A recent survey by hotel group IHG shows that business travel is growing. That’s counter to a lot of conventional wisdom.
Despite concerns about persistent uncertainty, and a perceived lack of appetite for business travel, the second half of 2021 proved those predictions weren’t entirely true, and momentum is strong heading into 2022.“
While we continue to monitor the impact of the recent variant on travel, overall we are optimistic about the industry’s rebound,” says Derek DeCross, SVP of Global Sales for IHG Hotels & Resorts. “I think 2022 will be a positive surprise for many people in terms of business travel, especially the latter half.”
The Future is Bright for Business Travel
While leisure travel continues to lead recovery, the future is bright for all segments of travel, particularly for U.S. groups and meetings, small and midsize enterprises (SME), and corporate transient, which are all helping business travel make a comeback. The optimism is felt across the hospitality industry: airlines have seen increasing activity among their accounts, and American Express noted an increase in spending on its commercial cards in the second half of last year, which was led by small and midsize enterprises.
Where they see those peaks in travel, IHG expects continuing consumer demand, such as those in India, the Middle East and Africa (IMEA), driven by milder travel restrictions across feeder markets, increasing flight availability, and the return of global events like Expo 2022. “The largest share of business travel in this region is corporate bookings, as well as meetings and events,” says DeCross.
Adjusting to Variants – A Wide Range of Responses
With the surge in covid cases due to the Omicron variant, the travel community continues to monitor restrictions and adhere to local, federal, and international guidelines.
Some customers are putting a cap on the size of groups and meetings while others are pushing forward with Q1 travel plans with additional protections like masks, vaccination requirements and testing.
“The response from customers has varied and I think that will continue as we learn to coexist with Covid,” says DeCross. “We’ve seen some customers delay travel for a few weeks, while others are pushing all travel into Q2 or later.”
The Bottom Line
Around the world, IHG sees increasingly positive signs in discretionary business travel in group and transient sectors.
“We’ve always said that in places people can travel, they are traveling – whether that’s for work or leisure,” says DeCross. “Our hotels are seeing essential business demand return. We’re looking forward to a strong year for business travel and are confident that we have the right programs in place to enable our customers to be successful, whatever their needs are.”
