Average Ticket Prices (ATPs) for Corporate Travelers Expected to Inch Up, with Corporate Housing Rates Remaining Steady
Posted on 14. Dec, 2009 by Kat Schneider Fotheringham in Blog, Business Travel, Uncategorized, executive accommodations, international business travel
More news to consider regarding the cost of corporate travel and corporate housing in the coming year. According to the Egencia’s 2010 Corporate Travel Forecast — average ticket prices (ATPs) for corporate travelers are expected to increase globally, while average daily rates (ADRs) for business travelers are expected to increase only in Europe.
With the focus on the health of the economy and its impact on corporate and business travel, Egencia contacted more than 100 travel managers and discussed with them their cost control measures, travel spend and expectations for the next 12 months.
According to Egencia’s respondents, 59 percent say company travel has slightly or significantly reduced this year, compared with 48 percent a year ago in 2008. Ten percent reported a slight increase in business travel, compared with only 3 percent a year ago. If you are a corporate travel manager hoping to stay within and even maximize your budget dollars, here are some tips for you:
- -Always advance-book airline tickets (almost 60 percent of those surveyed use advanced booking)
- -It’s not always easy, but be the enforcer at your organization. The strict enforcement of travel policy will likely save your company money, and make it much easier to track activity
- -Actively track unused tickets to make sure you are getting the most for your dollar, and not missing an opportunity to utilize those tickets somehow, somewhere
- -Make sure employees who travel receive pre-trip approval to make certain you aren’t booking travel incorrectly, wasting you and your company’s time and effort
- But even with a more disciplined approach, you’ll find that prices will inch upward, and here are some of the reasons why:
- -The impact the post-recession economy will have on corporate travel demand
- -Airlines will continue their trend of maintaining capacity discipline
- -Mergers within the airline industry, which may cause Average Ticket Prices (ATPs) to remain elevated by about 5 to 10 percent
- -Average daily rates (ADRs) for housing are expected to stay flat
With European cities showing signs of positive growth, while business demand will begin to rise, especially for finance markets, ATPs and ADRs in top European destinations for business travel are expected to rise slowly.
In Asia-Pacific, corporate travel ATPs are expected to rise just slightly across the region as demand continues to outpace supply. Yet fewer business travelers to the Asia-Pacific translates to flattened ADRs.
A mixed bag to be sure, but as the economy continues to creep upwards, positive news and momentum continue to grow right along with it. Looks like it may be a more profitable new year for all!
