One important function of Runzheimer's Travel Management Network (TMN) is to gather, analyze, interpret and report on a broad range of information about travel management. Our surveys and, subsequent data, comments and recommendations allow travel managers to benchmark individual performance and resulting consequences with those of their peers. In this our 26th year, we dedicate this issue of Mobility Report to those of you who continually strive to establish best practices in an ever-changing world.

Survey Respondents

This article is based on 69 responses to a survey conducted in December 2006.

Organizations of all sizes responded to our recent survey. Breakouts of travel expense budgets are reported in Table 1 where 27% of organizations report budgets of $5 million or less and one-third report budgets in excess of $30 million. Budgets of $5 million to $30 million are distributed among the remaining respondent organizations.

Table 1 2006 Annual Travel Budget Size
Budget Size	Percent of 2006 Respondents
$250,000 or less	8%
$250,000 to $1 million	3%
$1,000,001 to $5 million	16%
$5,000,001 to $10 million	16%
$10,000,001 to $20 million	16%
$20,000,001 to $30 million	8%
$30 million or more	33%

When asked how much higher travel budgets would be without the efforts of a travel management department, respondents estimate budgets would be an average of 22% higher. Interestingly, answers to this question provided contrasting feedback—from 0% to 50% higher.

Table 2 represents a composite of survey averages. A typical 2006 travel management professional is 47 years old earning $77,081 per year. Sixty-seven percent of respondents are female and continue to dominate the field of travel management. Respondents have, on average, more than 10 years experience in the travel industry and have been responsible for travel at their organization for two to five years. The typical travel professional spends 70% of his or her time on travel-related duties and is responsible for a staff of six.

Table 2 Profile of Person in Charge of Travel Management
Survey Averages	2003	2004	2005	2006
Age	45	45	48	47
Salary	$72,160	$70,112	$73,165	$77,081
Years in position	2 to 5	2 to 5	2 to 5	2 to 5
Years in travel management	More than 10 years	More than 10 years	More than 10 years	More than 10 years
Staff size	5	4	5	6
Percent of time spent on travel management duties	72%	69%	71%	70%

Job titles vary based on level of responsibility, staff size and salary grade within an organization. Sixty percent of this year's respondents report the title of manager and 17% hold the title of director (Table 3). Six percent of respondents are travel coordinators.

Table 3 Job Titles of Survey Respondents
	Percent of Respondents
Title	2003	2004	2005	2006
Manager	51%	57%	65%	60%
Director	13%	17%	12%	17%
Coordinator/Specialist	10%	7%	10%	6%
Supervisor	5%	0%	4%	4%
Vice President	3%	3%	2%	4%
Administrative Asst/Secretary	3%	3%	2%	3%
Other	16%	13%	6%	6%

Eighty-two percent of respondents manage travel for their entire organization as shown in Table 4. Fifteen percent of respondents manage travel for corporate headquarters, while 8% manage an average 84 regional locations, and 12% are responsible for 20 branch or field offices.

Table 4 Travel Program Management
Manage Travel	Percent of 2006 Respondents
All company travel	82%
Corporate headquarters	15%
Regional headquarters	8% (84 locations)
Branch/field offices	12% (20 locations)
Totals exceed 100% because of multiple answers.

Thirty-one percent of travel professionals report to the accounting/finance department and 26% report to purchasing or procurement (Table 5). While these percentages show little to no increase over last year's survey results, they represent more than one-half of organizational travel reporting structures. "Other" as reported by 10% of respondents include communications, legal, logistics, real estate and shared services.

Table 5 Reporting Department
	Percent of Resondents
Department	2003	2004	2005	2006
Accounting/financing	30%	30%	31%	31%
Purchasing/procurement	20%	23%	24%	26%
Administration	13%	9%	16%	13%
Human Resources	9%	8%	9%	7%
Corporate Services	7%	9%	6%	4%
Strategic Sourcing	4%	7%	2%	4%
Sales/marketing	3%	1%	0%	3%
Office Services	2%	0%	4%	2%
Other	11%	13%	8%	10%

On average, respondents have six staff members in their travel department, four of which are exclusively involved in travel management. The average number of company direct reports is seven and the average number of outsourced employees is thirteen.

The largest single group of respondents, 35%, has managed travel for their organization for two to five years (Table 6). An additional 31% have been administering the travel program for five to 10 years, while 22% have been responsible for their organization's travel for more than 10 years, with 17 years being average.

