Business Travelers Less Satisfied with How Suppliers Handle Complaints

Amid the pandemic, business travelers have issued more complaints toward airlines, hotels and car rental companies, according to a new American Customer Satisfaction Index Report. In addition, business travelers have become less satisfied with how airlines and hotels handle their complaints.

ACSI interviewed 7,898 travelers between April 1, 2020 and March 28, 2021. About 33 percent of the respondents traveled for business and 67 percent traveled for leisure. Respondents were asked to evaluate their experiences with the largest suppliers (in terms of market share) in air, hotel and car rental. ACSI modeled the data to estimate customer satisfaction on an ascending scale from 1 to 100 and compared responses to those collected for the previous survey conducted from April 2019 to March 2020.

Not only are business traveler complaining to their airlines more, they have become less satisfied with how airlines have handled their concerns. The percentage of business travelers who complained to their airline rose from 32 percent in 2020 to 38 percent in 2021. Traveler satisfaction toward airlines among the business traveler cohort that complained to airlines dropped from 79 to 71 out of 100. ACSI attributed the drop to the change in service business travelers were accustomed before the pandemic. "Business travel has fallen dramatically during the coronavirus crisis, with many companies suspending travel," the report said. "More than ever, business travel is necessity rather than a choice, and those that travel may be missing the level of service they are used to."

Amid the pandemic, business travelers have become less satisfied with how hotels have handled their complaints. Between 2020 and 2021, the share of business travelers who have complained to hotels rose from 26 percent to 32 percent. Satisfaction toward how hotels handled their complaints dropped from 80 to 74 out of 100. 

Finally, more business travelers issued a complaint to their car rental companies amid the pandemic, 46 percent compared to 40 percent. Their satisfaction, however, stayed constant at 75 out of 100.