Business travellers are willing to spend their own money on perks to enhance their business travel experience, according to the latest annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey.
The survey of 3,750 business travellers across 24 markets found that when it’s not covered by their company policy, 85% of business travellers would be happy to pay out of their own pocket to get higher-quality accommodation (38%), additional hotel nights to avoid a long day of travel (35%) and premium seating (30%).
The majority of business travellers (84%) also say they have recently started taking steps during business trips to save money or stretch their budgets.
Popular choices include:
- Eating cheaper meals to spend less than the per diem or travel allowance (36%)
- Using a personal card or rewards programs to earn points or miles (34%)
- Preparing meals to spend less on per diem or travel allowance (28%)
- Bringing snacks or leftover food and drinks home (26%)
- Bringing home amenities like hotel soap and conference swag (24%).
These measures are being taken despite the survey finding that companies’ travel budgets are expected to increase or stay the same in 2025.
The survey took place from April 30-May 12 and sought the views of 700 travel managers across seven markets, and, new this year, 600 CFOs across six markets.
Despite this being a period of high uncertainty associated with global trade, 89% of business travellers, 93% of travel managers and 90% of CFOs globally still say that they expect their organisation’s travel budget to increase or stay the same this year.
But the survey findings suggest that despite increasing investment, many travel budgets are still insufficient, with 69% of travel managers agreeing their company’s travel budget doesn’t reflect how important business travel is to its success, and 81% of CFOs agreeing that budget limitations at their company mean employees are unable to travel as much as needed to effectively perform their jobs.
Nearly two thirds of business travellers (60%), travel managers (59%), and CFOs (59%) say cuts to their company’s travel budget typically show up as small changes to all trips, such as requiring choosing the lowest fares, no checked bags, or cuts to room or flight upgrades, as opposed to larger, policy-level changes.
The majority (87%) of business travellers say their company has cut back on things over the past 12 months that they previously allowed, including staying overnight to avoid a long day of travel for a day trip (30%), using business or premium class (30%), and traveling for non-client purposes (28%).
More than one in four (26%0 of business travellers say their company has cut back on allowing them to work remotely while traveling for pleasure – a travel perk that was particularly popular during the pandemic – and 25% say their company has cut back on allowing adding personal travel to a business trip.
“According to this year’s survey, travel budgets are increasing, employees are willing to travel for business, and they are open to chipping in for better travel experiences,” said Charlie Sultan, President of Concur Travel.
“It may feel like business travel as usual, but there is more to the story. Travel policies are becoming stricter, travel frequency remains a pain point, and employers aren’t meeting their travelers’ expectations.”
In the survey, 84% of business travellers globally admitted their habits during business travel differ from their habits during personal travel.
Commonly cited business travel differences include:
- Staying at higher-quality hotels or booking a premium room (34%).
- Booking direct flights, even if more expensive (33%).
- Taking private transportation, like Uber or a car service (32%).
- Dining out at higher-quality restaurants or spending more on food and drinks (29%).
- Ordering room service instead of dining out (26%).
- Giving larger tips or tipping for services when it’s not typically required (22%).
