More money and time are spent on project-based business trips than other business trips, according to a study conducted by the Global Business Travel Association and Rockport Analytics and sponsored by IHG. In 2017, the average that U.S.-based business travelers spent per project-based business trip was $679 and 5.5 days, compared to the $533 and 3.8 days spent on other business trips.
Rockport defined project-based business travel as having a start and end date and lasting at least four consecutive nights or consisting of multiple stays for the same project. Spend encompasses lodging, airfare, ground transportation, food and beverage, entertainment and shopping. GBTA surveyed 1,705 U.S.-based business travelers between Nov. 10 and Dec. 11, 2017.
Preferences & Attitudes Toward Lodging
Project-based travelers allocated 35 percent of their trip budgets toward lodging, compared with 31 percent for other business travelers. Project-based business travelers are less likely than others to book directly with hotels; 30 percent of them do, compared with 36 percent of other business travelers.
When it comes to choosing a hotel property, 62 percent of project-based travelers cited location as a big factor, followed by room rate at 36 percent and loyalty rewards at 34 percent. The three amenities project-based travelers consider most are Wi-Fi access, at 65 percent; breakfast being included in their room rate, at 55 percent; and additional loyalty points, at 36 percent.
Project-based travelers are slightly more likely than others to stay at traditional hotels: 78 percent compared with 76 percent. However, 60 percent of project-based business travelers are very satisfied with peer-to-peer lodging, while only 50 percent are very satisfied with traditional hotels.