REPORTTRAVELER SURVEY:

TRAVEL POLICYBY BCD TRAVEL RESEARCH & INTELLIGENCEMay 2024

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ABOUT THE SURVEY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Goal: This survey explores corporate travel policies
and looks at the changes happening to policies andtraveler satisfaction with current regulations.

Introduction

Methodology: The results are based on an online
survey of 1,201 business travelers worldwide. The
survey was conducted from April 10-19, 2024.

Enforcing travel policy
Satisfaction with travel policyCommunication

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Respondent profile
GenderGeography

32%

54%

EMEA

NORAM

14%
Top three industries

70%
Male

30%
Female20%

19%Life sciences

Manufacturing

APAC

11%
Aerospaceand defense

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Respondent profile
Age40%
Baby
Boomers

Travel frequency in past 12 months

47%
Gen X

23%

1-2 trips

31%

3-6 trips

13%

Millennials

22%

6-12 trips

13-24 trips

25 or more trips

13%

11%

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Introduction
Travel policy availability and overview
Using travel policy when planning a trip

Last policy check
Where to find the policy
Travel policy and employment
Impact of policy on willingness to staywith the company

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Travel policy
96% of travelers report having a published travel policy in their company. The policy is cost-focused,according to half of respondents.

Travel policy availability

Travel policy overview
Focused on costs

Don'tknow
3%

No
1%

46%

Detailed

35%

Clear

35%

Strict20%

Flexible

16%

Concise14%

Focused on travelers

Yes
96%

Inclusive
Don't know

Q: Does your company have a published travel policy?

12%
8%
4%

Q: How would you describe your travel policy? Select all that apply.

Using travel policy whenplanning a trip
When planning business travel, nine in 10 consult travel
policy, a quarter doing so frequently.

37%

28%

10%

Never

RarelySometimes

12%

13%

Often

Always

Q: How often do you refer to your travel policy when planning business trips?

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Last policy check
Eight in 10 consulted their company’s travel policy in thepast 12 months.
27%

20%
17%

18%

6%

6%
3%

In the Around Around Aroundlast
3
6
1 yearmonth months months ago
ago
ago

2-3yearsago

Morethan 3yearsago

Q: When was the last time you read your company's travel policy?

Never2%
Don'tknow

Where to find the policy
95% of traveling employees know where to findthe travel policy, when needed.

No5%

Probably, I havean idea where tolook for it
33%

Yes, I know exactly
where to find it
62%

Q: Do you know where to find your travel policy?

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Travel policy and employment
While 8% cite travel policy influencing their decision to join their company, for most this factor wasn’t decisive.

Impact of travel policy on
decision to join company

Travel policy provided
when offered the job

72%
Yes, I was provided a copyof the travel policy
23%

10%14%

13%

7%

5%

54%
3%

Yes, I was told about main
travel guidelines

No, I did not receive any
details around company's
travel policy at that time

I don't remember

Definitely Probably not Might or Probably yes Definitely
notmight notyes

Q: Did the travel policy influence your decision to join the company?

Q: Was information about the company's travel policy provided to you
when you were offered the job?

Impact of policy on
willingness to stay withthe company
A quarter acknowledge the influence of travel policy on
their willingness to stay with the company.

35%
27%
20%
12%
6%

Extremely
unlikely

Somewhat Neither likely Somewhat
unlikely
nor unlikely
likelyExtremely
likelyQ: How likely will travel policy influence your willingness to stay with the company?

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Enforcing travel policy andout-of-policy behavior
Enforcing policy

Out-of-policy deviations
Reasons for out-of-policy behavior
Consequences of out-of-policy behavior

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Enforcing policy
Pre-trip approvals, encouraging in-policy choices when booking andexpense audits are among the top three ways to enforce travel policy.
Require pre-trip approval

46%

Highlight
in-policy
travel options
when booking
Highlight
in-policy
travel options
when bookingtravel

40%

Perform an audit of travel expenses

39%

Restrict out-of-policy options when booking travel

36%

Do not reimburse for out-of-policy travel expenses

27%

Regularly communicate travel policy and its changes via
multiple channels

24%

Escalate cases of out-of-policy travel expense claims

24%

Facilitate employees' access to the travel policy

18%

Send travelers on-trip reminders about in-policy travel
behavior

13%

Don't know
None
Reward policy compliant traveler behavior

6%
3%

1%

Q: How does your company enforce its travel policy? Select all that apply.

