We know what’s coming – we just don’t know when. But Phat Data can help us be ready
By Jennifer Steinke
It’s all in the science, so they tell us! So how will all the science around COVID-19 help us restore confidence in traveling? Is there enough data to help our corporations feel comfortable in allowing increased travel? Or is it a combination of science and data? Equally important for buyers is finding out what Phat Data they can focus on to prepare for the return to travel.
According to the Traveler Confidence Index as published by travelagainproject.org, the average readiness to travel score (on a scale of one to five, five being highest) is 2.62 for business travelers and 2.73 for leisure travelers. So travelers are waffling between ‘very concerned about traveling’ to ‘concerned but would travel.’ We are now a year into this pandemic and despite the surveys, the science and all things media, the industry has made only very small strides, and the struggle is real. Well over 100 million travel related industry jobs have been lost and the managed travel program feels like we are stuck in 2019 waiting for a tow truck.
But all is not lost. There is absolutely a silver lining for both buyers and suppliers. Now is the time for buyers to start looking at all of their program data from the past few years and really take the time to analyze traveler behavior, to dive deep into your supplier data and better understand how those suppliers truly fit into your managed travel program. One buyer recently said, “I never had the time to really learn how to look at my data not just as numbers but through a more analytical perspective. It wasn’t my strong suit, but now I realize how much I love the data side to my program.” It is moments like these that make buyers more valuable to their organizations.
As a buyer you can take advantage of many data points within your program. Here are a few that will help to support the return to travel in your organization.
Shots & Swabs Mandatory testing or vaccines. Buyers, this cannot be ignored: There is a cost to mandatory testing and there is a cost to not getting the vaccine. Let’s focus on mandatory testing. What if one trip from NYC-LHR requires a negative test 72 hours prior to departure, a negative test 72 hours prior to returning and a negative test upon entrance into your final destination. Three tests for a 7-day trip. That is one test approximately every three days.
Oh, the joy.
What is the cost of those tests and who will foot the bill? The impact on your travel program could be on two fronts: First, how many travelers are willing to go through all of that, and second, how many companies are willing to pay $75 for each test, resulting in an additional $225 per trip just for testing? Buyers should take their 2019 International trips only and calculate out the potential impact on the travel program spend.
But wait, there’s more. What happens when a test comes back positive? Who pays for quarantine, medical costs etc.? These questions are being thought through by your company’s leadership. Becoming proactive in understanding the potential impact will help you as a buyer gain greater insight into what the return to travel may look like.
Then comes the questions around vaccines. If vaccinations become a mandatory standard before employees are allowed to travel, then a whole slew of other considerations come into play: What happens if an employee refuses the vaccine? What if a digital passport is required, who pays for that? The list goes on and on, but the reality is, buyers must stay ahead of the curve and take this opportunity to use the Phat Data at their fingertips to prepare for the impact that testing and vaccinations will have on their programs.
Essentially Non-essential On a somewhat brighter note, whenever you have an opportunity to share the pulse of the industry around the return to travel with your manager or company leadership, take it. This shows that you are invested in getting people back on the road safely. Being proactive in educating your organization about the return to travel is critical. This is also a great opportunity to take a hard look at your travel/people risk management program and determine if still fits in a pandemic and post-pandemic world.
CFO’s around the world are salivating at all the money they are saving by not traveling. We know this not a realistic long-term proposition. We also know that those same CFO’s are thinking about what the landscape for travel actually looks like when we get back on the road.
Will “non-essential” travel be as grand as it has been in the past? Probably not. The definition of non-essential in this case would include any interaction that could reasonably be done virtually without significantly reducing the ROI of travel. For example, does a manager of a global team need to see his team in person five times a year or would one or two in-person visits suffice? Does a salesperson need to have every meeting with a prospective client in person or could two out of three be virtual?
This is where the buyer can shine. Begin taking a look at your non-essential travel and the impact it has had on the overall spend in the past and the impact it could possibly have with your suppliers should it not return to pre-COVID levels. In order to accomplish some of this analysis you will probably need to review both the data itself as well as having conversations with key stakeholders in your organization. If you can be prepared to answer the questions around what your future spend may look like, it will benefit both your organization and your suppliers.
What If? Speaking of suppliers, the inquiries from suppliers to buyers around the anticipated timeframes to return to travel have become somewhat amusing. You may recall last April, the question was around when in June would your organization return to travel, then when in September, then when in January. Fact is that most buyers don’t know – it’s moving target. Rolling over discounts and rates is fine for the short term, but how are we working together for the longevity of the managed travel program?
The type of collaboration that needs to happen right now between buyers and suppliers is a bunch of what-if scenarios. If the data/spend is X, what does that look like for my discounts? If the program shrinks and the buyer reduces the number of suppliers and/or drives more market share from multiple suppliers to one or two, how does that impact spend or discounts?
Tackling these types of scenarios will achieve two things: It will provide the answers that ultimately buyers will be asked by their organization’s leadership and solidify the long-term relationship with the suppliers. Think of all possible scenarios and start modeling them and do it in partnership with your preferred suppliers. Looking at your program through this lens will enable buyers to remain relevant within their companies and will create value for both the supplier and at the end of the day for the “new normal” traveling population.
Despite the challenging times we have faced over the past twelve months and the fact that the outlook still seems only slightly less grim, buyers and suppliers need to come together to tackle these challenges and build out what the “New Normal Managed Travel Program” will look like. Utilizing data to give form and substance to that story and provide some realistic expectations for the future is what needs to happen, and it needs to begin now.
Are you ready? Are you using your Phat Data to build your program of the future? If not, why not?
Jennifer Steinke is Global Head of Travel for PPD, Inc., and an industry thought leader with over 30 years experience managing corporate travel. She holds an MBA plus Certified Corporate Travel Executive (CCTE) and Global Travel Professional (GTP) certifications from GBTA. Jennifer strives to deliver innovative and thought provoking ideas to the corporate travel industry.