Meetings in person 

The convenience of online meetings using Zoom or Skype calls is obvious, especially given the conditions in which many companies are operating due to the coronavirus restrictions. However, that doesn’t mean that meetings in person have lost their value: according to research by Skift and TripActions, 79% of travel managers and 82% of business travelers recognized offline meetings as more effective. Respondents highlighted that there are more opportunities for networking during business trips: they can make useful contacts, talk and reach agreements.

We at RateHawk hold educational webinars where you can learn about the latest updates and ask the speakers questions. Of course, nothing replaces the opportunity to chat during meetings, but we are glad to remain in touch at least in this format.

79% of travel managers and 82% of business travelers recognized offline meetings as more effective.

The convenience and simplicity of booking tools

The most common problems that companies face are now violations of travel policy and the use of outside tools. Staff highlighted the inconvenience of using current booking tools and unattractive prices — for this reason, they have sought out more optimal alternatives, sometimes leading them away from complying with the company travel policy. According to research by the Global Business Travel Association in 2018, around 37% of hotels and 15% of air tickets were booked in violation of the rules.

Therefore, the priority becomes booking systems that are convenient and intuitive from the point of view of the interface, that help staff to stay within the company travel policy and which help managers control the process of organizing trips.

Personalization of options and the loyalty program 

When planning journeys, it’s important to strike the perfect balance between the set budget and personal preferences — you can be helped here with our flexible filters, that sort hotels by price, location, services and amenities. It’s also important to have reserve accommodation options available in case the options that you are interested in suddenly become unavailable.

RateHawk filters cover practically any search parameters: from price per night to payment method and everything in between. The system will also display similar hotels in case all rooms in your preferred hotel are sold out.

The opportunity to obtain additional services

In the research by Skift and TripActions, business travelers shared the problems in travels that they encounter the most, such as an inability to check in early (21.3%) or check out late (22.3%), as well as the absence of any support service for unforeseen situations (23%).

The fear of finding themselves in a high-stress situation was mentioned by 64% of the survey’s respondents. Staff members who get stressed due to overbookings in a hotel or the cancelation of a flight might simply not manage to recover and prepare for meetings, or take even a basic rest, which may negatively impact their work. 

We at RateHawk do not leave our clients in tricky situations: support service specialists and account managers can be contacted 24/7 and will do everything possible to resolve all issues as quickly as possible. To select an alternative accommodation option or find the next flight, and guide you through refunds when needed.

64% of business travelers are afraid of being in a stressful situation.

To contact your account manager urgently you can always use a messenger (Telegram or WhatsApp) —  all contact details are contained in the upper part of the website in the Support section.

As far as additional services are concerned, if you use RateHawk.com then please note that we offer the services of The Early check-in/Late check-out when you make the initial booking: so if you definitely know that you will arrive early in the morning you can immediately provide this information and you won’t have to worry about the hotel accommodating you upon arrival.

We can also organize a transfer or car hire.

Combining work and a holiday

More than half of business travelers noted that they like to combine work and holidays. In our article on making savings from the business trip budget, we explained how much cheaper it can sometimes be to switch business trips by several days in order to book a flight or accommodation at a lower price.

Nearly 50% of business travelers don’t mind extending their business trip to relax and explore the city.

This is also more attractive for the employee: he or she can travel on the business trip on a Saturday, relax during the weekend and head for meetings and events from the Monday. This plan will help them to avoid the feeling that they are running on automatic, when it seems that meetings occur one right after another and work takes up all of their time, including at weekends. 

46% of staff agreed that they would gladly extend a business trip to relax a bit and discover the city where they are staying, while another 43% would be highly likely to do so (research by GBTA and Hilton, June 2018).

Comfort

A happy employee is an effective employee, and this slogan is driving the trend to making business travel comfortable. Many travelers highlighted that even during business trips it’s important for them to get some exercise and eat properly, and in some cases they even drew attention to ecological factors: for example, the extent to which the hotel cares for the environment.

You can always find out about these parameters on the hotel page in RateHawk: all the information you need is shown in a special section, from the room’s equipment to whether there is a gym in the hotel or a special menu in the restaurant.

Apart from that, we show the year in which the hotel was built and when it was last subject to overhaul, types of supported sockets (especially important for foreign trips), and whether the bedroom and the hotel territory have wifi — all this is found in the Facts about the Hotel section.

It’s certainly not news that the habits and needs of business travelers impact travel policies and the effectiveness of their companies as a whole. The secret is in finding a balance where the needs of the employees and the company’s pockets are aligned. The identified trends provide food for thought and might convince you that you are on the right path, or might help you to improve the processes and look at the situation from a new angle.