Global meetings, events and hospitality technology provider Cvent, has published the latest instalment of the Cvent Travel Managers Report: Europe Edition, which provides hotels, venues and destinations with insights into corporate travel sourcing trends and activity. 

The report reveals that the majority of respondents (80%) “feel positive” about the state of their organisation’s business travel activity. Among them, almost two-thirds (64%) expect their organisation’s travel volume to increase in 2023 compared to 2022, and nearly a fifth (19%) say the increase will be significant.

Keeping costs down

Whilst travel growth means increased spending, minimising costs is still a priority.  Approximately 65% of respondents said their top concern is rising costs. This number increases to 73% for travel managers in both France and the UK. Most aspects of corporate travel are subject to inflationary rises, and nearly 30% of respondents expect ground transportation costs to rise the most. Hotel rooms; travel expenses and amenities; insurance and safety; technology expenses; and travel visas are other top areas of concern when it comes to rising costs.

With costs posing challenges to organisations, corporate travel managers are finding new ways to reduce spend. Top among these tactics (40%) is a desire to combine business travel with existing meetings and events that their teams are already scheduled to attend. Furthermore, 37% of corporate travel managers (up from 32% in the December 2022 report) state they plan to reduce the number of colleagues travelling; this rises to 43% in France. Whilst the number of individuals travelling may be reduced, overall programme travel volume is likely to still increase.

 More than a fifth (22%) of respondents say they will schedule fewer trips, however they will extend the duration of stays. Another encouraging outlook is the average budget (per trip) is anticipated to increase, with just over half (51%) expecting ‘somewhat’ of an increase and 19% a ‘significant’ increase.

Graham Pope (pictured), VP of international sales, Cvent, said: “These results not only highlight the exciting business travel momentum, but also illustrate the incredible opportunity for hotels, venues and destinations to capitalise on this resurgence. After the strong return of leisure and MICE travel, corporate travel managers are eager to get their teams back on the road but are keen to work with hotels that understand their needs and can be flexible given budget constraints. 

“To maximise visibility and buyer engagement, hoteliers should continue to prioritise their online presence and provide relevant content that is quickly and easily accessible. In addition, hotels and venues that minimise lead response times and provide robust digital sourcing tools willhelp travel managers make quicker decisions, helping these hotels and venues win more corporate travel business.”

Cvent commissioned Censuswide, an independent research company, to survey more than 600 corporate travel decision-makers in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, between 12 – 26 April 2023.