7 Ways Business Travel Will Change After COVID-19

COVID-19 may have put travel on halt for quite some time, but travel is making a comeback (and it's about time!). In fact, as the vaccine rolls out to more and more Americans (and people all over the world!), countries across the globe are starting to open their borders. Likewise, cities everywhere are lifting travel bans, and people are hitting the road more often. 

So what about business travel? According to an article from the New York Times, business travelers account for more than half of all major airlines' revenue and about 70% of major hotel chains revenue (think: Marriott and Hilton). Like everyone else, business travelers are itching to get back out there in the world — especially because "Zoom fatigue" is real. But, on Forbes, Kris Fitzgerald writes that business travel is dead.

"It's unclear whether business travel will make a full comeback to pre-pandemic levels, but two things have happened," she writes. "First, the past year has permanently changed the way companies think about business travel and how they'll approach it in the future. Second, technology has a huge role to play not only as a substitute for travel, but as a catalyst for regrowth in the travel industry itself."

When the pandemic hit, international travel spending fell 76% (compared to 34% for domestic travel) and business travel spending fell 70% (compared to 27% for leisure travel) — these two sub-categories of travel were hit the hardest, according to an Analysis by Tourism Economics. Plus, according to another early-pandemic December 2020 Upwork survey of over 1,000 hiring managers, "by 2025, 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely, an 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels." This means that there's less of a need for business travel.

While Fitzgerald explains that companies probably won't do away with business altogether, it is likely to look a lot different.

Business Travel Trends

1. Business travel will be less frequent than before.

"Employees might have gotten used to conference calls and realized that some meetings aren’t necessary in person," according to Rydoo. "Some businesses might have adapted much better than they expected and decide to keep some of the changes they’ve put in place."

“While wellbeing will receive more attention than before, I believe the ultimate driver for the majority of companies will be revenue generation and recovering economically from the crisis," Ryan Ghee, head of strategy and development at FTE Innovation & Startup Hub, told TNMT ".That said, employees may have more choice as to whether or not they participate in an international business trip.”

2. Business travelers may have to show proof of vaccination.

3. People will travel virtually more than physically.

"Virtual meetings may be getting the job done for now, but not being there in person still leaves something to be desired," Fitzgerald writes. "People are weary of their home offices and crave human interaction in three dimensions. In lieu of reverting to business travel, companies are more likely to adopt even more advanced collaboration technologies that increasingly mimic in-person meetings.

"Think of hosting your next meeting virtually at a beach resort, interacting one-to-one, feeling the sensation of a handshake through VR gloves (and both parties get fish tacos delivered to their doorstep)," she continues.

"As COVID-19 spread globally, companies started to embrace remote work and video conferencing tools, which were traditionally a privilege more than a necessity," according to TNMT. "The world’s largest work-from-home experiment has had varying degrees of success, with 35% of companies planning to offer remote work options post-pandemic and another 35% of companies considering flexible work according to Nemertes Research."

“While companies and employees see the limitations of current virtual events, the models and execution are getting better and open up attendance from people that wouldn’t have been able to travel (due to cost, time, etc.). Meeting in person with key partners is still important for specific use cases. As long as the right network effect can be achieved, at least key personnel will still attend those events in person.” — Torsten Kriedt, senior vice president of Solutions & Products Europe at BCD Travel, told TNMT.

4. Companies will have to take extra precautions.

"Having to repatriate an employee is something that can happen at any time, outside of the COVID-19 crisis," according to Rydoo. "Thousands of organizations supported their employees in getting back home from a business trip when countries implemented lockdown procedures. They will now be more aware of the logistics involved."

5. Business travel will probably become more convenient.

"Contactless solutions such as airport and rental car check-ins through a kiosk had already begun, but situations like more flexible work and meeting spaces close to or in airport hubs for business travelers will likely increase," Fitzgerald explains.

“Instead of flying everyone to global HQ for a special event (i.e. training), it is more likely for HQ to send some specialist to regional offices to deliver training. In other words, corporates will focus on making the least number of people travel to achieve the same objectives. That 1-2 people who end up taking the trip define a new category of travel that did not exist pre-COVID.” — Lio Chen, managing director of the Travel and Hospitality Center of Innovation at Plug & Play, told TNMT.

6. Companies will have to update travel insurances and policies.

7. Business travel may become more local.

“As long as there will be quarantines and other restrictions, this will significantly impact the 'desire' for travel," Iztok Franko, funder at DigginTravel, told TNMT. "Restrictions are by far the most 'influential' when it comes to making decisions to travel.”

“Travel policies will likely be linked much closer to the country’s foreign office travel advice; things can change last minute," Dr. Wouter Geerts, senior research Analyst at Skift Research, told TNMT.

“There has been very little international coordination throughout the crisis and this is likely to continue, at least in the short-term,” Ghee also told TNMT.

“Some potential travelers will be put off because of fear, but companies will aim to instill confidence through communication and policies," Kriedt told TNMT. "Others will be very keen to travel again as they long for the experience and collaboration, provided it is proven to be as safe as going to the office.”

About the Career Expert:

AnnaMarie Houlis is a multimedia journalist for a gamut of both online and print publications, as well as an adventure aficionado and travel blogger at HerReport.org. She covers all things women's empowerment — from navigating the workplace to navigating the world. She writes about everything from gender issues in the workforce to gender issues all across the globe.