Important! This article is written by orangesmile.com editors and is protected by copyright law. The article can only be re-used with a direct link to www.orangesmile.com

Business Travelers Seek Personalization and Self-Service

Mobile technology has made it much easier for travelers to manage their travel to another city or country. This is particularly true about business travelers, who, according to the report prepared by the GBTA Foundation, welcome changes that improve self-service features.

The study covered 756 business respondents from nine countries. According to the report, vast majority of business travelers (78% in the US, 77% in Italy, 74% in Canada, and 73% in Spain) seek self-service technology. The rate is a bit lower for Northern Europe and Germany, where self-service is preferred by 60 and 56% of respondents respectively. Business travelers are also very positive about personalized options, but at the same time they are not ready to share much personal information to get those services.

When it comes to sharing personal information, business travelers are ready to tell their flyer number or hotel loyalty program number, preferences in airlines and airplane seats. However, they wish to keep private such information as travel history, business calendar, accounts in social media, leisure activities they like, etc.

Business travelers are enthusiastic about using different travel related applications. These apps both increase traveler satisfaction and reduce costs for companies. The most sought after applications include flight status and flight check-in, boarding pass generation and ability to book hotel rooms. Business travelers from Europe are more likely to use applications to buy train tickets, while travelers from North America are interested in applications that provide ride or taxi sharing service. The decision to use such applications comes from travelers, not from their companies. Only one fifth of respondents said they had requirement to use specific apps for their business travel.

07.08.2016

Previous article / Back to news index

Stay in touch with the latest news of a worldwide hotel industry. All up-to-date analytics, reports, and news about hotel business trends on OrangeSmile.com.