TRENDS
Business
( NOT ) As Usual
CORPORATE TRAVEL BEHAVIOR HAS CHANGED — LIKELY FOR GOOD .
Contributed by HARVEY CHIPKIN
For the hotel industry , it ’ s no longer “ business travel as usual ” as the pandemic reshaped the patterns and behaviors of corporate travelers . The “ new ” business travel emphasizes quality of trips rather than quantity , considers sustainability a priority , sees a business trip as an opportunity to enjoy a destination and looks to hotels not just as a place to sleep but as a space to congregate and network .
While the number of business trips remains down roughly 30 %, said Zach Demuth , global head of hotels research at JLL , revenue is down only 10 % because trips are longer , driven by two factors . One is that travelers are going to a city to visit headquarters and bond with associates . And second is the sustainability factor . At JLL , Demuth said , carbon emissions are on the company ’ s travel management platform and are a benchmark for determining the number and length of trips .
There appears to be an ongoing trend of fewer , yet longer trips , said Cameron Spence , consulting manager for American Express Global Business Travel ( Amex GBT ), a travel management company . The boom in virtual conferencing , a biproduct of the pandemic , he said , has led to a reduction in travel for less critical purposes . As a result , when employees
16 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2024