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How many multinational corporations have negotiated/corporate fares with Hotels/Hotel chains? How many of those have a travel policy that forces the corporate travelers to ONLY use those corporate fares as opposed to just finding the cheapest fare even if its not a hotel that they have a corporate fare with? (corporate fares are private and hidden fares that hotels provide only to big enough corporations that negotiate a specific contract with them, to get cheaper rates on their hotel rooms)
Hello! Thanks for asking Wonder how many multinational corporations have negotiated/corporate fares with Hotels/Hotel chains, and how many of those companies have travel policies that limit corporate travel to using those negotiated fares.
In short, after searching extensively through a variety of corporate business travel surveys and articles, I’ve determined that the information you requested is not publicly available because data specific to corporate hotel accounts has not been gathered or widely shared. However, I was able to learn that 85% of companies have a written travel policy, including an estimate 49,500 US multinational companies. Furthermore, in the US, business travelers are more likely to say their travel needs are not being met by these policies, resulting in 69% of these travelers violating corporate travel policies by booking their own travel arrangements. Below, you will find the results of my research along with my research methodology.
METHODOLOGY
I began by searching for any existing studies or surveys that have gathered data on corporate use of negotiated hotel fares or corporate hotel accounts. Finding little solid data related to corporate hotel accounts or fares specifically, I searched for surveys or studies related to business travel policy and had a bit more success. While data that specifically answers your question proved largely elusive, I have presented the data I was able to gather, triangulating figures wherever possible.
MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES IN THE US
According to a McKinsey article, multinational companies make up less than 1% of all US companies. The US Census states there are 5.825 million companies in the US, suggesting there are approximately 58,250 multinational companies in the US.
CORPORATE TRAVEL POLICIES
The Certify 2016 Expense Management Trends report surveyed CFOs, controllers, and accounting professionals responsible for expense management at their companies. According to the survey,
85% of companies have a written travel policy, and 43% of them manually check each travel expense against that policy. If there are 58,250 multinational companies in the US, then we can estimate that approximately 49,500 of them have written travel policies (58,250 x .85).
According to the 2016 Egencia® Business Travel and Technology Study, which surveyed business travelers rather than expense managers, 64% of respondents said their company had a travel program that outlines policies and procedures. Using this figure, we can calculate that 37,280 US companies have travel policies. However, the aforementioned Certify survey likely offers a more accurate figure for companies with travel policies since those surveyed were responsible for such policies. The figure in the Egencia survey may more accurately reflect employee awareness of travel policies. Fully 77% of respondents said their company's travel policy is clear, and 91% said the policy was well communicated. Also, 29% of respondents said their company's travel policies have gotten more restrictive over the last few years. In the US, that figure is 40%, but US travelers (61%) are more likely to believe the restrictions are made to protect their safety and security than those outside the US (30%).
Only 38% of survey respondents said their company's travel policy meets their travel needs very well. Some 21% of business travelers, globally, say their requests related to business travel are often denied, especially in the US (31%) and in India (29%). Because of these denials, "about half of global travelers will book their favorite airline (49%) or hotel (50%) even if policy prevents them. In India and the US, where bookings are denied the most, the figure is much higher, at 71% and 69%, respectively in the US and 72% to both hotel and airline in India." In countries where business travelers are less often denied travel requests, policy compliance is much higher. Those countries include Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway.
According to BNT Group's Trends in Travel Policy Compliance and Adherence report, 10% of travel management professionals surveyed said that non compliance with booking preferred hotels was a top concern. Another study by Concur notes that up to 61% of travel policies sometimes allow direct booking (allowing travelers to book outside the company booking process), while 4% never allow it. The study suggests that direct booking is becoming increasingly more common and presenting challenges for corporate travel managers who are trying to maintain employee compliance with policy. Fully 72% of corporate travel managers in an American Express survey said they need to do more to facilitate policy compliance.
POSSIBLE CONTINUED RESEARCH
An exploration of the evolution of or future trends related to corporate travel policies may reveal impending changes that could affect the role corporate accounts with hotels or other vendors will play in the future of business travel.
SUMMARY
To sum up, an estimated 49,500 US multinational companies have corporate travel policies, but 69% employees book their own preferred hotels rather than complying with company policy.
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