A new survey from Deloitte says business travelers are gladly anticipating an increase in corporate travel next year, which should translate into a welcome boost in customer demand for hospitality and travel.

In fact, by the end of 2011, 80% of the business travelers surveyed predicted that they will take more or at the minimum the same number of business trips as they did in 2010, with almost the same number of respondents (79%) saying that they will also spend more or the same.

When queried about how they think their 2010 travel levels would net out, the majority of the survey respondents (71%) said they would also take more or the same number of business trips. Only 29% of business travelers expected less travel in 2010.

I have to agree.  I am sensing renewed optimism out there among my colleagues and friends.  The current economy is certainly not perfect, but it is improving in some important ways and the changes in perceptions regarding business travel and corporate housing are proving this theory out.So nice to be at the end of the year for a change and seeing light beaming in from the new year.  Goodbye, abyss!

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According to the results of a new survey produced by Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the travel industry, hotels must become “living innovation laboratories.”

By 2020 Amadeus suggests that the travel industry will change in the following ways:

• 79 per cent agreed ‘heavy investment in emerging tourism markets will widen traveler choice, increase competition and potentially drive down prices and profit margins across the spectrum of hotels’.
• 71 per cent felt ’traveller motivations will become increasingly fragmented and diverse and harder to segment into clearly definable customer groupings’
• 92 per cent believe ‘hotel guests will expect their stay to be personalized around a set of choices they make at the time of booking or prior to arrival’.
• 86 per cent think ‘customers will have the ability to choose the size of room, type of bed, amenities, audio-visual facilities, business equipment, etc. on booking and pay accordingly’.
• 96 per cent expect that ‘in the face of intense global competition, the hotel industry will develop a strong focus on strategy and innovation – adopting approaches such as crowd sourcing and open innovation to generate new ideas.’
• 97 per cent believe ‘hotels will increasingly consider factors such as cost of servicing, level of spend and average length of stay when targeting potential customers in different geographic markets.
• 95 per cent think ‘hotels will increasingly look to new technologies to drastically increase efficiency, reduce costs, personalize the customer experience and improve service’.
• 96 per cent agreed that ‘hotels will need to develop strong social media ‘listening skills’ to understand how customer needs and perceptions of brands and service quality are truly evolving and to develop service propositions, marketing messages, and pricing solutions that reflect the needs of an increasingly diverse customer base.’
• 78 per cent expect ‘global hotel groups will increasingly seek to cover the full spectrum from budget through to luxury and heritage properties.’
• 81 per cent felt ‘hotels will increasingly experiment with a range of business models.

What do you think of these findings?  How do you think this will impact corporate housing and the hotel industry?

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Well, not a huge surprise, but it appears mobile phones and personal communications devices continue to expand their scope and utility in every day life.

Now guests of a Stockholm hotel will be using mobile phones instead of keys to unlock the doors to their suites.

According to reports, the world’s largest maker of door locks, Assa Abloy AB has launched a pilot with Clarion Hotel Stockholm in which they will lend their guests mobile phones with close-range radio chips installed, similar to the new devices being used for contact-less payments at gas stations.

The test will involve asking repeat visitors during a four-month trial to check in using their phones before prior to their arrival, and to have their phones then activated as “keys.” Using this technology, they will then be able to skip the registration desk and unlock the door to their guest room by holding the phone next to the entry point.

The short-range radio technology, aka “Near Field Communication,” is expected to be built into smart phones over the next several years. ‘Near Field Communication’ is also expected to be offered for ticketing and card payments.

We’ll keep you posted on how the test will turn out.  There are lots of questions, good and bad that I would have.  It’s great if you use your phone for a lot of different tasks, but would it too easy for a less than honorable fellow guest or employee to get in on the same frequency with their own phone?  How will security be ensured?  Stay tuned to The Corporate Housing Network blog for the latest.

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According to a recently released survey by business management specialists KDS, about half of all business travel is just not worth the time and money.

The company surveyed what most marketers would consider a very small sample of 164 travel buyers and business travelers, and found that 51% admitted some of their business trips were probably not worth the hours away from the office or the cost involved.

In fact, 55% of survey respondents acknowledged that on several occasions they would have questioned the relevance of business trips if they had been fully aware in advance what the total cost would be, including travel, accommodations and other expenses.

First, a grain of salt.  These are business management consultants who sell tools to track these expenses, so their findings aren’t a huge surprise.  But I do believe that the economy we are currently crawling out of is bringing with it a growing sense of caution along with a desire to not ever return to some of the dark days we’ve all seen. 

That said, we all have to make a living and return to some sense of normalcy.  Perhaps as corporate housing professionals we should consider this information as a blessing, and use it to guide our decisions, and make sure they are rock solid.  To be certain our current and potential clients will utilize the services or amenities we plan to offer them.

That’s the way I am planning on approaching the current economy and all of its lessons.  I am going to make sure my time, effort and money are all being invested wisely.  I don’t want any more bumps, not if I can avoid them. 

What’s your take?  How do you plan to approach your business in 2011?

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Some good news for corporate housing owners and professionals. Business travelers who hit the road in 2011 can expect airfares and hotel rates to increase by an average of 10%, according to a forecast released last week by American Express Business Travel, the corporate travel division of American Express.

The primary piece of good news in the forecast was that rental-car rates will likely remain about the same because of increased competition and a large inventory of rental cars.

