A poll of attendees at IHG Expo 2018 reveals top considerations for travel managers
- 1 in 3 travel managers say traveller satisfaction is top priority
- Three quarters of travel managers find catering to millennials complex
- 52% believe personalisation will have the biggest impact on corporate travellers
Duty of care, cost management and policy compliance have long been key focus areas for travel managers. However, a snap poll at this year’s IHG Expo, an annual event run by InterContinental® Hotels Group (IHG®) for travel buyers, bookers and managers, revealed that they are not the only priorities when putting together a travel programme.
In fact, almost a third of respondents (30%) identified traveller satisfaction as their top priority when creating their travel programme, closely followed by a desire to work with trusted brands (28%) and the safety/security of employees (19%).
Satisfying their travelling community is made even more challenging by the different generations of traveller they need to cater for. Almost 3 in 4 people surveyed (73%) confirmed that catering to the needs of millennial travellers is noticeably different to that of other generations, due to millennials having different expectations from hospitality, seeking more flexibility, being more demanding of technology and increasingly seeking that ‘wow’ factor to share on social media during their trips. Looking at the future of travel, more than half (52%) of travel managers believe increased personalisation, such as the ability to select in-room amenities, room type or floor, will have the most positive impact on their travellers. This was followed by 31% who believe additional benefits by loyalty programmes would be well received by travellers, and 28% who consider fully mobile check-in/check-out options as having the most positive impact on corporate travellers.
Nick Grandvoinet, Vice President, Global Accounts at IHG, commented: “Our annual IHG Expo is a great opportunity to bring together our top corporate clients so they can hear more about IHG, the trends and technology we’re focusing on, and how we’re evolving our brands. It’s great to see that the survey shows that working with trusted brands (28%) is a key consideration for clients, and that they feel increased personalisation will be highly beneficial for their travelling community. As we roll out IHG Concerto, our cloud based technology platform for hotels, we’re confident that this will allow us to continue to deliver what today’s travellers need.”
SURVEY RESULTS Main priorities and considerations when putting your travel programme together:
- Travel satisfaction: 30%
- Working with trusted brands: 28%
- Safety & Security of employees: 19%
- Policy compliance: 15%
- Loyalty Programme: 8%
Trends which will have the biggest impact on travellers*:
- Increased personalisation by hotels e.g. ability to select in-room amenities, room type, floor etc.: 52%
- Additional benefits offered by loyalty programmes: 31%
- Fully mobile check-in/check-out: 27%
- Increase in flexible meeting spaces: 23%
- Fully mobile booking process: 22%
- Increase in boutique and experiential hotels: 16%
- Growth of serviced apartments: 7%
- Artificial intelligence e.g. robotic receptions and chat bots: 6%
*Respondents were asked to select two trends. IHG Expo survey polled 150 attendees at the event.
