GBTA-差旅买家调查报告：千禧一代员工占比超过四成（英文）-2019.11-10页_848kb

The Travel Buyer of the Future Summary

Core Content

This document presents the findings of a survey conducted by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Cvent, targeting U.S. travel buyers. The survey, completed between April 3 and May 15, 2019, gathered insights on the evolving role of travel buyers, changes in traveler demographics, the impact of the sharing economy, and the increasing importance of technology in business travel management.

Industry Tenure

• 66% of travel buyers have been in the industry for 10 or more years.
• 37% have been in the industry for more than 20 years.
• 17% have been in the industry for less than 5 years.
• 18% have been in the industry for 5 to less than 10 years.
• 15% have been in the industry for 15 to less than 20 years.
• 12% have been in the industry for 10 to less than 15 years.

The data suggests that the travel buyer role is predominantly held by experienced professionals, with a significant portion having over two decades of experience.

The Changing Landscape

• The role of the travel buyer has evolved into procurement and has become global.
• One-quarter of travel buyers who started in travel now work in other departments.
• Nearly two-thirds of travel buyers who began with national responsibility now have a larger scope of responsibilities.

This indicates a shift in the function and responsibility of travel buyers, driven by broader business travel management needs.

The Millennial Effect

• One-quarter of travel buyers report that over 40% of their traveler workforce are Millennials.
• 73% of travel buyers say Millennials demand different, more consumer-like tools in their travel programs.
• 54% say Millennials tend to push the boundaries of corporate travel policy.

Millennials are influencing the expectations and requirements of travel programs, prompting a need for more flexible and user-friendly solutions.

The Sharing Economy

• 30% of travel buyers are taking action to address the sharing economy.
• 58% plan to always allow ride-sharing services.
• 42% plan to allow ride-sharing in some situations.
• 77% plan to allow home-sharing in some situations.

Travel buyers are adapting to the rise of ride-sharing and home-sharing services, integrating them into travel policies as part of a broader strategy.

Technology Growing in Importance

• Two-thirds of travel buyers say technology implementation and data integration have become more of a priority.
• 71% expect technology implementation to become more of a priority in the next five years.
• 70% expect to spend more time evaluating or implementing new technology in the next five years.

Technology is increasingly shaping the travel buyer's role, with a growing emphasis on digital tools and integration.

Tech is Driving Change

• 42% of travel buyers say increasing technological developments have had a strong impact on their job in the past year.
• 75% expect increasing technological developments to have a significant impact on the future of their role.
• However, only one in three travel buyers have changed their travel policy in response to technological developments.

Despite the growing influence of technology, many travel buyers have not yet fully adapted their policies to reflect these changes.

Industry Mis-Alignment: Safety

• Safety is a top priority for vendor selection, but only 52% use it as a KPI.
• Only half of travel buyers say they use traveler safety to measure travel program effectiveness.

There is a gap between the importance of safety and its actual integration into performance metrics.

Industry Mis-Alignment: Technology Integration

• Online travel booking tools and expense technology are widely used, but integration remains a challenge.
• 62% use online travel booking tools.
• 48% use expense technology.
• 41% integrate TMC/hotel data with meetings management tools.
• 37% integrate meetings management with safety and security tools.
• 36% integrate meetings management with online booking tools.
• 18% integrate meetings management with expense tools.

While many technologies are in place, integration across systems is not yet widespread, leading to inefficiencies in travel management.

Methodology

• The survey was conducted online with corporate North American Travel Buyers.
• 224 individuals completed at least one question.
• 211 qualified as travel or meetings managers/buyers or procurement/sourcing professionals.
• 173 completed the entire survey.

The survey provides a snapshot of current trends and challenges in the travel buyer profession.

About GBTA

• The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is a leading trade organization in business travel and meetings.
• Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, it operates on six continents.
• GBTA has 9,000+ members managing over $345 billion in annual travel and meetings expenditures.
• It delivers education, events, research, advocacy, and media to a global network of 28,000+ travel professionals and 125,000+ active contacts.

About Cvent

• Cvent, Inc. is a cloud-based event management platform.
• It offers software solutions for event planners, including online registration, venue selection, mobile apps, email marketing, and web surveys.
• Cvent also provides hoteliers with tools to increase group business demand and improve conversion through demand management and business intelligence.
• Its solutions optimize the entire event management value chain.

Key Takeaways

• The travel buyer role is becoming more strategic and global.
• Millennials are reshaping expectations for traveler experience and policy flexibility.
• The sharing economy is influencing travel policies, with a focus on ride-sharing and home-sharing.
• Technology is a key driver in the evolution of the role, but integration and policy adaptation remain challenges.
• Safety is a top concern, yet its measurement is not fully realized in current practices.