3 ways to improve business travel in the era of flight disruptions

In an era when global connectivity is crucial for business operations, travel disruptions have surged, affecting countless professionals. Our research indicates that the overwhelming majority of global business travelers—nearly 9 out of 10—have faced significant challenges in the past year due to unexpected flight delays, cancellations, or the need to reroute their journeys. These disruptions, whether due to a pandemic, a global IT outage, geopolitical conflicts, or extreme weather events, have compelled people to take unanticipated steps, underscoring the critical need for more resilient business travel solutions.

The world watched over the summer as many airlines suffered from a global IT outage, resulting in thousands of canceled flights in a single day and several days of delays in resolving tech issues. I was traveling to a conference in Atlanta at the time, and several colleagues and partners whose flights were canceled were unable to attend.

Disruptions worry business travelers. More than a quarter of global business travelers are willing to decline a business trip due to the likelihood of delays or cancellations. The challenge for company leaders and travel managers is that, travelers, when on the road, are out of their control. To help business travelers, the solution lies in simplifying the pre- and post-portions of the business trip. 

Travel disruptions can mean more unexpected time spent on a trip, so companies should follow these three tips to help simplify the process and save employees’ time.

Start With Automation

The first step is making sure that employees have the right tools. In a Forrester survey of decision-makers, 76% of respondents said increasing automation to improve efficiency and productivity is a high or critical priority, with two-thirds citing a more automated travel and expense platform to reach that goal. 

Automated travel solutions help manage flight and hotel bookings while enforcing travel policies and automatically collecting expense information. With automation, there’s no reason that employees should be manually researching flights and hotels or submitting physical expense reports.  

During the global IT outage, customer service desks at airports were overwhelmed, and some travelers reported being on hold for up to 24 hours, unsure of the status of their flights. These concerns may have been alleviated through modern travel platforms, which provide immediate trip alerts to keep travelers informed and allow them to search quickly for alternate options. 

Extreme instances like these highlight the importance of automation and mobile applications to manage business travel updates and help rebook when an itinerary is impacted. This way, travelers can receive more clarity into how flight disruptions are personally affecting their plans.

Automation not only enhances business travel management but also helps travelers by eliminating repetitive and time-consuming tasks like receipt tracking and categorization, policy compliance checks, and reimbursement processing. This means that when business travelers return from their trip, they do not lose hours filing travel-related paperwork. 

Tap Generative AI to Shoulder the Work

Take automation a step further with generative AI, which can enhance business travel during every stage of the trip. Smart assistants and chatbots can provide intelligent recommendations for where to stay or host small team meetings, all within organizational guidelines. 

Employees can also use GenAI-powered tools to ask questions to reinforce compliance when altering itineraries. Instead of sifting through lengthy expense policies or waiting to contact a representative, users can ask the chatbot about compliance, itinerary adjustment, or instructions on using business travel and expense management tools. Advanced platforms can provide timely and accurate responses, supporting workers who are facing interruptions on any day, at any time.

Following the recent IT outage, travelers equipped with advanced tools could have taken quick action to rebook and identify alternative routes by avoiding tedious and never-ending phone calls with customer service representatives. Chatbots cognizant of company policy could enforce compliance while ensuring that business travelers reach their destination on time. 

Employees are apprehensive about using AI, though. Our recent survey found that 48% of global business travelers want assurances that their data will be protected when artificial intelligence tools are introduced in business travel processes. Their sentiment is understandable, and it’s important to take a responsible approach to using AI. Companies should implement robust data privacy measures and work with well-known companies with rigorous data practices so that when business travelers enter sensitive information like addresses and birthdays for flight and hotel bookings, they’re better protected from threats. 

Meet in the Middle on Business Travel Preferences

Business travelers say they’ve had to cancel or reschedule meetings; spend additional, unplanned days on business trips; and sit through longer or additional layovers over the past year. They’ve adapted to travel disruptions by booking extra time for travel—which means even longer trips. 

Travel is already challenging, and increasing travel disruptions are adding more challenges. Company leaders can ease the pain by meeting in the middle and offering business travelers more flexibility. 

Controlling costs will always be a business priority, but companies should consider granting comfort-focused requests, such as allowing overnight trips to reduce long travel days, paying more for nonstop flights, or splurging for business- or premium-class seats on longer flights. Permitting blended travel—or the opportunity to add personal travel days to business trips—is another perk that can make a difference to business travelers. 

Business travel is rebounding during a period of transition in the travel industry. It’s going to take time for airlines and other travel companies to address the gaps in technology and operations. In the meantime, companies can support business travelers by easing pain points in other stages of the trip with advanced travel tools and flexibility.