see London in top position once again this year,” says Smith.
Dubai
There has been an increase in the interest rate, hence Emirates boosted the number of flights to South Africa. From March onward, the total frequency of Emirates flights into South Africa will be 42 weekly flights.
However, the cost of an economy class ticket has increased by 53% in 2023 in comparison with 2022.
Inbound tourism to Dubai flourished in 2022, with the hotels seeing 15-year occupancy highs, according to KPMG. The UAE now hosts one of the richest hospitality markets in the world; with an expected 25% growth in the industry by 2030 and 40 million new visitors staying at hotels in Dubai by 2031.
Paris and Mauritius
Coming in hot on the third spot is Amsterdam and Mauritius: “With conferences and events picking up, it is not surprising to see Paris, Amsterdam and Mauritius in the top 5,” explains Smith.
Additionally, Airfares to Paris are currently affordable and have decreased by 14% as compared to 2022, whereas, economy class fares to Amsterdam have increased by 45% and fares to Mauritius by 24%.
Entebbe/Kampal, Uganda
According to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Uganda has been identified as an anchor state for South Africa, particularly given its geopolitical position within the East African region. Airfares to Entebbe increased by 18% compared to 2022.
Nairobi, Kenya
In the second most popular destination for South African business travellers with airfares having only increased slightly by 5%.
According to Smith, Nairobi was named Africa’s leading business travel destination at the World Travel Awards in 2022. ‘’What’s more, is that leaders of Kenya and South Africa have been actively collaborating in the past few weeks to address any trade barriers,” says Smith.
Antananarivo, Madagascar
Madagascar takes the third spot; with restrictions being lifted, South Africans can once again enjoy regular scheduled services to Madagascar.
Smith adds that South Africa has always been an important source market and supply-chain link for Madagascar’s business and leisure tourism sector; with Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport being a key factor as it is well-positioned for Madagascar-based businesses and travellers to access destinations within Southern Africa.
While travelling for business can be exciting and fun, there are also many challenges. For example, if you frequently travel to different time zones, you know what it feels like to have jet lag. Feeling tired and having trouble sleeping are typical symptoms of a temporary disruption of your body clock.
Even if you are a seasoned traveller working with a corporate travel company, it is highly likely that you will suffer from the unfortunate consequences of air travel. Businesses can sometimes reduce the necessity for some travel by relying on online meeting tools. However, there will still be many times when travelling to a client site or for a business meeting is required to achieve your business goals. So, what can you do to reduce the fatigue often associated with business travel?
Make Sure Your Technology Needs Are Met
If you are visiting a client site to deliver a business presentation, let your IT department know what you will need for it to go smoothly. Before booking your hotel, make sure they have in-room Wi-Fi so you can check your emails, practice your presentation, and keep up with any other work you need while away. Some hotels even have a business center with additional equipment such as printers and desktops.
Hire a Limo Service
There is no doubt that travelling to the airport can be stressful. Feeling stressed before your flight takes off is not a great way to start a business trip. Rather than driving yourself, renting a cab, or taking a bus, why not hire a limo service? To make things even easier, you can arrange to have a limo pick you up when you arrive. This prearrangement will alleviate the stress of flagging down a cab or a rideshare service at your new destination.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
When travelling, your body is already trying to adjust to a new place and possibly a new time zone, so you want to be prepared as possible when it comes to sleep. Some steps you can take to help ensure a better sleep while away from home:
Not getting enough or quality sleep will make it difficult for you to concentrate and can affect your job performance.
Mix Business With Pleasure
While you’re in a new city, take some time for yourself to do things you enjoy. Try to block out time in your itinerary to explore interesting places. If your trip is on the shorter side, patronise some local restaurants to get a feel for the city.
Use your business trip to embrace some time away from your regular routine – ask your corporate travel company agent to work this into your travel plans. While some aspects of travel may be a hassle, planning ahead can truly make a difference. Treat yourself to new experiences and enjoy this time out of the office. Even if you’re still working, at least you have a different view!
Picture this…You are new to a job, climbing the corporate ladder and doing great…So great in fact, that your manager has asked you to travel for work on a business trip. This is an exciting opportunity that provides exposure and responsibility, but also some things you might not have considered when you agreed to go.
