A Phocuswright Special Project

U.S. Corporate Travel Market Sizing & Trends 2024: Insights and Outlook

Demonstrate leadership in your segment while gaining access to 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

A joint project from Phocuswright & Business Travel News

By Phocuswright Research

Sponsor pivotal research to elevate your industry standing

Lead the way in the corporate market segment with Phocuswright and Business Travel News

Business Travel News is the voice of the business travel and meeting industry and the day-to-day lifeline for professionals seeking information, news, data, analysis and research.

Phocuswright is the global travel research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect. Together, we will unlock powerful insights that can steer the strategy for your business and reveal opportunities.

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.

A shifting landscape

In 2019, the managed corporate travel segment, at nearly $133 billion, represented about a third of all U.S. travel gross bookings. Then came the pandemic and travel came to a standstill! But even as leisure travel made a rapid post-pandemic recovery, business travel continued to lag. It is only recently that sustained signs of a recovery have emerged.

Despite the positive outlook, managed corporate travel faces upheaval. Rapid developments in distribution, new entrants and consolidation in the TMC space, emerging technologies, innovation in payments, sustainability targets and evolving traveler behavior are all contributing to seismic shifts in the segment. Stakeholders - from corporates and travel managers to suppliers, intermediaries and technology/service providers - are having to rethink their strategies, priorities and approach. Meanwhile, business travelers are not immune to changes in the landscape either. Beyond the much-discussed bleisure trip, their expectations extend to employers tending to their well-being on the road while meeting their bar for good corporate citizenship.

As business travel is poised to enter a new era, Phocuswright will examine its current state, where it is headed and the trends that will impact its future. 

Research objectives

This research study will establish a current "state of the industry” including market sizing and forecast, exploring the forces impacting business travel and delving into the changing dynamics of the market.

Size the U.S. managed corporate travel market and forecast gross bookings through 2027, including breakouts by product segment and channel.
Examine business traveler behaviors and attitudes in the post-pandemic era.
Explore the factors influencing business travel including changes to distribution, challenges facing intermediaries, new entrants and the technological advances fueling their rise.
Understand the impact of changes in the ecosystem on travel programs.
Identify key trends and the ways in which they will affect business travel in the future.

Sponsors will learn

Evolution of the business travel market size (gross bookings) over the next few years, overall and by segment and channel
Current business traveler behaviors and what changes in the future might imply for managed travel
How the increasing importance of traveler experience is being reflected across the landscape
Changes to distribution and what that might mean for travel programs
How suppliers' direct booking initiatives affect business travel
The role of intermediaries in the future
How travel managers are adapting policy and programs to balance cost, traveler well-being and sustainability goals
Key technological advancements and their impact on business travel
The increasing importance of payments in corporate travel

Core areas of focus

The study seeks to address the following key questions:

What is the market size (gross bookings) of managed corporate travel in the U.S.? What does the breakout look like by segment (air, lodging, car rental, rail and ground transportation) and channel?
How is the business travel market size expected to change over the next few years?
What does post-pandemic business traveler behavior look like? What are their attitudes towards business travel and the travel experience? What are the implications for managed travel programs?
How are changes in distribution, especially air, affecting managed travel programs? What changes in hotel distribution might impact business travel?
As suppliers ramp up direct booking efforts, how will it affect business travel?
How are intermediaries impacted by the changes in distribution? How might the role of GDSs and TMCs change?
What are travel managers doing to adapt to the changes in the business travel environment? What are their short and long-term focus areas?
What are the emerging technologies that are likely to impact business travel and how?

Methodology

Our comprehensive approach includes:

Nationwide Survey: Targeting U.S. business travelers and 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

Sponsors of this study will gain:

A solidified leadership position in the corporate travel segment
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.

Or contact us to discuss full benefits at sales@phocuswright.com

Sponsor benefits

U.S. Corporate Travel Market Sizing and Trends 2024	Gold (limited to 6 clients)	Platinum (limited to 4 clients)
Tailored kick-off call to provide sponsor's key points of interest		✓
Project kick-off documentation provided	✓	✓
Two custom survey questions included in survey. May be in either Traveler Survey OR Travel Manager Survey (or one each). The findings and analysis will be proprietary to sponsor.		✓
A custom link to the Travel Manager survey for partners to send their audience. The Traveler survey will be fielded through a panel only).	✓	✓
Findings, market-sizing data, projections, trends and analysis delivered as in-depth PowerPoint presentation deck that can be shared internally	✓	✓
Analyst presentation of findings by group webinar	✓	✓
One personalized, private 30-minute Q&A session with analysts related to research findings		✓
Preferred branding as sponsor on summary report available to Phocuswright research subscribers	✓	✓
PDF copy of that summary report* that sponsoring company may share internally	✓	✓
Branding on BTN webinar platform for throughout webinar presentation of findings to full audience and sponsor acknowledgement on promotions leading up to webinar, plus GDPR compliant list of registrants (company, name, title, email)		✓
Participation for one executive at a co-sponsored session during Business Travel Show Europe 2025, 25 - 26 June 2025		✓
Sponsor logo acknowledgement on BTN webinar presentation of findings to full audience and sponsor acknowledgement on opening and closing slides	✓	✓
Sponsor to receive registration list (name, job title, company, email) of webinars attendees (GDPR compliant)
One month ROS banner on BTN website on a space available basis		✓
Inclusion of sponsor logo or company name in a banner ad for one week in BTN Daily Newsletter (27,000 subscribers) to coincide with publishing results of study	✓	✓
Inclusion of sponsor logo or company name in a co-sponsored banner ad in Travel Procurement Newsletter (15,000 subscribers) to coincide with publishing results of study		✓
Inclusion of sponsor logo or company name in a co-sponsored banner ad in Travel Management Newsletter (19,000 subscribers) to coincide with publishing results of study		✓
Inclusion of sponsor logo or company name in a co-sponsored banner ad for one week in BTN Europe Newsletter (14,000 subscribers) to coincide with publishing results of study	✓	✓
Inclusion of logo or company name in 2x co-sponsored eblasts to 35,000 subscribers in the BTN Group database to coincide with publishing results of study
Inclusion of logo or company name in a co-sponsored promotional ad in digital conference and events program at 6 BTN events		✓
Sponsor acknowledgement upon presentation of any findings at BTN Group events (minimum of 4)	✓	✓

*Summary report will publish roughly three months after findings are delivered to participants. Phocuswright shall have the right to terminate the Agreement prior to the Engagement commencement if there is insufficient participation from other partners in the Research Study and Phocuswright shall issue a full refund for any fees paid.

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Email us: sales@phocuswright.com

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