AN ANNUAL corporate travel survey by GetThere, the world’s leading travel and collaboration management solution, has revealed business travel volumes are enjoying a period of recovery as the industry pulls out of the economic downturn but corporations still remain focused on reducing travel expenses. The 11th annual GetThere Corporate Travel Benchmark Survey revealed that 61 per cent of respondents expected their travel budgets to increase by up to 10 per cent in 2011 and nearly a third forecast an increase of up to five per cent. Yet corporations continue to drive down travel costs by achieving higher adoption rates of online travel booking tools like GetThere. 'Corporations are travelling more to generate new business but there’s still pressure to keep costs down. Prudent travel practices remain intact because technology is now in place to help companies control their travel policies and best practices introduced during the credit crunch remain even as corporate travel volumes return to pre-recession levels,' said Jason Geall, GetThere’s director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Average online adoption rates for GetThere customers increased for the tenth consecutive year. In Europe, companies surveyed reported an average of 55 per cent online adoption in 2010, up four percentage points from 2009, with GetThere’s top performing customers in Europe averaging above 90 per cent online adoption. 'Adoption has reached record levels across Europe and we expect this to increase in line with the focus on savings,' said Geall. As a result of higher online adoption rates, respondents reported the following savings: • Average saving of 70 per cent on agency fees • Average savings of 18 per cent and 24 per cent on domestic and international airfares, respectively • Average savings of 12 per cent and 31 per cent on domestic and international hotel rates, respectively. • Average rental car rental savings were four per cent domestically and 18 per cent internationally. In 2011, more corporations are addressing ancillary fees in their travel policies as airlines continue to introduce extra fees. In general, most companies are reimbursing travellers for their first checked bag. However, the survey showed a 16 percentage point drop in companies that reimburse travellers for a second bag. Companies reimbursing for on-board food and beverage and Wi-Fi increased by 13 and 20 percentage points respectively. 'We’re seeing corporations developing smart, thoughtful travel policies to manage these extras that maximise travel budgets and meet employees’ needs while on the road. On-board Wi-Fi is clearly viewed as a valuable productivity tool by more and more corporate travel managers,' said Geall. The mobile space continues to be a growth space for the travel industry and, for the second straight year, respondents ranked obtaining flight information as the most important feature of a mobile solution, while booking flights and hotels ranked second and third respectively. The GetThere corporate travel survey annually tracks business travel patterns at some of the world’s leading corporations which currently use GetThere.
