What does the future of travel look like compared to today?

We’ve spent some time in our Trending Topics posts gazing into the crystal ball when it comes to business travel. I’ve also written about some good signs that travel in general is starting to bounce back.

But what will that travel look like in the coming years?

This question popped into my mind after reading about how RVs have surged in popularity in recent years, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the allure of traveling while also avoiding crowded areas has grown stronger for many people.

RV’ing and the mobility industry might not immediately intersect — RV trips are often done for recreational reasons, and mobility programs are more likely to support more conventional modes of transportation, such as airline travel. But the growing popularity of RVs does raise some interesting questions when it comes to mobility programs and the future of travel.

For one, the RV lifestyle might align more with the growing “digital nomad” movement, where people choose to work remotely as they travel from one location to another. My colleague Chris Pardo recently wrote an interesting post on whether mobility teams could or should support these employees.

There’s also the bigger picture of what traveling by RV represents: Instead of filing through busy airports and packing into hotels, RV travelers are opting for an experience that gets them further away from the hustle and bustle of a typical trip. For some, this may be a direct reaction to the pandemic, but RVs were growing in popularity before 2020, so it’s not simply a pandemic-era trend. The rise of alternative housing options such as Airbnb in the past decade also points toward a desire to have a unique experience that offers more privacy and less crowding.

I’m not saying that you need an “RV travel policy” in your mobility program, but it is a good idea to consider what these larger trends might mean. Are you offering business travelers and relocating employees enough choice and control to select options that best fit their lifestyles and needs? Airports and hotels will still have their place, but these emerging trends indicate that travelers will continue to seek out alternatives. Mobility programs that take a similar approach of seeking out and utilizing alternatives will be better equipped to meet employees where they are.