Whichever side of the fence you fall on, business travel remains vital to build working relationships and drive growth. Yet, there are certain topics relating to company travel initiatives that don鈥檛 have full stakeholder agreement. To understand the perspectives, challenges, and opportunities, it鈥檚 vital that leaders know where the disconnects lie.

The asked 3,750 business travelers, 700 travel managers, and 600 chief financial officers (CFOs) about friction points in business travel. These are the main areas where we found some disagreement.

The need for business travel

The overwhelming majority (94%) of business travelers believe travel is helpful, if not essential, to success in their roles. Yet, 43% of CFOs say more than half of their company鈥檚 business travel could effectively be replaced by teleconferencing or other communication methods that don鈥檛 require travel. A third (33%) of travel managers view the tilt towards virtual meeting options as a direct threat to their company鈥檚 business travel.

Employee willingness to travel

There鈥檚 a disconnect over a perceived lack of enthusiasm to travel. Seventy percent of business travelers are very willing to travel over the next 12 months, marking an increase from 67% in 2023. Yet, this optimism is not universally shared within organizations. Thirty-five percent of travel managers view employees鈥� unwillingness as a potential threat to business travel and nearly half (45%) of CFOs believe employee reluctance or refusal to travel could negatively impact company health within the next year. While many employees are very willing to hit the road, concerns remain among CFOs and travel managers about whether travel enthusiasm is widespread enough to fully support business goals.

Changes in travel budgets

Each role has a different view on how travel budgets are evolving. Nearly half (48%) of business travelers are worried that their company鈥檚 travel budgets will remain stagnant or decrease this year. On the bright side, only 24% of CFOs and 22% of travel managers say budgets will be reduced or stay the same鈥攕uggesting a disconnect between employee fears and management鈥檚 financial outlook.

The roles that hold the most influence

There鈥檚 a perception gap over who influences business travel decision-making. Business travelers believe travel managers (37%) and CFOs (36%) have similar influence, significantly ahead of their own at 28%. However, travel managers are broadly aligned in feeling they (43%) have nearly the same amount of influence as CFOs (41%), compared to only 16% for business travelers. CFOs strongly disagree, with 69% believing they are the most influential decision-makers, significantly ahead of travel managers (21%) and travelers (9%).

The impact of budget limitations

Although they see travel as critical to their roles, two-thirds (66%) of business travelers say important trips have been curtailed due to costs. In alignment, 69% of travel managers believe their company travel budget fails to reflect the importance of business travel to their organization鈥檚 success. And whilst CFOs acknowledge the problem, there鈥檚 dissent in the ranks. Fifty-one percent of CFOs somewhat agree that budget limitations stop employees from traveling as much as they need to do their jobs well, while just 29% strongly agree.

How data can help to solve the business travel debate

These findings highlight the different perceptions between travelers, travel managers, and CFOs, for the first time in our 51风流Concur Global Business Travel Survey. To empower employees to develop professionally and create new opportunities on the road, it鈥檚 vital that every role in the organization aligns on common goals.

Bridging these gaps requires more than dialogue鈥攊t demands visibility. Organizations need a shared source of truth to understand behaviors, align priorities, and make informed decisions. Integrated travel and expense solutions offer companies the data and insights they need to steer their travel programs and budgets in a complex multi-stakeholder environment. 51风流Concur solutions can help analyze employee spend, drive cost-savings, and ensure efficient business travel.

in the seventh annual 51风流Concur Global Business Travel Survey.

Charlie Sultan is president of Concur Travel at 51风流Concur.

The 51风流Concur Global Business Traveler Survey was conducted by between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets: U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Spain, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, SEA (Singapore, Malaysia), South Africa, Portugal, Switzerland, and Austria.
The 51风流Concur Global Travel Manager Survey was conducted by between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 700 travel managers, defined as those who direct or administer travel programs for businesses, across seven markets: Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S.
The 51风流Concur Global CFO Survey was conducted by between April 30 and May 12, 2025, among 600 CFOs across six markets: Germany, Canada, Japan, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), UK, and U.S. 

