BCD Travel has introduced travel solutions for HR teams, aiming to provide a consistent employee travel experience, simplify booking, offer reliable support, and help meet duty of care. The solution supports travel management for employees, guests, and executives, and integrates with expense management to reduce HR workload.
SAP Concur released its 2024 Global Business Travel Survey of 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets and 600 travel managers in six markets. 44% of travelers would consider declining a trip over destination safety concerns, 35% over political or social concerns and 33% over transport-mode safety. 39% of travel managers said geopolitical safety concerns will make their job harder over the next 12 months, and 37% said duty of care is hard without full trip visibility. Only 23% of travelers said their company requires use of its booking tool. On sustainability, 27% would decline a trip over environmental impact, up from 23% in 2023.
SAP Concur announced seven 2024 Innovation Award winners showcasing travel and expense automation. Bechtel piloted Concur Select Access powered by Travelfusion to display NDC content alongside GDS fares, reducing out-of-channel direct bookings and improving Duty of Care reporting. Uber used Concur APIs and automation to save more than 5,000 employee hours, automate resolution of over 70% of expense-related help desk tickets, and drive corporate card adoption above 90%. KUKA made hotel and entertainment expense creation seven times faster. Stellantis unified T&E processes across 30 countries, with 98% of employees covered by Concur Expense, estimating savings of more than EUR1 million. PETRO…
SAP Concur hosted a webinar with Michigan State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of California San Diego, offering four tips for higher education travel management: simplify reporting and audit, support increased research travel, reduce traveler frustration and improve compliance, and make travel information easily accessible.
SAP Concur released findings from its 2023 Global Business Travel Survey, now in its fifth year. The survey shows 92% of business travelers believe their career future depends on business travel, yet 62% have not had equal opportunities due to demographics, sexual orientation, physical appearance, or health conditions. Demand for flexibility is rising: 48% want flexibility to ensure safety, 47% for work-life balance, and 34% to add personal travel.
SAP Concur's 2023 Global Business Travel Survey found that 94% of LGBTQ+ business travelers have personally experienced discrimination while traveling for work, and 90% have hidden their sexual orientation on a business trip, citing safety (55%) and privacy (55%) as top reasons. 82% of LGBTQ+ travelers changed accommodations in the past 12 months because they felt unsafe, compared with 53% of all business travelers. 92% of LGBTQ+ travelers feel they have not had equal opportunity to travel for business. The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research between April 7-28, 2023, among 3,850 business travelers in 25 markets.
A SAP Concur blog video explains how Concur TripLink captures bookings made outside the managed travel platform. Users and experts say TripLink allows travelers to access the best content and rates, including NDC content. When employees book on airline or hotel websites, the information flows directly into SAP Concur. United Airlines was the first airline to implement Concur TripLink. The solution helps travel managers know where employees are going and how much they spend, and can push data to duty of care providers.
SAP Concur published 10 tips for building a future-proof duty of care program, covering establishing a crisis management team, leveraging AI for travel risk management, implementing an emergency contact system, updating safety policies, using risk intelligence to assess country-specific threats, deploying an employee tracking system, enabling two-way communication, integrating global medical support, fostering a culture of care, and refining crisis communication with automated alerts. It cites Wakefield's 2024 Global Business Travelers Report: 95% of business travelers are open to AI-enabled booking options, nine in ten would decline a trip for safety, social, or environmental concerns, and…
The article discusses challenges travel managers face when employees book directly with suppliers, leading to invisible itineraries and impacting duty of care and cost control. SAP Concur TripLink and TripIt capture all bookings, providing visibility.
An SAP Concur blog post notes that COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruption to the travel and hospitality industries: eight in 10 hotel rooms are empty, and 2020 is projected to be the worst year on record for hotel occupancy; ARC reported that airline ticket sales for the week ending April 5, 2020 fell 95.7% year-over-year. The article advises travel managers to take action to stabilize T&E programs, including adjusting T&E programs to support the changing business environment, ensuring reporting transparency, breaking down silos, preparing for the next disruption, and building stronger internal and external partnerships.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that UK SMBs make up more than 99% of private sector businesses and employ more than 60% of private sector workers, yet the business travel industry has been geared toward large enterprises. It discusses SMB travel challenges such as flexibility needs, lack of dedicated travel managers and overlooked domestic trips, and describes responses including Triplink and a Booking.com partnership.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that at the Business Travel Show, the rising importance of adequate duty of care controls in business was a frequent topic. It says every time a member of staff travels for work, the company has a legal duty of care to predict the risks they face and be able to respond. It cites data that 77% of UK finance leaders said they weren't confident their business could quickly and accurately locate business travelers in an emergency. It offers five tips: have a plan, communicate and educate, encourage responsibility, take a team approach, and harness technology. It mentions Concur Locate helps businesses know where employees are and proactively monitor risk.
