Scott Davies
CEO, Institute of Travel Management
Unlock insights into travel managers’ challenges and priorities, as the ‘Pulse Check’ survey results reveal industry trends and future solutions.
Institute of Travel Management (ITM) is the UK and Ireland’s leading professional body for business travel buyers, responsible for procuring and managing all their company’s business travel requirements.
Business travel tech challenges uncovered
Our latest ‘Pulse Check’ survey of travel buyers provides a valuable window into the current challenges and priorities dominating travel managers’ workloads now and for the foreseeable future. Around 100 corporate travel buyers, managers and heads of travel, with a mix of global, EMEA, UK and Ireland responsibilities, completed the survey exploring current sentiment and trends.
Buyers are facing a multitude of challenges with their business travel booking technology, with no satisfactory solution. An overwhelming 82% said that their online booking platform does not meet all their requirements today.
Reasons cited by buyers were primarily due to lack of access to full airfares content within their booking platform due to many airlines recently introducing new distribution methods. Buyers are also dissatisfied with the quality of the user interface and information displays.
Mixed outlook on content solutions
Just over half of buyers (52%) believe that there will be a satisfactory solution to the content challenges with airlines, booking tools and travel management companies within the next three to five years. However, 32% are unsure, and 16% believe not.
Reflecting on the benefits of working with a travel management company (TMC) to book and oversee their organisation’s business travel needs, buyers were also almost evenly split on whether they believe the TMC sector is adapting to changes in the airline distribution landscape, with 56% agreeing and 44% disagreeing.
Just over half of buyers (52%) believe that
there will be a satisfactory solution to
the content challenges with airlines.
Buyer comments on TMCs
“Most of the big TMCs are intrinsically tied to the legacy technology systems, and there is growing scepticism that this approach is the way forward.”
“TMCs still need to adapt more quickly to provide solutions to the rapidly changing airline and hotel content distribution channels.”
“The space is ripe for disruption — and new entrants or other ecosystem partners could impact the TMC business model if they don’t evolve.”
Buyers prioritising carbon reduction
The ‘Pulse Check’ also highlighted how business travel buyers are under pressure to accelerate steps to meet carbon net-zero targets. Building responsible travel policies has been on buyers’ priority lists for a while. However, there is an increasing recognition among buyers that they may need to take more decisive action to ensure that their organisation is on schedule to meet carbon targets and legislative requirements.
Many buyers foresee a reduction in travel volumes as the only quick fix. Indeed, the majority of respondents (79%) agreed with the statement ‘I believe we will all have to travel less to meet carbon reduction targets.’ Travelling with purpose and potentially taking fewer trips per person will inevitably be something that travel buyers need to take a long, hard look at within their programmes.