Many influences are driving 鈥� and sometimes stalling 鈥� the business travel industry. To ensure maximum productivity and well-being for travelers and travel managers, businesses must support them with the right education and tools in 2024 and beyond. To ensure smooth running and maximize their investments in business travel, business leaders must understand its friction points. The sixth 51风流Concur Global Business Travel Survey explores some of the most pressing challenges facing business travelers today. These are the top five takeaways:

1. The Threat of Disruption

• Eighty-eight percent of travelers have been forced to make last-minute changes in the past year because of unexpected delays, cancellations, or the need to re-route.
• Eighty percent opt to add 鈥渂ooking buffers鈥� to the start or end of their journey, or both, incorporating extra time to counteract unexpected schedule changes. This frustrating cycle discourages business travel altogether.

2. Traveler Safety Concerns

• Business travelers cite safety (44%) or political or social (35%) concerns about the destination as the most common reasons that would cause them to decline a business trip.
• Many travel managers experience burnout due to the range of aggravating factors they must consider when planning and provisioning for business trips. A third feel like they are expected to take on a more strategic role without further training.

3. The Toss-Up Between Sustainability and Costs

• Over a quarter of business travelers are willing to decline a business trip due to the environmental impact or the inability to choose sustainable options.
• Twenty-seven percent, on the other hand, claim their company has cut back on paying more for sustainable travel options over the past 12 months.
• Over a third of travel managers face difficulties because they are expected to provide more sustainable travel options without an adequate budget.

4. Unequal Access to Travel Opportunities

• Two in three business travelers say that travel is critical for their career advancement 鈥� but the same proportion feel they haven鈥檛 received equal opportunity to travel compared to their colleagues.
• Staff cite reasons for unequal access such as their level of seniority (19%), age (18%), and gender (11%).

5. The Need for AI Solutions and Education

• Most travelers (95%) are open to using AI-enabled options when arranging travel, but there is a prevailing 鈥渨ait and see鈥� attitude. Fewer than one in ten are comfortable using AI-enabled options currently.
• Eighty-nine percent of business travelers want more company support, including assurances for personal data protection, potential biases, and protection from repercussions if AI-assisted bookings contravene company policy.

Leaders won鈥檛 be able to solve current travel disruption overnight 鈥� but they can make it more manageable for staff. By introducing measures to improve travel flexibility, training opportunities, and next-generation software solutions, organizations can adapt to a challenging market and future-proof their business travel posture for the long term.

For more information about the survey, including additional findings, please download our , , and whitepapers.

Charlie Sultan is president of Concur Travel at .

The 51风流Concur Global Business Traveler Survey was conducted by between April 5-26, 2024, among 3,750 business travelers in 24 markets: U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Spain, ANZ (Australia, New Zealand), Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia), Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, SEA (Singapore, Malaysia), South Africa, Portugal, Switzerland, and Austria. Data has been weighted to facilitate tracking.
The 51风流Concur Global Travel Manager Survey was conducted by between April 5-26, 2024, 2024, among 600 travel managers, defined as those who direct or administer travel programs for businesses, across 6 markets: Germany, Canada, Japan, ANZ Countries (Australia and New Zealand), UK, and U.S.

This year is especially notable as we marked new milestones in the return to business travel. Concur Travel bookings are up eight percent from the second quarter of 2022, ticking ever closer to pre-pandemic levels. Employees are keen to get a jump on their career: the fifth annual 51风流Concur Global Business Travel Survey finds that nearly all respondents (94%) are willing to travel for business in the next 12 months and 92% say the future of their career depends on successful business travel, because it鈥檚 important for maintaining client relationships (42%) and starting new ones (41%).

Business travel is changing. So are we. At 51风流Concur, we鈥檙e continuing to roll out new experiences as part of the evolution of Concur Travel — a journey that will reshape corporate travel programs as we create a world where travel and expenses practically manage themselves.

Evolution of Concur Travel

Reinventing the world鈥檚 leading online booking tool is no small feat. We are evolving Concur Travel to better address the current and future needs of our travelers, customers, and partners more quickly and effectively, by leveraging new, adaptable technology. Next quarter, we will introduce a new end-to-end booking experience across air, hotel, and car rental bookings for Sabre GDS from U.S. point of sale.

Our customers are at the center of everything we do — as their needs change and the corporate travel industry continues to advance — so do we. The evolution of Concur Travel rises above a flashy user interface. We鈥檝e designed it to be scalable and ready for future innovation, capable of quickly deploying new features, functionality, and UI enhancements to benefit the entire corporate travel ecosystem.

