Orbitz for Business indicators show no let-up on business travel

September 17, 2008 | Online Travel

Rising travel costs have caused many travelers to get resourceful when planning vacations, and growing numbers of business travelers are finding business trips to be an opportune time to add a little time off.

Nearly three-fourths (72%) of those surveyed this month by Orbitz for Business and Business Traveler Magazine say they’ve extended a business trip with a leisure component in the last year. Additionally, 81% plan to, or are considering extending a work trip in the next six months by adding vacation time with family or friends.

As the usual business travel destinations don’t always lend themselves to an appealing getaway, more than one-third (35%) say they’ve coordinated a business trip to a location where they’d like to vacation, in an effort to combine the two.

These are among the key findings of the second Orbitz for Business/Business Traveler Magazine Quarterly Trend Report, which examines the most prevalent issues affecting business travelers and the corporate travel industry today.

“We continue to see business travelers changing behaviors, and this is a prime example of how many are finding ways to make the most of their work-related travel,” said Dean Sivley, senior vice president and COO, Orbitz for Business. “We’ve helped our customers find strategic ways to curtail travel expenditures, and likewise, corporate travelers are finding the extension of business trips with leisure as a cost-effective way to squeeze in some vacation time.”

Another notable trend shows that almost half (43%) of respondents recently had a spouse, significant other or friend accompany them on a business trip, without staying extra days but simply sharing a room with their guest and seeing them during free time.

Location, Location, Location

When asked what business city makes it easiest to extend business trips with leisure, New York City topped the list. Travelers also ranked San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando and Washington, D.C. among the best cities to combine the two. For international travel, London and Paris were most frequently noted as good places to add leisure time to a business trip.

The report also found:

-- 50% are now exploring ways to extend business trips with leisure more frequently
-- 88% have stayed at the same hotel when they extended a business trip with leisure
-- 69% are willing to travel by car from a business city to a leisure destination; 47% are willing to travel 1-3 hours and 22% are willing to travel less than one hour

Still Traveling, Traveling More but Spending Less

For the second consecutive quarter, the Trend Report found that 79% of those surveyed are feeling some degree of pressure to cut costs. And further evidence that business travelers are traveling differently—despite the need to curb spending, 61% say they are traveling as much if not more this year than they did in 2007—a 1% increase over what the report found in June.

METHODOLOGY

The Orbitz for Business/Business Traveler Magazine Trend Report was conducted online from 8/19/08 through 8/27/08, through a MarketTools survey of 450 Business Traveler Magazine subscribers.