With over half of the U.S. workforce travelling for business each year, what was once only something executives took part in is quickly becoming a norm among all employees, even fresh graduates.
In anticipation of your travel, here are three common pitfalls to look out for and ways to prevent them from happening to you.
1. Don’t let your sex drive ruin your career.
Getting out of the house and away may be exhilarating, but watch out because many people take things further than business during a business trip. A recent study revealed that nearly 1 in 5 people have visited a strip club on a work trip, while 23% of people also admit to having witnessed a co-worker cheating on their significant other during work travel.
I don’t mean to be the fun police over here! In fact, I encourage you to enjoy your opportunity to travel for work. But with co-workers and managers likely present, it would be wise to keep illicit activity at bay during work travel. Don’t forget the first reason you are traveling– your career.
To make sure you walk away from the trip feeling great, ditch the cocktails after happy hour and opt for soda water with lime, or opt to do activities with co-workers during the day.
2. Watch out for your health.
You have a routine in motion, eating healthy home-cooked meals and hitting the gym after work each night. Now a week-long business trip arrives, and all that goes out the window.
This is not surprising. When you travel, it can be stressful, healthy food and drinks are hard to find and your sleep schedule gets thrown off track. Those who travel 21 or more nights per month are 92% more likely to be obese than someone who travels one to six nights per month. The more you travel for business the more likely you are to have health problems such as high blood pressure or bad cholesterol.
Combat this by doing some quick research upfront. Figure out if your company has policies around what hotels you can stay in while travelling, and check out which options have gym access and good amenities. If that isn’t an option, pack your shoes and a jump rope, or resistance bands or do some bodyweight hotel-room-friendly exercise. Look up restaurants nearby that have healthy options and pack a few snacks that you can travel with for emergencies. Travel packets of oatmeal for breakfast or some healthy snack bars can go a long way during travel.
Don’t let a business trip be the culprit to cultivating bad habits!
3. Keeping up with work becomes a struggle.
When you are travelling for work, one of the hardest tasks is keeping up with your workload back home in the office. Your normal day-to-day routine has vanished, replaced with long meetings, commuting and networking events that leave you exhausted at the close of the day.
With work time limited during travel, prioritise the tasks that you need to complete to stay on track. Write down the three main goals that need to be met during your time away from the office. Before you leave, can you accomplish them? If not, consider going into the office early or working late one night to complete. I know that is not fun, but it will help you prepare for success on the road ahead and reduce overall stress. This sets everyone, not just you, up for success during your time away.
Remain accountable and set deadlines for the tasks that need to be completed. If you need help with this, set up a call with a trusted colleague in the office to help keep you on track at the close of the day or work week.
Take advantage of the commuting time. Whether you are sitting at a Terminal waiting to catch a flight or riding in a subway to get to your business meeting, use this time to catch up on the missed emails, and prepare for or recap the work day. Invest in some high-quality noise-cancelling headphones to help you focus while on the go.
Work travel is a great way to network, build relationships with clients or other co-workers and enjoy time away. Prepare yourself for what is to come and you will be successful and eliminate the added stress of making travel plans by opting for a travel agency for businesstravel planning.
In the world of mining, efficient travel management is not just an optional luxury; it is an essential component that can make or break the success of a mining operation. The intricate dance of personnel, equipment, and resources required in the mining industry demands a well-structured and meticulously executed travel management system. Here’s why it is so crucial:
Safety First:
Mining is inherently a dangerous profession, and the safety of employees should always be a top priority. Effective travel management ensures that personnel are transported safely to and from the mining site, reducing the risk of accidents on the road.
Resource Optimization:
Proper travel management minimizes downtime by ensuring that workers, machinery, and materials arrive on time. This efficient coordination can significantly impact productivity and profitability.
Cost Control:
Mining travel expenses can quickly escalate if not managed effectively. Mining travel managers help control costs by optimizing routes, selecting cost-effective transportation options, and reducing unnecessary delays.
Compliance and Regulations:
The mining industry is subject to various regulations and compliance requirements. A robust travel management system can help ensure that your operations meet these legal obligations, avoiding potential fines and legal issues.
