Egencia, the business travel arm of the Expedia group, has announced results from its 4th edition Egencia Business Travel and Technology Survey, highlighting the increasing desire by business travelers for technology access and cross-device integration, along with greater productivity offerings, on the road.
Accessibility is a key theme to stay productive: two-thirds (66%) of business travelers across regions want to manage and book their business travel on every mobile device, not just on their smartphone, with 76% of U.S. business travelers making the ask. Additionally, 50% of global respondents would avoid human interaction on the road unless they are having a problem and more than half (56%) of global respondents simply want access to business travel tools to do more on mobile in general.
According to the survey, business travelers are optimistic when it comes to technology’s role in improving their business travel experience:
- 48% would like to use text to update their travel arrangements – highest among U.S. business travelers (63%)
- 43% believe advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) will help improve their travel experiences – highest among U.S. business travelers (55%)
While many business travelers today (70%) find business trips more enjoyable than everyday work life, according to the Egencia white paper, “Control: Find out what it means to your travelers,” there are still incremental changes that can be made to increase overall satisfaction on the road – and it starts with productivity enhancements. Blurring the lines between business and pleasure, non-stop flights and in-flight Wi-Fi ranked high among business travelers as perks that would increase both their productivity and satisfaction. Rounding out the top four amenities business travelers cited to improve productivity and satisfaction are extra time off to compensate for traveling on weekends and/or personal time and class upgrades on flights longer than six hours.