"In most surveys you will find tariff is down the list of what a potential guest will consider when making an accommodation selection. We believe this to be a Pollyanna view that is far from reality. From our experience, we have found that location is the number one factor that is closely followed by tariff."Motels are well placed to continue to deliver value to business travellers and wotif's survey reveals some interesting statistics that are relevant to corporate trade using NZ Motels.
21 May 2009
Business Travel News
Sixty eight per cent of business travellers surveyed recently said their Q1 travel was not affected by the economic downturn and another 55 per cent said they felt stripping travel budgets hurt their businesses.
Hotel reservation group Wotif, which ran the survey, said many businesses are turning to online booking options and searching for deals with value-added inclusions to stretch their dollar further.
“Gone are the days of big business travel budgets. Instead, businesses are looking for ways to save in areas they haven’t had to for a while,” Wotif general manager-Brand Megan Magill said.
“We asked respondents to indicate how important things like price, location and free inclusions are on business travel decisions.
“Price is certainly a driving factor – 82 per cent of respondents spent on average less than A$200 a night on their accommodation.
“When asked to rank what features are important in deciding on accommodation, price and free inclusions ranked two and three. Location is still the most important consideration in booking accommodation for business.
“When asked what’s most valued in business accommodation, free breakfast came up the winner, followed by free parking, internet connection and room service.”
Other findings from the Wotif.com Business Travel Insights survey included:
- The majority of business travellers (56 per cent) stayed away an average 2-3 nights per trip.
- 35 per cent travelled 2-3 times in the first quarter of 2009.
- 64 per cent prefer to stay in hotels, although serviced apartments also are popular, with 20 per cent opting to stay in one while 14 per cent choose a motel.
- Four-star properties are the favourite - 67 per cent said they prefer to stay in a 4 star property rather than 5 or 3 star.
- 60 per cent of business travellers travel alone.
- 24 per cent with work colleagues and 14 per cent with their partner or other family members.
- 63 per cent prefer to take shorter, more frequent business trips.
- 62 per cent travel interstate, 31 per cent within their own state and only seven per cent travel internationally for business.
- 39 per cent add a leisure component on to their business trips.
Source: Click HERE
