A number of regular business travelers seem to have been charging more than ever to their expense reports for air travel. Recent air traffic figures provided by the International Air Transit Association and reported by Buying Business Travel detail how the demand for premium air travel increased throughout 2013. Considering figures from December 2013, the IATA found that premium travel numbers were up 5.5 percent year-over-year.
The report noted that the growth in premium travel reflects overall improvements in the business environment. The news outlet reported that the figures suggest economic confidence is on the rise across both Europe and the United States.
With automated expense reporting technology, many businesses are able to better track their traveling employees spending - and thus, keep the spending to a minimum. However, there are many other ways that business travelers are working to keep their expenses down, even as they indulge in luxuries such as high-class air travel.
For example, a recent UnitedVoice post hosted by Forbes detailed how many business travelers now build their own customized business travel experiences, which may help to explain the increase in luxury travel. The report went onto detail how "gamification" - the process of rewarding travelers with points, loyalty bonuses and more - has become a core strategy among many businesses and travelers.
"Younger travelers are so incredibly comfortable with the concept of gaming that you now have a large traveling portion of the workforce that fully understands the concept of rewards and badges," explained Will Tate, senior vice president of travel management consultancy Management Alternatives. "This might be that bridge. If we work with gamification, we might be able to create a new and different way to combat the personalization and consumerization that [employees] experience when they travel."
The report went on to detail how cutting-edge expense management systems were now allowing travelers to better comply with company travel policies. It was noted that some businesses even offer rewards and incentives to those who follow the policy strictly. Further, it noted that corporate travel experts testify that better compliance in regards to company policy can lower travel costs by up to 20 percent per employee per business trip.
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