Emergency Response:
In the event of an emergency, having a well-organized travel management system in place can mean the difference between life and death. Quick and coordinated responses are critical, and a good system can facilitate this.
Remote Locations:
Many mining sites are located in remote or challenging environments. Proper travel management plans account for these unique challenges, ensuring that personnel and resources reach these locations safely and efficiently.
Environmental Considerations:
Responsible mining operations also take environmental concerns into account. Effective travel management can reduce the environmental impact of travel by optimizing routes and minimizing fuel consumption.
Data and Analytics:
Modern travel management systems utilize data and analytics to continually improve efficiency. By collecting and analyzing travel data, mining companies can identify trends and areas for improvement, leading to better decision-making.
Employee Satisfaction:
Well-managed travel arrangements contribute to employee satisfaction. Comfortable and timely transportation options can boost morale and retain valuable talent in a competitive industry.
Competitive Advantage:
Mining is a highly competitive sector. A streamlined and efficient travel management system can provide a competitive edge by reducing operational costs and increasing overall productivity.
In conclusion, the importance of mining travel management cannot be overstated. It’s a multifaceted system that ensures the safety of employees, controls costs, complies with regulations, and contributes to the overall success of mining operations. As the mining industry evolves, embracing advanced technologies and data-driven solutions in travel management will become increasingly critical to maintaining a competitive edge while operating responsibly and safely.
Do you have an upcoming business trip? Whether you are travelling across the country to showcase your product to a potential supplier or meeting with manufacturers in a different continent, it is paramount to do a bit of pre-planning for your trip. This will help ensure that your travel experience is well-organized, streamlined and, most importantly, enjoyable. The last thing you want to do is take a business trip that causes you nothing but stress and aggravation.
To make the most of your valuable time, they recommend planning short but highly efficient business trips. For example, travellers often go to Mexico City for just two days or Tokyo for four days. They find that with less time, they’re able to achieve more with less energy.
To make this work, organize your days strategically, such as by scheduling meetings for each meal (for example, a breakfast or coffee meeting, a lunch meeting and a dinner networking session). They have found that this makes business trips extremely productive, and you should still have some time in between to rest, exercise or catch up on other work.
Book Comfortable Accommodations
As a business owner, you are likely always thinking about your enterprise’s bottom line and may therefore be tempted to just book a cheap hotel. After all, you won’t be spending much time there. However, staying in uncomfortable accommodations can make your trip a lot less enjoyable and prevent you from getting the deep, rejuvenating sleep you need to be on top of your game for the next day’s business activities.
Because of this, you’ll find it’s worth spending a bit extra to ensure you’ll have a truly restful place to recuperate, whether it’s a hotel or Airbnb. This way, it’s also a treat to head back to your accommodations to recharge in between meetings. Obviously, location is essential too, to save time and energy shuffling back and forth.
Book Pleasant Flights
Yes, the flight from NYC to California with two layovers may save you some money. But what’s the point in exhausting yourself with various connections and stopovers if you’ll not only lose time but also be less fresh for your business trip? Even though it can be pricier, always go for or make sure your engineering travel management agent opts for non-stop flights when possible. Maximizing your own time and energy (and minimizing travel time) is a worthwhile investment.
Organise A Thorough Itinerary
There’s a time and a place for just winging it, and a business trip is not it. You don’t have to make a spreadsheet if that’s not your thing, but at the very least write out your schedule for each day in your phone’s notes app or even on paper. Think about your day in chunks: on certain days, it may make sense to plan down to the minute, while on others you may just schedule fewer, longer meetings.
Walk yourself through each day and think about logistics, too. Will you need a rental car? Make sure to rent one well in advance. If you’re driving from place to place, will traffic be an issue? Check Google Maps at different times of the day, and give yourself some buffer time. If you’re scheduling meetings at restaurants or coffee shops, don’t leave it to chance: make reservations when possible.
Keep in mind, if every single second of a day is pre-planned, it can feel claustrophobic. So they also make sure to include some unstructured windows of time (to relax, explore, exercise or just take a nap). It’s not a vacation, but decompressing a little does help keep one sharp and motivated during a busy business trip.
