SAP Concur：2023年全球差旅经理报告

Global

Travel

Managers

Report

May2023

Sponsoredby

2

Tableof

Contents

GlobalTravelManagers

ExecutiveSummary3

LaggingDataandAnalyticsAddtoDifficultyandStress4

HealthandSafetyThreatsRemainaTopPriority4

EnvironmentalResponsibility:ImportantbutComplicated5

UpdatedPoliciesPointtoFlexibility,DirectBooking5

Conclusion6

MethodologicalNotes7

3

Executive

Summary

Againstabackdropofeconomicuncertaintyandrisingprices,travelmanagersarebeingaskedtocontaincostswhilecontinuingtorespondtotheneedsandpreferencesoftheirbusinesstravelers.Whileemployeesremaineagertotravelandviewitasessentialfortheircareers,they’realsoacutelyawareofthemanythreatssuchtravelcanposeandfeelaresponsibilitytoensuretheirtravelalignswiththesocialandenvironmentalconsiderationstheyvalue.Travelmanagersarealsooperatingundergrowingpressurefortransparencyastheyfaceevolvingindustryregulationsandincreasingdemandfrombothinternalandexternalsourcestominimizetheenvironmentalimpactsoftheircompany’stravel.

With47%describingtheirjobsasmorestressfulnowthanlastyear,nearlyalltravelmanagers(99%)expecttheirjobstobeevenmorechallenginginthenext12months.

Theoverwhelmingmajority(98%)pointtotheneedforupdateddataandanalyticscapabilitiestohelpthemexecutetheirday-to-dayresponsibilities,toolsthatwouldmakeamajordifferenceineasingtheirstress.

Travelpolicymodificationsmayalsohelpreducetravelmanagers’burdensifthechangesarewell-executed.Nearlyalltravelmanagers(98%)anticipatecompanytravelpolicychangesinthecomingmonths,withthemostcommonreasonsfortheseanticipatedchangesbeingfocusedonthetravelerstheysupport.Modificationsdesignedtolowercostsandbettercomplywithsustainabilitygoalsarecommonaswell,though,andmayleavetravelmanagersagaintryingtobalanceemployees’needforflexibilitywiththeircompany’sneedforcost-efficiency.

InpartnershipwithWakefieldResearch,SAPConcursurveyed700travelmanagersacross7globalmarkets,togaininsightintothecurrentstateofbusinesstravelandwhatthenextyearwillbringfortravelmanagers.

4

Theirjobis

morestressful

nowthanthepreviousyear

LaggingDataandAnalytics

AddtoDifficultyandStress

Travelmanagersareunderstandablystressed,largelyduetoconditionsbeyondtheircontrol.Fornearlyhalf(47%),theirroleastravelmanagerismorestressfulnowthanitwas12monthsago–a10-pointincreaseoverthe37%whosaidthislastyear.Another18%sayit’sjustasstressfulaslastyear.Thestrainsofthejobarehittingcertainregionshard,inparticulartheAsia-Pacificregion(APAC).Fornearly3in5travelmanagersinAPAC(58%),theirroleismorestressfulnowthanlastyear,comparedto45%oftravelmanagersintheAmericasand41%oftravelmanagersinEurope.

StressoftheRoleHighestinAPAC

47%

APAC

58%

Americas

45%

Europe

41%

Anditisexpectedtogetworse,asnearlyalltravelmanagers(99%)believetheirjobwillbemorechallenginginthenext12months.Topamongthesechallengesareinflationaryimpactscausingincreasedcostsforthesameamountoftravel(41%),ensuringtravelersafetyinareasbecomingincreasinglyhostiletomarginalizedgroups(38%),ensuringtravelersafetyagainstillnessornaturaldisasters(38%),andfindingmoreenvironmentallysustainabletraveloptions(37%).

Travelmanagersrequiretimelyand

accuratedatatoaddressthese

challenges,whilealsodealingwith

pressuretoprovidedataonROI,

emissions,andregulatorycompliance.

Yetnearlyalltravelmanagers(98%)saylaggingdataandanalyticsattheircompanyhinderstheirabilitytoperformtherequirementsoftheirjob.Fromensuringtravelersafety(39%)andreportingonthecompany’stravelemissions(38%)tocomplyingwithregulationsandindustrystandards(37%),settingbudgets(37%)andupdatingtravelpolicies(37%),laggingdataandanalyticsisaddingunnecessaryandfrustratingchallengestotherole.

