The Traveler Experience Matters

Your Window Seat - Podcast Transcript - June 2023 Speaker 1 00:00:08 Welcome to this episode of Your Window Seat, where we at Travel Incorporated, discuss the topics you care about most in this ever-changing business travel industry. I'm Tracy Carillo, your host for today's topic. The Traveler Experience Matters. The editorial team at Business Travel News, which we lovingly refer to as vtm, took this topic head-on through a series of articles entitled The Traveler Experience Index, focusing on the newest aspects that first understand the traveler's perspective and then breaks down each component from a corporate point of view. Today we're going to dive into not only the challenges of our traveler's experiences, but how we can collectively address these and drive towards a practical and active change. I am so excited to be joined today by an industry editorial icon, the editorial director herself for the BTM Group, Elizabeth West. Welcome back to your window seat. Speaker 2 00:01:05 Thank you for having me, Tracy. Speaker 1 00:01:07 Let's get off the discussion with why your team felt this was the right time for this topic. We've been talking about traveler wellness for years now, but managing and building programs around the traveler experience seems to be absolutely spot on. What can you tell us about the background behind the experience index and your team's passion to convey the importance at this time? Speaker 2 00:01:28 You know, we've heard a lot of travel buyers, um, talking about having to reeducate business travelers on what the travel experience is today, and specifically the business travel experience. It's, quite busy out there. There's a lot of competition with leisure travelers, which have really, uh, been active over the past couple of years, and some supplier operations aren't really where they were pre pandemic. There's disruption, there's labor shortage. So we know that the challenges are out there. What we needed to figure out and what we wanted to cover from an editorial perspective at Business Travel news is how to mitigate and provide a net underneath those challenges. That's why we manage travel, after all, not just to get costs down, but to enable business to get done. And so in this time where we're having challenges and disruption, it's, it's more important to see the value of travel management as that business enabler. So I do hear advanced travel buyers really talking about the business travel experience and wanting to not only have that be tolerable for travelers, but productive and make that productive time spent, because we can do that. We can work from anywhere now, so let's make travel experience one where we can think and where we can arrive prepared for business and not frazzled and potentially less successful than we could be. So I think that's really where we were in looking at this topic. Speaker 1 00:03:04 I couldn't agree with you more, and, and I think it's really important that you started out with the traveler's perspective, so doing that survey to the travelers, you know, based upon what's important to them and what they are currently experiencing. Right. So did you see unique variances by traveler demographics? Um, whether the shifts are based on gender or if the traveler was a road warrior, frequent traveler, or, or just how did you approach the survey itself meaning on important, what's important to them? Speaker 2 00:03:38 Sure. So whenever we do a survey, we want to make sure that we collect a little bit of information about the people who are taking it. And so we do that when we do surveys to travel buyers. But also when we survey travelers, we wanna understand what are the different components of their sort of business travel lives? Are they, uh, traveling once or twice a year? Are they traveling once or twice a month? That makes a very big difference in terms of their investment in the topic itself. And so, yes, we did see a lot of variation at the two ends of that spectrum, whether infrequent or very frequent. We saw some differences between male and female travelers. We saw differences between international and domestic travelers. You know, it really does depend on who is traveling and a travel program needs to speak to all of those. Speaker 2 00:04:32 So can you have a one size fits all? I don't know, that's kind of up to the company, but what we did in terms of finding out what travelers wanted, how they wanted to experience their business travel, was simply to ask them and to say, look across these 22 factors that can impact your business travel, experience and success, which ones are the most important to you? And you know, what, which ones are not important to you? Because that really matters too. And with that, we then ask them, okay, now that we know what's important to you, how well is your company delivering on that and what could they do to improve it? And we got a lot of feedback. Speaker 1 00:05:12 And what were some of those asks or some of that feedback for the travelers? I'm highly curious about that. Speaker 2 00:05:19 Well, I think the first thing to note is that, you know, they're not looking for diamonds and emeralds in their travel program. They're looking for productivity and work success there among all of the travelers that we surveyed. And we had a group of 300 in one element of the survey, and we added another 300, uh, to another element of the survey. What they wanted was clarity, easy processes above all. And I think because this has been a pain point for so long, they want quick and easy expense reporting and reimbursement, and certainly that's their personal finances sometimes. So, you know, going through those processes is very important to them. One of the things that we saw overall, again, um, across most of the travel population that we surveyed was, um, we've seen a rise in