Duty of Care and Cost Control Top Priorities for Corporate Travel Managers

An Amadeus survey of corporate travel managers in Hong Kong and Singapore has identified cost control through improved management of travel processes and duty of care as top priorities for 2011.

Lisa Akeroyd, Regional Director, Corporate Solutions, Amadeus, Asia Pacific said, “As companies recover from the Global Financial Crisis, executives are travelling to grow their business. According to our recent Travel Gold Rush 2020 report, there has been a shift in business spending habits. Premium travel is declining and travel for business is occurring at a lower cost. In this new economic reality, many travel managers are being more prudent to maximise their travel budgets. Making these new policies a permanent reality will rely on improved travel policy compliance, process efficiency and transparent up-to-date reporting,”

 Managing costs through process efficiency: When asked about their main focus area for 2011, almost half of respondents surveyed (47%) indicated cost reduction, while more than one third (37%) indicated improved management of travel processes.

Just 3% of corporate travel managers surveyed indicated that reducing travel is their top priority. Travel for face-to-face meetings remains fundamentally important to business growth. The Travel Gold Rush 2020 report revealed that an estimated 28% of current business would be lost without in-person meetings.

“One of the best ways for corporations to reduce cost and improve process efficiency is through the automation of travel processes. Many corporate executives are surprised when we point out the number of travel processes and reporting which are still manual, but can be easily automated,” said Akeroyd. “Tools such as the Amadeus e-Travel Management self-booking tool can be integrated with existing corporate travel policy and expense management systems, to improve control and visibility. For example, if a full overview of a company’s travel spending reveals significant expenditure with a particular hotel chain, this can help negotiation on future hotel rates. Take this to a global level and your bargaining power is greatly amplified.”

 Duty of care: Ensuring the safety of corporate travellers was of paramount importance to almost all corporate travel managers surveyed (97%), reflecting the importance of duty of care in any corporate travel policy today.

The majority (84%) of those surveyed said that their organisations have systems in place to communicate with travellers in an emergency. As corporate travel increases in frequency, companies are under pressure to prioritise travel safety and security while closely managing travel spend.

 Impact of airline ancillary services on corporate travel programmes: Ancillary services are an emerging trend, and will have a long term impact on corporate travel programmes.

20% of respondents in Hong Kong recognise the impact, compared to at least half of the respondents in Singapore. This reflects a higher level of awareness of the impact of ancillary services in Singapore, which can be attributed to the expansion of low cost carriers (LCCs) in Southeast Asia. AirAsia and Jetstar in particular are noticeably targeting business travellers for both short and long haul routes.

“It’s interesting to note both countries’ responses. Without a doubt, we see ancillary revenue generation spreading from LCCs to major carriers, with projections seeing it account for up to 35% of airline revenues in the future. To support corporate travel managers in preparing for this change, we are integrating ancillary services into our solutions,” Akeroyd said.

The survey was conducted with over 38 regional corporate travel managers at Amadeus hosted events. All respondents were based in Hong Kong or Singapore and working for multinational companies with major operations across Asia Pacific.

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