When it comes to choosing a hotel, the most important thing to business travelers is proximity to their business meetings, finds a new survey from the Travel Leaders Group, the results of which were released last week.
Based on findings from the travel agency's annual "Travel Trends Survey," the survey showed that a meeting-friendly location is important to 82.8 percent of business travelers, followed by amenities such as a rewards program (54.4 percent), free Wi-Fi (31.4 percent), airport proximity (17.7 percent) and free breakfast (13.2 percent).
Conducted in November 2010, the survey also found that 76 percent of business-focused travel agents forecast that business travel in 2011 will match (36.3 percent) or exceed (39.7 percent) their total bookings for 2010.
"This year’s findings are quite positive and encouraging, particularly considering the number of Travel Leaders agents who said their level of business travel bookings will go up in 2011," said Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group. "Compared with their responses last year, 11.1 percent more of them are seeing year over year increases."
Other key findings, according to Travel Leaders:
• Approximately 65 percent of respondents said their clients combine business travel with leisure or family trips.
• More than half (54 percent) of respondents said they had noticed a change in booking practices that require their clients to book their flights in advance.
• Approximately 31 percent of respondents said that 11 percent or more of their business clients are booking first or business class tickets; another 56.4 percent, meanwhile, said 1-10 percent of their clientele is flying "up front."
For more information, including complete survey findings, visit www.TravelLeaders.com.