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For many travel managers, feedback comes in fragments—an email complaint here, a comment after a trip there. But according to Christopherson experts Matt Cameron, chief consulting officer, and Paul Foster, strategic consultant, that informal approach is leaving critical insights on the table.
“Many travel managers just rely on direct feedback,” Cameron noted.
Yet without structured data, organizations risk missing the bigger picture, especially as traveler expectations evolve and program complexity increases.
A more strategic approach to traveler surveys, they argue, is no longer optional. It’s foundational to improving compliance, controlling costs, and strengthening duty of care.
At the heart of many travel program challenges is a simple issue: a disconnect between traveler expectations and program design.
“Many travelers feel that their preferences aren’t reflected in company travel programs,” Foster explained.
That disconnect has real consequences. When travelers feel excluded from decision-making, compliance suffers. But when they are engaged, the opposite happens.
“When travelers feel heard, organizations often see meaningful improvements in policy adherence,” Foster said.
This reframes compliance as less of an enforcement problem and more of an alignment challenge. Policies built in isolation—often by procurement teams removed from day-to-day travel realities—can inadvertently create friction.
“Procurement crafts the policy, but it’s not really crafted in a way that’s helpful to the people that actually do the travel,” Foster added.
Industry research reinforces this gap: 49% of business travelers say their travel experience doesn’t match their preferences, according to SAP Concur, underscoring the need for more traveler-centric program design.
Traditional travel surveys often fall short because they focus too narrowly on the booking experience. Questions typically center on tool usability or transaction efficiency—important, but only a small piece of the traveler journey.
“It really focuses on just the booking process, which is a very minute part of the actual overall travel process,” Foster said.
What gets missed are the moments that shape traveler satisfaction—and risk. Hotel safety, ground transportation reliability, after-hours support, and overall wellbeing rarely make it into standard surveys, despite their impact on both experience and outcomes.
A delayed rental car, an unsafe hotel location, or lack of emergency support can undermine even the most efficient booking process. These gaps highlight why organizations need a more comprehensive view.
Expanding surveys beyond booking is about improving experience and driving measurable business outcomes.
Better alignment between traveler needs and program design can reduce friction, improve adoption, and uncover opportunities for cost savings. When travelers understand and support the rationale behind policies, organizations are more likely to see consistent behavior and fewer out-of-policy bookings.
At the same time, this alignment strengthens duty of care—an area growing in importance as organizations take on greater responsibility for traveler safety.
“The duty of care concept is not going to go away. It’s only going to become more relevant,” Foster emphasized.
Surveys provide a direct line into how safe travelers actually feel and whether they know how to access support when needed.
To maximize these benefits, organizations need to rethink how they design and deploy surveys.
Rather than a one-dimensional questionnaire, Cameron and Foster recommend a structured, multi-category approach that captures the full travel experience. Key areas include traveler habits, air and hotel experience, ground transportation, safety, wellness, and policy awareness.
“What we really like to recommend is a custom traveler survey that looks at the full traveler journey,” Foster said.
This broader scope ensures that insights reflect real-world conditions, not just booking data.
Survey design also matters. Too long, and response rates drop. Too shallow, and insights lack depth.
“We recommend 20 to 25 questions, anywhere from 8 to 12 minutes,” Foster advised, balancing comprehensiveness with usability.
Equally important is question variety. Mixing multiple-choice, scaled, and open-ended questions helps uncover both quantitative trends and qualitative nuance.
Collecting feedback is only the first step. The real value lies in how organizations act on it.
“Define your goals. What are you really trying to accomplish with this survey?” Cameron said, emphasizing the need for alignment between survey design and business objectives.
Whether the goal is policy redesign, improved duty of care, or better cost control, clarity upfront ensures that results translate into actionable insights. Timing also plays a role. Conducting surveys annually—ideally before a busy travel season—allows organizations to implement changes proactively.
“Best practice [is to] really do this annually . . . so that if you do want to make any tweaks you do that in advance of the coming year,” Cameron noted.
Once results are in, speed matters. Sharing findings quickly reinforces that traveler input is valued and encourages future participation.
“When you ask somebody for their opinion, they’re expecting to get something back. ‘Hey, we listened. We heard you,’” Cameron said.
Ultimately, effective surveys foster alignment across stakeholders.
By giving travelers a voice, organizations can bridge the gap between policy intent and traveler reality. That collaboration leads to smarter investments, stronger compliance, and a more resilient travel program.
“It creates a shared culture or a collaborative effort between the people that are actually out there doing the travel versus the people that are keeping an eye on finances,” Foster explained.
For travel managers navigating competing priorities—cost, safety, and satisfaction—that alignment is critical.
Structured traveler surveys give organizations the data they need to align policy, improve compliance, and strengthen duty of care by capturing the full travel experience—not just booking behavior. When used effectively, these insights enable travel managers to make smarter decisions, justify investments, and build programs that better serve both travelers and business objectives.
The takeaway is straightforward: when travelers feel heard, programs work better. By turning feedback into action, organizations can create travel programs that are not only more efficient, but also more resilient, responsive, and aligned with the people they’re designed to support.
► You’ll also like: How a custom survey helped Nu Skin uncover traveler priorities and improve its travel program
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