A lack of room availability is the top frustration for business travellers when booking accommodation, a study from travel management firm Egencia has found.
Egencia’s first ever global survey, which analysed travellers’ booking habits, found that unclear cancellation rules and payment options as well not being able to view the location of the hotel versus the desired destination were among the other top concerns.
The study also showed that brand was an important attribute among travellers when choosing a hotel with 64 per cent of business travellers in the US always stay at the same brand when travelling on business.
Egencia said that globally business travellers compare an average of two-sites before booking a hotel and almost one-third spend more than 30 minutes comparing hotels online before booking. Around 17 per cent spend more than 45 minutes searching for the right hotel with the average coming in at 34 minutes.
The study revealed that business travellers’ habits are changing for how they want to be rewarded by companies for brand loyalty. 74 per cent of respondents in the US and 61 per cent globally said they want hotels to remember travel patterns and preferences from one visit to the next, although almost half of those surveyed added that hotels ‘don’t understand my travel habits and preferences’.
The online study was conducted among 8,030 business travellers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, UK and US.
Sign up to BBT’s twice-weekly newsletter