More than half (53%) of APAC business travellers never combine business and leisure on work trips – the highest globally – as a new hotel booking trends report suggests company policies or culture influence travel decisions.
Corporate travel management company BCD Travel’s survey found APAC business travellers lag behind their global counterparts in hotel loyalty and bleisure trends.
The report highlighted that only 20 per cent of APAC business travellers engage in bleisure travel sometimes or often.
A striking 68 per cent of APAC travellers never bring partners or family on business trips, suggesting cultural or policy-driven differences in travel behaviour.
Accommodation trends
Only 58 per cent of APAC business travellers are members of hotel loyalty programs, far below the 99 per cent of North Americans.
Just under half (47%) of APAC business travellers frequently choose hotels tied to loyalty status, compared to 85 per cent in North America.
Most business travellers opt for 3- or 4-star hotels for work trips. Hotel location (77%) plays a major role in selecting a hotel, along with employer policy (56%) and cost (53%).
Personal preferences also influence hotel choices: 77 per cent prefer familiarity through chains and 73 per cent stay at the same hotel when visiting a destination repeatedly (see the top 10 APAC business travel cities).
What do business travellers want?
Wi-Fi and breakfast are the most frequently used hotel services. Other popular amenities include onsite restaurants and bars, parking facilities, fitness centres and flexible check-in/check-out.
Business travellers also value wellbeing features, such as complimentary bottled water, gyms, pools, spas and healthy food options.
Common issues with hotels for corporates include slow Wi-Fi, breakfast not being included in the rate, outdated rooms and uncomfortable beds.
Hotel booking behaviours
When it comes to searching, booking and paying for accommodation, more than three-quarters of business travellers use their company’s online booking tool (OBT) to search for accommodation, while a third turn to hotel websites or apps.
When booking, 84 per cent use their company’s OBT, one in five book directly via supplier websites, while one in 10 call the hotel.
Sustainability is (sadly) low priority
Half of global business travellers rarely or never consider environmental factors when booking hotels. In APAC, this trend is even more pronounced due to limited sustainability guidance in booking tools.
Four in 10 global travellers don’t take any sustainability elements into account at all. Only one in five look for features like eco-certification, reduced single-use plastics, low carbon emissions, water-saving measures or limited housekeeping.
Read the full report here.
