How can corporations get more value from travel spend? By Deborah Mahoney, Head of Sales and Business Development, Amadeus Cytric Solutions, Amadeus

Businesses have been forced to act against a background of uncertainty in recent years, grappling with a climate of economic volatility . This backdrop has encouraged cuts to corporate spending in many areas.

Within this envelope often lies corporate travel. However, we can argue this is an area that cannot be considered a mere line item to be trimmed, but a key driver underpinning company growth and organizational resilience.

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How can businesses budget effectively to maximize the value of each dollar?

It can be tempting for a business to cut back on flights, hotels and transfers to save cash in the short-term; images of executives in airport lounges around the world can make for an easy target. However, this is not indicative of most people’s business travel experience, and misplaced cuts can have negative longer-term consequences , not only when it comes to company growth but also the employee experience.

For me, it’s important to understand where cutting back business travel expenditure can have the most negative impact, and how companies can get the balance between cost and value right.

At its core, business travel forges and nurtures better relationships with colleagues, customers, prospects, and stakeholders. Curtailing corporate travel can thus negatively impact on these critical interactions, weakening organizational performance and resilience.

Going to industry events is important, for example, which is why we’ve seen them bounce back strongly since the pandemic. They are crucial for cultivating best practices, sparking creative ideas and tracking market trends. A colleague of mine always says ‘no time spent with a customer is wasted, and real business is done outside of the office’. And this is true for many. It’s virtually impossible to argue that travel in these circumstances is anything other than an investment in the health and prosperity of your organization. If we carefully select which events to attend, this can drive maximum value.

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How can we increase employee engagement through travel?

At the same time, it’s important to look within your organization, too. For a significant portion of the workforce, restrictions on travel budgets can dampen engagement and trigger increased turnover. This is why, according to Deloitte , half of all companies are choosing to accommodate employees’ expectations when it comes to travel. This can mean accepting requests around luxury services, such as first or business class airfares, upscale hotels and flexible bookings.

While the Deloitte study, correctly, observes this can push up costs, there is an argument to be made that increased short-term corporate travel costs are outweighed by the long-term value of positive employee morale .

It is good to see that there is more research and insight into the value that travel brings to businesses. , it’s important to explore how companies can get the balance right.

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How do adaptative travel policies drive employee wellbeing?

Today's measure of success, increasingly defined by output rather than hours logged, mandates a shift in travel policies to align with the sense of flexibility that modern professionals expect. Empowering employees with greater choice in their travel decisions isn't about offering perks; it's about acknowledging and facilitating the way that teams now operate—less command and control, with more agility.

Adaptive travel policies that accommodate these changes and allow for more freedom will be vital for forward-looking companies. But what does this look like in reality – how can we do this?

Corporate travel departments should ask questions such as, can we offer flexibility to our colleagues when it comes to choosing their preferred airlines, accommodation options, or transport modes? Do we have to offer our colleagues a narrow selection of hotels to stay in, or can they select their own within a certain budget? Would the increase in well-being offered by greater freedom outweigh the loss of a few loyalty points?

This is also an opportunity to drive wellness among employees. What might practical changes look like here? Can we offer lenient paid time off (PTO) policies that allow for recovery time and ensure colleagues are well-rested, for example? Can we avoid scheduling meetings on travel days, to cut down on stress, or share trips more equally around team members?

If employees can make informed decisions regarding their travel arrangements and wellbeing, this will be a tremendous motivator. As long as we stay in compliance with regulatory requirements, do we really need more rules?

Approval processes can also be more flexible, based on the purpose and value of a trip, rather than strict criteria like hierarchy and budget. If an employee can demonstrate the strategic importance of a trip, is it possible to have a policy which allows them to do it quickly, at short notice?

The more freedom offered, the greater the value. This approach is at the heart of more adaptive and flexible policies. As the Harvard Business Review finds , nearly two thirds of business leaders say having a ‘strong travel culture’ is very important to organizational performance.

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Evaluate, plan and maximize each trip to drive value

Adopting a value-centric approach to corporate travel is more sensible than blunt cost-cutting. Implementing a more adaptive travel policy is one way of doing that, but what else?

It’s important to evaluate the potential return on investment of travel. That way businesses can ensure alignment with strategic goals and tie-back how travel spend delivers organizational value.

With advance planning, particularly for fixed-date events, significant savings can be secured. Utilizing modern booking tools can also ensure optimal rates and compliance with travel policies, be they adaptive or otherwise. Developing strong relationships with travel providers can unlock benefits and efficiencies too, reducing costs in the long run.

Newly developed AI tools can also play a role. As Emburse points out, new technology can see in-house business travel platforms match the level of responsiveness users see in consumer travel products, encouraging business travelers to use them and helping finance teams keep on top of spending.

And finally, objective stacking. While there may be one dominant driver of a trip, objective stacking is a way to combine multiple objectives—such as client meetings, internal collaboration, and talent scouting—in a single journey. This allows each trip to deliver the most value, reducing the volume of trips, ensuring cost efficiency, and for employees to maximize the return on their time out of the office and away from home.?

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A modern approach to corporate travel yields benefits for employees and employers

As the environment for businesses changes, so must strategies for managing corporate travel. For organizations and corporate travel departments, it is vital to have access to data and insight on corporate travel spend to inform decisions. For employees, it is vital to have choice, ease of booking, and ease of reconciliation so travel isn’t a burden.

When combined with fostering a culture of trust, a focus on value, and a focus on productivity, businesses can ensure travel enhances the employee experience and accelerates better organizational performance. A win-win.