The forecast itself is based on price predictions for airline tickets, hotels and car rental rates for more than 500 cities worldwide.

Even though more businesses are expected to send their employees to business meetings next year, meeting planners will be doing everything they can to make it cheaper to attend by hosting less-expensive conferences with significantly pared-down amenities, according to American Express Business Travel.

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The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Foundation’s new Business Travel Quarterly Outlook says U.S. -originated business travel spending–including for accommodations like corporate housing–is expected to grow 3.8 percent this year over 2009, despite projections that economic and business travel growth will slow through the second half of 2010.  The new Business Travel Quarterly Outlook also found that business travel will continue to advance by 6.7 percent and 6.9 percent for 2011 and 2012.

The report shows that the total number of U.S. business trips saw a sharp decline of 15.6 percent during the recession from 511 million trips in 2007 to 431 million in 2010.

The decline was driven in large part by the drop in transient business travel, comprising 60 percent of the total, as a result of tighter travel management, shorter trips, and the use of technological travel alternatives. However, through 2012, transient travel is expected to advance 31 percent as the economy continues to recover and travel restrictions are lifted.

To learn more about the report’s findings, click here .

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Today, every business traveler and corporate housing professional knows that carrying an app-loaded phone can transform everything we do, from planning a trip to making our way around a new city, to finding the best places to eat and shop in our off hours. In fact, we’ve all become so dependent upon these apps that we can barely make a move without them—whether we are near or far from home.

At present the iPhone leads the pack with over 200,000 apps and titles. But its competitors are quickly making progress. At last check, Google’s Android Market had about 60,000 programs. And my beloved BlackBerry is close behind with more than 10,000—and counting. And then there’s the iPad (I have one of these, too). It’s not a smart phone, but it’s still a versatile and gorgeous e-reader that’s just waiting to take apps to a place that’s even more mainstream.  Ahh, the iPad.

Because of their growing popularity, the folks at Travel & Leisure decided it was high time to put together a report on the top apps and why they’re so great (and they are).  Take a look and see if yours ranks, and what else might be out there for you to try before you hit the road again.

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Corporate housing owners, prepare yourselves!

Looks as though the boutique hotel business is not only here to stay, it’s growing!

Widely considered the world’s first boutique hotel, New York’s Morgan’s Hotel has given rise to what’s presently being referred to as “boutique-mania.? Now hospitality mega-chains like Hyatt, InterContinental, and Marriott—are all stepping into the boutique marketplace, and may soon be taking over the field.

According to the market research firm Lodging Econometrics, there were 410 “branded lifestyle hotels” in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2010, with 62 more set to open through 2011.  Because the term ’boutique’ has no real definition within the hospitality industry, it can basically mean anything outside the box—anything. So everything from hotels with amenities like $8,000 Swedish mattresses and 500-thread-count sheets to special accommodations for pets fall under the boutique umbrella.

So what does this mean for corporate housing owners and professionals?  Competition like we’ve never seen before.  Competing with a somewhat limited, select group of providers is one thing.  But when giants like Hyatt and Marriott get into the mix, well that changes everything. 

Advice?  Take a look at everything you are presently doing and figure out a way to make your accommodations just that much more special.  Focus on personal service, special touches and customer contact.  It’s anybody’s game when you’re going one on one.  The budgets may be bigger, but trust in your own instincts, taste and sense of style. 

That’s what will keep you traveling at the front of the pack, even when the pack appears to be on steroids.

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The strong recovery in air travel is beginning to slow down, as advances in the economy begin to level off, but with an expansion in business travel continuing to move ahead of in economy class, the airline industry association IATA (International Air Transport Association) said this week.

The report indicates that slower year-on-year growth in August than shown in recent months was in part due to the big increase in August 2009, when the post-recession rebound took hold.

But there was a fall of between 1 to 1.5 percent between July and August in the seasonally-adjusted number of passengers travelling in both premium and economy seats,  IATA said.

The number of passengers travelling in business or first class in August was 9.1 percent higher than a year earlier, against a 13.8 percent year-on-year increase recorded in July.

Numbers at the back of the plane were up 6.2 percent, down from 8.8 percent in July.

The IATA, whose 230 members include air carriers Lufthansa, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines, says demand for premium travel  has now risen 17 percent above its dismal 2009 low, but 99 percent—virtually all–of that rebound occurred by the end of the first quarter of this year.

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This may be shaping up to become the year where corporate housing rebounded and grew stronger than ever.  The combination of a changing economy and shifts in the hotel industry may be conspiring to provide corporate housing professionals with a fresh outlook and a big opportunity for growth.

The number of rooms in the U.S. hotel industry’s active pipeline declined 21.9 percent year over year through this September, though construction activity remained vigorous in a few key business travel markets, according to Smith Travel Research data released this week.

The U.S. pipeline stood at 3,362 projects, totaling 352,356 rooms, in September, according to STR. The report went on to say that tight financing and barriers to entry in major markets has kept the pipeline numbers down compared with 2009 levels.

New York is the single exception, with the most rooms under construction of any market in the United States.  In total, those rooms will boost New York’s hotel supply by 7.4 percent once they open.

Other cities with more rooms under construction than last year include Orlando, Boston and Denver. Las Vegas saw the largest decrease in rooms under construction, down 85 percent from September 2009 levels to 1,025 rooms.

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