<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Plato90s:
I don't think business travelers on an expense account are necessarily the most important customers.
Then you have people who can choose where they stay at. Treat them badly, and you'll kiss their money goodbye. Even if it's not a large amount relative to a corporate account, you'll still never see that $$ again.
Of course, the most dangerous/lucrative customer of all are people on an expense account who can choose where to stay.
In any case, I don't believe the mantra that the full revenue or rack rate or high volume corporate customer are the most important. You guys are going to be at that airline counter or hotel check-in counter no matter the treatment you get. You have to fly/travel. The people who are there only because they wants to - those are the people who will make/break the profit statement.</font>
Sorry to be argumentative, but your analysis is flawed. I choose where I want to stay. I do book my air travel through a travel agent, but I get to choose who I fly on, as long as the fares are close. I am not atypical of a business traveller.
In addition, how many last minute flights have you booked in the past year? Keep in mind that just one of those -- which I do a couple of times a year -- is worth around ten of your trips with the restricted, plan ahead fare.
But don't listen to me. Look at who everyone except Con Air needs in order to be profitable. It ain't the leisure traveller paying $300 to go from coast to coast. Nope, it's the guy like me, who has to be somewhere the next day, no if, ands, buts or maybes, and who has to drop $2,500 to do it.