Tap into mobile service: managed travel in the digital economy

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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tap into mobile service: managed travel in the digital economy A global study on mobile travel solutions and the managed travel program By nature, travelers are mobile and often early adopters of new technology. But how fast are they adopting mobile travel apps, and how well are their expectations being met? What impact are the latest solutions having on managed travel programs, and how can companies best manage the risks and opportunities? These are some of the questions answered in research by the CWT Travel Management Institute, summarized here. Business travelers are ready for mobile managed travel services Technically, travelers are ready: according to surveyed travel managers, 62 percent of travelers on average carry company smartphones, rising to at least 80 percent in 41 percent of organizations. A wide range of devices are used at work, especially those that support the most apps: 63 percent of surveyed travelers use iphones and Android devices, which are clearly ahead of BlackBerry and Windows in terms of the number of available apps on app stores. Companies are also ready in terms of expectations: travel managers say they think mobile services will make a significant impact on managed travel programs (on average 6.8 out of 10), predicting positive effects on key areas including traveler productivity (7.7), expense reporting (7.7), duty of care (7.5), spend management (7.5) and supplier negotiations (6.5). While mobile services are considered important at every stage of the travel process or trip continuum, the survey reveals three categories of features in terms of how important they are perceived to be. In the critical category are flight status updates and itinerary information (as well as travel alerts for travel managers). At the other end of the scale, trip information sharing is simply nice to have. All other features (e.g., booking, rebooking and expense management) are considered important. This general pattern holds true for all regions and traveler profiles (i.e., frequent vs. occasional travelers), although some variations emerge. For example, travel alerts appear more important to travelers in Asia Pacific and North America, likely due to the impact of extreme weather on delays, which are more common in these regions.

2 Figure 1: Rating of mobile service features by travelers and travel managers On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the importance of the following mobile services? Critical Flight status updates Itinerary information Flight rebooking Travel alerts Important Hotel rebooking Flight booking Hotel booking Destination map/directions En-route compliance push Link with expense management Nice to have Trip sharing (social networks) Least important Most important Travelers Travel managers Source: CWT Travel Management Institute Based on a global survey of business travelers (1,804 respondents) and travel managers (173 respondents), 2014 Interestingly, on the go mobile booking tends to be considered important (by 43 percent of travelers and 65 percent of travel managers) rather than critical, although surveyed respondents predict fast growth in mobile booking transactions over the next few years across all the main travel categories (air, hotel and car). This is mirrored in a CWT market forecast, which predicts that mobile bookings will account for 25 percent of all online bookings by Most surveyed respondents do not consider a complete shift toward mobile booking to be realistic, seeing it a complement to existing channels rather than a replacement. Smartphones and tablets remain the most difficult ways to book, compared to desktops/laptops and phone calls to travel counselors (scores of 5.8 and 5.2 out of 10 for ease of use, compared to 7.6 and 7.4 respectively).

3 The mobile managed travel offering is fragmented but fast developing and moving toward a power app For the moment, only a select number of key features are available specifically for managed travel, but this situation is changing fast. Currently, business travelers can access apps and mobile web services from providers across the market, including travel management companies, technology providers (online booking tool and expense management solution providers), travel suppliers (airlines, hotel chains and car rental companies), niche app providers (e.g., SeatGuru) and social media networks (e.g., TripAdvisor). In the future, TMCs and travel/expense technology providers may well move toward offering a power app that would provide a one-stop shop for business travelers within a managed travel environment. This would respond to a clear demand expressed by travelers, who would prefer a single app for all services, currently downloading and using only a handful of travel apps at most. (Overall, 70 percent of surveyed travelers use two travel apps at most, while frequent travelers, defined as those taking at least 20 round trips a year, use 2.8). Among TMC apps, CWT To Go TM is the most downloaded (based on Google Play statistics) and enjoys the most positive ratings in both the Apple and Google Play app stores. This app, which is available exclusively to CWT clients via iphone, ipad, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Kindle Fire devices, is among the most feature-rich TMC app on the market and will soon be enhanced further (e.g., with hotel booking and profile management in the second half of 2014, air booking by early 2015 and travel policy features in ). Figure 2: CWT To Go TM is the most downloaded TMC app TMC Downloads Android Ratings* (June 3, 2014) Android ios CWT To Go TM k** 4.4 4, Egencia TripNavigator k American Express MobilExtend*** 5-10 k BCD TripSource N/A HRG Mobile**** 5-10 k Not enough ratings * On a scale of 0 (poor) to 5 (very good) ** 355,000 total downloads on all app stores. *** American Express announced an agreement with Sabre to deliver an integration with TripCase in May **** HRG also offers OnTrack (available in Germany only): downloads from the Android store and a 4.0 rating based on 4. Source: CWT Travel Management Institute, based on publicly available information (company websites and press articles) in March All information is subject to change. For the most up-to date details, contact suppliers directly.

