Alexandria, VA - Business travelers remain optimistic and sentiment remains strong despite economic headwinds in some parts of the world. Senior-level business travelers including senior/executive management (74 percent) and directors (77 percent) agree the health of the economy is excellent, according to the second wave of research out today from the GBTA Business Traveler Sentiment Index™ in partnership with RoomIt by CWT™, the hotel distribution division of CWT.

Global business traveler sentiment concerning trip experiences improved modestly over last quarter, growing 0.4 points. Growth is highest among U.S. travelers which grew 5.7 points from last quarter. This suggests growing satisfaction with the overall travel experience. Most global travelers (68 percent) say they would travel more often if given the options.

Technology is a key factor influencing business travel sentiment. The study confirms the importance of technology and shows that it also is a key area of differentiation when travelers assess their satisfaction with their business travel.

"Establishing a better traveler experience sets the foundation for increasing compliance and savings in hotel programs," said Peggy Studer, RoomIt by CWT vice president of marketing. "Having innovative and modern technology that serves travelers relevant search results or automatically rebooks lower room rates streamlines finding and booking the right room, keeping travelers not only more productive, but overall happier."

"With advances in travel-specific technology, travelers are more productive and willing to travel even more than they currently do" said Scott Solombrino, GBTA COO and executive director. "This bodes well for our industry and the global economy."

Hotel Technology

Global business travelers widely use in-room hotel internet with 80 percent saying they spend an average of at least one hour per day using in-room Internet to do work, while 51 percent spent at least two hours per day using it to work. Two in five business travelers (41 percent) accessed the Internet using their own hotspot or a hotspot provided by their companies—this was especially common in Asia Pacific.

Business travelers are interested in a variety of different innovations from hotels both currently available as well as future hotel technology innovations:

— Source: GBTA— Source: GBTA
— Source: GBTA

About the Index:

The GBTA Business Travel Sentiment Index™ in Partnership with RoomIt by CWT is a proprietary, data-centered barometer based on business travelers' attitudes toward four key components of business-related travel:

  • Traveler Experience (i.e., attitudes toward general trip experience from booking to air travel and hotel stays to expense reporting)
  • Trip Success and Meeting Business Objectives (i.e., attitudes toward aspects of the business trip that lead to improved trip success)
  • Travel Management Policy Friction (i.e., attitudes toward company travel policy management, flexibility and comprehension)
  • Technology for Business Travel (i.e., opinions about technology's impact on business travel)

Each component is tracked to see how it changes over time and a new value is calculated based on the percentage change. The November 2019 report is the second wave of this research, which was first conducted in the second quarter of 2019 against an index of 100 in each category.

More Information

To learn more, download an infographic here with key highlights from the research. The report, GBTA Business Traveler Sentiment Index™, is available exclusively to GBTA members on the GBTA Hub and may also be downloaded from RoomIt by CWT's website.

Methodology

An online survey was conducted among 2,035 business travelers around the globe who are employed full-or-part-time and have taken three or more business trips in the past twelve months. Respondents include 496 from the United States, 504 from Europe, 505 from Asia-Pacific and 530 from Latin America. The survey fielded between August 21 and September 19, 2019.

About RoomIt by CWT

RoomIt by CWT™ is the hotel distribution division of CWT. Every day we match travelers with the right room at the right rate, and every minute we book over 30 hotel rooms. We also provide travelers with the amenities and loyalty programs they want, while helping organizations control their budget and improve travel oversight.

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About CWT

CWT is a Business-to-Business-for-Employees (B2B4E) travel management platform. Companies and governments rely on us to keep their people connected—anywhere, anytime, anyhow—and across six continents, we provide their employees with innovative technology and an efficient, safe and secure travel experience. Every single day, we look after enough travelers to fill more than 100,000 hotel rooms, while our meetings and events division handles more than 100 events every 24 hours.

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About GBTA

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premiere business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area and serving stakeholders across six continents. GBTA and its 8,000+ members represent and advocate for the $1.48 trillion global travel business and meetings industry. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. For more information visit gbta.org.

About the GBTA Foundation

The mission of the GBTA Foundation, the US 501c3 charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association, is to help the global business travel industry create a positive impact and better future for people and the planet. The GBTA Foundation focuses on the strategy and execution of GBTA's global sustainability programs, supporting initiatives related to climate action; diversity, equity and inclusion; and other talent-related topics via education, research and advocacy. For more information visit gbtafoundation.org.

Meghan Henning
+1 571 309 3961
GBTA