A new survey from Travelport shows that business travelers are willing to shell out their own cash for convenience-even if it means handing out personal data or at the cost of privacy.
This year's U.S. Business Traveler & Travel Policy survey revealed that perks such as hotel upgrades, faster hotel Wi-Fi access and airline seat upgrades were popular with business travelers who were willing to pay for the added comforts out of their own pocket.
Erika Moore, Travelport's vice president and general manager of U.S. Sales said: "The survey suggests standard corporate travel practices may be falling short of business travelers' expectations while on the road. Convenience and a familiar consumer experience are important to business travelers when planning and managing their journeys. That's why our mobile solutions, such as Travelport Trip Assist, along with our agency tools, are so relevant to the needs of today's corporate travel managers and their clients."
The survey published by Travelport also found other trends. One example: 70 percent of travelers said that they would be willing to provide their personal data in return for personalized ads that are relevant to them when booking business travel online.
Travelers also said that choosing an airline for business travel was based on convenience. Forty-eight percent of respondents prioritized factors such as flight departure and arrival times, as well as direct flights. Just 12 percent said that company cost-savings and keeping a work/life balance mattered when booking flights.
Working travelers also want more flexibility and options. Nearly 100 percent of travelers surveyed indicated that they followed corporate policies but that they would like to have more control and flexibility over bookings and filing expense reports.
This finding mirrors other surveys that have found that business travelers are looking for more control over their experiences when they travel.
One technology trend is splitting the industry and that is GPS tracking. Results were split on the practice with 55 percent agreeing and 45 percent disagreeing on whether or not to allow their employers to use GPS tracking solutions to monitor their movements and location while on business trips.
Overall, travel budgets are up. Fifty-seven percent of respondents say their 2018 business travel budget is larger than their 2017 travel budget.
And business travel is still widely deemed a perk by employees. Forty percent indicated that they would like to work for a company that asked them to travel frequently.
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