awareness around personal safety and security, which is a bit of a change from previous years when we have done similar surveys. And we've also seen a rise in the desire for personal enrichment or personal travel time while on the business trips. And that was something that in the past was not as highlighted from the, the, from the traveler population. So those I think are some of the key, uh, highlights. And the reliability of the suppliers was a another element there, especially for frequent travelers that was critically important. Speaker 1 00:06:55 Absolutely. And we all, we all know the disruptions that we've been facing over the last year and a half, and, and it does, it takes a while for everybody to get back in gear. And the fact is, we are in gear, so now what do we do about it? Right, exactly. Speaker 2 00:07:09 So Speaker 1 00:07:10 Thinking about, you know, the challenges from a travel and procurement manager and how we truly have a traveler first program, while so much of the pressure on the program stakeholders is around cost containment and avoidance, what are some of the obstacles as well as best practices around finding that balance? Speaker 2 00:07:31 So I think that's a really big challenge. And I think one of the ways to get at this is to think about how you want to curate that travel program and that experience. And what I mean by curate is almost like build this experience into the workflow pathways that you're asking people to go through. So whether it's the technology, whether it's digitizing more, whether it's providing more human support, figure out what that experience needs to be and create those touch points with your travelers. And not all of that creates more costs. In fact, some of that can create less costs. The less affected your travel program can be by disruption, the more you can and be efficient. And that's not all about just saying, well, I'm gonna take the, um, you know, the cheapest flight or stay at the least expensive hotel if the, if the reliability isn't there, if the level of service isn't there to make a successful trip, then you're paying for travel without a successful outcome. And I think that's where what costs the most is to have an unsuccessful trip. Speaker 1 00:08:57 And I, I, I wanna piggyback on that a little bit because you touched upon the processes. It's like, let's make it easier for them. It's not just about, okay, it's a, it's a hassle to do an expense report, or my supplier keeps canceling these flights, or I'm always getting a delay on this. And it, but it can also be about how can we impact change by making our processes more efficient. And you had mentioned something, um, just a moment ago about listening to the travelers and the travelers having that voice. How are you seeing both travel managers and procurement managers actively soliciting that input from their travelers, um, as to what changes they would like the company to make, even specifically around changes in travel policy? What, what are those management teams doing to enrich that traveler experience? Speaker 2 00:09:48 Well, I think that the first thing they're doing is I do see them speaking to traveler groups. I do see them going out surveying travelers. And, and the fact is, the only way to get that feedback is to ask, so is it a survey? Is it creating a cross section of travelers that are representative of the travel population and going to them like a travel council and creating that, that, um, sort of mirror back on your program to say, is this effective? Is this working for you? And I think that that's quite important because it's not, it's not a theoretical program, right? You can build a theoretical program that works on paper, but if it's not working for the people using it, then it's not working. So talk to your travelers, whether that's through surveys, through a travel council, through some other window into your travel population and understand what they need. Uh, it is not my experience through the surveys that we have conducted that, again, people are going to be asking for those, uh, you know, luxury upgrades and, and, uh, the diamonds and emeralds in the, in the travel program. They want productivity and they're gonna have good ideas for you because they're the ones on the ground traveling. Speaker 1 00:11:17 And, and one, one other element that I was in, one of the articles in the index that really stood out to me is that it's, it's important to receive that information from the travelers mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But now that we're, um, expressing what we heard and what we're doing about it. And one of the examples was, um, how to change the tone and tenor. Maybe it's about word choice, maybe it's about expression. Maybe it's about the distribution choices of the messaging that you're sending out. But it's really letting them know, not only have we heard it, but you know what, we feel you and we see you and here, you know, this is what we're doing about it. And thank you for, for having that voice and sharing that with us. Speaker 2 00:11:55 Yeah. I do think it's really important to make sure that the voice of the traveler, or that travel council council that may have been created is reflected back to them. So whether that's in a marketing and communications, you know, partnership within the organization, or if the travel manager is just able to do that on their own, but getting those communications out to say, Hey, we've heard about you. Here are some different, uh, enhancements that we've created, or did you know this was already in our travel policy? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, maybe you didn't know this. And, um, and communicate that back out. Um, but in terms of the policies themselves, and I do think that this is a, an important trend that we're seeing, is that the wording, it's not a command and control environment anymore. There's this idea that policy can be more flexible, it can be created in a more, um, not that it, it's open to more interpretation, but there is more empowerment to the traveler. We trust business travelers to make, you know, hundred thousand dollar deals, mil million dollar deals. We need to trust them with the business of travel. Speaker 1 00:13:17 One of the articles also said something that I, I kind of found interesting and we're staying with culture here, but it, it stated that it isn't a huge leap for travel to be viewed as an extension of the workplace. Now, for someone like you and I, you know, this is a given because we travel quite frequently, mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but how is this concept actually taking a different view from more of an executive management or a corporate cultural perspective? Speaker 2 00:13:43 Well, I really actually think this is really hits to the heart of, um, human resources and, and work enablement. And, and we really have to take a look at travel, um, similarly as how we would enable work in the office or in a, in a larger view that we've come to know lately, a work from anywhere, um, idea and how are you going to equip the travel program and equip your travelers to be in enabled to work on the road, whether, you know, that's productivity, those are reliable suppliers. These are policies that speak to, yes, you may reimburse the internet. Yes, you may. Um, you, you may access a, an, an airport lounge when there's a travel disruption. You may do these things that are going to allow you to get the job done and not sort of keep you from getting the job done. Because there are some things that happen in travel that really do keep you from being productive. So how can we mitigate that? And, and, you know, where is the return on investment? It might not be for every traveler or for every trip, but where can we provide those, um, nets underneath the traveler so that they can do their jobs? And, uh, I think it's, you know, with, if you can sort of turn the, microscope onto that angle, how do we make it so that people can do their jobs? I think you kind of turn the angle on your program, Speaker 1 00:15:27 You know, it's, it's really about adaptive change and, and this covers so many different aspects, adapting to new technology. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> adapting to the change of, I want a dedicated team to support me, versus I want the technology that's gonna gimme the end result. Right. That is really my objective. One of the expressions that, that I read also in the index was the now normal. I loved that. I mean, I thought, okay, this is a good one. You know, so as we put, you know, ourselves into place and all the shifts, whether it's policy and it's guidance and surveys and all of these different kind of components including senior leadership compromises, what is your understanding of how travel and procurement managers are working within this now normal way of life? Speaker 2 00:16:14 Yeah, I think that there is a lot of change happening and quickly, and we've seen that over the past several years. And, and, and I think it has kind of knocked travel management a little bit, um, into an, in an unstable sort of mindset. I do think that we're gaining traction more and more as we come, you know, out of the pandemic. The travel volumes have recovered, and we are feeling a little more familiarity in the travel management world now. So we, we like that. That said, there's still plenty of change that will be challenging us in the next several months, the next several years. And I don't think that we can react to every change from a policy perspective and from sort of a granular policy perspective. And so what I do think is that we are building that empowerment within policy to make the right decisions at the right time for the traveler, perhaps for the, for the manager, the direct manager of the traveler. Speaker 2 00:17:27 We're also working with our suppliers to have the right conversations about service delivery, about how we're going to work and collaborate together and what the expectations are from the company and from the travelers. And we, we have to be able to collaborate in this now normal, because that's gonna be, those are gonna be the relationships that get us where we need to go. And where there is change every time, there is a juncture where change needs to happen. You know, you need, you need the, the whole line of command and the whole supply chain to work with you to have those relationships and adjust to change. And I think that's just all about collaboration in our industry right now. And we all have to recognize that a decision made today is not necessarily a decision that is the right one for tomorrow. And to be able to have that flexibility. Speaker 1 00:18:31 So you mentioned something incredibly important, and that's how the suppliers play into this collaboration. We've been talking about the corporation and the management and the travelers, but it really comes down to that collaboration of all parties, TMCs, everyone involved in it. So one of the adages, um, I think really does play into this because so much of this is conceptual is you can't manage something you can't measure. So going back to that balance of cost savings and avoidance with traveler first intent, how are stakeholders putting a measurement around the traveler experience outside of just the surveys we agree is important, but how are you expanding beyond that? Speaker 2 00:19:17 Well, I do think number one is that, um, understanding and having those conversations with your suppliers, because at the end of the day when a traveler is on the road, they're having a touchpoint with the airline, they're having a touchpoint with the hotel, they're having a touchpoint with that car rental