A SAP Concur blog post notes corporate travel spend is getting harder to manage: travelers book via mobile apps and supplier websites, and new distribution channels fragment booking and cost data. GBTA data shows 77% of businesses are not completely confident they can quickly and accurately locate business travelers in an emergency. Compared with five years ago, experienced travel managers spend 66% more time on data and analysis reporting, 66% more on evaluating or implementing new technology, 60% more on traveler safety and duty of care, and 52% more on cross-department meetings or collaboration. The article recommends finance and travel program leaders work together to deploy solutions t…
The president of SAP Concur reflects on 2017, noting key industry trends: duty of care became a priority for customers; digital transformation accelerated, such as e-Fapiao in China and e-Bunsho in Japan; the end-user became a key stakeholder; global solutions need to be local; and businesses became more accepting of spend outside preferred channels, managed via TripLink and the NDC standard.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses safety threats faced by female business travelers, including assault, theft, and sexual harassment. Citing research from AIG Travel and GBTA, only 44% of travel managers said their companies book women into rooms with additional safety features like double locks and 24-hour security, and three out of five said they 'rarely' or 'never' offer chauffeured transportation at destinations. The article recommends companies strengthen duty of care through pre-trip preparation, destination safety information, emergency travel service resources, and behavioral safety tips.
SAP Concur has released a series of travel management resources for its customers to address the challenges of traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic. These tools include the TripIt Traveler Resource Center, a booking switch feature that allows self-booking based on destination risk, Air Reassurance displaying airline COVID-19 measures, unused ticket credits visibility, Amadeus Ticket Changer self-service, and Concur FAVR by Motus for mileage reimbursement. Additionally, the company offers approval policies, customized messaging, and an expanded duty of care partner network, aiming to help companies resume travel safely and compliantly.
SAP Concur notes that October and November are historically the busiest months for business travel, with November 15 and 16 being the busiest days last year, showing 58% more business travelers than an average weekday. Infrequent travelers taking only one to three trips per year significantly contribute to this surge. Given the increasingly unpredictable environment, companies need to ensure employee safety and are advised to have a data-powered risk management program. SAP Concur released Concur Locate, an integrated traveler risk management solution with 24/7 monitoring, to help companies quickly locate and assist employees during health crises or natural disasters.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that business travel inherently carries risk and that companies have legal and moral duties to develop travel risk management (TRM) policies to fulfill duty-of-care obligations. It outlines four reasons: liability issues, increasing business travel, lower-impact risks and business risks.
A survey commissioned by SAP Concur reveals that 95% of LGBTQ+ business travelers have hidden their sexual orientation on business trips, and 85% changed travel arrangements as a result. Over 77% of female travelers experienced harassment or mistreatment. Nearly 60% of travelers changed plans due to feeling unsafe. Companies need to strengthen duty of care with inclusive policies, safety training, and risk tools.
A SAP Concur blog post, citing IDC MarketScape research, outlines three business benefits of adopting an app-based travel and expense management solution. First, simplicity: employees can book and manage trips via mobile, with itinerary and credit card data consolidated, reducing paperwork and boosting productivity and engagement. Second, safety: the solution collects itinerary details from every booking channel and combines them with card transaction data to locate and reach employees in emergencies, fulfilling duty of care. Third, spending: full visibility into bookings and spend helps identify savings, track budgets, strengthen supplier negotiations, and support policy compliance, regula…
A SAP Concur podcast with Acquis Consulting Group discusses post-pandemic travel management. As business travel resumes, organizations are giving employees greater autonomy to use their best judgment and comfort levels to decide when, where, and how to meet clients and team members. Hansini Sharma, Practice Lead of Corporate Travel for Acquis Consulting Group, notes that travel personalization is at an unprecedented level, with employees offered more choices. The discussion also covers duty of care, trust, compliance, NDC technology, direct connect, and allowing employees to book personal travel through TMC accounts. Sharma emphasizes that the travel industry requires collaboration, with al…
SAP Concur published an article citing World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) data that the global travel and tourism sector contributed a record US$8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs. The article notes that business travel in Asia is growing at double the pace of the rest of the world, China has become the world's largest business travel market, and ASEAN business travel spend has grown 35.2% since 2014. It also discusses mobile-first culture, bleisure travel trends, and duty of care.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses how technology is changing traveler behavior in corporate travel and the relationship between booking channels and safety. Citing a GBTA study, it notes that 80% of travel buyers do not use technology to capture outside bookings, and nearly half of business travelers say their organization only knows where they traveled through expense reporting. Technology can enhance traveler safety in four areas: reporting, awareness, behavior guidance, and direct contributions.
An SAP Concur blog post discusses the role of data in implementing a travel risk management (TRM) program. According to a 2017 Business Travel News report, companies are trending toward a 'team approach' integrating internal and external stakeholders for TRM. The survey shows 66% of companies use itinerary data and employee contact information to support TRM, and 46% use market-specific threat information. The article emphasizes that integrated data is the heart of a successful TRM program, and organizations need to leverage technology to collect travel and spend data from various channels to keep employees safe and compliant.