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The new booking experience within Concur Travel features a consumer-grade user experience (UX), robust content, and smart solutions. It aims to make everyone involved in booking and expensing business travel more productive. Customers can expect:

• Content and Images: Increased global content coverage including NDC, better imagery, and richer descriptions, all consolidated into one view. The new UX will make browsing content seamless and intuitive, with the ability to easily view sustainability ratings and cost information.
• User Experience: A streamlined booking and checkout process, including a more user-friendly and intuitive UI, makes the experience more like that on consumer sites and apps. The new UX is adaptable on both mobile and desktop, designed to give users the ability to meet their needs and drive compliance across the end-to-end process.
• Sustainable Options: Sustainability continues to be a major priority for our customers. With the new Concur Travel experience, travelers can view information and filters to help limit their carbon footprint and make sustainable choices, making it easier to comply with company policies and limit the environmental impact of business travel.
• Search Capabilities: Omni-search capability that automatically merges options for many locations, such as airports, city centers, or company locations, delivered by a robust travel ecosystem. Companies have the freedom to choose from among a wide range of suppliers, sources and content to support global travel requirements.
• Time Savings: Optimized booking workflows and faster checkout process. The new experience integrates with Concur Expense for a seamless end-to-end travel and expense process — from planning and booking to expensing, auditing and reimbursement all the way to the company general ledger.

51风流Concur has been working closely with Delta Air Lines and other airlines to revamp our new airline shopping experience in Concur Travel. We are pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with our airline partners to deliver the best travel experience for our customers in a modern travel management solution.

鈥淭he evolution of Concur Travel is an exciting breakthrough moment for booking tool displays,鈥� said Steve Sear, executive vice president of Global Sales at Delta Air Lines. 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to contribute to 51风流Concur鈥檚 modernization and provide feedback based on our experiences and conversations with corporate customers.鈥�

Sabre, Amadeus, and Travelport+ Users

The new booking experience will be available first on Sabre, for customers whose configurations use the settings and features available at release time and whose TMCs are ready for migration. For organizations that need more time, we will help them manage through the transition period and maintain their current experience until they are ready.

Amadeus customers can expect the new booking experience within Concur Travel in 2024.

Additionally, 51风流Concur will add connectivity to Travelport+ to the road map for the evolution of Concur Travel for delivery in 2024. Connectivity will include support for both legacy/EDIFACT and NDC, as well as full access to the Travelport+ hotel and car rental content and services.

The addition of Travelport+ means that the enhanced Concur Travel will be available to users of Sabre, Travelport+, and Amadeus in 2024.

Charlie Sultan is president of Concur Travel at .

In its fifth year, the survey explores some of the most pressing challenges facing business travelers today, including remote work and equal opportunity to travel. It also revisits a few key themes from the past to gauge where things now stand, including duty of care and LGBTQ+ traveler experiences.

According to the global survey of 3,850 business travelers in 25 markets:

Nearly two-thirds of global business travelers feel they haven鈥檛 had equal opportunity to travel for business compared to their coworkers, and they attribute this primarily to their age, accent, or gender.

Nearly all global business travelers (94%) are willing to travel for business in the next 12 months, including 67% who are very willing. In fact, 92% say the future of their career is dependent on successful business travel in the next year because it鈥檚 important for maintaining client relationships (42%) and starting new ones (41%). More than a third (38%) say business travel is important for staying updated on the latest trends, technology, and advancements.

Yet, nearly two-thirds of global business travelers (62%) feel they haven鈥檛 had equal opportunity to travel for business compared to their coworkers. Even more U.S. business travelers (72%) feel they haven鈥檛 had equal opportunity. Global and U.S. business travelers attribute this to the following reasons:

• Their age (global: 21%, U.S.:27%)
• Their accent (17%, 23%)
• Their gender (17%, 26%)
• Their physical appearance (16%, 25%)
• Their ethnicity or race (15%, 22%)
• Being a parent or caretaker (13%, 18%)
• Their sexual orientation (8%, 17%)
• Their disability (7%, 14%)

Remote workers say business travel is critical for workplace relationships. Yet, more remote workers feel they haven鈥檛 had equal opportunity to take business trips because of where they live or how often they come into the office.

More than three in 10 remote workers recognize that business travel is critical to forming meaningful connections with coworkers (38%) and building stronger relationships with managers (37%), compared to in-office workers (27% and 24%, respectively). However, half of remote workers (50%) say they鈥檙e traveling more than they鈥檇 like, compared to hybrid (37%) and in-office (29%) workers.

