backGLOBALtalk December, 2011

European Companies Tighten Some Travel Policies, Loosen Long-Haul Business Class Rules

European travel policies during the past 12 months have tightened, according to an annual study by Egencia and GBTA Foundation, with one major exception: More companies are allowing business class for long-haul flights. Otherwise, a growing number of European businesses are imposing travel policies and toughening sanctions for noncompliance. Also, more companies are requiring online booking, and—despite the opposite trend in the air—reducing use of first class for rail travel.

Conducted between May 18 and June 8, the 2011 survey of 330 GBTA direct members and Egencia corporate customers and prospects found the proportion of respondent companies permitting business-class flying within Europe is unchanged from 2010 levels, at 14 percent. However, the number of those companies permitting business class on flights between Europe and all other regions is up by double-digit percentages. For example, 46 percent now allow business class to North America, up from 34 percent last year. In contrast, the share of respondents whose organizations permit first-class rail travel has fallen to 33 percent from 42 percent, perhaps reflecting increased efforts by travel managers to control this area of spend.

At a more basic level, 2 percent of respondents this year said their companies have no written travel policy, down from 10 percent in 2010. Among companies that do have a policy, they are split between "guidelines that employees should observe" (50 percent) and mandatory rules that employees are required to follow as a condition of employment (47 percent). The number of organizations in which employees face no consequences if they fail to comply with policy has dropped to 13 percent from 20 percent, while those that threaten nonreimbursement for noncompliance have risen to 21 percent from 14 percent. Nine percent of companies allow travelers to book with the travel management company or supplier of their choice, although for companies spending more than €10 million annually on travel the figure is much lower at 2 percent.

European companies also are pushing online booking harder, with those requiring self-booking wherever possible rising to 51 percent from 47 percent. The number of companies with no booking tool has fallen to 20 percent from 24 percent.

Use of policy exception reports is also on the increase. The number of travel managers who receive a report on travelers' failure to accept the lowest logical fare has grown to 55 percent from 45 percent, while those who receive reports on failure to accept a preferred vendor are up to 30 percent from 20 percent.

For the first time, the study quizzed European travel managers about their policies on reimbursing additional fees imposed by hotels and airlines. Their organizations are consistently less likely to allow reimbursements than their North American counterparts, especially for hotel spend. For example, as in North America, the most commonly reimbursed hotel extra is parking, but it is permitted by only 76 percent of European companies, compared with 89 percent across the Atlantic. Ten percent of European companies reimburse no hotel extras, compared with only 2 percent of North American companies.

Source: BusinessTravelNews.com - GAI

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