New Business Travel Trends
Hybrid and remote work is now common, with 55% of U.S. business travelers, 56% of U.K. business travelers, and 60% of German business travelers reporting such arrangements in an independent survey conducted on behalf of Enterprise Mobility.* Even as remote meetings are becoming more prevalent, only 29% of surveyed business decision-makers say their companies have explored them as an alternative to business travel. Additionally, a majority of workers do not feel videoconferencing is a satisfactory alternative to in-person interactions. Overall, 66% of decision-makers say business travel expands networks and reenergizes the business.
In fact, the top three reasons for business travel are connected to a desire for in-person connection with colleagues: internal company meetings (44% of respondents), meeting with internal individuals or teams (41%), and company training (40%).
Younger employees, in particular, who make up over 60% of business travelers in these three countries, are motivated to travel for internal social events: 40% of Millennials and Gen Zers surveyed said they had traveled for a company social event, compared with 28% of Boomers and Gen Xers.
Overall, the frequency of local and domestic business trips is higher than international work trips, with 84% of U.S. work trips, 77% of U.K. work trips, and 74% of German work trips being local or domestic over a 12-month period. And this corporate travel trend is expected to continue: 31% of decision-makers surveyed foresee growth in domestic trips, and 30% are projecting an increase in one-day trips.
Cost-Avoidance Solutions
With the growing popularity of local and domestic business travel, car rental may be a more cost-effective option than reimbursing employees when they use their personal vehicles. Based on analysis conducted with current Enterprise clients, for business trips over 100 miles, renting a car is generally less expensive for the company.
The average personal vehicle tends to be older and thus more prone to maintenance and repair. So car rental can help mitigate the financial and safety risks of using older personal vehicles, as rental vehicles are generally recent-model vehicles equipped with the latest technology and safety features, and any necessary service is handled by the rental provider.
“Having employees use their own cars for local or regional travel may seem like the easier way to go, but it comes with risks to the business, as well as the complexity associated with mileage reimbursement,” says Schultheiss. “Adding car rental as an option in the travel policy is a valuable move for any company.”
Convenience and Reliability
Part of a global portfolio of solutions connected under Enterprise Mobility, Enterprise Rent-A-Car® and National Car Rental® operate thousands of neighborhood, airport, and train station locations across more than 90 countries and territories. So we’re there wherever and whenever your employees might need us. Our rental fleet encompasses more than 1.5 million vehicles, with a mix of over 300 makes and models. And we offer a flexible range of mobility solutions, from long-term rental to on-demand vehicle access, through Enterprise Car Club and Car Share®, for trips lasting no more than a couple of hours.
“The convenience of having an Enterprise rental location within reach means your employees are covered,” emphasizes Schultheiss. “That peace of mind is something you can’t really put a price on.”
*Research was conducted by global market research firm Ipsos on behalf of Enterprise Mobility in July 2023. N=3,016 business travelers from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany (approximately n=1000 per country). N=600 decision makers for B2B travel/mobility (working in HR, Business travel management, Procurement, Finance), n=200 per country. For the business decision maker sample, no weights were applied to this study, and the findings reflect the opinion of these respondents only.