It was clear, just from standing within the aisles of the Business Travel Show, Earls Court – that there was greater foot-fall than previous years and a more positive outlook within the sector. This seems to be in line with various indicators showing ‘business travel frequency’ is on the increase.
This provided the perfect platform for Priority Pass to share some research entitled: ‘Travel Policies: The Personnel Perspective’ with the industry, highlighting that companies who offer low-cost ancillary travel benefits will be the biggest beneficiaries as the tentative ‘green shoots’ of recovery in the economy impact on business travel.
Companies that have started to address and revise travel policies, that were formulated during the recession, will not only benefit from ‘their frequent travellers being more effective, engaged and committed, without having to increase spend’ but will also help drive the sectors recovery.
The report demonstrates the need for ‘Travel managers’ to move away from the ‘one size fits all’ policy related to many travel benefits in order to safeguard static budgets. Priority Pass is one good example of utilising an ancillary travel benefit, to add value for both employer and employee, by encouraging greater productivity and enhance morale amongst staff without drastically increasing spend.
Most interestingly, the study highlighted the ‘top five’ benefits missed by the ‘500 frequent business travellers’ surveyed, based on stricter travel policies employed by their companies. The primary one was flight upgrades (17%), next came hotel upgrades (13%), whilst priority Check-in was third (11%), closely followed by Airport lounge access (10%) in fourth place and finally priority boarding was fifth. The key element here was that much of the list centred on the airport experience, suggesting that this was an aspect of the journey where ‘Travel managers’ would be prudent to focus on when re-addressing travel policies.
Errol McGlothan, General Manager, EMEA of Priority Pass, commented ‘Our research shows that even modest benefits can make a real difference to staff effectiveness and morale’.
This can be achieved without the need to purchase a premium ticket, but simply easing the strain of travel by exploring opportunities where benefits can be provided through third parties.
“We know that travel budgets will not be reverting back to pre-2008 levels in response to this increase – and neither should they. As travel frequency rises an emphasis on prudent allocation of budget against demand will be key”, McGlothan continued.
This is where the ‘cost Vs benefit’ comparison weighs in favour of ancillary travel benefits such as lounge access, by taking into account the tangible and intangible elements that are important to frequent travellers. Understanding the needs of the travelling public is an essential component as to why Priority Pass posted double-digit growth in the past year.
McGlothan is very confident about the future for the business travel sector but also that of the Priority Travel Group thanks to “Product innovation, understanding our audiences and markets through research and development all of which has played an integral part in our healthy results”.
For information visit – www.prioritypass.com