This was one of the findings of the Accor Asia Pacific Business Traveller Survey 2011, in which more than 10,000 Asia Pacific-based business travellers were surveyed online about their travel habits. The survey was conducted with Cimigo, and targeted Accor A Club members. 

Having the client book the hotel is least likely to happen in Australia (6%) and New Zealand (6%), compared with the total market (14%).

Convenience is the key driver for booking directly online (67%), closely followed by the expectation/possibility of special offers (63%) and the peace of mind of instant confirmation (62%) of the room booking.

Business travellers also expect that the hotel branded website will offer the most competitive rates (49%), slightly ahead of independent online travel websites (43%). This is especially true for business travellers from India (62%) and Indonesia (56%).

Reasons for choice of hotel

The main reason for choosing the actual hotel stayed at was the convenience of its location (56%), the number one driver across all of the key markets in the survey. Previous experience with the actual hotel or the brand behind it (as well as competitive pricing) also factored strongly.

The survey also found that business travellers in the region are ‘environmentally aware’ when choosing a hotel: 61% would choose a hotel simply because it is more environmentally conscious, and 59% would pay extra to stay in a hotel with a superior environmental commitment to a similar standard hotel in the same location.

For those willing to pay more, the average they would be prepared to increase was 10% (across all markets). Business travellers from China were most likely to be described as driven by environmental concerns, with 91%
willing to pay extra, followed by travellers from Indonesia and Thailand (77% and 70% respectively).

Respondents from Australia (38%) and New Zealand (37%) were least likely, though in both of these markets, female business travellers were more environmentally driven then the men.

Travellers from China and Indonesia have lowest budgets

Allocated budget for business travel hotel accommodation averages at US$121 per night, with some variances across the region. Business travellers from New Zealand (39%) and Australia (36%) are most likely to have ‘no defined budget’ for their accommodation, compared to the total base (26%) and their average spend on hotel accommodation is also higher than average (US$131 and US$158 respectively).

The lowest budgets for business travel accommodation are in Indonesia (US$92) and China (US$99).

However, across the region, hotel accommodation budget can be increased in special circumstances, such as travelling with someone more senior (22%), travelling with clients (23%) or travelling long-haul (28%). The incidence of an increase in budget for travelling with seniors and/or clients is highest for business travellers from China (38% and 30% respectively).

More males than females, Chinese road warriors pounding the road

The survey also found that across the region, business travellers took an average of 6.3 business trips in the first 6 months of 2011. Male business travellers (7.0 trips) were on the road more frequently than females (4.5 trips) and differences were also observed by job title/grade, with Directors and C-Level (i.e. CEO, COO, CFO etc.) travelling most frequently (8.0 and 7.3 trips respectively).

The average number of trips also differed by country of residence, with Chinese (8.7), Indian (7.3) and Singaporean (7.1) respondents taking the highest number of trips on average, and Thais (5.0), Australians (5.2) and New Zealanders (5.2) taking the fewest number.

The average number of trips for Chinese respondents was boosted by a significant segment of ‘road warriors’ – 15% took 20+ business trips in the first 6 months of the year.

The majority of business travel was international, though domestic travel was also included in the survey. The larger the geographical size of the country, the higher the incidence of ‘domestic only’ business travel: Australia (34%), New Zealand (26%) and China (25%) topping this list.

Singapore and Hong Kong (both 38%) were the destinations most frequently travelled to for business and appeared in the “Top 3” destinations for travellers from all the key markets in the survey.

Looking to the remainder of the year, the average number of trips planned was similar to the average number taken, with male and more senior job titles again expecting to travel most frequently.

The full report is available here.