I- Hotels’ Adaptation to Business Travelers of Today The hospitality industry provides business travelers with more than an experience; hotels contribute to the smooth progress of their stay, which is directly linked to their business. This is the reason why it is essential for hotels to understand the customer’s behavior before, during and after their stay and satisfy them the most. These last two years, two events contributed to a change in the customers’ attitude: the new technologies with the smartphone influence especially on social media, and the global economic crisis, which imposed budget limits.
A- Business Travelers Attitude with Regards to Hotels in the Aftermath of the Economic Crisis 1- Business Travelers Hotel Booking Process Business and leisure customers travel differently and even book in a different way according to the purpose of their trip. This is why hotels have to know who their customers are, where to reach them and how to entice them, especially in a recession period. As far as business travelers are concerned, in terms of booking they first rely on their companies’ recommendations (leisure travelers first tend to use recommendations made by friends and family). According to a study made by Cornell University31 on 2830 business travelers in December 2010, they found that approximately 40% of travelers select the hotel recommended by their company. In general, it is important to point out that even in a period of economic stability, companies tend to follow procedures in order to manage their budget better. However, since the end of the economic crisis, companies have been making profit again, and a large number of business travelers claimed that their companies still enforce travel policies. At the time of the survey made by Deloitte32 in November 2010 on 1001 business travelers, 59% of the respondents revealed that their company was taking strict procedures such as: - Pre-trip approvals: 50% had to have their choice of hotel, flight, etc. validated by the company before making a reservation - Early booking accommodation: 42% had to book their hotel room in advance - Budget limits: one third of the respondents reported dollar limits on accommodations The economic crisis made companies realize that business travels were accessible at lower costs. However, in 2011, business travelers seem to spend much more for flight and food than during the economic crisis. According to the Embassy
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http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-15359.html, How Travelers Use Online and Social Media Channels to Make Hotel-choice Decisions, Cornell Hospitality Report, Vol. 10, No. 18, December 2010 32 http://www.gadling.com/2010/11/11/more-business-travel-in-2011-80-to-hit-the-road-more/, Surveys, November 11th, 2010
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