Table 6 Years Responsible for Travel Management within Organization
	Percent of Respondents
Years	2004	2005	2006
Less than 1 year	16%	4%	8%
1+ years to 2 years	12%	8%	4%
2+ years to 5 years	26%	34%	35%
5+ years to 7 years	12%	19%	15%
7+ years to 10 years	20%	15%	16%
More than 10 years	14%	20%	22%

Although 26% of respondents have worked in travel management for five years or less, experience still prevails with 44% of travel professionals reporting more than ten years experience, with 19 years being average (Table 8). An additional 30% of respondents have worked in travel management for five to ten years.

Table 7 Years Worked in Travel Management
	Percent of Respondents
Years	2004	2005	2006
Less than 1 year	5%	1%	4%
1+ years to 2 years	9%	3%	4%
2+ years to 5 years	16%	20%	18%
5+ years to 7 years	11%	10%	12%
7+ years to 10 years	9%	9%	18%
More than 10 years	50%	57%	44%

Tenure continues to be evident with 38% of respondents reporting they have worked for their organization for more than 10 years (Table 8). Of this group, the average number of years is 18. An additional one-third of respondents have worked at their organization for five to 10 years.

Table 8 Years Worked for Current Organization
	Percent of Respondents
Years	2004	2005	2006
Less than 1 year	9%	3%	9%
1+ years to 2 years	10%	5%	1%
2+ years to 5 years	23%	21%	19%
5+ years to 7 years	13%	20%	17%
7+ years to 10 years	18%	18%	16%
More than 10 years	27%	33%	38%

Employment history of travel professionals is presented in the following two tables. Thirty-five percent of respondents worked in a similar capacity for another organization, while 29% worked in a different capacity for their current employer (Table 9).

Table 9 Where Respondents Worked Before Accepting Current Position
	Percent of Respondents
Position	2004	2005	2006
Similar capacity for another organization	28%	32%	35%
Different capacity for current employer	24%	25%	29%
Different capacity for another organization	35%	33%	27%
Other	13%	10%	9%

Travel agency experience continues to represent the work history of many corporate travel management professionals (28%) as shown in Table 10. An increasing percentage of participants have experience working in administration prior to moving into travel (12%), while prior purchasing experience is reported at 9%. "Other," as reported by 20% of respondents include: real estate, human resources, office management, and fundraising.

Table 10 Previous Work Experience of Travel Professionals
	Percent of Respondents
Previous Experience	2003	2004	2005	2006
Travel agency	26%	32%	35%	28%
Administration	11%	7%	10%	12%
Purchasing/buying	11%	11%	6%	9%
Accounting/finance	17%	13%	15%	7%
Secretary	5%	0%	3%	7%
Airlines	4%	6%	8%	6%
Sales/marketing	4%	9%	4%	6%
Meeting planning	3%	2%	4%	4%
Personnel	2%	2%	2%	1%
Other	16%	18%	13%	20%

The top six travel responsibilities are shown in Table 11. The majority of respondents have responsibility for travel policy development and responding to traveler concerns and questions (90%), while 87% are responsible for recommending and implementing cost-savings initiatives. An additional 84% are responsible for their organization's travel vendor negotiations and 81% of respondents are responsible for all company travel and policy enforcement.

Participants were also asked which areas present the greatest challenges for them. The top two most challenging travel duties of respondents are reported as policy enforcement (23%) and recommending and implementing cost savings initiatives (21%).

Table 11 Travel Responsibilities of Professionals
	Percent of Respondents
Responsibilities	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Travel policy development	87%	97%	90%	95%	96%	90%
Respond to traveler concerns and questions	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	95%	90%
Recommend and implement cost saving iniatives	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	90%	87%
Travel vendor negotiations	84%	95%	87%	92%	95%	84%
Policy enforcement	86%	90%	90%	88%	87%	81%
All company travel	83%	86%	86%	80%	90%	81%

As we have often stated, policy enforcement should be the responsibility of the traveler’s manager, not the travel manager. However, it is the responsibility of the travel manager to educate travelers in the importance of planning and establishing procedures to facilitate buying trips that will minimize traveler discretion and make use of preferred suppliers. When travelers fully understand the impact of their travel choices and habits, compliance is often the payback.

The top-five non-travel responsibilities of travel professionals are reported in Table 12. Most often cited are purchasing (31%) with virtual meetings, food services and facilities management all reported at 20%. Office services (17%) completes the top five list. "Other" non-travel responsibilities reported by survey respondents include: corporate and purchasing cards, T&E, wireless program management, meetings management, software support and administration, security, IT project management, payroll and accounts payable, board liaison, contract coordination, product liability claims, and meter analyst.

Table 12 Non-Travel Responsibilities Held by Travel Professionals
	Percent of Respondents
Responsibility	2004	2005	2006
Purchasing	34%	30%	31%
Virtual meetings	N/A	N/A	20%
Food services	N/A	N/A	20%
Facilities management	23%	17%	20%
Office services	N/A	N/A	17%
N/A = Did not fall into the top 5 in previous years

As stated earlier, the overall average annual salary of travel management professionals is $77,082; the median salary is $71,000. Data in Table 13 shows salaries of respondents by the most often reported job title. Travel managers report an average of $76,405; directors earn most at $104,955.

