Optimizing Corporate Travel Through Digital Innovation

Corporate travel is inevitable for any business that wants to grow and stay competitive. Considering that global business travel spending is expected to reach $1.64 trillion in 2025, we can see that many businesses are big on investing in face-to-face connections.

The best thing about all this?

Technology makes it so that they don’t have to spend hours arranging travel, nor should they spend a fortune on it. So, let’s explore more about this turn of events for corporate travel. Optimizing Corporate Travel Through Digital Innovation has made business trips more efficient and cost-effective

Challenges of corporate travel that businesses face

People often look at other people traveling for business and think about how amazing it must be to see the world without spending their own money. And while this is surely a benefit, business travel comes with a lot of challenges – both for the business and for the traveler:

• Stick to a budget: Hotels and flights change their prices constantly, which naturally, makes it harder for travel managers to keep travel costs under control. One-time calculations simply don’t cut it when the prices fluctuate all the time.
• Flight delays: Oh, the good old flight delays. Throwing off schedules like no other. They can be frustrating for sure, especially when it comes to corporate travels, as these are often accompanied by tight schedules, so travelers have to be on time for meetings.

• Staying safe: Yes, staying safe is indeed a challenge for business travelers. They can stumble upon all kinds of risks and dangers – from health risks to political unrest.
• Following company rules: No, travel managers don’t have complete freedom when it comes to arranging corporate travel. They must follow company rules while doing so.

And just like that, corporate travel turns out to be both a benefit and a huge challenge. But with the right technology tools, businesses might find themselves enjoying the process of arranging.

How technology simplify corporate travel?

It’s safe to say that there’s almost no industry that technology can’t support. That said, let’s go over all the possible ways in which technology helps optimize corporate travel.

More flexible booking

Booking a hotel and a flight for more employees while having to stick to a budget is far from an easy task. We have all found ourselves scrolling through accommodation and flight offers for days and not being able to find a suitable offer at some point in our lives. Well, this is something that travel managers have to deal with regularly. And sometimes, with short advance notice.

But there’s a solution. Automated booking platforms allow businesses not only to find the most suitable offers within their budget but to also cancel these offers with no steep penalties.

These platforms can predict when prices are most likely to rise and drop. They can also filter travel options based on the company’s policy. All in all, they can lift a huge burden off travel managers.

Real-time tracking

Business travel often comes with tight schedules. The problem with this is that even the smallest changes in flights or car rental can disrupt the whole day of the traveler. They might be late to an important business meeting or event, or worse, not make it there at all, which is bad not only for theirs but for the reputation of the company as a whole. Extremely stressful, indeed.

If only there was a way for them to be timely updated on any such changes. Well, that’s exactly where a business travel company such as TravelPerk with its real-time tracking features comes into the picture. It connects to airlines, hotels, and car rental services, updating travelers on any changes.

Why is this so important?

• Travelers can adjust their plans quickly: If they’re timely updated on a potential flight delay, travelers will timely adjust their plans, right? They will instantly change hotel bookings or possibly find alternative transportation to get to their destination on time.
• Avoiding additional costs: Missed bookings are basically money thrown in the water for the company. Because when a flight or hotel booking is missed, they might end up facing rebooking fees, last-minute accommodations, or transportation charges.
• Minimizing stress: Any business that cares about its employees knows that their time is valuable. They don’t want them to go to the airport just to wait for hours until their flight gets rescheduled. They want their travel experience to be more enjoyable rather than stressful. With real-time updates, travel managers can plan ahead and avoid wasting the time of anyone involved. This way, employees can stay productive.

But real-time tracking is also great when it comes to safety. As mentioned above, travelers are often exposed to risks. First of all, weather changes can make their travel dangerous. Second of all, political unrest or protests can burst out of nowhere, putting travelers in a completely unpredictable situation. And third of all, sudden outbreaks of diseases can pose a serious threat.

Real-time tracking is the answer to all of these, as being updated on time, might not even put travelers in a dangerous position in the first place. But even if that can’t be avoided, timely updates can help travel managers to act quickly, for example, reroute travelers to safer locations.

Tracking and managing travel expenses

The process of tracking and managing travel expenses has always been considered a time-consuming task. One that’s filled with errors. However, this is no longer the case.

Travel management tools now track and report all travel expenses on their own, making sure that travel managers don’t exceed the company’s budget. They allow travelers to scan and upload receipts directly from their smartphones. They also allow travel managers to set limits on expenses for each trip so that they stay within the company’s corporate travel budget.

For example, they might set a daily meal allowance, making sure that employees don’t spend more than that while traveling. These tools can even track taxi or rideshare fares so that travel managers can find the safest and most affordable way for travelers to get to their meetings.

In summary? These tools don’t only help businesses to stay within their corporate travel budget but also save valuable time for travel managers. And as we all know, time is of the essence.

More enjoyable travel experience

And for the businesses that are willing to go the extra mile when it comes to corporate travel, technology is the perfect way to do so. Yes, they’re mainly traveling for business but this doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve the best possible experience that suits their traveling needs.

A more personalized business trip will surely lead to a more productive one. Business travelers have already spoken with at least 96% of travelers who are potentially interested in a business travel digital assistant that will recommend travel routines based on their needs.

And almost all of them, that is, 98%, agree that mixing leisure with business traveling can boost their work performance. So, it’s safe to say that travelers are all about personalization.

So, how can businesses personalize business travels?

• They can lean on technology to make tailored travel schedules that match the preferences of each traveler, such as their preferred traveling time or hotel choice.
• They can provide them with an AI travel digital assistant to recommend restaurants, attractions, and activities in their proximity that they would potentially enjoy.
• They can use VR (virtual reality) to give employees a glimpse of where they will travel and where they will be accommodated, giving them an option to ask for a different hotel.

The best thing about all this is that even though businesses will be considering travelers’ needs and interests, technology allows them to do so without breaking the bank. Travel management tools will recommend the most accurate but at the same time, most affordable offer.

Give your employees a stress-free corporate trip.

Corporate travel was and will continue to be one of the best ways for businesses to grow and maintain relationships with clients and partners. At the end of the day, we can all agree that there’s nothing like a face-to-face connection to come up with a business plan or close a deal.

And even though it used to be such a challenge for travel managers to deal with, it’s now easier than ever thanks to digital innovation. Travel management tools bring all kinds of solutions to the table – from real-time tracking and flexible booking to more personalized travel experiences that make the whole process a lot more enjoyable for both travel managers and travelers themselves.