As we move into 2026, several pressing trends are likely to impact business travel experiences over the next year.
Organisations will be looking to increase the convenience of business travel to ease the challenges their employees typically face. At the same time, however, they will have to balance this with a need to gain visibility and control over the trips. The result will likely be greater ‘consumerisation’ within business travel.
One way this will manifest itself is through greater adoption of consumer apps, which are becoming an accepted staple of the travel tool kit. For several years, ride-hailing apps, like Uber, were seen as a great option for on-demand transportation when travellers needed to get to a meeting, event or the airport. But they now offer so much more.
Travellers can now use their apps to reserve rides in advance and lock in prices when they do so – to avoid the potential for surge charging closer to the time. They can also choose to travel in premium vehicles when they need extra space and comfort, for example, to prepare for a meeting. If travellers want to ensure their ride is environmentally friendly, they can opt for an electric vehicle.
Consumer apps give organisations an easy way to provide all these options. And the bonus is that most people are already familiar with using ride-hailing apps. To access all the options that Uber for Business has to offer, users just need to toggle between their personal profile in the Uber app and their business profile.
From the organisation’s perspective, this has many benefits. This includes enabling automated expenses. This is amazing for travellers, as they no longer need to request receipts from every taxi ride and then go through the painstaking process of filling out expense forms. But, at the same time, it also gives the organisation greater visibility over spending.
Our research shows that when it comes to ground transportation priorities – aside from the big factors of cost saving and sustainability – nothing matters more to companies than gaining greater visibility over their spending.
When employees’ business profiles are linked to the company account, it’s not just spending that companies can track, however. They can also monitor the CO2 emissions from each trip. With companies increasingly looking to monitor and reduce their carbon footprint, this has become a vitally important consideration for many businesses.
A linked profile can also allow companies to integrate travel- tracking solutions, so organisations always know where their employees are, wherever they might be travelling in the world. This allows companies to fulfil their duty of care to their employees, while providing reassurance to employees.
This trend towards consumerisation will be tremendously beneficial for all. It’s increasing travel options and eliminating the annoyance of managing expenses, all through a simple solution they already know well – and, in the case of Uber for Business, available in more
than 70 countries worldwide. Organisations can provide all this while gaining visibility over the trips their employees are making, wherever they are in the world.