Most
people associate travel with sunshine, memorable holidays, relaxation and time
with their family, but for the community of business travellers scattered
across the globe, it’s an altogether different experience.
Business travel can
be gruelling. A dash to the airport and a quickly written
presentation on the plane, followed by a taxi to the hotel or meeting,
sandwiches at the conference table for lunch, then finally returning home long
after the kids have gone to bed.
To
add to this, a survey by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) found
that over the last two years, companies are spending less money on staff
upgrades for flights or hotel rooms.
Despite
advances in web conferencing, many meetings still take place in person and
journeys can be long, particularly when looking at international travel to
Asian and Latin American markets. According to tClara, a company dedicated to deliver high-value
analyses of corporate travel data, the top 5% of business travellers spend an
average of 214 hours on an aeroplane every year. Almost two thirds (65%) of
this travel takes place during personal time in the evenings and weekends. This
all means that some travellers are away from home for around 2.5 months a year,
spending more time traveling for business than on paid annual leave.
It
can be of no surprise then, to learn that ‘travel friction’, the wear and tear
of regular business travel on employees, has an impact on motivation, morale
and employee engagement.
The
Airport Lounge as a Sanctuary
That’s
why we at Priority Pass recently undertook research to shed new light on the
attitudes and demands of frequent flyers. Our research found that six out of
ten (59%) frequent business flyers consider access to a premium airport lounge
to be an ‘important’ or ‘very important’ factor when selecting an airport, with
40% admitting to going straight to the lounge and avoiding the shops
altogether. This corresponded with earlier Priority Pass research findings that
three-quarters of frequent business travellers (73%) choose not to stay in 4 or
5 star hotels, but instead look to enhance their trips with other benefits such
as concierge services, something that nearly half (46%) see as being essential
or nice to have.
The
message from frequent business travellers is clear. A place of sanctuary and a
rare moment of tranquillity in a peaceful and convenient environment is
increasingly important. More important in fact than the hotel or room waiting
for the flyer upon arrival. Many are indeed taking note of this and are exploring
different ways of making the travel experience smoother in order to ease
traveller burnout and the loss of productivity many employees experience. And
the good news is that some good ground is clearly being made. Today, over half
(51%) of frequent business flyers actively enjoy the airport experience, a high
percentage when you consider the fact that the business flyer is traveling for
work purposes and does not have the relaxation of a typical leisure trip to
look forward to on arrival.
Life
on the Road
Reducing
travel burnout is of course wider than the lounge itself. Digital technology is
also helping to reduce this friction caused by business travel. Half of
European travellers (50%) believe that digital boarding passes and e-tickets
make the airport experience much easier, with 41% of frequent business
travellers using airport mobile apps. Today’s business travellers are embracing
digital technologies thanks to their ability to reduce the stress of travel.
Digital tickets, digital membership cards for airport lounges, spas and
restaurants and apps that make it easy to look-up destinations all help to
provide a more seamless and personalised experience at airports.
I
believe that we are today witnessing a turning of the tide, with an increasing
number of organisations starting to recognise the value that can be gained if
the experience of flying for business is seamless and is supportive of work. As
international travel for work becomes more common than ever before, many are
starting to realise that it is more than just a perk to allow flyers to arrive
refreshed, relaxed and ready to do business. It makes sound commercial sense.
This post was written by Stephen Simpson, Global Marketing Director, Priority Pass. Priority Pass is exhibiting at the Business Travel Show next month - 22-23 February 2017 at Olympia London and is looking forward to discussing business travel trends and how you can support your business travellers at stand B422.Buyers can register for a free visitor pass at www.businesstravelshow.com.
