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How the CEOs of 2 Big Travel Agencies See a Massive Upside to Companies Switching to Virtual

Matthew Parsons
Woman working from home through video conference

Photo Credit: Corporate travel agencies actually are seeing huge upside in people working from computers at home, as offices go virtual.  Adobe / Rido

Skift Take

There's been mostly a negative perception of coronavirus' impact on corporate travel, but there are some unintended consequences that smarter agencies can actually look forward to.

Nobody has any real visibility on the pandemic's short-term impact on corporate travel, but there is a picture emerging of the longer-term trends now that the dust is settling. And when the boss of the world's biggest corporate travel agency outlines one of these trends, it's worth taking notice. It relates to the recent rise of virtual meetings and remote working. That may seem contradictory at first, in particular with travel budget cuts looming, but it's the reported demise of the traditional office, and associated commute, that could lead to a long-term boom in corporate travel.

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"You will see more companies look at their real estate strategy," said Paul Abbott, CEO of American Express Global Business Travel. "Having a more dispersed workforce is going to accelerate. But with a more dispersed workforce, you reduce commuting, you reduce your real estate costs, but you actually increase business travel." Out of Office This idea of mass workforce dispersement was reinforced on May 12 when Twitter made the news, after CEO Jack Dorsey emailed employees notifying them the work-from-home model would remain in place even after the crisis had ended. Headlines like "Twitter announces empl

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