Business travelers back on the road but watching budgets
After an economic slump that put the brakes on business travel, the corporate world appears to be redeploying workers again to attend out-of-town meetings, conferences and conventions.
But business travelers are hitting the road with a penny-pinching mentality by flying coach, cutting back on meals and even sharing hotel rooms with colleagues, according to a new survey of 700 business travelers nationwide.
"Over the past 15 months we’ve seen a softening on the business traveler side of the mix while the leisure traveler contribution, especially on weekends, has remained steady for us. Good news is, we are currently seeing a steady uptick in business travelers," said John Lee, Embassy vice president for marketing.
The survey, released last week by Embassy Suites Hotels, found that more than two-thirds of travelers say they have changed their business travel habits because of the continuing economic woes.
To save money, almost one-third of the travelers surveyed said they fly only coach, while 27 percent said they are cutting back on meals and other expenses.
Meanwhile, 24 percent of business travelers said they are now booking hotel rooms that their companies consider a good value, and 17 percent said they try to share a room with a colleague.
By David Wilkening
David
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