Engine Survey: Frequent Changes Road Warriors' Biggest Pain Point

Frequent business travelers generally are satisfied with their experience on the road but are frustrated by last-minute changes to plans, according to a survey of 2,000 road warriors and travel managers published by travel booking platform Engine.

The respondents' attitude toward business travel was "generally positive," with 80 percent rating their travel experiences at least eight out of 10 or higher, according to Engine, the recently renamed Hotel Engine. Forty-five percent of respondents said travel had improved their worldview, and 35 percent said it helped them advance in their career. Just under a third said they would change jobs if someone else took over their traveling responsibilities.

Most respondents also indicated they were able to maintain wellness on the road. Almost three times as many respondents indicated travel helped them grow closer to the people they were traveling with as those who indicated it caused loneliness or depression, for example. Twice as many respondents said they could access healthy food options on the road as opposed to eating unhealthily, and 1.5 times as many said they had time to exercise while traveling as opposed to not being able to work out due to travel, according to Engine.

"Workers are traveling more than ever, and it's important to hear what they have to say about life on the road," Engine SVP of supply and strategy Florent Silve said in a statement. "It's clear from our research that road warriors view travel as a net benefit. Their concerns mainly are about uncertainty."

That uncertainty was the top pain point in the survey, with 39 percent of respondents saying that they had quit a job because of too many last-minute schedule changes. Of respondents who book travel for road warriors, 93 percent said they had to make changes, such as different dates or accommodations, within a week of travel more than half of the time.

The survey also indicated a grueling schedule can cause employees to leave a job, with 29 percent saying they had quit a job due to an overly rigorous travel schedule and 26 percent saying they had quite because they were away from family too much.

Engine's survey was conducted in August by Phronesis Partners and included 800 respondents who travel for work and 1,200 respondents who manage travel at U.S. companies. Respondents' industries included construction, transportation, engineering, field service and disaster relief.