Key takeaways from TravelPerk’s Business Travel Disruption survey
- Nearly 8 in 10 (78%) business travellers globally experienced travel disruptions in 2024, with 43% facing significant delays of more than one hour
- 85% of global business travellers said they experienced a decline in productivity due to travel disruptions
- The highest volume of global cancellations has occurred in the US, with nearly 140,000 flights cancelled in 2024
- European business travellers say they’re the most affected by transport strikes, with 29% of German travellers, 27% of British travellers, and 21% of Spanish travellers being impacted
- Despite artificial intelligence advances over the past year, only 10% of travellers prefer chatbots to support them when facing disruption. Interacting directly with a human customer care agent remains the preferred choice, with 31% of global travellers preferring to talk to a human by phone.
UK and German travellers have been the most impacted by train strikes
77% of UK travellers say they’ve experienced some type of travel disruption this year. In the current travel landscape, the main types of travel disruptions experienced by UK travellers were delays of more than one hour (40%), cancellations (34%), transportation strikes (27%), and weather-related disruptions (20%). Other reasons for disruption included overbooking, missed connections, personal health emergencies, and visa or passport issues.Travel disruptions are changing the way British professionals travel for work
91% of UK professionals surveyed say they’ve changed something about the way they travel for work due to disruptions. 44% say they’re checking for travel updates more frequently, while 39% say they’re now leaving more travel time to get to their destination and 33% are booking travel options with flexible cancellation policies. Other changes made include considering different modes of travel even if it adds to the overall travel time, extending work trips to stay longer, or visiting multiple destinations in one trip. How are companies dealing with disruptions to get the best ROI from their travel budget?
Learn more in TravelPerk’s Value of Business Travel ReportHuman customer service remains a top priority for travellers
Despite recent breakthroughs in generative AI, travellers continue to prefer human customer service options when they need help with a booking. Global business travellers say the best way to get support when managing travel booking changes or cancellations is by speaking to a customer service representative on the phone (31%), followed by getting help via an online self-serve option (24%) or getting help from an airline, hotel, train, or rental car service representative in person (23%). Just 8% of UK travellers said they’d prefer to get help online using an AI chatbot. This is a decrease from the 9% who said they preferred this option in 2023. AI chatbots were the least popular support option with UK travellers this year.Different demographics had slightly different traveller preferences for customer service. 50% of Silent Generation respondents across all countries preferred talking on the phone, as opposed to 30% of Millennial and Generation Z respondents. People who said they “mostly worked from home” or “worked from home full time” were more likely to prefer self-serve online support: 38% of full-time remote working employees preferred self-serve support, while just 20% of onsite workers preferred this option. Disruptions have had serious consequences for costs, productivity, and client relationships
Travel disruptions often cause productivity to suffer, with 85% of global travellers reporting a loss of productivity due to issues with travel. In the UK, 12% of workers said they lost around a quarter of their personal productivity (21%-30%) because of travel disruptions.Gen Z respondents worldwide reported a greater loss of productivity than other generations. 10% said they lost around a third of their personal productivity (31%-40%) due to disruptions. Similarly, 10% of executives also lost around a third of their productivity, showing a greater impact than middle managers or entry level employees. Remote workers were less likely to lose productivity than in-person workers, with 28% reporting no decline.5 common challenges caused by travel disruptions and how to avoid them
Travel disruptions often lead to additional costs, missed business opportunities, or work interruptions, contributing to a decline in productivity. 91% of global travellers have experienced at least one of the five challenges below: 1. Missing or being late for an in-person meeting with a customer
41% of global travellers say they’ve missed or been late for a meeting with a customer due to travel disruptions. This percentage was higher among Silent Generation respondents (67%) and executives (50%).💡 To avoid being late for meetings, consider building more buffer time into your travel plans. One possibility is to extend a trip so that delays would have less of an impact. For example, if an important meeting is due to be held on Wednesday afternoon, you could arrange to fly in on Tuesday evening rather than Wednesday morning. That way, you’ll be well-rested and arrive on time for the meeting, even if your flight is delayed.
2. Additional costs due to the disruption
40% of global travellers have incurred additional costs, like hotel rebooking fees, because of a travel disruption. To avoid paying extra fees on hotels or airfare if your trip gets interrupted, try using a flexible booking option like FlexiPerk. You’ll pay a 10% fee on every business trip you book through the TravelPerk platform. In return, you’ll have the option of cancelling up to two hours before departure for an 80% guaranteed refund, no questions asked. This offers a 40% average savings compared to traditional flexible fares. Flights, hotels, trains, and rental cars can all be refunded using FlexiPerk. 3. Working extended hours to catch up on missed work
36% of all travellers surveyed say they’ve had to work extra hours to catch up on missed work after a disruption. Creative/design professionals and logistics professionals were particularly impacted—47% of each say that travel disruptions led to extra work for them.💡 To minimise the negative impact of travel disruptions on your productivity, consider building a “reintegration day” initiative into your plans. This means taking some time off to focus on health and wellness immediately after a business trip, whether it’s a full day off or simply a relaxed morning. That way, you’ll be able to catch up on sleep, hydration, and healthy food before diving back into work, even if you’re affected by a travel disruption.
4. Missing out on a new business or sales opportunity
Nearly a quarter of global travellers (24%) say they’ve missed out on a business opportunity because of travel disruptions. 💡 To preserve business relationships in the face of travel delays and cancellations, make sure to keep clients informed of what’s happening. If possible, you can offer an alternative way to connect, such as a virtual meeting instead of a face-to-face meeting. It can also be helpful to prepare a digital sales kit with presentations, information, and product demos. Send this to prospective clients to keep them engaged in the sales process, even if a meeting is cancelled.
5. Missing a connection, which leads to further delays
24% of global travellers say they’ve suffered further travel delays due to missing a transport connection. To mitigate the impact of delays, choose international connecting flights with at least a 3-hour layover when possible.💡 If you use a travel management company or app such as TravelPerk, you’ll have access to real-time flight updates and gate changes, so you can adjust your plans quickly and have a greater chance of making that connection. TravelPerk’s customer care team can also help you find and book an alternative route.
How TravelPerk empowers business travellers during a disruption
With the right corporate travel management tools, you can bounce back quickly in the face of unforeseen travel problems. TravelPerk is a travel management software platform that helps travellers and admins book business travel, view travel itineraries, administer a corporate travel policy, manage invoices and business travel spending, track and reduce the carbon footprint of their company’s travel programme, and more. Here’s how TravelPerk can help you lessen the impact of business travel disruptions, improving the travel experience for the future of business travel: Saving you time and money
37% of UK travellers said they lost money in fees due to unexpected disruptions, but this doesn’t have to be the case for you. FlexiPerk allows travellers to cancel a booking up to two hours before departure and get 80% of their costs refunded. And if you’re part of the 40% who had to work extra hours to catch up on missed work? There’s no need to add to your post-disruption workload with time-consuming invoicing procedures. Our platform allows you to easily manage your invoices all in one place. It also integrates with top travel expense management providers like Pleo, Yokoy, Airbase, Ramp, and more (view the full list of integrations and partnerships here). You can easily move between different platforms when submitting your expense reports, enjoying a seamless user experience.?)
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