A Phocuswright Special Project
U.S. Corporate Travel Market: Insights and Outlook
Participate in an updated study on the U.S. corporate travel landscape, focusing on current market sizing, evolving trends, and future projections.
Contact us about becoming a sponsor: sales@phocuswright.com
Multi-client sponsored research studies bring businesses together to answer timely, topic-specific questions about the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
Delivering on a promise
The next decade could disrupt stagnant models and deliver on the promise of seamless, personalized travel for a wider array of company stakeholders.
What will the future of business travel look like? Experts are optimistic that it will be much more efficient, personalized and sustainable. The roles of certain players and technologies will evolve, automation will play a large role, and friction - from displaying the right content at the right time to the right traveler, to the submission of expense reports - should be reduced across the board.
⬇️ Scroll to see Research Objectives, Key Questions to be Addressed and the benefits of sponsoring like getting the data.
The state of corporate innovation
Norm Rose, travel technology consultant and Phocuswright research analyst, says, "The big battle in corporate travel is between control and choice. Corporate travel managers have long said ‘you have to do things this way', and this is increasingly in direct contrast to the open marketplace concept that emerged about six years ago. The main problem is that individuals think they can do better than the corporation, which is generally not true, but this drives them to shop outside the system.
"The solution is to make the traveler feel that they're receiving extraordinary value by making the benefits of booking within the program crystal clear at the time of booking. It is more difficult than it sounds due to the fragmentation of GDS, NDC and other content. But this problem is currently being solved in multiple ways."
There are plenty of inhibitors to innovation in corporate travel that will persist for many years due to the complexity of the landscape, deeply rooted ways of doing things and technological barriers. But a plethora of efforts from startups and incumbents alike are precipitating change and providing tailwinds to overcome some of the hurdles."
Phocuswright will present a thorough examination of the corporate sector, utilizing analytical and sizing methodologies to predict trends and shifts to uncover insights into the evolving market.
This Special Project aims to explore strategic approaches to balance cost, traveler well-being and sustainability; the integration of technology for enhanced data visibility; the impact of direct booking initiatives; the role of private rentals in travel policies; and how intermediaries are adapting to new industry paradigms.
Phocuswright will work with you to set the research agenda, giving you access to unpublished and customized data.
Email us at sales@phocuswright.com
The study will provide:
- Updated market sizing and forecasts
- Analysis of technology adoption in travel management
- Insights into the integration of leisure elements into business travel (blended travel/Bleisure)
- Evaluation of virtual card usage and its impact on expense management
The study seeks to address the following key questions:
- How can travel policies balance cost, traveler well-being, and sustainability?
- What strategies ensure seamless integration of data sources for comprehensive visibility?
- How do direct booking initiatives from suppliers impact the corporate travel market?
- In what ways are private rentals being incorporated into travel policies?
- How are intermediaries adapting to industry shifts such as NDC, new market entrants, and supplier direct strategies?
- What measures are being taken to enhance the traveler experience across the industry?
Methodology
Our comprehensive approach includes:
- Nationwide Survey: Targeting U.S. corporate travel managers to gather quantitative data on travel management practices.
- Executive Interviews: Conducting in-depth discussions with senior stakeholders for qualitative insights.
- Market Sizing Analysis: Utilizing Phocuswright's proprietary data and industry interviews to estimate and project corporate travel spend.
Key Features and Benefits
Participants in this study will gain:
- Access to the latest trends and data analytics in corporate travel.
- Strategic insights to optimize travel policies and expense management.
- Networking opportunities with industry leaders and peers.
- Enhanced understanding of the corporate traveler's evolving needs.
Outcomes
Upon completion, the study will provide:
- A detailed report on the current state and future outlook of the U.S. corporate travel market.
- Actionable insights for travel policy development.
- A roadmap for technology integration and traveler experience enhancement.
Click here for full sponsor benefits. Or contact us at sales@phocuswright.com
Corporate travel funding
According to Phocuswright's research report The State of Travel Funding 2023, corporate travel-focused companies collected 7.2% of all funding in the last 10 years, but 14% over the last 18 months ($2 billion), all from companies founded in 2015 or later. Like the Short-Term Rental category, companies in the Corporate vertical raised the highest amount ever for the category in 2022, also at $1.9 billion. Ramp and Navan (rebranded from TripActions in early 2023) made up the majority of this amount, raising $750M and $704M, respectively. Other notable raises include Fenbeitong ($140M), TravelPerk ($114M) and Spotnana ($75M).
The segment continues to attract investment dollars as cloud computing and other advanced technologies open up opportunities to rethink the corporate travel value chain in ways not possible before.
How cutting emissions cuts into corporate travel
Exceprt from Phocuswright's Travel Innovation and Technology Trends 2024
It’s 2024 and the travel industry is back to normal… or is it? There is one big holdout still hotly debated as the sector that may never full recover from 2020 – and that of course is corporate travel. Not business travel, where entrepreneurs, solo practitioners, and small to medium businesses (SMBs) have helped fuel a recent boom. Rather, it’s the large enterprises, particularly the Fortune 500, which are stalling a full recovery.
There are several reasons for the slower pace, including video conferencing, remote work and rising travel costs. But while these trends have sparked a reset in corporate travel, there is another – sustainability – that may cement permanent change. Most Fortune 500 companies have pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the long term, and for some, easing back on employee travel may be the fastest route to success. By understanding how large corporations plan to achieve sustainability targets, we can better predict corporate travel’s recovery.
Though overall demand has normalized, many of the world’s leading enterprises have tightened their purse strings, citing pledges toward the Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi) and limiting Scope 3 emissions as their reasons for curtailing employee trips. Scope 3 emissions are those generated from sources outside of the company, and often include carbon emissions from business travel.
It's hard to predict the exact impact of sustainability actions on corporate travel, but it’s in the billions of dollars if nearly half of companies plan to cut back. Most business trips are driven by sales targets and competitive factors, but sustainability weighs heavily on decision-making as well. Considering pledges from the world’s largest enterprises, what’s good for the environment might not be so good for travel businesses.
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Email us: sales@phocuswright.com
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