Table 13 Salary by Job Title
Title	Average	Median
Director	$104,955	$ 108,000
Manager	$ 76,405	$ 71,000
Coordinator/Specialist	$ 62,000	$ 63,500

Job titles are usually conferred on a basis of either job functions or budget responsibility. Job titles vary from company to company and encompass different levels of responsibility and, therefore, represent varying salary ranges.

Note: Although vice presidents did, indeed, respond to our survey, this group of respondents did not provide their compensation.

Respondents report their average one-year percentage salary increase at 6%, far above the average salary group for the general workforce. The average salary increase over the past three years is indicative of this percentage and is reported at 18%.

Sixty-one percent of respondents report their total compensation includes a bonus based on performance standards. Most respondents (67%) report overall performance of an organization as the number one standard followed closely by contribution to an organization's value (64%) as shown in Table 14. Consistent program improvements, at 45%, is also an often-reported performance standard.

Table 14 Bonus Based on Performance Standards
Standard	Percent of 2006 Respondents
Overall performance of organization	67%
Contribution to organization’s value	64%
Consistent program improvements	45%
Travel savings	29%
Effective management of additional duties	29%
Effective management of personnel	29%
Traveler satisfaction	29%
Communication skills	26%
Adherence to budget	21%
Increased adoption rate associated with online booking tool	12%
Other	10%
Total exceeds 100% because of multiple answers.

Of respondents that receive a bonus as part of their total compensation, the average bonus represents 15% of salary or $11,562 when calculating this amount on the average overall salary of $77,081.

Fifty-six percent of respondents feel their compensation is commensurate with their responsibilities, and 41% believe their compensation is in line with other positions with similar responsibilities.

Average and median salaries by region of the country are reported in Table 15. Respondents from the Pacific states earn the highest average salaries at $87,273 followed by the New England states at $82,500.

Table 15 Average Salary by Region
Region of Country	Average Salary	Median Salary
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA)	$87,273	$90,000
New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)	$82,500	$82,500
Rocky Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY)	$77,636	$80,000
West Central (AR, IA, KS, LA, MN, MO, ND, NE, OK, SD, TX)	$76,625	$64,500
Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, WV)	$74,409	$72,000
East Central (IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, TN, WI)	$67,909	$64,000
South Atlantic/Gulf (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, VA)	$54,500	$59,000

Averages are not all-inclusive. Data are offered in response to readers’ request for information by region of the country. Averages and medians are meant to provide a high-level view of travel professionals’ income under varying scenarios.

Seventy percent of respondents have college degrees. Of respondents with college degrees, 65% have obtained a degree in business as shown in Table 16. Eighteen percent hold a liberal arts degree, while 2% report a science/engineering degree. "Other" degrees include: elementary education, marketing, mass communications/journalism, pre-law, social science and applied science.

Of respondents who hold advanced degrees, nearly all have achieved a Master's Degree of which 36% have earned an MBA.

Table 16 Type of Degree (Of Respondents with College Degrees)
Degree	Percent of 2006 Respondents
Business	65%
Liberal Arts	18%
Science/Engineering	2%
Other	15%

Other Interesting Facts:

• Sixty-five percent of travel professionals believe their job function is viewed as more important than five years ago.
• Fifty-three percent believe the current economic climate will strengthen their travel management position.
• Job security remains the number one career issue as reported by 31% of respondents
• Overall, travel professionals are very satisfied with their jobs with 63% rating their job a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being highly satisfied
• The average respondent intends to work for their current employer for an additional nine years.

What are some likely career moves of respondents?

Corporate social responsibility
Product/Store development
Retirement
Director
Same position with a different company
Consulting
Strategic sourcing
Information technology
Politics
Volunteer work
Selling suntan lotion on a beach

Corporate travel professionals have many departmental goals and improvements on their 2007 agenda.  How does your list compare?

 

• Improve travel information and reporting

• Increase travel policy compliance

• Reduce organization’s travel expenses

• Communicate more effectively with travelers and management           

• Negotiate more effectively with airline, hotel and car rental vendors

• Update travel policy

• Establish/use an online booking tool

• Improve expense reporting and auditing systems and processes

• Gain buy-in from senior management on importance of travel management

• Establish travel alternatives

• Change travel agency(ies)

• Improve corporate meeting services

• Implement global travel program

• Purchase T&E System

• Centralize travel agency(ies)

*Based on 69 responses to a December 2006 survey

 

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