ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Cvent have released a new study titled “The Future Is Now: Technology Transformation in Business Travel.” According to the study, the industry is poised to transform and accelerate business travel through technology.

Based on a survey of corporate travel professionals in North America and Europe, the report shows that 88 percent of travel management companies, 74 percent of suppliers and 59 percent of travel buyers surveyed generally believe their company is doing a good job with technology, but that there is an opportunity to actively integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain into their travel programs. While travel program technology spending is expected to remain largely flat, most suppliers and TMC professionals say their company will invest more in technology in the coming year. However, accommodation providers are significantly less likely to do so than other types of suppliers. The report emphasizes that all travel industry professionals must better understand and use advanced technologies to remain competitive.

“As both our daily and professional lives increasingly touch on technology, we are seeing the reach of the technology footprint in the business travel industry,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA. “The report provides insight into the potential of technology to do more and further enable and empower all aspects of our industry to deliver better services, tools, platforms and success.”

Findings from the GBTA and Cvent report include:

• AI and blockchain are in the foreground. The corporate travel industry is increasingly open to integrating AI and blockchain technologies to improve efficiency and the travel experience. Three-quarters of buyers (75 percent) are interested in introducing an AI-powered travel program chatbot that automatically answers questions specific to their program. Half of buyers are interested in offering blockchain-based bookings (51 percent) or payments (49 percent).
• Increasing dependence on technology is leading to new roles. According to respondents, a third of travel programs (29 percent) now have a full-time employee who focuses primarily on technical tasks, such as sourcing new digital tools, configuring booking and expense solutions, managing data collection or driving technology transformation across the travel program.​​ In Europe, this role is slightly more common, with 36 percent of travel buyers saying their company has such an employee, compared to 22 percent of respondents in North America.
• Technology spending on travel programs varies by region. Travel buyers, on average, estimate that 18 percent of their travel program’s total budget will be spent on technology. Despite overall budget increases, only a third (36 percent) of travel buyers expect their technology spending to increase this year, with European programs leading the way in technology investments. European buyers (43 percent) are more likely to expect an increase in technology spending than their North American counterparts (30 percent).
• Travel management companies (TMCs) are more likely to increase their investments in technology than suppliers and buyers. Most suppliers expect their company’s spending on internal technology (61 percent) and travel-focused technology (56 percent) to increase this year. This is significantly lower than the share of TMC respondents who expect to increase their investment in internal technology (83 percent) or travel-focused technology (79 percent). Only a third of travel program buyers (36 percent) expect technology spending to increase in the coming year.
• The acceptance of hotel technologies is mixed. More than a third of respondents who work in accommodation businesses such as hotels or chains (37 percent) say that their company’s use of technology still needs improvement, more than other respondents from the travel sector (10 percent), who said the same.
• Hotels that use technology are satisfied. Hotels often use technology platforms to simplify processes, market their properties and respond to requests for proposals (RFPs) from corporate clients. These include a property management system (95 percent), a temporary RFP platform (81 percent), an event-focused sales, marketing and RFP platform (75 percent), room block management software (63 percent) and event diagramming software (53 percent). Of the hotels surveyed that use these platforms, at least two-thirds are satisfied with each technology solution.

“We have long believed in the power of technology to achieve more and improve the way companies operate, and the study results show we are not alone in this belief,” said Julie Haddix, senior director of marketing at Cvent. “While the corporate travel industry recognizes the importance of investing in technology, there is still an opportunity for buyers and suppliers to really make sense of new technologies. At Cvent, we are making this easier by continuing to integrate AI into our platform, and we are proud to partner with leaders like GBTA to accelerate growth in the meetings, events and hospitality sectors through the power of these new technologies.”

Data was collected via an online survey of GBTA travel buyers, suppliers and TMCs from February 6 to 19, 2024 in North America and Europe. 388 participants completed the survey.