or, um, ground transportation provider, that's where the service really gets delivered. Um, of course the TMCs in the background, and of course, um, you know, again, there's that net underneath the traveler, but that, that, that chain of the experience is delivered by the travel suppliers. So having those lines of communication open, but also making sure that everyone in the chain understands the expectation. And I think one of the things that I've seen is, um, maybe, uh, sort of a new formulation of key performance indicators. Um, we've seen, uh, especially on the air side, uh, some companies really take into account, you know, the, the on-time performance and the operational performance on their key routes to make sure that those levels of service are baked into key performance indicators, um, for the supplier. And, and it's not just about, you know, cost and getting the rate, but it's about we got, we got a rate, but was the flight completed? What were the, what's the on-time percentage? What, what are the amenities that are available on that, uh, on that flight? Uh, you know, the sort of seat amenities that are available, and were those delivered, um, to our travelers? So I do think that that is, um, key to that traveler experience. Speaker 1 00:21:19 And, and those are all things that easily be obtained. You know, they can be, they can be documented, they can be reported on, and, and it really isn't. So, you know, kinda theoretical anymore, it becomes very fact based, which is what's needed when, when change and impact and adaptation is required. So that's Speaker 2 00:21:40 Absolutely true. There was a time when we couldn't track data to that level there. That is, that is yesterday, today. We have access to all of that information. We have access to, um, making sure that travelers are, um, compliant and also, um, you know, booking with the suppliers that we are asking them to book with. And the reason we do that is because we have these agreements and performance indicators in place to what I began with, curate those experiences for them and, and being able to communicate this idea of we're not here to limit you. We're here to make you successful, and this is the experience we've curated for you. It's more like being part of a club or, you know, a program that can really wrap those safeguards around you from a reliability perspective, from a, uh, risk and safety perspective. And ultimately from that sort of overall experience. And, and you can measure that there are, there are ratings available, trust ratings available. They all can be wrapped into metrics that can be used for your travel program. Speaker 1 00:23:09 So we have the understanding of the travelers, what they expect, check challenges, check cultural impact, best practices and measurement to truly empower a travel program. Chef, what would you want the listeners to take away from this? If you had two primary recommendations, Speaker 2 00:23:31 Engage with your travelers, whether that is a travel council, make sure to schedule interactions with them on a regular basis to, you know, checkpoint any changes that you're making to your program. If it's a broader survey, you know, you don't want to over survey your travelers, but you can also, you know, you can, um, do an easy check-in. I've heard of companies after every single trip saying, did you have a successful trip? Click deliver. That's the survey. Was your trip successful? Yes. No. And that alone can tell you a lot about your program if you have the right suppliers, if you are, um, supporting them in the right ways. If you start to get a lot of nos, then you need to dig into, well, what are the problems and what, what are the issues in play here? But I think engaging with your travelers is the first step. Speaker 2 00:24:32 And then the second step is engaging with other stakeholders in your organization, whether that is hr, whether that is it, whether that is safety and risk management, whether that is procurement and finance leaders. Make sure that your stakeholders understand the value of the travel program to them. And I think when you can communicate that value across the stakeholders, you start to really communicate the different value factors that travel can bring to the table. And it's not until you have those conversations that these really strategic programs can be put in place because you have that buy-in from, Hey, you know, travel is really important to our company. It's really important to our corporate culture. It's really important to our work enablement. It's really important to containing costs. There are so many, um, aspects of travel that really do touch everyone in the company. And I think when companies can understand that and start to realize that, and then the travelers on the other side see that the program is being created in order to support all of those elements, safety, work enablement, cost containment, they can really have buy-in. And, and it's when you get the buy-in of, of all of your stakeholders that your travel program can really succeed. Speaker 1 00:26:00 It's putting everything together to bring value to your company, to your employees, and to your management. Beth, I can't thank you enough for your expertise, consolidation of information and your team's passion to share the Traveler Experience Index. Thanks for being with us today. Speaker 2 00:26:18 Thank you so much for having me, Tracy. Speaker 1 00:26:21 We have a link to the BTN Travel Experience Index as part of this podcast, which can also be found on our [email protected]. I really encourage all of our listeners to check them out. Thank you all for being part of this episode of your window seat. To learn more about Travel Incorporated, you can find [email protected] or follow us on LinkedIn. We look forward to this next episode. And as always, at Travel Incorporated, safe travels. --