Out-of-policy deviations
Two-thirds of business travelers do not comply with
their travel policy from time to time.

45%
35%

17%

3%
Never

RarelySometimes

Often

1%
Always

Q: How often do you deviate from your company's travel policy using out-of-policy
travel options?

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Reasons for out-of-policy behavior
Travelers tend to deviate from the travel rules due to requirements of client
meetings or conferences and events.

Client meeting requires booking out-of-policytransportation or accommodation

31%

Conference or event accommodation with nonpreferred suppliers or more expensive than allowedby policy

28%

Hotel rate limits set by the policy are too low

19%

Other

13%

Personal health needs require higher class of travelor additional services

6%

I was not aware of certain rules, e.g. rate caps ormeal allowances

6%

Personal benefits, e.g. bleisure or accumulating
loyalty points

5%

Q: What are your reasons for not following the travel policy rules? Select all that apply.

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Consequences of out-of-policy
behavior
Traveling employees may need additional approvals for non-compliantbookings. Also, reimbursement of out-of-policy expenses may be challenging.
I need to get an additional approval

52%

Out-of-policy expenses are not reimbursed

19%

Reimbursement isn't processed smoothly, e.g. takes
longer18%

The case is escalated to senior executives

18%

Don't know

18%

The booking is blocked

8%

None - there are no consequences

8%

Other

4%

Q: What are the consequences of making out-of-policy travel bookings? Select all that apply.

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Satisfaction with travel policy
Satisfaction with travel policy
Issues with travel policy
Cost-control measures

Airline ancillaries
Frequency of traveling business class
Hotel ancillaries
Travel policy changes
Traveler profiles to be addressedSatisfaction with policy
Half of travelers are satisfied with their travel policy.

35%
28%

18%
15%

5%

Extremely
dissatisfied

Somewhatdissatisfied

Neithersatisfied nor
dissatisfied

Somewhatsatisfied

Q: How satisfied are you with your company's travel policy?

Extremely
satisfied

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Issues with travel policy
Over one in five say their policy isn’t responsive to traveler needs or is toorestrictive. A third don’t have issues with their company’s travel policy.
None

35%

It's not responsive to traveler needs

24%

It's too restrictive

22%

Different rules apply to employees from various
countries or business units

20%

It does not offer sufficient sustainable travel options

11%

It's badly communicated

8%

Other

7%

Don't know

7%

It's too long

6%

It's confusing

6%

It's hard to findIt's changing too often

4%2%

Q: What are your main issues with your company's travel policy? Select all that apply.

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Cost-control measures
Three in five are encouraged to book through an online booking tool,
which helps control travel costs.
Encouraged
through an online booking tool
Encouraged booking
to book through61%

Low class of air travel

42%

Online meetings encouraged40%

Cut all non-essential travel

37%

Strict travel expense control

35%

Limited air and hotel ancillaries

30%

Low meal allowance22%

Low category of hotels

15%

Limited number of employees on a trip

12%

Public transportation use instead of taxis

8%

Fewer but longer trips encouraged

6%

AllowedAllowedbooking
to book directly with suppliers

6%

None

4%

Don't know

3%

Other

3%

Q: What cost-control measures does your travel policy support? Select all that apply.

