Egencia, the business travel arm of the Expedia group, announces results from its 4th edition Egencia Business Travel and Technology Survey*, highlighting the increasing desire by business travelers for technology access and cross-device integration, along with greater productivity offerings, on the road.

Instead of incentives such as priority boarding and airport lounge access topping business travelers’ wish lists, the study revealed travelers are looking to technology to make the corporate travel journey more productive and manageable.

Egencia has successfully brought the technology heritage, relentless focus on user experience and innovative spirit of its parent company Expedia, Inc. into the enterprise. In 2013, Egencia launched its new app, Egencia TripNavigator, which dramatically improves the in-trip experience for business travelers. The app provides step-by-step navigation and offers integrated access to Egencia Travel Consultants. Today, 10,000 companies worldwide partner with Egencia to drive travel compliance and cost savings.

Accessibility is a key theme to stay productive: two-thirds (66 percent) of business travelers across regions want to manage and book their business travel on every mobile device, not just on their smartphone, with 76 percent of U.S. business travelers making the ask. Additionally, 50 percent of global respondents would avoid human interaction on the road unless they are having a problem and more than half (56 percent) of global respondents simply want access to business travel tools to do more on mobile in general.

‘We are at a turning point in business travel. Business travelers have high expectations and they want instant access to information and tools on every device,’ said Rob Greyber, president of Egencia. ‘In an industry where traveler satisfaction and corporate interests like efficiency and productivity are often at odds, Egencia is building solutions that address both groups’ needs. The belief that delight for business travelers and productivity for travel managers aren’t mutually exclusive is at the heart of our integrated cross-device products, available today around the world.

According to the survey, business travelers are optimistic when it comes to technology’s role in improving their business travel experience:

• 48 percent would like to use text to update their travel arrangements – highest among U.S. business travelers (63 percent)
• 43 percent believe advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) will help improve their travel experiences – highest among U.S. business travelers (55 percent)

While many business travelers today (70 percent) find business trips more enjoyable than everyday work life, according to the Egencia white paper, ‘Control: Find out what it means to your travelers,’ there are still incremental changes that can be made to increase overall satisfaction on the road – and it starts with productivity enhancements. Blurring the lines between business and pleasure, non-stop flights and in-flight Wi-Fi ranked high among business travelers as perks that would increase both their productivity and satisfaction.

Rounding out the top four amenities business travelers cited to improve productivity and satisfaction are extra time off to compensate for traveling on weekends and/or personal time and class upgrades on flights longer than six hours.

To learn more about the 4th edition of the Egencia Business Travel and Technology Survey, check out the infographic here.

*This study was conducted on behalf of Egencia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm. The study was conducted among 4521 business travelers aged 18 and older in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States (with n=500 surveys completed per country). Surveys were completed online in April and May 2017.