The days of luxury hotel stays and first-class accommodations appear to be waning for business travelers, at least according to the results of a survey by the Global Business Travel Association and Cambria Suites.
In a survey of 407 business travelers, researchers found that one-quarter of respondents were dealing with stricter company-imposed spending limits today than a year ago, and 23% were staying less frequently at luxury hotels. Forty-percent of business travelers said their expense reports are “more closely scrutinized” now than last year, and 40% said they’ve been encouraged to “spend less per day” on business travel by their bosses or department heads.
Although the results of this survey clearly point to a squeeze in corporate spending on business travel, FlyerTalk members aren’t convinced the situation is quite so dire. “It seems, at least among many I know, that travel has picked up for some, but not others,” says FlyerTalk member rwoman.
While FlyerTalk member cordelli doesn’t necessarily disagree with the survey’s findings, he doesn’t think a sluggish economy is the only reason why businesses have cut back on corporate travel. “While the economy may be a factor I don’t think it’s the main factor comparing last year to this year. I think many companies and organizations have woken up to the fact that over the past few years flying discount, renting cheaper and staying in lower tier hotels did not change their productivity at all.”
Nobody has more insight into the state of business travel than FlyerTalk members. So what’s your take? Are you being asked to spend less on hotels and flights? Does taking an economy flight decrease your ability to close important deals? And do you still believe corporate travel is necessary to help your business grow?