While cost savings will be the most important factor for business travel clients in 2013, a new survey of business travel trends by Travel Leaders Group shows that nearly 80 percent of the groups business focused agents are forecasting as much or more travel than 2012.
Travel Leader Group's new survey says fewer than 10 percent of agents polled say their clients will be traveling less. Conducted November 19 - December 16, 2012, the trends report is based on responses from 335 Travel Leaders Group owners, managers and agents with 50 percent of their portfolio consisting of business travel clients.
“Despite the hype of the ‘fiscal cliff,’ our travel agents, nationwide, expressed optimism that Congress would come through at the 11th hour – which it did. Over 77 percent of our business travel experts polled indicated they were optimistic about their business heading into 2013, while another 18 percent stated they were neutral about the coming year,” stated Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben.
"Finding ways to trim costs and save on business travel are still paramount, and business travelers who use a corporate travel management company have a distinct advantage because they can travel more frequently as they contain costs on each individual trip, " Liben said.
"Among the many services we provide to our business travel clients, our survey data shows the top ones are ‘waivers and favors,’ assistance with tracking and using nonrefundable tickets, and financial reporting. The more closely we can work with our clients in following their corporate travel policies, the more beneficial it is to the client’s bottom line," Liben said in his analysis.
Because ancillary fees are a growing trend throughout the travel industry, Travel Leaders Group agents were asked, “Please choose the most frequently charged Ancillary Fees your business travel clients encounter.” Agents could select multiple answers. Here are the Top 10 responses according to the survey: (In percent) Airline fees for changing flights 85.1%, Airline fees for baggage 71.6%, Airline fees for seat assignments (upgrade and/or premium seat) 61.5%, Hotel fees for parking 37.9%, Hotel fee for Internet 36.1%, Car rental fees for one-way rental drop-offs 33.1%, Hotel “resort” fee 32.5%, Airline fees for Internet 25.4%, Car rental fees for gas 17.3% and Airline fees for food 15.2%
Top Concerns for Business Travelers: When asked, “What are the top concerns for your business travelers?” the following were the Top 5 selected (agents could choose multiple responses): Delayed flights 89.3%, Limited airline seat availability 72.8%, Ease of passing through security 51.0%, Earning frequent flyer/loyalty points 49.9%, Missed connecting flights 49.0%.
Most Valuable Services for Business Travelers: There are many advantages for companies and travelers who use a dedicated corporate travel management company to assist with their business travel needs. Travel Leaders Group business travel experts were asked,“Which of the following services will be most valuable to your clients in 2013?” Those polled could choose up to three responses. Waivers and favors 72.2%, Tracking and using nonrefundable tickets 66.0%, Financial reporting 38.8%, Managing negotiated supplier programs which include earned tickets 32.5% and Providing Mobile App technology 20.9%.
Other notable travel trends cited in the survey:
· When asked, “Which of the following will be most important to your business travel clients in 2013?” the top three responses were: “Cost Savings” (42.1%), “Cost Control” (33.7%), and “Flexible Booking Options” for air/car/hotel (13.4%).
· Most and Least Expensive Days for Hotel Bookings and Car Rentals: Monday appears to be the most expensive day for business travelers for both hotel reservations and car rentals. Nearly 51 percent of Travel Leaders Group business travel experts stated Monday is typically the most expensive for hotel bookings and 60.8% stated it is most expensive when renting a car for their business travelers. The least expensive days were Tuesday for hotel bookings and Saturday for car rentals.
· When asked, “What time of the day do business travel clients most prefer as their departure time for air travel to get to their destination?” a full 63 percent stated “Before 9:00 a.m.” and 33.1 percent said “9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.”
· When asked, “What time of the day do your business travel clients most prefer as their departure time for air travel to return home from a business trip?” 69 percent of the agents said “3:00 – 6:00 p.m.” while 15.2% said “12:00 – 3:00 p.m.”
The trends are part of a comprehensive survey which included responses from 1,045 U.S.-based travel agency owners, managers and frontline travel agents from Travel Leaders, along with those affiliated with Travel Leaders Group’s Luxury Travel Network, Nexion, Results! Travel, Travel Leaders Corporate, Tzell Travel Group and Vacation.com units.
Visit www.TravelLeadersGroup.com