If you're a former jet setter and haven't traveled for years, keep up the good work. Business travel declined in 2020 and 2021 but has not returned yet.
U.S. hotel business travel revenue is expected to be 23% below pre-pandemic levels in 2022, according to an April report conducted by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) in collaboration with hotel analytics group Calibri Lab.
It's not just hotel profits that are declining. A study by the U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit organization representing the travel industry, estimates that overall business travel spending in 2022 will be down 24% compared to his 2019 levels.
Business trip outlook
Some cities have been hit harder than others. AHLA has released its 2022 business travel revenue forecast, showing that four major U.S. cities (San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, and San Jose, California) are expected to see revenue declines of more than 50% compared to 2019. San Francisco is hurting. In particularly difficult conditions, revenues fell by almost 70%.
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Business travel revenue forecast for 2022 vs. 2019 (%) |
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When will business travel resume?
The U.S. Travel Association estimates that domestic business travel will not return to 2019 levels until 2024, with travel expected to remain at 76% of 2019 levels this year. The group predicts that international business travel may take longer to recover (until 2025), reaching only 72% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
In fact, there is more business travel happening now than in 2020 or 2021. And the business travel landscape in 2022 will be markedly different than it was before the pandemic. These days, fewer people attend conferences or in-person meetings with clients. But other types of business travel are also on the rise.
According to corporate travel agency TripActions, team trips, where multiple employees from the same team come together for off-sites or events, increased by more than 900% between January and May 2022.
TripActions data also shows that the number of travelers per company is increasing. Previously, only a few employees constantly traveled to sales meetings and conferences, but now more employees travel at least once for work. A TripActions spokesperson told NerdWallet that in 2019, engineers accounted for 9% of bookings, but now they account for 13%. On the other hand, the salesperson used to account for 51% of the reservations, but now he only accounts for 45%.
According to TripActions data, team bookings were up 7% in April 2022 compared to the pre-pandemic peak in 2019.
Changes in business travel: Good or bad for leisure travelers?
The decline in business travel (and its slow return) comes with benefits and drawbacks for leisure travelers.
Cons: Fewer opportunities to earn loyalty points or status.
Some people use points earned from business trips to pay for all or part of their personal travel.
Business travel can also create opportunities to earn elite status levels that are less likely to be achieved through leisure travel alone.
How to use this to your advantage: You may not be able to earn as many points or miles through your job, but many brands are making it easy to earn and maintain status.Please look closer See which loyalty program you belong to, you may be much closer to achieving elite status than you think. 1 night or if he is only for 2 nights or if the flight lacks status, pay for the mattress It might still be worth it.
Pros: Less competition for room availability from business travelers
For Tim Leffel, editor of online travel magazine Perceptive Travel, the lack of competition for seats among business travelers means more opportunities for deals.
“As a leisure traveler, I am very happy to see business travel slowly returning, as it means there are more opportunities to buy business class seats at affordable prices,” he said. Masu. “During the pandemic, I ended up purchasing multiple business class tickets between Mexico and the United States.”
On the other hand, airlines typically offer upgrades based on seniority of elite status. Frequent business travelers may have very high elite status, but even leisure travelers with low levels of elite status may eventually be given an upgrade to first class. .
How to use this to your advantage: Consider a credit card that offers automatic elite status. You probably won't be competing with as many business travelers as you normally would right now, even if you're not necessarily at the top tier. (And business travelers are more likely to get elite status than leisure travelers.) With fewer business travelers, you're more likely to get an elite status upgrade than in years past. Masu.
Cons: Less business travel may be the reason why prices are so high
Some indicators suggest that Business travel actually makes leisure travel cheaperOne reason is that more business travel means more routes are available overall. For leisure travelers, the availability of more routes reduces the need to stop for connections or board planes at undesired times. Business flights also generate more revenue for airlines because they tend to be booked at the last minute, include more flexible cancellation policies, or are in a higher class of service (or a combination of the three). There is a tendency.
How to use this to your advantage: Head to a destination that typically relies on business travel. Although San Francisco remains expensive, in 2022 it could be cheaper than in 2019, given the decline in business travel demand.
conclusion
Business travel is slowly returning, but not completely. It could take years for business travel to return. And even if it does, it probably won't be like it was before the pandemic.
Expect to see more company-sponsored trips to meet teammates. On the other hand, you might expect to see less participation in conferences and sales meetings. If you used to travel for business, you may find yourself traveling less than before the pandemic. But if you've never traveled on behalf of your company before, things may change, especially if your teammates are spread out across the country.
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