Pack Travel Gear Wisely
There are so many products out there that can help make your business trip more comfortable, stress-free and pleasant. Here are some travel essentials that frequent travellers always bring with them on their own business travels:
Noise-Cancelling Earbuds
I’ve looked at larger noise-cancelling headphones, but because they take up so much space, compact noise-cancelling earbuds are preferred. There are cheaper options that offer some noise-cancelling functionality, but if you love music or are sensitive to sounds, go higher-end with a headphone company that actually specializes in hi-fi audio. The noise reduction will work better and make it far more pleasant to relax, sleep, work or watch movies during your flight.
Portable Charger
This is a no-brainer! When you are travelling to a meeting, it can be stressful when your phone or tablet battery is low, and you don’t have ready access to an outlet. The one thing to always remember before your trip is to make sure your portable charging device is fully charged. For most trips, just one charge on the device can provide multiple charges for your phone. Buy one that is as small and light as possible, as some models are fairly heavy.
Toiletry Bag With Leak-Proof Toiletry Bottles
The last thing you want is for a cheap drugstore toiletry bottle to leak into your luggage and all over your clothes. Even for business trips, it recommends purchasing a set of toiletry bottles designed for active outdoor adventures. They will seal beautifully and prevent even the slightest leak!
Shirt Protector
Whether you’re travelling with a duffel bag or rolling suitcase, it’s recommended to use a slim shirt protector, which keeps button-down shirts nicely folded and generally wrinkle-free. If you’re a stickler for wrinkle-free clothes, you may still need to do some ironing when you reach your destination, but on the whole, it’s a time-saver and also helps make packing smoother.
Enjoy Yourself
No matter what industry you’re in, it’s recommended to break up meetings with other fun activities to make the most of your trip and keep you relaxed. For example, see friends where possible, splurge on a massage, go kayaking after your trade show, check out a local street fair or do something else to take a break from pure business. Trust us, you will leave your trip much more fulfilled!
To Wrap It All Up
Pre-planning is absolutely essential for a smooth and stress-free business trip. To make the most of your business travels, plan for less time and more structure, book comfortable accommodations and select pleasant flights. Also, put together a thorough itinerary and bring along helpful travel gear. Finally, add some leisurely activities so that you can enjoy yourself! Following these tips should help you have a relaxing, hassle-free and delightful travel experience.
For the transportation and mobility industry, the pandemic brought not only technological innovation but also a reshuffling of priorities to put health and safety front and centre.
According to research, corporate travel gradually returned to pre-pandemic ride levels. As this trend continues, travel programs and corporate travel management consultants need to figure out how they will adapt going forward, especially when it comes to safety protocols, but also to offset the challenges rideshare has faced regarding driver shortages and ride price inflation.
In this way, corporate travel management and solutions complement rather than compete with each other in a way that benefits the passenger, which could enable businesses to consider all mobility services to ensure the highest standard of health and safety for every journey.
Health And Safety
C-19 has been a powerful reminder of the importance of duty of care. For corporate mobility, protecting employees can only be achieved when guaranteed safety measures are in place before, during and after a trip. These range from vehicle cleaning, sanitisation between rides to vaccine mandates and mandatory face coverings for drivers.
As part of the corporate travel program, it’s possible to have these measures contractually agreed upon with vetted suppliers. This ensures maximum business travel safety coupled with the autonomy to customize travel policies in today’s constantly changing environment. By giving employers and employees full transparency on all the details that affect their trip, they are equipped with the tools and information needed to stay safe.
Business Travel And Technology
Business travel, at its core, is about human interaction as travellers ride, fly, stay and engage with others. It’s an in-person experience that’s almost always organized online, from flight tickets, airport shuttles to taxi rides and hotel bookings. That’s why technology is at the forefront of trends and solutions that integrate health and safety protocols with these three trends.
With these trends in mind, businesses should consider all possible avenues to keep their employees safe. Here are a few ways that technology is aiding in this mission.
1. Contactless payments and self-service airport and hotel check-ins. These solutions offer travellers greater convenience and flexibility throughout the business journey while reducing touchpoints and potential health risks.
2.Automation throughout the travel booking process. Real-time data can provide unparalleled insight for businesses to make better decisions based on demand, price and activity. Along with new automation technology, travel services and solutions will be increasingly tailored to business travellers’ personal needs based on previous travel behaviour and preferences.
