The State of Corporate Travel and Expense 2022 17 SKIFT + TRIPACTIONS THE INTEGRATION OF PAYMENTS AND SPEND MANAGEMENT For many companies, one of 2020’s key learnings was that business travel did not exist in a vacuum. Decisions about business travel spend were closely intertwined with larger questions about overall company financial strategies and a need to gain better visibility into employee spending habits. Now, as travel rules rapidly evolve, it’s more important than ever that companies streamline communication and align around processes and goals. This is especially true when it comes to trip payments, evolving employee benef its, remote work needs, and company spend management practices — topics that are gaining increasing prominence among company decision makers looking to evolve their approach. First, after a year of budget cuts and spending pullbacks, companies are thinking differently about how business travel fits into overall financial goals. From changing company perceptions of the use of corporate versus personal credit cards for work trips to new allowable expenses and spending strategies, there is a growing embrace of new expense management strategies and tools.