Business Travel Trends to Look Forward to in 2020

The end of a year and the start of a whole new decade is a great time to look forward. In the travel industry, technology is playing a dominant role in how travelers plan and book their trips while employee’s ideals and expectations shift and evolve. Fresh ideas are constantly growing from new competitors in the industry, and as a result, business travel trends for 2020 include a variety of new expectations and exciting developments. Read on for this recount of the upcoming trends from industry insider, BlueOrange Travel, a New York City based travel agent.

2020’s Top Business Travel Trends

Finding A Home Away from Home

Traveling for business can be stressful, so in 2020, more corporate travelers will look for options other than traditional hotels for their business travel accommodations. Furnished apartments, condos or townhouses are becoming more and more desirable. With all the comforts of home—full kitchens, homey settings in local neighborhoods, more space to spread out—travelers are looking to hotels that offer residential spaces or to other guest apartment rentals. Large cities, like London or New York City, are embracing this trend.

Travel as a Job Perk

Companies are using their travel opportunities as a job perk when recruiting, branding or when it comes to retaining employees. This is especially true as more Millennials, who place greater importance on experiences than money, join the workforce. In the hiring phase, corporate travel, and a generous travel policy, can be used to entice the right candidate. Travel is also a great way for employers to boost employee satisfaction and engagement, making happier employees who stick around for the long term.

Improved Travel Technology

Technology is possibly the one area of business travel growing and changing the fastest. Look for advancements like real-time luggage monitoring or digital concierge services that can instantly and efficiently cross language barriers in the near future. Also, stronger partnerships between business travel service providers will lead directly to more integration and streamline processes. Think of a single app that will handle all your documentation, tickets, expense reporting and more.

Traveling to Expand Horizons

More than business-wide growth, corporate travel will be seen as an opportunity for employees to build their own professional skills. Business travel helps employees hone their soft skills, like dealing with people face-to-face and giving confidence in their interpersonal skills. Employees also see business travel as an opportunity to be forced out of their comfort zones, to think creatively and to experience new cultures and meet new people. Additionally, employees feel that they are more qualified to do their jobs after business travel, resulting in greater employee satisfaction and retention.

Seamless Combination of Business and Pleasure

Today’s corporate travelers are seizing the opportunity to explore the world, they look to business travel as an opportunity to do so. It’s common to add extra days to a business trip in order to explore their business destination. Increasingly, company business travel plans are reflecting these desires. This is especially true of millennial travelers and for international trips.

Emphasis on the Experience

Organizations are realizing that they must put their emphasis on the travelers needs first. By putting employee needs first when it comes to business travel, companies are able to report more successful business trips and happier employees. These perks, combined with lasting relationships between travel providers and companies, vendors and employees, and even colleagues within the same company, lead to more successful business, and that is the ultimate goal for any business travel.

The next year and decade hold a lot of promise and excitement for corporate travel. Employees who travel for work have plenty to look forward to with these business travel trends, and BlueOrange Travel is ready to help you and your company every step of the way. Contact us today to get started.  

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