3. Corporate mobility solutions. These can include platforms to allocate corporate travel budgets, set the price range and choose mobility services. When selecting corporate mobility solutions, consider how the solution would interact with the goal of protecting the health and safety of employees and guests.
It’s clear that recovery and resilience are about adapting and adjusting even during periods of uncertainty. At this pivotal moment for corporate travel, it’s time to make our reshuffled priorities more permanent, so we continually focus on the health and safety of our workforce.
To reimagine the future of business travel, we must embrace the lessons learned, insights gained and technological advancements achieved. This can be realized by working together, leaning into the strengths of traditional car providers and ridesharing and making decisions that focus on employee well-being and convenience.
As companies once more start sending employees to in-person conferences, events and meetings, you must consider that business travel and its impact on the traveller have changed from the way things were before.
If you have not been on a business trip for years, you must take heed of changed circumstances and impacting factors, says Advaita Naidoo, Africa MD at Jack Hammer Global, an executive search firm.
“Most business travellers will tell you that it was a little bit of a shock to the system during their first couple of trips and in-person events. It is not just a case of getting on the bicycle again with muscle memory making the ride a smooth one.”
The playing field has changed, companies and individual travellers must consider this before resuming business travel full throttle, as it can mean the difference between a successful mission or a waste of time and money, Naidoo says.
Is u ‘n Afrikaanse besigheidspersoon? Kry al die advies en hulp wat jy benodig van ‘n besigheids reisagentskap wat jou besigheidsreis behoeftes verstaan.
Logistics may not be what they used to
“The approach to … business travel [nowadays] should be as considered as the time and effort invested in return-to-office strategies. We are still in the try-out phase of best practice in terms of hybrid working and now business travel is also thrown into the mix.”
Factors that affected the return to the office also come into play when making decisions about business travel, such as the personal ecosystems and logistics of the business traveller, she says.
Previously, working parents who travelled for work mostly had a smooth-running machine back home to ensure their children were taken care of while they were away. However, chances are that circumstances have changed and support systems may no longer be available, or of the same quality as before.
Naidoo says the cardinal rule of getting back in the business travel swing of things is to allow more time than before, from planning to execution. She says companies and employees should keep travel logistics, the personal ecosystem of the traveller and rebuilding networking muscle in mind.
Travel logistics for business travel
It is harder than before to plan a successful trip. Naidoo says internationally regulations have become more onerous, while across the board the lay of the land can change at the drop of a hat.
Flights may be cancelled without warning, airport staffing may be inadequate, delays may mean connecting flights are missed and rules and regulations for entry to a country may change regularly.
Therefore, you must allow enough time to plan a trip in detail, while allowing more time for the actual travel should challenges arise. A dedicated and always-on travel agent is advisable in today’s volatile travel market, she says.
Personal ecosystem
Companies must be sensitive to the current circumstances of their ambassadors. It is not fair to assume that a previous star representative may be as happy as before to spend days and weeks away from home or can be sent abroad with only days’ notice, Naidoo warns.
It is important to get input from people before they receive travel assignments to consider what support they may require to ensure a successful trip.
Rebuilding networking muscle
While seasoned business travellers were previously able to effortlessly catch that early morning flight, land at their destination, catch the necessary transport to their meeting or conference and proceed to shoot the lights out networking or presenting to tens, hundreds or thousands of people on behalf of their company, this is not the case anymore.
Naidoo says it is ludicrous to assume the same level of efficiency and performance at this stage, not only because the trip itself is likely to be much more onerous, but also because in-person networking is a muscle that has lost its strength as a result of more than two years of Zooming and Teamsing.
“Allowing additional time for transitioning from the travel leg to the networking leg is helpful if it is possible and just the understanding beforehand as well that the experience might be exhausting and challenging is helpful to put the attendee in a better and more realistic frame of mind.”
She says just like we recognised that seeing our colleagues in person for particular activities has benefits which cannot be replicated if we all just work remotely forever, it is also important that we again meet our peers and business partners outside our computer screens for conferences and meetings.
Transactions can be concluded on screen, but relationships most definitely are built in person.