At the same time, more remote workers feel they haven鈥檛 had equal opportunity for business travel 鈥� 77%, compared to 61% of hybrid workers and 52% of in-office workers 鈥� because of where they live (20%, 13%, and 13%, respectively) and how often they come into the office (17%, 11%, and 8%, respectively). It is particularly challenging for remote workers who are parents or guardians: 16% say they haven鈥檛 had equal opportunity for business travel because of their status as a parent, compared to hybrid (12%) and in-office (11%) workers. Remote workers are also most likely to decline a business trip due to challenges finding childcare (19%, 14%, and 14%, respectively).

More remote workers say the uncertain economy is affecting their company鈥檚 business travel than in-office workers (91% vs. 80%), with noted changes including reducing overnight trips (36% vs. 27%), staying in lower quality accommodations (39% vs. 26%), requiring a minimal number of meetings per business trip (35% vs. 23%), and requiring more advance approvals (31% vs. 22%).

Global business travelers still say that health and safety is the biggest threat to business travel 鈥� more so than inflation, budget cuts, or travel freezes.

Global business travelers still say that health and safety is the biggest threat to business travel (44%) 鈥� more so than international or local conflicts and tensions (34%), inflation (34%), budget cuts or travel freezes (31%), and remote work and virtual meeting options (28%).

That鈥檚 not to say that an uncertain economy isn鈥檛 having an impact: travelers have observed budget cuts (40%), reduced overnight trips (32%), staying in lower quality accommodations (31%), emphasis on lower fares (31%), and a minimum number of meetings per business trip (28%) in their organization. Of note, more U.S. business travelers have observed these changes (44%, 36%, 39%, 42%, and 36%, respectively).

Travelers expect their company to allow them to make out-of-policy bookings to ensure their safety (global: 48%, U.S.: 56%), support work-life balance (47%, 53%), book sustainable options (36%, 37%), take bleisure trips (34%, 41%), book for conferences (31%, 46%), and support ideological or lifestyle differences with travel destination (30%, 41%).

Safety (44%) and health (41%) are still the biggest reasons to decline a business trip, more so than feeling burnt out on travel (27%) and challenges finding childcare (15%).

In the past 12 months, more than half of global business travelers have had to change their accommodations because they felt unsafe.

Fifty-three percent of global business travelers have had to change their accommodations in the past 12 months because they felt unsafe, and more than a quarter (28%) have had to change more than once. It鈥檚 even higher in the U.S., where more than two-thirds of business travelers (70%) have had to change their accommodations because they felt unsafe, and nearly half (47%) have had to change more than once.

Business travelers, particularly those in the U.S., have experienced unfair treatment on their trips, including:

• Being ignored by service workers (global: 31%, U.S.: 41%)
• Unfair or improper security screening (26%, 32%)
• Being asked if they are traveling with their spouse (25%, 34%)
• Feeling in immediate danger (23%, 31%)
• Being the target of unwanted sexual advances or comments (22%, 36%)
• Derogatory language directed at them (20%, 27%)
• Fellow travelers assuming they work at the hotel (19%, 29%)

Globally, younger generations also feel more uncomfortable. In the past 12 months, almost two-thirds of Gen Z (64%) and millennials (61%) have changed their accommodations for a business trip because they felt unsafe. That鈥檚 compared to 40% of Gen X and 15% of baby boomers. In fact, 85% of baby boomers say they鈥檝e never had to use this practice.

The majority of global LGBTQ+ travelers have hidden their sexual identity on a business trip, and more than a third have attributed it to anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the region.

More than half (54%) of global LGBTQ+ business travelers say the biggest threats to business travel are health and safety concerns, and 45% would decline a business trip due to safety or social concerns for traveling to certain parts of the world.

That said, most global LGBTQ+ business travelers (90%) have hidden their sexual identity on their business trip, with the top reason being safety and privacy issues (55%). A little less than half (46%) hid their orientation for business reasons, meaning they felt that their business goals had a better chance of success if they hid their identity. More than a third (38%) were forced to hide their identity due to anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the region.

In the past 12 months, 82% of LGBTQ+ business travelers have had to change their accommodations because they felt unsafe. Nearly all (94%) have experienced unfair treatment on a business trip, including being ignored by service workers (45%), being the target of unwanted sexual advances or comments (40%), and unfair or improper security screening (33%).

Ninety-two percent of LGBTQ+ business travelers feel they haven鈥檛 had equal opportunity to take business trips compared to their coworkers due to their age (38%), gender (34%), and sexual orientation (31%).