Whileachallenge,thiscouldalsobeseenasanopportunityforcompaniesandmaybeoneareawherecompaniescanassertcontrolanddrasticallyimprovetheprocessfortravelmanagers.

HealthandSafetyThreats

RemainaTopPriority

Protectingthehealthandsafetyoftravelersremainstopofmindforemployees,asnearlyhalfofbusinesstravelersatcompanieswithaformalcorporatetravelpolicy(48%)expecttheircompanytoallowthemtomaketravelchoicesoutsideofcompanypolicytoensuretheyfeelsafewhentravelingincertainareasoftheworld.

Manytravelmanagersanticipatechangestotheircompany’spoliciesonthehorizontoaddressthis.Morethan2in5(42%)believetheircompany’stravelpolicieswillbeupdatedthisyeartoenablebettertrackingtoensureemployeesafetyincertainpartsoftheworld,makingitthemostcommonreasonforanticipatedtravelpolicychanges.Another31%reporttheir

company’stravelpolicieswillchangethisyeartobetterensureemployeesfrommarginalizedgroupsfeelsafe.

Butit’snotjusttravelpolicies;comprehensivedataandrigorousanalyticsarealsokey.Nearly2in5travelmanagers(39%)saylaggingdataandanalyticsishinderingtheirabilitytoensuretravelersafety.

Whiletravelmanagersmostcommonlyviewlogisticalconcernslikelast-minutedelays(45%)andchangestosupplierbookingandsellingprocedures(38%)astopthreatstotheircompany’sbusinesstravel,healthandsafetyconcernsareviewedasatopthreatby37%oftravelmanagersaswell.Strong,up-to-datetrackinganddataanalyticsshouldprovidetheoverviewandcontexttravelmanagersneedtohelpaddressthese,andtobestcreateandupdatetravelpoliciestoprotecttheircompanies’travelers.

Thesechallengestranscendregions.NearlyhalfoftravelmanagersinAPAC(47%)sayhealthandsafetyconcernsareatopthreattotheircompany’sbusinesstravel,asdo33%oftravelmanagersintheAmericasand32%oftravelmanagersinEurope.Manytravelmanagersanticipatepolicychangestoenablebettertrackingforemployeesafety,includingoverhalfoftravelmanagersinAPAC(53%),38%ofthoseintheAmericasand37%oftravelmanagersinEurope.

EnvironmentalResponsibility:ImportantbutComplicated

Businessesaroundtheglobehavemadesustainabilitypledgesandgoals.Yetdemonstratingtheirfollow-throughonthesemaybeaconsiderablehurdleforcompaniesandtheirtravelmanagers–especiallyinthenextyear.

Nearly2in5travelmanagers(37%)

anticipatetheircompany’stravelpolicieswillchangeinthenext12monthstobettercomplywithinternalandexternalsustainabilitygoals.

Un-sustainableChallenges

28%

Pressuretoreport

moreontravel

emissions

37%

Challengesfinding

moreenvironmentally

sustainabletravel

options

38%

Laggingdataand

analyticshinders

emissionsreporting

Morethanaquarteroftravelmanagers(28%)facegrowingpressuretoincreasereportingonthecompany’stravelemissions,whichtheybelievewillmaketheirjobmorechallenginginthenext12months.Likewise,nearly2in5(37%)anticipatethatfindingmoreenvironmentallysustainabletraveloptionswillmaketheirjobmoredifficultoverthenextyear.Contributingtothesechallengesisalackofthepropertoolstoaccomplishthesetasks.Nearly2in5travelmanagers(38%)saylaggingdataandanalyticshindertheirabilitytoreportonthecompany’stravelemissions.

UpdatedPoliciesPointto

Flexibility,DirectBooking

Travelflexibilityisimportanttobusinesstravelers–soimportant,infact,thatmorethanaquarterofbusinesstravelers(28%)arewillingtodeclineabusinesstripthatlackstheflexibilitytomakeadjustmentstothetripoutsideofcompanypolicy.Inaddition,morethan9in10travelersatcompanieswithaformalcorporatetravel

5

6

Accommodatetravelers’needforflexibleoptions

Reducetravelcosts

policy(91%)expecttobeallowedtomake

travelchoicesoutsideofcompanypolicyforreasonslikeensuringtheyfeelsafe,supportingtheirwork-lifebalanceandenablingthemtobooksustainabletraveloptions.