“However, getting back to business travel is a matter that requires more than just booking a plane ticket and registration for the event at this stage. But knowing what you are up against, planning more carefully than before and cutting yourself some slack when navigating the first few trips as a company and as a traveller, will help smooth the path towards normalcy again.”
Business travel in South Africa is booming, with travel numbers exceeding those of 2019, seemingly counter to remote-meeting expectations, writes BONNIE SMITH, GM of a business travel agency.
Business travel in South Africa is booming with travel numbers exceeding those of 2019. There is one remarkable change though: it seems like South African corporates are increasingly insisting on travelling in style with business class bookings far surpassing 2019 numbers.
This return to the front of the plane might be a boon for airlines, but it also raises several questions. Why has preference shifted to business class? Is it limited to the C-suite? Is it sustainable? What’s the business impact? A recent report by a well-known business travel agency addressed these questions.
As business travel is becoming more intentional and considered, it’s often only the higher tiers of the company travelling. This goes against early predictions, which expected C-level execs to remain in their offices while lower-level corporates would be flying. The shift brought along with it new expectations: business class tickets, which come with their own set of pros and cons. More room and comfort means travellers can be more productive during transit and arrive rested and refreshed. On the other hand, there are obvious financial implications as well as sustainability concerns.
With the benefit of hindsight, the move to the front of the plane is not all that surprising. Execs tend to be the individuals with the most sway and decision-making power, and it follows that companies would stand to gain the most by putting them first.
Now that younger recruits are also taking back to the skies, the question remains whether the demand for business class tickets will remain as high as it is currently.
Bonnie Smith.
We expect the demand for business class will slightly diminish as more layers of the company are going back to travel. However, important to note is that health and wellness have become a huge focus area for many companies. The effects of the pandemic and subsequent return to work revealed the many shortcomings in the system and have led both employees and companies to rethink their approach to well-being.
Business travel presents a unique opportunity to offer employees health-centric benefits – premium-class bookings for longer flights, serviced apartments for extended stays, and various upgrades and perks. As such, we could just see more junior employees flying premium class and above for long-haul flights.
What about sustainability?
When it comes to sustainability, the onus is split between the airline and the traveller, and both have several ways to tackle the issue.
Airlines are taking a multifaceted approach which includes investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft and focusing on specific elements like optimising flight times and weight reduction. For travellers, it’s partly a balancing act influenced by several factors. And unfortunately, business class is taking its toll on the environment. The ICCT compiled a report analysing carbon dioxide emissions from commercial aviation from 2013, 2018 and 2019. The findings were eye-opening.
Passengers seated in business class are responsible for 2.6 to 4.3 times more emissions than if they fly in coach. The results are based on the floor space taken up by each passenger, along with weight considerations and other factors.
Dan Rutherford, the director of aviation and shipping-related research at the International Council on Clean Transportation, put it perfectly when he said: “If you turn right and go to economy class, it’s like you’re choosing a hybrid car. If you get on a plane and turn left into business class, it’s like choosing an SUV.”
Luckily, there are ways to offset your carbon footprint, even if you decide to travel in the front of a plane.
TMCs are able to calculate your carbon footprint per leg, per flight. You can track your emissions against sustainability goals – and offset your impact through verified carbon offset projects. This is really important if you have frequent travellers – or travellers turning left on the plane. All types of business travel agencies, including boutique business travel agencies contend that corporate travel is in a constant state of flux and that has a significant impact on decision-making. We’ve become experts in anticipating these changes and making quick adjustments to best serve our clients. By staying on top of the latest developments we’re able to offer real-time expertise that saves you time and money without compromising your needs.
Is it worth it?
The ROI of business travel is not the same for every company, but when executed with consideration and precision it’s benefits can be exponential. Market dynamics drive airfares and until COVID has been eradicated they will remain unpredictable. But consider the financial implications of a new intentional client – or the loss of one. This is where your TMC comes in.
Lean on your travel partner, and don’t be afraid to mix things up. Your TMC will be able to use their own buying power to negotiate and secure special rates on your behalf wherever possible. Take their advice when it comes to booking ahead, booking out of peak times, or exploring new accommodation options.
Some 88% of Small Business Owners (SBO) enjoy business travel according to the small business travel statistics in a new report by Capital One. The report offers insights to travel agents for business on travel volumes among small businesses.
