Ask any executive why the business travel segment is suffering, and you’ll likely get an earful on how the government has stigmatized the traditional corporate meetings in Las Vegas and Hawaii.

business travel changes

Believe me, I like to make Uncle Sam my whipping boy at every opportunity, and the government has put a fear into companies who think a resort in Palm Desert looks nice for an incentive trip. But according to PhoCusWright’s U.S. Corporate Travel Distribution report, no less than seven trends are shaking up the status quo right now:

1. Balancing the Triple Bottom Line

Accounting now looks at a company’s environmental and social performance areas in addition to pure cash. It’s also known as “going green,” and with environmentalists blaming airlines for 7 percent of worldwide carbon emissions, it puts the squeeze on decisions involving lots of airport check-ins.

2. Putting the E Cart Before the T Horse.

A clever way of saying “we want to reconcile booked vs. ticketed vs. pre-trip vs. spend vs. reconciled (or post-trip) travel data.” Still scratching your head? According to PhoCusWright, it means companies want to pull all of their travel partnerships into one end-to-end solution.

3. Business Travel Goes Retail: Supply Chain Management

When the going gets tough, the tough expect their partners to share insider information on their key performance indicators, too. Companies with corporate travel accounts want to see risk-reward set ups that give them extra perks for exceeding their terms — luckily, they’re willing to pay a penalty for missing, too.

business travel on the move

4. Traveler-Centric vs Trip-Centric Buying

Thanks to the Internet, travelers of all stripes expect a little “me” in everything they book. The game isn’t about finding a great destination now at a great price — it’s also about knowing this traveler’s history and profile at the same time.

5. Going Mobile

Nearly 70 percent of frequent business travelers have a smartphone somewhere on their person. Corporate travel players need to know how to send down itinerary changes, boarding passes and other pertinent information to these phones. Pretty soon, they’ll be demanding e-wallet payment options, too, so look lively, industry.

6. Video Conferencing: Traveling Without the Trip

Face it, if companies can set up face-to-face meetings over the Internet without the travel drama, they’re going to run with the opportunity.

7. SMEs Become Big Business

SME stands for small and mid-sized enterprises, that group of businesses whose employees do some travel, but they’ve always just asked a secretary to make the booking on Expedia. The recession is actually an excellent time for the travel industry to introduce itself to these dollars, as any offer to help save time and money gets bigger play today.

Photography: laverrue, vandelizer

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