Rethinking Business Travel strategies during disruption
Utilising Artificial intelligence (AI) can improve business travel efficiency
Considering the importance of travel for networking, collaboration, and employee development, João Carvalho, SAP Concur Managing Director, Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey) the Middle East, and Africa, stresses the importance of avoiding the costly effects of disruption in this special contribution to www.logisticsgulf.com
Business travel, once a cornerstone of corporate strategy, is facing challenges, with this summer’s surge in tourism being the latest hurdle. As major tourist events draw millions of visitors, even up until year-end, business travellers and managers grapple with overbooked flights, hotels, and transportation, leading to expensive hold-ups and lost productivity.
Referring to new SAP Concur data, leaders must change their approach to business travel – or it could be grounded completely. Travel disruption stalls productivity and hinders vital meetings, impacting business productivity and employee wellbeing. Our data shows nearly half of travellers in the Middle East and North Africa have had to cancel or reschedule meetings, and 40% have incurred unplanned additional days on business trips.
Unexpected delays, cancellations, and rerouting have forced 88% of business travellers to make last-minute changes in the past year. This situation has become so commonplace and frustrating that almost a third of travellers are now willing to decline trips due to the high likelihood of disruption.
Flexibility
Leaders should prioritise flexibility to ensure employees reach their destinations with minimal stress. This may involve granting additional travel buffer time for arrivals, departures, or both, arranging private connecting transportation, or incorporating features into travel booking tools that facilitate easy rebooking in case of impediments.
Utilising Artificial intelligence (AI) can also improve business travel efficiency. Currently, travel managers report administrative disconnects with their travel management tools. For example, over a third of managers indicate they are expected to support traveller duty of care without visibility into all travel taking place.
To address these challenges, two-thirds of managers would welcome the incorporation of AI-enabled components into their tools. Similarly, 98% of travellers are open to using AI-enabled options to book travel.
Business leaders can also leverage AI solutions to streamline workflows such as expense reporting or generate cancellation and rebooking recommendations, thereby minimising disruption. However, caution is advised, as with any significant business transformation. Premature AI implementation can hinder progress rather than accelerate it.
AI for booking
Our data indicates that 95% of business travellers require company support to feel comfortable using AI for booking. Additionally, for roughly a third of travel managers, the expectation to utilise AI-powered tools without proper training is already impacting their ability to perform their jobs effectively.
To ensure successful AI implementation, leaders should provide comprehensive training for AI systems and integrate assurances into company policies to address common AI concerns, such as data protection and bias risks.
The modern business landscape is characterised by a more geographically dispersed yet better-connected workforce. While virtual meetings are becoming increasingly commonplace, face-to-face interactions remain invaluable for some business relationships. Therefore, streamlined business travel is still a top priority for many organisations.
Eliminating travel disruptions may not be possible in the short term, but leaders can take steps to make them more manageable for their employees. By implementing measures to enhance travel flexibility, providing training opportunities, and leveraging next-generation software solutions, businesses can adapt to a challenging market and ensure their travel programmes remain effective in the long run.