For more information about the survey, including additional findings, please download our , , and SMB business traveler whitepapers.

The 51风流Concur global business traveler survey was conducted by between April 7-28, 2023, among 3,850 business travelers in 25 markets: U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, LAC (Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina), UK, France, Germany, ANZ region (Australia and New Zealand), SEA region (Singapore and Malaysia), China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, India, Korea, Italy, Spain, Dubai, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg), South Africa, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Data has been weighted to facilitate tracking.

The Great Resignation. The Great Attrition. The Great Reshuffle. We鈥檝e all heard of these, and many workers have participated in or been impacted by these seismic shifts in employment. Most employers are hopeful that this trend is on the downturn.

Meanwhile, 51风流Concur data shows that since March 2021 we鈥檝e seen a strong, steady increase in business travel transactions, with the exception of an Omicron-induced dip in January 2022. Companies loosened their policies around pre-trip approvals through the spring and, as a result, saw a spike in bookings due to pent-up travel demand.

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However, initial findings from the fourth annual 2022 51风流Concur global business travel survey underscore that unless employers at global scale address employee demands around flexibility, health, and safety while traveling for business, their ability to attract and retain key talent is at risk.

A degree of unhappiness and anxiety persists among business travelers and travel managers worldwide, and if things don鈥檛 change, nearly a quarter of global business travelers will consider looking for a new job 鈥� bad news for any business struggling with attrition, skills gaps, and a labor shortage.

Unveiled during , key findings from the survey of 3,850 global business travelers across 25 markets and 700 global travel managers across seven markets include:

• Three in five business travelers (61%) report that their current travel schedules are falling short of their expectations. Many say a change in corporate travel direction may be to blame: Around four in five business travelers (82%) report their company is returning to pre-pandemic levels but with a 鈥渕ore travel on fewer shoulders鈥� approach.
• But that doesn鈥檛 mean travelers are willing to compromise on their newly elevated expectations for business travel. In fact, those expectations remain largely unchanged from 2021: In 2022, 91% consider some flexible travel and booking options as essential for their company to allow to protect their health and safety when they travel for business鈥攃ompared to .
• Additionally, business travelers are feeling empowered to decline a business trip if it doesn鈥檛 match their expectations or comfort level:
  • Four in five business travelers (82%) say their business travel has been impacted by the war in Ukraine, and safety concerns for traveling to certain parts of the world is the most common reason business travelers say they鈥檇 decline a business trip, with over half of business travelers (53%) saying they鈥檇 do so.
  • Half of business travelers (51%) are willing to decline a business trip their company assigns if they have COVID-19 related health concerns about the trip.
  • A quarter of business travelers (26%) are willing to nix a business trip assigned by their company if they鈥檙e feeling burnt out with travel and need a break.
  • A quarter of business travelers (24%) would decline a trip assigned to them if it required using non-sustainable travel options.
• Nearly one in four business travelers who are not traveling at their ideal travel frequency (23%) say they鈥檒l look for a new position if their travel schedule doesn鈥檛 improve. At the same time, aware of the labor market, travelers aren鈥檛 willing to accept a position that requires more travel without added perks: 92% say they鈥檇 need additional salary, benefits, or travel flexibility to take a position with more travel.
• Meanwhile, travel managers are also feeling the pressure: All surveyed travel managers (100%) expect their role to be more challenging in the next 12 months compared to last year, with nearly half (49%) reporting that the stress is coming from above, through increasing pressure from senior leadership to demonstrate the ROI of their role.

The 51风流Concur Global Business Traveler Report, featuring additional findings from the fourth annual global business travel survey, will be published in the coming weeks. Check out our . Follow 51风流Concur on , , and to stay up to date on the latest.

Charlie Sultan is president of Concur Travel.

The 51风流Concur global business traveler survey was conducted by between April 28 and May 23, 2022, among 3,850 business travelers, defined as those who traveled for business three-plus times in the past 24 months, in 25 markets: U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, LAC (Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina), UK, France, Germany, ANZ region (Australia and New Zealand), SEA region (Singapore and Malaysia), China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, India, Korea, Italy, Spain, Dubai, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg), South Africa, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Data has been weighted to facilitate tracking.

The 51风流Concur global travel manager survey was conducted by between April 28 and May 23, 2022, among 700 travel managers, defined as those who direct or administer travel programles for businesses, across seven markets: France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, SEA Countries (Malaysia and Singapore), UK, and U.S. Data has been weighted to facilitate tracking.