A strong economy is causing an uptick in business travel, which, of course, is great news for the hospitality industry. About half of business travelers made 10 or more trips in 2013, with that number expected to steadily increase. But exactly what makes the business traveler tick? How can hotel managers anticipate their wants and needs and respond accordingly? Simply by being aware of the following four habits of the typical business traveler.
(Note: the SkyTouch Technology team was surprised by some of the business travel insights culled by the Amadeus research group. Comment below if you agree).
They enjoy business travel. There’s not too much moaning and groaning when it comes to breaking from routine to travel in order to see clients or attend industry events. To the contrary, the majority positively view the need to travel for business. Over half (55%) find business trips «interesting» while 36% find them «enjoyable’ and 17% concede that business travel is «motivating.» Only one fifth (20%) described business travel as «stressful’ with a mere eight percent finding it downright «boring.» Overall, 12% of travelers even claim that travel is «essential» to the success of their business.
Efficiency is their number one priority. Comfort doesn’t reign supreme. Business travelers overwhelmingly value efficiency during business travel, including access to tools and technologies that help them work productively while on the move. They don’t view WiFi /internet hotel connectivity as a perk; they expect it. Today’s savvy, gadget-toting business travelers are working on the go and they want their demands met. In essence, they want travel options and tools that make it as easy as possible for them to focus on business objectives and get the job done at any time, from anywhere, without disruption.
They willingly comply. Comptrollers can breathe a sigh of relief; overall, business travelers are in compliance with corporate travel policies. In fact, 31% of business travelers even report that their corporate travel policy has a positive impact on how they view their employer, especially if a travel rewards program is a factor. Hmmm… doesn’t this finding open up tremendous possibilities for businesses to use their travel policies to help reward and motivate employees?
Just leave it to them. While having an able support staff on-hand is much appreciated, business travelers are increasingly booking their own hotel and travel. Just under half of business travelers practice self-managed booking, primarily using an online travel agency (OTA), such as TripAdvisor, Expedia, or in some cases, booking directly through a hotel website. This preference to book themselves is partially driven by the desire to personalize their business travel experience with specific options and amenities. For example, 62% of business travelers value the ability to book «extras» (such as additional legroom on a flight, or a specific room preference) as part of their corporate booking process.
By understanding these prevalent (and somewhat surprising) attitudes, you can help equate business travel with pleasure in order to continually draw this active travel segment to your hotel brand.
