LONDON, September 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
- 51% of company travel policies now allow the use
of ride sharing services
- Millennials (those ages 18 to
34) show the greatest appetite for ride-sharing and
home-sharing services and are most likely to harness
technology whilst travelling
Millennial business travellers are driving technological change
as consumer travel habits continue to impact the business travel
experience and corporate travel policy, according to the GBTA
Global Business Traveler Sentiment Index™, in partnership with
American Express.
The research, which includes a survey of 405 UK business
travellers, examines satisfaction with all aspects of business
travel, and pinpoints the increasing use of technological
innovation.
Key UK findings from the research include:
- 51% of company travel policies now allow use of ride share
services, suggesting that many companies have ensured their policy
reflects the new providers and technologies available.
- Over the next three months, just over one-in-ten (11%) UK
business travelers think they will increase their use of ride share
services, such as Uber and Lyft. This is primarily driven by
younger travellers - over a quarter (28%) of Millennials say they
will increase their use of ride share services. None of those over
the age of 55 surveyed have plans to increase usage.
- Home sharing usage is not yet as widespread as other shared
services. Just 28% of company travel policies allow home sharing
services, such as Airbnb and HomeAway to be used.
- However, almost one in ten respondents (9%) think they will
imminently increase their use of home share services. The age
divide is, again, evident: 22% of Millennials say they will do so,
compared to only 1% of those over 55 years old.
Millennials lead the pack in using social
networking sites for business communication
- A majority of UK business travellers (62%) think technology
won't replace face-to-face meetings when conducting business. Women
(71%) and older workers (73% of those aged 55+) are most likely to
think technology won't replace face-to-face meetings compared to
half (53%) of men and 57% of Millennials.
- One-third (35%) think social networking sites help meeting up
with colleagues and business contacts when travelling. This
comprises over a half (53%) of Millennials, compared to only a
third (34%) of those aged 35 to 54 and a mere 15% of those over
55.
Wi-Fi is considered vital to work productivity by
four-in-five (81%) business travellers - and
there's room to improve on-trip
connectivity
- Hotel rooms have the highest satisfaction rating (79%) for
Wi-Fi availability and reliability. Just under one-half (46%) of
respondents are happy with Wi-Fi on trains and just over one- third
(35%) are satisfied with airline Wi-Fi, meaning connectivity
presents a clear opportunity for travel providers to improve the
journey experience
- During flights, most travellers (57%) don't work, with many
citing on-board hindrances to productivity; one-quarter (24%) tend
to do work that requires the internet whilst flying, whereas the
work of one-in-five (20%) does not.
- Millennials (31%) are twice as likely as the over 55's (15%) to
be reliant on internet-based work whilst flying and are roughly
twice as likely to cite hindrances to work whilst flying than their
elders.
UK business travellers - like their peers
worldwide - are much more confident about the health of
their industry than the overall health of the economy
- 43% of UK business travellers rate the health of their industry
as excellent - but only 22% would rate the overall health of the
economy as such.
- This reflects the global trend: averaged across all markets, a
higher proportion of business travellers rated their industry's
health as excellent (a global average of 51%) than their own
domestic economy (global average of 35% rated this as
excellent).
Fabienne Cauli, Vice
President, Global Client Group, EMEA & JAPA, American
Express Global Commercial Payments, commented: "This Index provides
a benchmark of business travellers' changing priorities and
expectations - and it's fascinating to see how this is evolving,
thanks, in part, to generational change in the workplace. Younger
travellers show clear appetite for using sharing economy services,
and have high expectations when it comes to connectivity. These
issues are only going to become more prominent in the years ahead,
as Millennials represent an ever-growing proportion of the
workforce."
Catherine McGavock, GBTA Regional
Vice President, EMEA, commented: "UK business travellers have made
clear their views on many aspects of business travel and, whilst
70% of them are generally satisfied with their overall business
travel experience, they have pinpointed some areas which those
servicing the travel market could improve, for example, when it
comes to Wi-Fi connectivity. Recent years have seen unheralded
changes in consumers' technological and service expectations and
we're now in an era where people expect to be able to work and
communicate via the internet wherever they are."
The GBTA Global Business Traveler Sentiment Index™, in
partnership with American Express, was carried out between March 31 and April 13, 2016, by the GBTA
Foundation. An online survey was conducted among a sample of 3,500
business travelers in eight markets: Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong
Kong, Japan, Mexico, the United
Kingdom and the United
States. In the UK, specifically, 405 UK business travellers
were surveyed. Eligible respondents were employed part- or
full-time and had taken four or more business trips in the past 12
months. For more information, please visit
https://business.americanexpress.com/us/business-trends-and-insights/business-traveler/business-travel-insights-global-business-traveler-sentiment-index