Managed Travel 2.0 – Explanation and Implications

What do chickens and travelers have in common?  Both might be better off without fences.

That’s one of the issues I raised today at The Beat Live’s closing speech.  This speech covered

• The driving forces behind Managed Travel 2.0 and its five key principles
• The three requirements for this concept to take off
• And most intriguingly, several key implications for the major stakeholders in the travel industry.

Here’s the full presentation.  It’s a much deeper presentation than what Evan Konwiser and I covered in Boston at GBTA.  Like that presentation, this one is in ballroom style (pretty pictures, few words), so it loses some punch without the voice-over.   We’ll push out a series of posts to put these pictures into context.

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Why Bother Managing Travel?

That’s a serious question, after reading this recent GBTA report.

The key findings, covered in more detail here, show that unmanaged travelers achieve better business trips, are more satisfied with their business travel – and here’s the kicker – don’t spend any more than their managed traveler counterparts.

Let’s assume the study is valid, and that managing travel doesn’t produce significant savings.  Deep breaths, everybody – we can debate that last point later. For the sake of argument, if there aren’t significant savings from managing travel, why would we do it?

The Curious Case Against Managing Travel

Achieve better trips. Increase traveler satisfaction. Spend less on travel.

That’s the trifecta of travel management, isn’t it? So which horse would you bet on to deliver these wins – the one with, or without, a jockey?  The managed travel program, or the unmanaged travel program?

GBTA’s “Global Business Traveler Study 2012”, a 72-page report, shows the winner is the unmanaged program – and it’s not even a close race.  That’s the conclusion I draw from the study’s facts as they pertain to U.S. travelers.