GBTA: How Travel Management Companies Can Improve Satisfaction

A new GBTA Foundation study shows that travel buyers  want their travel management company (TMC) to not only save money, but to improve on data analysis, measurement and reporting while providing travelers a better experience.

The GBTA study, which surveyed 297 travel professionals in the United States and the United Kingdom, found that data analysis, performance measurement and reporting (55 percent); cost savings (51 percent) and improving the traveler experience (48 percent) are the top areas U.S. travel buyers want their TMC to improve in over the next five years.

The study also surveyed 710 business travelers in three countries and the data shows that the majority of U.S.-based business travelers are moderately satisfied with their company/TMC when it comes to various elements of the travel experience. Business travelers identified travel convenience (49 percent) including minimal layovers, convenient flight times and convenient hotel locations as the top priority they would like to see their company/TMC improve to make their business travel experience a better one.

The study, named TMCs Today and Tomorrow, was conducted by the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association, and sponsored by Concur.

In the U.S., business travelers are generally satisfied with booking business trips through the various channels they used in the past year. Booking directly with an airline or hotel had the highest satisfaction rate at 87 percent followed closely by calling or emailing a travel manager/travel agent (82 percent) and using an online travel agency or travel site (74 percent).

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On the other hand, two in five (38 percent) travel buyers whose companies currently allow booking through alternative channels believe their company will be less likely to do so in the next five years. Additionally, two-thirds of the U.S.-based travel buyer respondents also said that their organization does not ever allow travelers to book directly through supplier channels or online travel agencies.

“As booking behaviors change, TMCs have a major role to play in helping travel programs manage how their travelers go about their booking,” said Joseph Bates, GBTA Foundation vice president of research. “Understanding why travelers like booking direct and integrating as much as possible from that experience into booking through an online booking tool can increase the level of satisfaction and compliance with a corporate tool. Increased education on travel policies, better use of technology to capture data generated outside of the corporate system and partnerships with suppliers are all ways a TMC can help travel programs better manage traveler behavior.”

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