A SAP Concur blog post states that travel directors face external pressures including the shared economy, supplier direct bookings, traveler satisfaction, and duty of care. Employees are spending across more categories and using more payment methods—credit cards, ghost cards, checks, cash, and P-cards—often managed by disconnected systems, making a single source of truth difficult. A GBTA Foundation report found only 47% of travel managers report their online booking and expense tools are integrated; only 20% use technology to capture bookings made outside the travel program, while 42% of North American travelers prefer booking directly on supplier websites. An Oxford Economics survey of 1,…
SAP Concur Senior Vice President Nick Evered told BBC News how digital solutions help companies cut costs and protect travelers. The article notes business trips are expected to grow 3% this year, making it more important than ever for businesses to streamline T&E management. A fully automated digital T&E solution unites data in one place, delivering cost savings through reduced management time, detection of expense-report errors and visibility into employee spend, while knowing where travelers are at all times helps fulfill duty-of-care obligations.
SAP Concur blog emphasizes the importance of travel risk management (TRM), outlining three key steps: know who monitors risks (e.g., TMC or third-party services), identify internal stakeholders (e.g., HR, legal, security), and practice emergency plans regularly. It also mentions GBTA's recommendation for dedicated teams for specific incidents.
In an SAP Concur podcast conversation, Marchelle Klippenstein, VP of the Value Experience Group at SAP Concur, and Katheryn Nolfo, Consulting Director at Huron, discussed the recovery of business travel post-pandemic. Experts emphasized that communication is key, requiring employees to understand travel requirements and vaccination requirements; duty of care has become a central element of travel approval; organizations should develop contingency plans and leverage pandemic data to prepare for the next disruption; pre-approvals are seen as the 'secret sauce' to an innovative hybrid program, simplifying processes and improving efficiency.
SAP Concur notes that the pandemic shifted employee travel and spending behavior, such as moving from hotels to apartments or vacation rentals and extending business trips with personal vacation. These changes create significant gaps between organizations' travel and expense (T&E) programs and employees' real-life needs. The article recommends gathering and measuring employee sentiment data, combining it with operational data, assessing how policies affect sentiment, and using the data to improve T&E programs, which can enhance compliance, cost efficiency, and duty of care.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that the sharing economy continues to grow, with U.S. users projected to reach 86.5 million by 2021 and revenues more than doubling to $40.2 billion by 2022, according to Juniper Research. The sharing economy makes travel more affordable and convenient but brings three risks: regulatory uncertainty, lack of government oversight, and data privacy leaks. The article recommends proactive duty of care measures, including gathering pre-travel reports, sending real-time travel alerts, establishing two-way communication, protecting employee PII, and ensuring T&E management solutions collect minimum PII and follow ISO 27001 standards. SAP Concur can consolidate travel d…
A SAP Concur blog post aimed at SMBs argues the question is not how much a travel and expense management solution costs but how much it saves. Citing IDC MarketScape, it recommends moving from spreadsheets and manual expense reports to cloud-based T&E management software. The article stresses that employee safety is paramount: without visibility into itineraries and credit card spend, it is difficult to locate, reach, and if necessary retrieve employees, making duty of care hard to fulfill. Real-time T&E data viewable by category, vendor, cost center, team, and employee helps cut costs, spot savings, expose hidden spending, and strengthen supplier negotiations. Automation and analytics also…
SAP Concur published an article citing a survey of UK finance leaders, finding 81% have blind spots in their company's travel, expense and invoice spend. A typical company spends more than 10% of its annual budget on T&E. The article lists sources of blind spots: retrospective expense claims prevent cash-flow forecasting; around half of employees prefer to book independently even when the company has an online booking tool; supplier spend is fragmented across channels; more than two-thirds of finance leaders lack confidence in employee T&E policy compliance; and 77% of UK finance leaders lack confidence their business could quickly and accurately locate business travelers in an emergency.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that U.S. companies are restarting domestic travel to varying degrees, while international travel remains business-critical and requires special approvals. Travel managers from Harman, ServiceNow, and Barclays, speaking at the SAP Concur Travel Industry Summit, said employees are eager to resume face-to-face interactions, but approval processes are stricter, involving senior management and security officers. Companies are enhancing communication through internal microsites, travel portal prompts, and personalized outreach, while integrating sustainability into travel policies. The role of travel managers has been elevated during the pandemic, taking on more resp…
The article emphasizes maintaining employee experience while working from home. Research shows exceptional employee experience leads to 17% higher productivity, 21% higher profitability, and 24% lower turnover. Companies should fulfill duty of care for home workers, review remote expense policies, and rethink processes for the new normal.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses traveler tracking and duty of care challenges. It cites GBTA data showing 42% of travelers prefer to book directly on a supplier's website. It also notes one-third of travelers in the UK, Germany, and France still book directly with suppliers at least once a year despite having access to company online booking tools, and 40% of travelers who used an OBT in the past year also booked directly with a supplier at least once in the same period. It states that if travelers don't book through company channels, employers can't get itinerary information in time, affecting duty of care.
A SAP Concur blog cites customer cases saying mobile solutions let employees complete expense reports by taking photos. An IDC report found employees using modern T&E solutions cut travel booking time by 78% and expense report completion time by 60%, with 62% more employees compliant with policy. IDC calculates $1.96 million in average annual benefits per SAP Concur customer and a 650% three-year ROI. The article also says mobile apps can support duty of care by alerting employees to emergencies.