Recent rises and falls in business sentiment have been reflected in the amount of business related travel being carried out by company executives. As the recession bit, and costs were cut, approval for business related travel was slashed across all industries but recent reports suggest this reactionary policy was a mistake. The US Travel Association’s 2013 “Travel Effect” report detailed statistical modelling carried out over 18 years and 14 industries which indicates that for every dollar spent on business travel, US companies have experienced a $9.50 return in terms of revenue.
Oxford Economics reports that companies that held firm and continued to travel during the recession are now reaping the rewards as they are better positioned to avail of an uptake in the clients’ fortunes. All indicators are that business travel is bouncing back after a difficult couple of years. Roomex has just completed its half year review and the numbers are very encouraging, some of the key findings:
- Corporate hotel bookings through Roomex for Business are up by over 50% over the same period last year
- International travel has increased by 23%
- Availability in key locations remains an issue as occupancy rates are often above 90%
Business travellers are on the road more often with each of our top corporate clients having booked more room nights this year than in the same period last year. Roomex has successfully managed to control the cost of this increased travel even though room rates have increased throughout Ireland, UK and Europe. Business executives instinctively know the importance of their face-to-face meetings with almost two-thirds stating that increasing business travel expenditure would have a positive impact on company revenue and profitability. They also believe that 40% of existing customers would eventually be lost without in-person meetings.
As companies do begin to travel more again it is often under the control of more restrictive travel policies. Roomex for Business is founded on saving time and money for its corporate clients. Critically, we have managed to return an average saving of 24% to our clients in the first half of 2014 and this comes at no cost to the customer. A clear message from our customer base is that they want more control over their travel management programme. Our strong contracting, unique technology and excellent support have all come together to see our customer list expand rapidly. Such is our confidence in our ability to deliver for our customers that we have a no contract policy in place. Our client retention rate of 100% this year underlines our ability to deliver on our promises. No Cost. No Contract. No Catch.
If your company is making regular hotel bookings for business related travel why not talk to us about how we can assist you in this process.
