New business travel trends include longer hotel stays for employees

ESCAPE DEALS MAY 29 2022 Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, NSW

Hybrid working ­arrangements and the need for employers to retain staff is leading to the emergence and growth of new business travel trends including longer hotel stays.

Flight Centre’s global managing director of Corporate Traveller, Tom Walley, says new travel trends are picking up particularly among ­financial services, consulting, medical and tech customers working ­remotely.

Corporate Traveller is seeing trends including working holidays with executives employed remotely in one or more holiday locations for ­several weeks or months and taking their families with them, as well as executives adding holidays on to work trips and travelling more frequently to multiple cities.

“At Corporate Traveller, we’re seeing an increase in our employees ­extending domestic and international work trips to include holidays, including with their family members,” Mr Walley said.

“I think employers are using travel to retain people and now it can be combined with work.

“Travel remains a sought-after perk for many Australian workers and the possibility of combining ­leisure with work will be invaluable to them and improve their work-life ­balance.”

Hotelier Jerry Schwartz, who owns 15 city and regional properties on the east coast, notes that guests are ­staying longer in his properties particularly in regional areas such as the Crowne Plaza in the NSW Hunter Valley.

“In addition, we have found people are turning up a day earlier than ­previously for conferences,” said Dr Schwartz.

Australia’s largest private hotel owner Dr Jerry Schwartz.

“They used to turn up on the morning of the conference, now they are coming on the Sunday evening. And because I have regional hotels there is more of a chance they will bring their partner and/or their kids with them,” he said.

Mr Walley says there are benefits for businesses with such arrangements. “Working holidays enable employees to get their travel fix and remain online and do away with the need for a contractor to replace them while they’re away.

“If an employee is based in a ­market of interest for the business, a working holiday arrangement can help the business explore new ­markets more easily or set up supplier arrangements.”

These kinds of trips are also economically viable: employees foot the bill for their trip, while businesses would cover the cost only of the work portion. They also suit hoteliers who are seeking to financially recover from the pandemic.

According to Corporate Traveller, Airbnb, has noticed a tripling in bookings of 28 days or more from the US for remote-based work. In the US, workers are planning twice as many business and leisure trips this year, with more than half adding three or more days to their leisure trips to include remote working.