How has the business travel world been weathering the ups and downs caused by restrictions and variants? And what’s on the minds of finance leaders right now?.

With 7,500+ global customers, TripActions is uniquely positioned to analyze the data and garner insights into how 2022 is playing out.

Here’s what we’re seeing.

New Realities of Corporate Travel

While the pandemic has thrown multiple curveballs to the travel industry overall, it’s become clear that travel managers and road warriors are adjusting. Yes, Delta and Omicron caused everyone to reassess their plans. The good news is that with each subsequent wave of COVID-19, travelers gained confidence and were more apt to take that business trip to meet with clients or colleagues.

That confidence wasn’t restricted to work trips: “Bleisure” (business plus leisure) travel has also been on the rise. And we know that thanks to TripActions Lemonade—the seamless tool for booking personal travel that’s part of the TripActions platform (and available to customers at no additional cost). What have we seen? From 2019–2022, the percentage of business trips that included a weekend has risen from 31% to 38%.

That’s a number we expect to continue to grow, as more employers recognize that encouraging employees to take PTO can be helpful, especially at a time when attracting and retaining talent is more important than ever. And when employers can offer Lemonade, travelers get all of the benefits they do on the business travel platform: deep inventory, negotiated prices, and world-class service.

What have these travelers been spending money on? And what’s been the effect of remote work? Learn all this and more: Download the guide The New Realities of Corporate Travel & Spend In 2022.

New Realities of Managing Spend

We also have our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the world of spend management, thanks to TripActions LiquidTM—and it’s not just about what customers are purchasing.

In a survey we conducted over the latter part of 2021, we asked hundreds of financial leaders across organizations in the U.S. what their biggest challenges and headaches were.

We found that when it comes to managing spend, these leaders mentioned several categories, but said their biggest challenge is with travel and entertainment. And while an automated system could help streamline the entire spend management process, many leaders say they aren’t taking advantage of the benefits automation can provide.

Learn all of the spend challenges affecting finance leaders today: Download the guide The New Realities of Corporate Travel & Spend In 2022.

What can that automation do? Eliminate expense reports, for one. Employees using TripActions don’t have to save and track their receipts: all expenses are reported immediately, offering real-time visibility to finance leaders. It can also reduce the time required for reconciliation by as much as 95%.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Learn more about what’s on the minds of travel and finance decision makers, and how TripActions can help solve some of the biggest challenges of 2022.

Download the guide The New Realities of Corporate Travel & Spend In 2022.