The future of corporate travel: trends we can expect in 2021

By: Victoria DeBoon, Director of Sales

SAP Concur Canada

As plans are being assembled for 2021, the biggest question mark has been around in-person meetings and corporate travel. Thankfully, signals from the travel industry and recent vaccine announcements point towards a safe return.

While technology has enabled us to fill our days with efficient calls, it also has revealed a need for face-to-face communication and desire to build deeper client relationships in-person. It’s also good for business – according to a recent Canada Business Traveller Report 2020, more than half of Canadian business travellers expect declines in deals if they cannot travel (51%).

As we look at the trends shaping the future of corporate travel, we’ve also taken learnings from companies who have safely maintained their travel programs this year to complete work on sites across the country.

Technology will be key for employee safety

As organizations set sights on the return to corporate travel, safety will be top-of-mind for business leaders and employees. In fact, majority of business travellers are looking to their employers to implement safety measures before they travel again (96%) – and technology will be a key component in keeping employees safe of the road.

Mobile technology in particular enables employees to have a touchless experience throughout a trip from bookings, to check-ins and luggage drop off. We’ll see an increasing reliance on travel tools to provide employees with real-time updates on travel restrictions and safety measures, as well as the ability to communicate and track employees in the event of an emergency. Technology goes a long way to easing concerns and providing convenient ways to travel.

The industry has been moving towards this trend, but now more than ever technology will play an enormous role in corporate travel.

Prioritizing sustainability when travelling

The shift to remote working around the globe as led to a projected eight per cent decrease in emissions over the past year. Many businesses are being mindful of the role they play in climate change and will

refocus efforts to add environmentally sustainable practices to its corporate travel programs.

We will see more organizations taking positive steps to incorporate sustainable policies and guidelines and employees will hold companies accountable – more than a quarter (27%) of Canadian business travellers are interested in training on how to travel more sustainably. We expect employees will increasingly look for solutions that track and offset emissions easily.

As organizations resume their travel programs, many will prioritize domestic business trips given the varying levels of restrictions around the globe. As a result of this, we’re likely to see business travellers opting for more environmentally friendly versions of transportation such as driving where it is an economically viable option or opting to fly non-stop to avoid unnecessary layovers. 

Personalized approach to booking travel

Resuming travel programs will require a personalized approach as employees will have varying levels of comfort and concerns. It’s our responsibility as leaders to listen to the needs of employees and implement practices that will ensure employee safety, health, and security. Travellers will be more cautious around the length of a trip, where they will travel and the kinds of accommodations they will be staying in. Prioritizing bookings with preferred vendors that have trusted reputations and collaborating with employees to ensure it meets their comfort level will be key to enabling confident corporate travellers.

Business travel plays an important role in the success of today’s enterprise. We know Canadians are excited to be travelling for work again – but not before companies put the right measures and training in place to keep them safe.

The best way companies can prepare their plans for 2021 is by listening to the concerns among their employees, investing in solutions and putting new policies in place to ensure their travellers feel safe when they return to the road.