Small Business Travel Statistics
Small business travel statistics show that whether the purpose of the travel is for meetings or training (82%); entertaining clients (46%) or winning new business (38%) business travel remains a key activity.
A large number of people go on the road or fly for business purposes each year. In fact, more than half of business owners (55%) travel at least once a month for work. Most of them (60%) spend over three nights on the road away from the office.
Surprisingly enough almost all (88%) small business owners who travel for business do enjoy travelling. In fact, just under three in four (72%) say they wish they travelled for business more often.
As travel becomes more common businesses are also racking up points and bonuses from frequent travel. With more advisories on how to squeeze the extra bonus points, and accommodation price comparisons easily being found online many businesses are capitalizing on them.
However, not all trips will go perfectly as planned (especially if you don’t use the services offered by travel agents for business). For those who don’t enjoy business travel, mishaps account for almost half (46%) of their aversion towards travelling. These could be in terms of losing luggage, and loss of I.Ds, delays in flights and others that could take out the fun of travelling for work.
Being away from loved ones (39%), uncomfortable accommodations (29%) and lengthy travel processes (28%) factor in having bad experiences. Interestingly, only one in five (20%) say being away from the office is a bad thing.
Disconnecting
According to the study, more and more businesses are recognizing the need for employees to take time away from the office. A large number of employers (94%) now say work-life balance is important to keep employees happy. Besides these, they now offer generous Paid Time Off (PTO) packages to their employees.
The fruits of these measures they say bring about a more motivated staff (94%) and an increase in productivity (93%). As such, 83% of small business owners now encourage their staff to use their vacation days. A further nine in ten of them encourage their employees to really disconnect from work when they are out of the office.
On the flip side, business owners barely take personal time off with only 32% of them taking fewer days every year. Even when on vacation over two-thirds (69%) of them admit to working on their vacations. They say that on average they worked nearly 3 hours a day on their last vacation. Almost a quarter of them actually turn off their work email notifications when out of the office.
The need to always be available can be seen as being too compulsive. A third of business owners either hand out their personal cell phone numbers or a quarter of them forward their desk lines to their cell phones.
Cost of Travel and Small Business
If you and your employees do a lot of travelling, unmanaged travel costs can make a huge dent in your bottom line. Business travel is among the most difficult expense categories to control for businesses. By understanding the costs of business travel in detail, businesses can gain deeper insights to come to a solution.
Make sure that you have specifically earmarked a budget for your company’s travels. In addition, put in place a pre-travel approval process along with corresponding travel plans for you and your staff.
Reducing travel costs does not mean cutting corners resulting in unreasonable per diems or putting staff in flea motels. The goal here is to bring balance and cut unnecessary spending on travel. Implementing some easy and smart measures can help bring sustainability to your business travel.
Business travel expenses are costs associated with travelling for the purpose of conducting business and as such can be deductible. Travel expenses can include airfare and lodging, transport services, cost of meals and tips, use of communications devices and others.
For taxation purposes, well-organized records, keeping receipts, cancelled checks and other documents that support a deduction can help businesses. These will come in handy when you are preparing tax returns and answering questions from SARS.
For those who are budget-conscious technological advances are now bringing about connectivity irrespective of where one life or works. With video conferencing and remote working becoming more common, businesses can do away with travel if they choose to do so.
Travel pillow? Check. Business cards? Check. Up-to-date policies and procedures? Maybe not.
After effectively vanishing amid the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, corporate travel has been making a comeback. Survey data reported by Deloitte show organisations expected to ratchet up their corporate travel expenses to 55% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022. The trend is expected to continue, reaching 68% of pre-pandemic spending by the end of 2023.
It was in early 2020 when organisations faced the all-hands-on-deck exercise of transforming their businesses to accommodate the realities of COVID-19. This meant a pivot to remote work for some and revamped workplace safety practices for others. What it didn’t mean in the vast majority of cases was business as usual for corporate travel.
As recently as June of last year, corporate travel spending was still only 10 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to Deloitte. It wouldn’t be until August that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would approve the first COVID-19 vaccine for general use in people 16 and older, and millions of people had yet to receive the first dose.