4 For now, TMC app penetration is relatively low overall (only percent according to surveyed travelers and travel managers), but reaches 46 percent for frequent travelers in one company when the results are broken down. (See Figure 3.) Contrary to popular belief, most travelers (57 percent) consider their experience with mobile services to be similar for business and leisure travel, while 18 percent of travelers say their experience is better for business travel. Frequent travelers, however, note greater room for improvement in corporate apps, and this is important to note, given that these travelers represent proportionately more spend in the travel budget. (The 10 percent of employees who travel most account for 50 percent of travel spend, according to previous CWT research. 1 ) Companies can target road warriors specifically when launching and communicating on a corporate mobile offering. Figure 3: Penetration rate of the CWT To Go TM app in the three companies with the most users Company Average A B C % Round trips per year Companies need to act now to get the most benefit For surveyed travel managers, the main barriers to mobile use in their travel programs are IT security issues (35 percent), a lack of available features (26 percent), and to a lesser extent a lack of program compliance (21 percent) and the involvement of numerous decision-makers in mobile issues (18 percent). All of these barriers can be overcome with the right approach, including: Taking action now to avoid program leakage, by steering travelers toward the right apps. Managed travel apps are companies best bet to keep travelers booking within policy while on the go, rather than booking directly through suppliers apps. Seeking the right external partners. Most travel managers (60 percent) do not seek outside support for their mobile strategy but when they do, they tend to ask their TMC for help (32 percent, compared with 8 percent who work with other third parties). 1 CWT Travel Management Institute, Mastering the Maze: A Practical Guide to Air and Ground Savings, 2012

5 Avoiding app overload. Travelers and travel managers alike would clearly prefer a single app to meet their needs (81 percent and 80 percent respectively) rather than several best-in-breed apps. Although this kind of power app is not yet available, companies can implement a scalable TMC app that offers critical features now and other important capabilities, such as booking, in the near future. Keeping up with fast-changing supply and demand. Companies might want to conduct a formal survey of traveler needs and also encourage ongoing ideas and feedback through more informal channels, such as social media or a corporate social network. Working closely with IT experts on data security issues. Mobile data security is a critical, but often overlooked, issue. Travel managers should work in close partnership with their IT experts and TMC or other technology provider to ensure the right protection is in place. Getting buy-in from other departments. Travel managers can play a strong advisory role in the company s policy on mobile devices or in travelers choice if the rule is bring your own device. Yet according to the CWT survey, only 1 percent of mobile device programs are handled by travel management teams, compared with 77 percent by the IT department and 22 percent by other stakeholders. Educating and communicating with travelers. As always, communicating the company s policy clearly, simply and regularly makes a critical difference to compliance. Only 29 percent of surveyed companies have included mobile rules or guidelines in their travel policies so far, but 51 percent intend to do so over the next two years. In short, the time to act is now: by exploiting mobile technology, companies can maintain control over their travel programs while giving travelers more freedom over when how to organize their travel, thanks to mobile access to service wherever they go. In-depth research by the CWT Travel Management Institute The CWT Travel Management Institute used several sources of information for this global study on mobile services for managed travel: A detailed questionnaire completed by 173 travel managers An online survey of 1,804 travelers from seven global companies Interviews with more than 50 industry experts A mobile market forecast Industry white papers and media articles This research took place between December 2013 and May 2014 and involved a wide sample in terms of company size, industry and travel budget. The CWT Travel Management Institute conducts in-depth research to help companies get the most from the travel programs. To access full content, please visit or download CWT Reports from your device s app store.