Herman Heunes | General Manager | Corporate Traveller | mail me |
Everyone knows how important it is to retain good staff, and how disappointing it is when a top performer leaves. This impact is felt more keenly in smaller businesses. For a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), losing a key employee is not just an HR inconvenience. It can shake team morale, disrupt operations and affect customer relationships.
This does not even account for the loss of institutional knowledge or the cost of replacing someone, which can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary.
The link between business travel and employee retention
While SMEs may not compete with multinationals on salaries, we believe they can compete on flexibility, career growth, recognition, positive culture, and the business travel experience. Increasingly, business travel plays a strategic role in employee engagement and retention.
Global research by employee benefits platform PerkSpot shows that 63% of employees say business travel makes them more likely to stay with their employer. This figure rises to 76% among Gen Z. Moreover, companies that increased their travel budget in 2023 reported an employee turnover rate of 8.6%. This rate sits below the industry average of 10% and is 3.5 points lower than companies that reduced their travel budgets.
For SMEs facing the same travel complexities as large corporates but with far fewer resources, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Investing in business travel is a given, but you need to make sure it doubles as a retention tool.
The shift from wellness to wellbeing
Speaking at the Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) 2025 Southern African Conference, Professor Anneli Douglas explained the distinction between wellness and wellbeing. Traveller wellness focuses on physical and mental health during travel, including healthy food and fitness routines. By contrast, wellbeing focuses on emotional health, work-life balance, safety, security, emotional support and cultural sensitivity in business travel contexts.
Put simply, wellness means a comfortable seat and an on-site gym. Wellbeing means the entire business travel journey feels purposeful and friction-free. As Business Travel News Europe reported in December 2025, organisations have recognised that a friction-free travel experience links directly to employee wellbeing, productivity, and retention.
This matters because mobile team members face long days, frequent business travel, unpredictable schedules and extended time away from home. These pressures accumulate quickly. They can influence morale, performance and the likelihood of employees staying in their roles. In 2026, businesses are expected to respond with practical improvements focused on fairness, predictability, and support.
The gold-standard traveller experience
In good news for SMEs, a gold-standard business travel experience is not about luxury. Instead, it is about removing friction and showing employees that you value their time and wellbeing.
Before the trip, this means clear policies, realistic itineraries and proper rest between trips. During business travel, it means strategic investments such as premium economy seating and decent accommodation near meeting locations. Our data shows that premium economy bookings among SMEs have jumped 35% year-on-year.
After the trip, it means fast reimbursements and reduced out-of-pocket costs. Throughout the entire business travel journey, it means robust duty of care, including 24/7 support and comprehensive travel insurance.
For me, duty of care matters more than ever. Employers have a responsibility to protect staff against increasingly complex travel risks. Yet many business travellers still do not know who to contact in an emergency or whether they are adequately covered when travelling.
We’re seeing a fundamental shift in how SMEs evaluate travel spend. It’s no longer just about the lowest airfare. Businesses now assess travel experience by balancing cost, comfort, productivity, safety and wellbeing. They recognise that travel directly impacts retention. For example, travel insurance is non-negotiable, and premium economy is emerging as the sweet spot for long-haul routes.
Small budgets, big impact
High-impact changes do not require massive budgets. Policy flexibility costs nothing. Consider bleisure extensions, flexible working hours, or a post-trip recovery.
Strategic comfort investments pay for themselves. Premium economy on long-haul flights and accommodation near meeting locations save time, reduce stress and deliver measurable productivity gains from business travel. Streamlined administration shows respect. Faster reimbursements reduce financial stress.
Clear booking channels prevent confusion and policy violations. Simple expense systems respect employees’ time, and they will remember this during retention discussions linked to business travel.
Genuine support builds trust. Ensure employees know who to contact in a crisis. Provide comprehensive travel insurance that covers medical care, accidents and disruptions. Most importantly, partner with a travel management company that offers 24/7 assistance.
In conclusion
Purposeful travel prioritises growth. Research consistently shows that employees view business travel as an important part of career development. Forward-thinking organisations ensure each trip has clear objectives. They allow time for meaningful connections rather than rushed meetings. They also recognise that business travel can drive engagement and development, not just logistics.
As budgets tighten and talent competition intensifies, business travel signals how much organisations value their employees. Companies show employees they matter when they allow comfortable travel, provide strong support during disruptions, and trust staff to blend work with wellbeing.