Needless to say, it’s easy to imagine that corporate travel policy was a low priority for many policy writers. That’s not to say policy writers weren’t busy – in NAVEX’s 2022 Risk and Compliance Benchmark Report, only three percent of R&C professionals said COVID was “very disruptive” to policy and procedure management. What’s more, 43% said it was “minimally disruptive.”
Policy writers have spent years ensuring that their organisations had rules in place to operate amid the disruption of the pandemic. The climate of risk is changing again – only this time, signs point to something more “normal,” at least regarding business travel.
Understanding the Employee’s Point of View
Imagine an employee that traveled frequently for work before the pandemic. There was no doubt a time when the employee could fill out an expense report with their eyes closed. What about today?
“Hope” is not an R&C strategy. Organisations will need to confirm that even seasoned employee travellers are up-to-date in their understanding of all travel policies. When employees travel, it’s important for the organisation’s policies to travel with them.
Risk and compliance professionals should put themselves in the shoes of their organisation’s travelling employees to anticipate the sort of practical questions they are likely to ask, such as:
How do I submit an expense report? Do we have a new system in place? Have my login credentials changed?
Where is our travel and expenses (T&E) policy? Can I access it remotely?
Is our T&E policy up to date?
Is my corporate card still active?
These are just a small sliver of the questions employees are likely to ask as they reengage in corporate travel. And don’t forget that some employees may be travelling for the first time at all since the pandemic began, meaning they may have fundamental questions about things like mask mandates and proof of vaccination.
Policy Review and Training
There are two tranches of work necessary to ensure organisational policies are ready to support the return of corporate travel: policy review and training.
First, risk and compliance professionals must review every conceivable policy related to employee travel. This should be relatively straightforward for well-run compliance programs that possess a standard review interval, often 12 months. Yet given the pandemic’s disruption of normal priorities, standard protocols may benefit from a second look.
In addition to policies that directly address legal or regulatory requirements, some of the most important travel policies define expectations of employee conduct. These can be subjective but are especially critical. Travelling employees serve as ambassadors for their organisation, often in a position to influence high-stakes business relationships during off-work hours. Behaviours such as the giving or receiving of gifts and the reasonable consumption of alcohol are among those that organisations should review and define as part of expected travel conduct.
Apart from public health requirements, organisations may also consider discretionary corporate travel requirements related to COVID-19. These could include an expectation for mask-wearing during corporate travel or, as some organisations have decided, restrictions on corporate travel for unvaccinated employees.
Any corporate policy can broadcast a set of values that influence the organisation’s standing in the marketplace, and policies around employee health and COVID-19 are excellent examples given the politically charged nature of the topic in the United States. This highlights how important it is for the right senior leaders to have a say in the development and updating of any critical policy, and R&C leaders should use the renewal of travel rules as an opportunity to assess whether their review process and “meta policy” – their “policy on policies – could be better optimized. NAVEX’s most recent edition of The Definitive Guide to Policy & Procedure Management includes extensive guidance for how to govern the process and track contributions from multiple stakeholders.
Once employee travel policies are reviewed, the next step is training.
Firstly, the resumption of corporate travel may be worthy of a well-considered announcement strategy. One reason is external reputation, as resuming travel signals a sort of return to normalcy. Another is the potential disruption for employees that may have grown accustomed to conducting critical business meetings from a video feed in the convenience of a home office.
In many organisations, only a subset of employees will need to travel. This presents an opportunity to focus limited training resources on employees who need it most, though all employees should be advised where to look for any given policy.
All training should require the employee to attest to their understanding of relevant travel policies, and employees should be reminded of where to look if they have questions.
Ideally, risk and compliance professionals will be able to track employee attestation to travel policies, and even better, the activity of employees accessing the policy for review. Corporate travel bestows a large amount of trust on the employee as a representative of the organisation, and if the employee does not meet the standards set out in the policy, attestation and access tracking provide a level of accountability.
Are Your Policies Ready to Fly?
Professionals at organisations that are resuming corporate travel should ensure their policies and procedures are updated and up to the task. Policies will require updating, and employees will require training. It may have been years since employees last travelled at all, and a corporate travel consultant can lay the foundation to ensure the process occurs smoothly.
Corporate Travel Talk 