Road Warriors Are Spending More Time Traveling for Work

Road Warriors Are Spending More Time Traveling for Work; Engine’s Powering Travel Trends Report Reveals How They’re Faring on the Road

93% of workers in travel-heavy industries have increased travel in the past year, with 56% spending three or more months away from home

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Denver—October 17, 2024— Engine, the modern travel platform for booking and managing business trips, today published its inaugural Powering Travel Trends Report, the first in a series of studies analyzing the economic drivers and social impacts of business travel. This edition examines the lives of Road Warriors—people who work in travel-heavy industries and spend much of their time on the road. The research was conducted among 2,000 workers and employers in construction, transportation, engineering, field service, and disaster relief.

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High labor demand has prompted Road Warriors to spend more time traveling for work than ever before. Ninety-three percent said they’ve traveled more over the past year, with 77% saying that’s due to high demand in their line of work. Fifty-six percent said they spend more than three months a year on the road, and 10% said more than six months. With this, 90% of employers cite company travel spend has increased over the past year.

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Respondents expressed generally positive views of business travel. Thirty-five percent of Road Warriors say travel has helped them grow their careers faster, and 45% said it has expanded their worldview. Further, when asked about how their travel affects their mental and physical health, respondents were more likely to claim their travels had positively impacted as opposed to negatively impacted them.

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The report also reveals a top pain point for frequent business travelers: not knowing exactly when they’ll be away from home. Thirty-nine percent reported quitting a job because the schedule changed too often at the last minute. That was significantly more than the percentage who said they had quit because their travel schedule was too rigorous (29%) or because travel took them away from family (26%). In addition to being able to plan ahead, having control over their travel was important: the ability to choose days away from home was the number one travel-related reason respondents said they’d switch jobs.

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“Workers are traveling more than ever, and it's important to hear what they have to say about life on the road,” said Florent Silve, EVP of Supply and Strategy at Engine. “It's clear from our research that road warriors view travel as a net benefit. Their concerns are mainly about uncertainty. That's why we're so focused on making it easy for businesses to find lodgings for each employee's specific needs. Sometimes that means finding a hotel within walking distance of a job site. Sometimes it means finding one with parking for a semi truck. The goal is to give employees assurance and peace of mind so they can have the best possible experience while they're away from home."

Engine is a modern, no-fee, no-contract travel booking platform that enables employers to meet workers’ travel needs while staying within budget and reducing their administrative burden. Businesses can easily search for affordable lodging by location, and by specific amenities and details such as parking. Engine’s Flex and FlexPro offerings allow trips to be modified or canceled up to the day of travel without any sunk costs, minimizing the stress of last-minute changes. Its group bookings service handles rate negotiations with hotels directly, dramatically reducing the workload for employees and employers while keeping costs in check. For more details and data, read the Powering Travel Trends: Road Warrior Edition.