Seven months after his first attempt at the publication of a business expenses index - inevitably gloomy for the business travel industry. Jenji reoffending. Its new report, focusing on the second half of 2021, has delivered its findings. And it confirms the upturn in travel that began last year, at least in comparison with the figures recorded for the previous financial year. According to the authors of the index, " Total expense claims for the 1st quarter of 2021 correspond to total expense claims for the whole of 2020. This represents an increase of 81%: a good sign of economic recovery! ".
Service companies are back in the field
Another sign of recovery: catering costs also soared last year compared to 2020. " Service companies are back in the field and starting to spend much more than before", say the authors of the index, with figures to back them up: "Companies are making up for lost time and meal-related expense accounts are rising significantly: +160 % in 2021 compared with 2020; 300 % in the third quarter of 2021 (compared with the same period in 2020); +150 % in Q4 2021 (compared with the same period in 2020)". "it says.
Admittedly, since 2020 was an annus horribilis, the comparison is inevitably biased. But beyond these three-figure increases, the data published by Jenji are identifying - or confirming - trends that could well have a lasting impact on the way we think about business travel and the office. Starting with theaffirmation of a hybrid modelThe acceleration of this trend is one of the major trends identified by Jenji. " Hybrid model allows workers to experiment with on-site and remote working "say the authors of the study, pointing out that ". This makes it more difficult to track and declare expenses. Today, teleworking is becoming the norm. Expenses for catering have fallen sharply, while those for office equipment and IT hardware have soared. ". According to the figures published by Jenji, 63 % of this expenditure relates to the Internet connection, compared with 26 % for software and 11 % for hardware.
Trains one step ahead of planes
Another lesson from the Jeinji index is the rise of the trainto the detriment ofaircraft. " Trains one step ahead of planes "The authors of the study believe that passengers will return to their aircraft more slowly. " The air transport sector is likely to be less important in the years to come; at global level, airlines will not return to 2019 traffic levels until 2024, leaving a great opportunity for the rail sector. ". And for business travellers who have already returned to the airport, this would be outside the scope of the travel policy. The Jenji index emphasises that ". for a certain category of company, since the third quarter of 2021, expenditure on flights has picked up again (these are only open bookings, i.e. bookings made on general public sites directly, or outside the tools recommended by the company). In fact, the number of declared expenses has returned to the level of the third quarter of 2019 and there was an increase of 162% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020. However, these figures remain low and the annual increase is only 42 % between 2020 and 2021 (European bookings in 82 % of cases). ".
Finally, the Jenji index also places a strong emphasis on green and sustainable mobility. Pointing to the success of the Sustainable Mobility Package - with expense reports up 227 % since November 2019 - the authors testify to an unprecedented craze for micro-mobility. So, according to Jenji scooters recorded an increase of +461 % in Q3 2021, compared with the same period in 2020. For bicycles, the increase has reached 340 % since November 2019.
" Business spending behaviour is evolving to adapt to recent societal changes "says Pierre Queinnec, CEO and founder of Jenji. " Our Index proves that companies have greatly evolved their methodologies and strategies. Managers and employees alike are finding solutions, thanks in particular to technology, and changing their habits in the process. ".
