Travelheart A Blog for those who love to travel
Business travel is travel conducted for business or work-related purposes, rather than leisure or other non-business traveling, like for vacation purposes. As per a survey conducted by global market research company (Gartner), almost 85% of all business owners enjoy business travel at least once in a year. This figure has been steadily increasing over time. So, what are the reasons behind this trend?
Business travelers are more satisfied with airlines and hotels than with other forms of services provided by these establishments. A vast majority of business travelers travelling across countries find hotels and airlines unsatisfactory and unreliable. Frequent flyer mileage and benefits are also not considered by many business travelers. Lack of availability of business-class seating and long check-in queues at airline counters and poor services at hotels rank high on the list of business traveler grievances.
There is no denying that business travel is expensive. But, there are ways to cut down on costs and increase the profitability. Many small businesses find business travel profitable especially during peak seasons. Some airlines even provide business travelers discounts up to 70%. In order to take advantage of business discounts, business travelers should know what to look for in airlines and hotels, as well as in the mode of payment they choose to make for their air tickets and hotel accommodations.
A number of factors account for the high demand for business travel among corporate travelers. The first reason is that business travellers prefer to remain in corporate suites rather than in ordinary hotel rooms. This could see a need for luxury hotel booking services that can also take care of other amenities such as chauffeurs for local travel. Then, for corporate travel comfort, the choice of airline is critical. Airlines with business-class seating, spacious seats and easy check-in procedures command higher fares. They also offer better service to business travellers compared to low-grade carriers.
Another reason why business travellers travel extensively is that the travel industry is a very tight business. In other words, competition among airlines and hotels is very fierce. Therefore, if you can, you should take advantage of this fact by booking your flights early. As a result, you will be able to save some money. When travelling for business, make sure that you do not compromise on comfort. If your business requires you to travel for more than two days, you should take your choice of airline flights carefully.
When making bookings for your flights, compare the fares of different airlines to see which one offers you the best deals. Moreover, when you are choosing an airline for your business travel, look at the kind of services that the airline offers. In most cases, airlines with the highest profits are the ones offering the most lucrative business travel packages. You can find information about the various airlines that provide business travel discounts on the web.
Another way to attract business travellers is to offer frequent flyer rewards. As a rule of thumb, if you regularly travel towards the airport on the same day as you depart for your destination, you will be able to attract business travellers that may have flight tickets booked, but are unable to use them due to lack of availability. In order to attract such travellers, many airlines have started to offer frequent flyer programmes that reward customers for every mile that they fly. In short, the airline rewards programme works in a very similar way to frequent flyer programs that are used by major corporations.
Last, it is important that you have a solid business travel marketing strategy in place. Many hotel owners underestimate the need for effective marketing. While many business travellers may enjoy staying in a familiar environment, other business travellers want the choice of visiting more unknown destinations. For this reason, most hotel owners forget to include marketing in their business travel plans and this is something that must be considered seriously by both hotel owners and business travellers.
