A survey of business travellers has revealed that the way to make them happy is to give them the freedom to choose their preferred suppliers during trips.
The 2017 Global Benchmark Survey: business travel satisfaction report by Chrome River found that 70 per cent of ‘very satisfied’ travellers were able to choose the airline they used, compared to 36 per cent of unsatisfied travellers. Furthermore, 62 per cent of happy employees were able to select their hotel chain and car rental firm (compared to 36 and 27 per cent of unhappy staff).
Satisfaction goes beyond choosing suppliers too – 45 per cent of happy travellers were able to fly business class for international flights or journeys above five hours, while only 9 per cent of disgruntled travellers had the same choice. However, being rewarded with air miles for personal use ranked high for both satisfied and unsatisfied employees (89 and 72 per cent respectively).
When asked about their favourite aspect of business travel, 43 per cent of happy employees said it was the ability to see new places, while unsatisfied travellers favour earning loyalty points (32 per cent). The worst part of travelling for contented nomads is spending time away from family (36 per cent), or frequency and the hassle of expenses for displeased employees.
The survey also revealed that Canadians are more likely to be happy with the amount they travel than Americans, Brits and Australians (80.1 per cent compared to 75.5, 72.9 and 69.6 per cent, respectively). However, Aussies are more satisfied with their business travel experience overall (37.8 per cent are very satisfied and 43.2 per cent are satisfied).
Read Chrome River’s full report here.