There is a notable lack of collaboration between travel management and global mobility teams at many corporates, according to research from AltoVita, which believes the upshot is a raft of missed savings opportunities.
A white paper produced in partnership with Festive Road found only 42 per cent of corporate travel and talent mobility teams currently collaborate on their accommodation programmes.
At a time when companies are under pressure to reduce costs, the corporate housing specialist says synergies can achieve up to 30 per cent in savings. Closer collaboration between the two functions also enables corporates to “leverage data and analytics to enhance decision-making and align organisational goals”.
AltoVita reports that a typical Fortune 500 company has temporary housing spend of $8 million annually but savings can easily be achieved through adopting best practice. This includes requesting price parity clauses from operators, forecasting volumes and negotiating capped rates, and by using technology to streamline manual processes and conduct targeted negotiations.
The research was based on a survey of 84 travel and mobility managers globally. The report, Uniting talent mobility and business travel to unlock the potential of extended stay, also highlights key trends including rising travel costs, changing workforce preferences, duty of care and traveller wellbeing.
One research participant, Vini Valverde, director of global mobility at UPS, said: "There is an additional focus on cost given the higher travel prices and the overall economy. We have seen that many companies are adding additional approvals needed prior to booking travel to eliminate some of the expenses."
Valverde also highlighted changing traveller habits. "Employees want larger properties; they don't want to be stuck in a small place. It may be that the employee and their spouse are both working remotely, so they need a bigger place, or a couple of desks might require an additional room."
AltoVita previewed new ESG reporting functionality at its London summit earlier this month.