In an era where global connectivity is essential to business operations, travel disruption has increased, affecting many professionals. Our research shows that the majority of global business travelers—nearly 9 out of 10—have faced major challenges in the past year due to unexpected flight delays, cancellations, or the need to reroute their trips. These disruptions, whether due to pandemics, global IT outages, national conflicts, or extreme weather events, have forced people to take unexpected measures, underscoring the critical need for robust business mobility solutions.
The world watched over the summer as many airlines suffered IT outages around the world, resulting in thousands of canceled flights in a single day and several days of delays in resolving technical issues. I was going to a conference in Atlanta at the time, and several colleagues and colleagues whose flights were canceled were unable to attend.
Interruptions are a concern for business travelers. More than a quarter of global business travelers are willing to turn down a business trip because of the possibility of delays or cancellations. The challenge for corporate leaders and tourism managers is that travelers, when they are on the road, are out of control. To help business travelers, the solution lies in simplifying the before and after parts of a business trip.
Travel disruptions can mean a lot of unexpected time spent on travel, so companies should follow these three tips to help streamline the process and save staff time.
Start with Automation
The first step is to make sure employees have the right tools. In a Forrester survey of decision makers, 76% of respondents said that increasing automation to improve efficiency and productivity is very important or very important, and two-thirds cite a platform to automate costs to achieve that goal.
Automated travel solutions help manage flight and hotel bookings while implementing travel policies and automatically collecting cost information. By default, there is no reason for employees to manually research flights and hotels or submit physical expense reports.
During the global IT shutdown, customer service desks at airports were overwhelmed, and some travelers reported waiting for up to 24 hours, unsure of the status of their flights. These concerns can be alleviated with modern travel platforms, which provide instant travel alerts to keep travelers informed and allow them to quickly search for other options.
Extreme situations like these highlight the importance of automation and mobile apps to manage business travel updates and facilitate rebooking when travel plans are disrupted. This way, travelers can get more clarity on how flight disruptions affect their plans.
Automation not only improves business travel management but also helps travelers by eliminating repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as receipt tracking and classification, policy compliance checks, and refund processing. This means that when business travelers return from their trips, they don’t waste hours filling out travel-related paperwork.
Tap Generative AI to Take Action
Take automation a step further with generative AI, which can improve the business flow during each stage of the journey. Intelligent assistants and chatbots can provide intelligent recommendations for accommodation or host small group meetings, all within organizational guidelines.
Employees can also use GenAI’s powerful tools to ask questions to strengthen compliance when changing travel plans. Instead of sorting through lengthy expense policies or waiting to contact a representative, users can ask a chatbot about compliance, travel adjustments, or instructions on how to use business travel and expense management tools. Advanced platforms can provide timely and accurate responses, supporting employees facing disruptions any day, at any time.
Following the recent IT outage, travelers equipped with advanced tools could take immediate action to rebook and identify alternative routes avoiding tedious and endless phone calls with customer service representatives. Company policy-aware chatbots can enforce compliance while ensuring business travelers get to their destinations on time.
Employees are afraid to use AI, however. Our latest survey found that 48% of global business travelers want assurance that their data will be protected if artificial intelligence tools are introduced into business travel processes. Their feelings are understandable, and it is important to take a responsible approach to using AI. Companies should implement strong data privacy measures and work with reputable companies with strong data practices so that when business travelers enter sensitive information such as addresses and birthdays for flights and hotel reservations, they are better protected from threats.
Meet the Favorites of Business Travel
Business travelers say they have had to cancel or reschedule meetings; spending extra, unplanned days on business trips; and stay longer or have more rest in the past year. They adjust to travel disruptions by booking more travel time—which means longer trips.
Travel is already a challenge, and increased travel disruptions add more challenges. Company leaders can ease the pain by mingling and giving business travelers more flexibility.
Control costs will always be important to the business, but companies should consider offering comfort-oriented requests, such as allowing overnight flights to reduce long travel days, paying for non-stop flights, or bundling business or premium seats on long-haul flights. Allowing for bundled travel—or the opportunity to add personal travel days to a business trip—is another benefit that can make a difference for business travelers.
Business travel is increasing at a time of change in the tourism industry. It will take time for airlines and other travel companies to address the technical and operational gaps. Meanwhile, companies can support business travelers by alleviating pain points in other stages of the journey with advanced travel tools and flexibility.
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