Most business travelers say they their company does not give them equal access to business travel opportunities, according to an SAP Concur survey of 3,850 business travelers across 25 markets.
Among global respondents to the survey, which was conducted April 7-28 by Wakefield Research, 62 percent said they haven’t had the same business travel opportunities as their coworkers. For U.S. travelers, 72 percent said the same. Remote workers were the most likely to say they are not receiving equal opportunities at 77 percent, compared with 61 percent of hybrid workers and 52 percent of in-office workers.
The most cited reason for not getting equal opportunities was age, with 21 percent of global travelers and 27 percent of U.S. travelers saying they had missed business travel opportunities due to that factor. Accent and gender were the second most frequently listed reason, each cited by 17 percent of global travelers. In the U.S. traveler subset, gender (26 percent), physical appearance (25 percent), accent (23 percent) and ethnicity or race (22 percent) were the most frequently cited reasons.
Travelers also said discrimination and safety concerns were common issues during business travel. More than half of global business travelers said they had changed accommodations in the past year because they felt unsafe, and 70 percent of U.S. travelers said the same.
Such a change was more likely with younger travelers, with 64 percent of Gen Z and 61 percent of Millennials saying that they had changed accommodations, compared with 40 percent of Gen X travelers. Eighty-five percent of Baby Boomers, on the other hand, said they’ve never changed accommodations because they felt unsafe.
In terms of unfair treatment on trips, being ignored by service workers was the most common occurrence, experienced by 31 percent of global travelers and 41 percent of U.S. travelers. About a quarter of global travelers and 32 percent of U.S. travelers said they experienced unfair or improper security screenings, and 22 percent of global travelers and 36 percent of U.S. travelers said they were the target of unwanted sexual advances or comments while traveling.
LGBTQ+ travelers were more likely than the full survey set to report safety concerns and unfair treatment. More than 80 percent of LGBTQ+ business travelers said they had changed accommodations due to feeling unsafe, and 94 percent said they had experienced unfair treatment, including being ignored by service workers (45 percent), facing unwanted sexual advances or comments (40 percent) and unfair or improper screenings (33 percent).
In addition, LGBTQ+ travelers were more likely to report missed opportunities than the overall business travel population, with 92 percent saying they did not have the same chance at business trips as coworkers. Age (38 percent) and gender (34 percent) were more frequently cited as the reason for that among LGBTQ+ travelers than sexual orientation (31 percent).
Overall, the survey showed a willingness to travel and value for business travel among business travelers. Ninety-four percent said they would be willing to travel in the next 12 months, and 92 percent said successful business travel would be a key factor in their career over the next year.