Whilenearlyalltravelmanagers(98%)expecttheircompany’stravelpolicieswillchangeinthenext12months,38%believethiswillhappenspecificallytoaccommodatetravelers’needsforflexibleoptions,suchasbookingdirectlywithsuppliers.Indeed,withbusinesstravelerssayingtheymorecommonlybooktheirbusinesstraveldirectlywithanairline,hotelorcarrentalcompany(46%)thanwiththeircompany’stravelagencyortraveldepartment(43%),thesechangeswilllikelybringpolicymoreinlinewithtravelers’actualbehaviors.

TravelPolicyChangesComingSoon

Bettertrackingtoensureemployeesafety

42%

38%

37%

Increasecostvisibilityandtravelervisibility

36%

Whilelast-minutedelaysandcancellationsbyairlineshavebeenidentifiedasatopthreattotheircompany’sbusinesstravel,it’slikelythatmanagerscanidentifywiththeirtravelers’requestforflexibility.Businesstravelersarecurrentlymorelikelytousetheairline’swebsiteorapp(37%)tochangeorcancelaflightthantousetheircompany’sonlinebookingtool(25%)andtocalltheairlinedirectly(19%)thantocalltheirtravelagency(18%).Yetflexibilityforemployeesinbookingcancollidewithtravelmanagers’effortstoensuresafetyandreinin

costs:fornearlyathirdoftravelmanagers(31%),travelersbookingdirectlyisoneofthebiggestthreatstotheircompany’sbusinesstravel.Thisunderscoresthebalancingacttravelmanagersmustmaintain,astheyidentifyandempathizewithtravelers’needsforflexibilitywhilefacingtherealityofcompanytravelpolicyandbudgetconstraints.

Conclusion

Theoverwhelmingmajorityoftravelmanagersfeelincreasinglystressedandundersiege.Businesstravelersdemandflexibility,healthandsafetyassurances,andenvironmentallysustainableoptions;atthesametime,organizationsaregrapplingwithinflation,reducedbudgets,increasedregulation,andacallforgreateraccountability.Howcantravelmanagerswalkthisfinelinewithoutsacrificingthewellbeingofbothbusinesstravelersandtheirorganizations?

Oneoverduesolutionistheupgradeandoverhaulofdataanalytics.With98%sayinglaggingdataandanalyticsarehinderingtheirabilitytogettheirjobsdoneefficientlyandeffectively,theurgentneedforthesetoolsmaybeoneareawheretightenedbudgetsandacross-the-boardmeasurestoreinincostsareatoddswithfuturesuccess.Asbusinesstravelerscravetravelflexibilityandleantowarddirectbookingasonepotentialwaytoaccomplishthis,travelmanagers–andthoseupdatingcorporatetravelpolicy–mustbeequippedandpreparedtomeet,andifpossible,predict,thechallengesofeverythingfromhealthandsafetyconcernstochangesinsupplierpolicy.Thoughthetravelmanagerrolewilllikelyremainadifficultoneintheyearahead,therighttoolscouldmakethejoblessstressfulandfarmoreeffective.

MethodologicalNotes

TheConcurSurvey-TravelManagerswasconductedbyWakefieldResearch()betweenApril7thandApril28th,2023,among700TravelManagers,definedasthosewhodirectoradministertravelprogramsforbusinesses,across7markets:France,Germany,HongKong,Mexico,SEACountries(MalaysiaandSingapore),UK,andUS.Datahasbeenweightedtofacilitatetracking.

Resultsofanysamplearesubjecttosamplingvariation.Themagnitudeofthevariationismeasurableandisaffectedbythenumberofinterviewsandthelevelofthepercentagesexpressingtheresults.Fortheinterviewsconductedinthisparticularstudy,thechancesare95in100thatasurveyresultdoesnotvary,plusorminus,bymorethan3.7percentagepointsfromtheresultthatwouldbeobtainedifinterviewshadbeenconductedwithallpersonsintheuniverse