6 Business Travel Trends That Dominated In 2018

It is that time of the year when we look back at trends that prevailed this year. 2017 was a great year for corporate travel as we saw latest technology making the impact. 2018 would be no different. New trends emerged and replaced older ones and changed the face of corporate travel altogether.

In this article, you will learn about business travel trends that dominated this year.

1. Hotel Room Availability is Still A Challenge

One of the biggest challenges for travel managers was availability of hotel rooms and the rates. It is becoming more and more difficult to book hotel rooms at a preferred rate these days. According to a research by Advito, 24% of global business travelers was unable to find hotel rooms at preferred rates that percentage shot up to 33% for European hotels. Travel managers will have to track rate availability and keep negotiating with partners to get preferred rates.

2. Sharing Economy Continues To Dominate

According to a GBTA report, 30% businesses now allows business travelers to book accommodation via Airbnb. Airbnb’s business travel-based transaction doubled every year since 2014. The same report further found that half of these companies also allow business travelers to move from one place to another by using ride hailing services such as Lyft and Uber. This is a clear indication that shared economy is here to stay and not going anywhere soon.

3. Mobile Booking On The Rise

With high speed mobile internet and smartphones at your disposal, the trend of mobile booking is becoming more popular with each passing day. Now, most business travelers prefer to book flights, hotels and more from mobile apps installed on their mobile devices and save them a lot of money. Moreover, booking everything in advance also saves them from a lot hassle. With everything at your fingertips, business travel have never been that convenient than it is now, thanks to mobile booking apps.

4. Machine Learning Can Help You Save

Machine learning has become a buzzword lately but how does it affect your business travel. Machine learning has helped travel managers save a lot of money by automating administrative tasks. Moreover, it has saved a lot of resources from getting wasted. Its ability to deliver better merchandising opportunities have helped travel managers strengthen their relationships with suppliers.

Let’s say you want to take a yacht charter in Dubai but not sure which ones to choose, machine learning can deliver timely, relevant offers and offer predictive pricing to help you save money. The technology can even forecast flight delays, provide risk alerts and much more. It is all about implementing the technology in efficient manner and it can do wonders for business travelers.

5. The Line Between Business and Leisure Blur

You are on a business trip does not mean that it should be strictly business or boring. 2018 was a year when the line between business and leisure travel got even more blurred. So, there is nothing wrong in enjoying a dhow cruise Dubai dinner on your next business trip. In fact, a new term has been coined to define the fusion of business and leisure travel and it is Bleisure. In fact, this segment is quickly becoming a lucrative one for travel managers.

The number of business trip that has many leisure activities are on the rise as travel managers have identified the changing lifestyles. Although, the success and failure of this industry heavily depends on companies’ policies but the trend will continue because the corporate attitude towards this trend is positive, which is great news for employees who are accompanying their bosses on business trips. So, the next time your boss asks you to go on a business trip, say yes without thinking about it.

6. Anxiety, Anxiety, Anxiety

The global situation as well as the ever-changing business scenario is enough to worry any business owner. Constantly working to meet client needs, keeping the stakeholders are some of the things that will make you anxious. That is why most business travelers tend to drink and smoke more when they are on business trip. Although, they are doing it to get rid of stress but it will have injurious effects on their health in the long run. Unfortunately, this trend will also continue so you will have to learn how to deal with stress and stay calm under pressure during your business trip.

Which business travel trend do you think will make the biggest impact? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.