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Airline ancillaries
Class upgrades and lounge access are rarely allowed by travel policies,
yet most sought after by travelers.
Seat selection

61%

On-board food and beverages

41%

Additional baggage

40%

33%
37%

6%
22%

33%

27%

On-board Wi-Fi

32%

In-flight entertainment

28%

Security clearance programs, e.g. TSA PreCheck

28%

57%

15%

Priority boarding

24%

64%

13%

51%
35%

16%
36%

Airport lounge access

12%

74%

14%

Class upgrades

11%

74%

15%

Available

InterestedNot interested

Q: What airline services paid by your employer are currently available to you and which ones would you like to have access
to? Select what applies.

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Frequency of travelingbusiness class

Less than half travel business class, and 9% do so often.

53%

22%
15%
7%
2%
Never

RarelySometimes

Q: How often do you travel business class for work?

OftenAlways

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Hotel ancillaries
Two-thirds would like their policy to allow hotel room upgrades. Almost halfare interested in early check-in and late check-outs.
Paid Wi-Fi

59%

Room service

56%

Access to fitness club / gym

19%

48%

Early check-in / late check-out

43%

Access to swimming pool / spa

43%

Laundry service
14%

Room minibar

11%
5%

15%
24%

31%

21%

48%

38%

Room upgrades

Entertainment / movie rental

27%

9%

26%

31%

32%

30%

66%
26%

63%

25%
Available

20%

70%
Interested

Not interested

Q: What hotel services paid by your employer are currently available to you and which ones would you like to haveaccess to? Select what applies.

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Policy changes wanted by travelers
Over three in 10 look for more flexibility when booking transportation
and accommodation.
More flexibility when booking transportation, e.g. allow
booking directly with airlines
More flexibility when booking accommodation, e.g.
allow booking on hotel aggregators or hotel websites

33%

31%

Increased travel spend limits

27%

Amplified list of allowed air ancillaries, e.g. seat
selection

24%

Higher travel class

23%

More policies for traveler wellbeing

20%

Simplified pre-trip approval process

16%

More efficient reimbursement procedures

14%

None10%

Amplified list of allowed hotel ancillaries, e.g. room
service10%

Updated list of preferred travel suppliers

8%More sustainable travel policy

8%

Other

3%

Q: What travel policy changes would you benefit from? Select the top three.

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Traveler profiles to be addressed
Two in five prefer an equal travel policy for all travelers, while a third areinterested in special rules for road warriors.
None - policy should be equal for everyone

39%

Frequent travelers

33%

Don't know

13%

Travelers with special needs, e.g. nursing mothers

13%

Travelers with accessibility needs or neurodivergent
employees

12%

Travelers of different age

10%

Travelers at senior positions, Board, VPs, Directors

8%

Travelers from various company business units

7%

Male vs. female travelers

6%

Travelers of different religion

6%

LGBTQ+ travelers

4%

Q: What traveler profiles should be addressed in your company's travel policy? Select all that apply.

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Travel policy communication
Frequency of policy communication
Communication channels
Satisfaction with support

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Frequency of policy
communication
Over nine in 10 receive communication around travel
policy, but with varying frequency.

42%

34%

15%8%
1%

Never

RarelySometimes

Often

Very often

Q: How often do you receive communication around travel policy updates?

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Communication channels
Most communication is received through emails and the company’s
intranet.
Direct emails

70%

Articles on company intranet

33%

Banners and pop-up windows in thetravel booking tool

16%

Internal meetings

13%

Training

12%

Don't know

9%Announcements on social networks

5%

Blog posts

4%

Webinars

3%

Q: How do you receive the travel policy updates? Select all that apply.

Satisfaction with support
around policy

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Over half are satisfied with the policy-related support
provided by their travel team.

31%

30%

22%

12%

5%

Extremely
dissatisfied

Somewhatdissatisfied

Neithersatisfied nor
dissatisfied

Somewhatsatisfied

Extremely
satisfied

Q: How satisfied are you with the support provided by your company's travel
department when dealing with issues related to the travel policy?

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Natalia Tretyakevich
Senior Manager, Research & Intelligence
Spainnatalia.tretyakevich@bcdtravel.eu

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