New research has revealed that 30 per cent of UK business travellers prefer to stay in furnished apartments for work trips of more than 30 days.
A survey of 1,000 travellers in the UK by B2B furnished apartment booking platform Homelike found a quarter of them stay in other cities for more than a month and 30 per cent are responsible for booking their own accommodation. Only 17 per cent rely on a travel manager for arrangements, while 19 per cent look to a personal assistant or office manager.
When asked why they prefer furnished apartments, 43 per cent said they like a central city location, followed by the quality of the property (42 per cent) – factors such as whether the building is well kept, modern and has high-quality furnishings – and cost (36 per cent). Other important features included size (24 per cent) and proximity to green spaces (21 per cent).
Homelike’s research also found a number of interesting facts about travellers themselves; the most disliked aspect of long-term business travel is missing family and friends (32 per cent). This is followed by feeling unhealthy (17 per cent) – namely by eating out, drinking and not having access to a gym – and general stress (15 per cent).
Female survey respondents rated a good social life higher than their male counterparts, with 24 per cent wanting their family or partner to stay with them during a longer work trip versus 13 per cent of men. Eleven per cent of women also wanted to be able to host friends in their accommodation compared to 8 per cent of men.
Meanwhile, male employees are more likely to prioritise their health, with 11 per cent of those polled wanting to have access to a gym while away versus 7 per cent of women. Eighteen per cent also prefer to have cooking facilities at their accommodation compared with 15 per cent of female travellers.
Millennial travellers proved to be the most interested in creating a “home away from home” when away for business, with 29 per cent wanting to be near a green space, 23 per cent desiring to host family and their partner and 21 per cent wishing to take their pets with them.
And Baby Boomers suffer the most from homesickness than other generations (52 per cent), while Gen Z travellers hate the stress of work trips (22 per cent) and those aged 45-54 despise feeling unhealthy (23 per cent).
Dustin Figge, CEO and co-founder of Homelike, said: “We founded Homelike because we were fed up with travelling for business and either having to live long-term in a hotel room or attempt to book an apartment through providers that predominantly work offline. Our research proves what we already knew – that people are moving away from booking a hotel for 30+ night stays and are instead looking for a higher quality, more comfortable experience when travelling long-term for business. The market needs to evolve to reflect that.”
Homelike recently launched its first UK office in London and has plans to expand to other British cities in the future. It has a portfolio of 45,000 furnished business apartments in seven countries.
thehomelike.com