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- Category: Industry News
Business travel is surging forward, international travel is returning and despite new challenges, industry recovery is entrenched, according to the latest poll conducted by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). The association has been regularly surveying business travel buyers, suppliers, and other stakeholders since the pandemic began.
GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang
“We’re seeing significant gains in the return of business travel, especially over the past month or two. GBTA’s global data show more companies are allowing domestic and now also international employee travel. Booking levels and travel spending continue to return, and there’s high levels of optimism and employee willingness to travel for business. This comes even as the industry faces challenges beyond COVID, including rising fuel prices, inflation, supply chain disruption, and war in Ukraine,” said GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang.
Some key highlights from the poll:
- Double-Digit Increases, International Travel Jumps. Companies that report they at least sometimes allow non-essential domestic business travel has increased to 86 percent, up from 73 percent in GBTA’s February poll. International travel made a big jump with 74 percent reporting their company now allows it, up 26 points from February.
- Corporate Travel Bookings Return. A majority (88 percent) of suppliers and travel management companies (TMCs) report their bookings have increased in the prior month (compared to 45 percent in February). On average, travel buyers say their company’s travel bookings are currently at 56 percent of the pre-pandemic level, up 22 points from February.
- Spending Recovery Forecast. Respondents expect their company will be back to 59 percent of their pre-pandemic spend by the end of 2022 and will reach 79 percent by the end of 2023.
- Back in the Office, Back on the Road. Four in ten (41 percent) say their company’s return to the office directly correlates to the return to business travel. More than half (55 percent) say their company has implemented a permanent back-to-office policy. One-quarter (23 percent) report their employees will be full-time in-office, and over half (52 percent) will be hybrid with working days spent between office and home.
- Policies Changing With the Times. A majority (80 percent) of travel managers report the pandemic has driven changes to their company’s travel policies in some capacity, including fewer business trips overall (39 percent), more trip approval requirements (24 percent), and a re-evaluation of how employees travel for business (23 percent).
- Inflation’s Impact. Forty-one percent of companies report they have increased employee travel spending for air travel, 34 percent for hotel stays, 33 percent for car rentals, and 26 percent for ground transportation.
- Factoring in Sustainable Travel. The most frequently cited expectations include fewer trips per employee overall (54 percent) and longer, multi-purpose business trips (43 percent), and more rail and multi-modal options (34 percent).
- Masks on Planes: Who Should Decide. Global sentiment around mask mandates on commercial airplanes varies. Two in five (41 percent) say governments should require passengers to wear masks on airplanes, while a third (32 percent) feel each airline should be allowed to decide if passengers are required to wear masks. One in five (20 percent) feel governments should prohibit mask mandates (i.e., allow passengers to fly on any airline without masks). Note that the survey was conducted prior to the mask mandate being struck down in the US.
The full results of the survey can be viewed here.
Visit gbta.org for more information.
[05.02.22]
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Sun and sandy beaches sound pretty good right about now, are we right? How about an event that includes relaxation, industry networking, and helps you become a better leader and business owner? That’s exactly what we’re offering this June 12-14 as we mark the return of Executive Retreat—and what better place for our comeback than Miami? Our Retreat will be held at the world-class Loews Miami Beach Hotel, perfectly located in the heart of SoBe and steps from the Atlantic.
Limited to just 200 operators, the CD Executive Retreat offers focused and intimate networking, in addition to a blend of high-level educational content, local food and flavor, tours and competitive events, and of course, a bit of quality time by the pool or on the sand to create an amazing and revitalizing experience from beginning to end.
With a small group of dedicated attendees, you’ll have a chance to get to know every person who attends—and people come from all parts of the globe (who doesn’t love an international destination like Miami?). It’s the ideal environment for building lasting relationships.
Although we are still in the process of finalizing a few of the speakers, the topics and agenda are all but set. Each day of the event will include some sort of team-building component, including interactive roundtables via our Classroom Competition on Monday and our Beach Olympics on Tuesday (you can choose to flex your body or your mind!). During each of these sessions, you’ll have to opportunity to team up and solve problems with some of the industry’s best and brightest. Be prepared to use all your faculties and to get outside of your comfort zone, because you come to our Retreats to become stronger leaders.
In addition to friendly rivalries and networking opportunities, our Retreats offer laser-focused education. This year, we’ve set our sights on seminar/workshop topics that cover efficiency and profitability as well as recruiting chauffeurs and CDL drivers. But we’re especially jazzed about Mergers, Acquisitions, and Preparing for BIG Opportunities—an M&A super-session with Ken Lucci of Driving Transactions, Matt Daus of Windels Marx, and Tom Byrne of Kaptyn. This session is designed to will help operators of all sizes…
- Engage in financial and operational exercises and valuation techniques to prepare your company to explore buying, selling, merging or the big opportunity that may come your way
- Explain the M&A dance, in terms of the process by which deals are formed and progress, with a “how-to” approach to moving down the field
- Assess legal, financial, and tax due diligence risks and issues in the M&A process
- Get deals over the finish line by helping attendees to both identify and avoid pitfalls that could cause an otherwise good deal to fall apart
Significant attendee interaction and involvement with the panelists, and each other, in a workshop format, will help demystify the M&A process, and provide useful and practical information for attendees.
Don’t worry, we’re more than aware that the sunshine and fresh air will be calling you… this is South Beach, after all. In addition to an oceanfront opening dinner reception, we’ve built in plenty of time for kicking back by the pool or exploring the area. We’ll also be offering a super-cool Tour of Wynwood Walls—the iconic Graffiti Art Museum—on Monday afternoon before we embark on a spectacular dinner cruise on the yacht Biscayne Lady (with open bar, of course).
At press time, sponsorships are sold out except for one Platinum slot. Special thanks to all our sponsors—including Platinum Sponsor Lancer Insurance—for supporting this highly anticipated comeback event. Other sponsors include Gold: Century Business Solutions, Complete Fleet, Curtis Gabriel, Driving Transactions, Find Staff, MCI, Mundi Worldwide, PAX Chauffeur Training, and VIP Global; and Affiliate: ANB Trans, Buffalo Limousine, Ecko Transportation, Elite Coach, Gateway Global, LEADER Kansas City, Motev, North Point Global Transportation Services, Premier Transportation, Signature New Orleans, U.S. Sedan Service, and World Class Chauffeur Service.
Visit our registration page today to save $100 until 5/15. What’s more, we’ve secured an incredible room rate at the Loews of $289 per night—which is half-price for this stellar property. You can visit the Loews online by clicking here.
Visit cdexecutiveretreat.com for more information.
[04.27.22]
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Last Friday, April 22, marked the 52nd observation of Earth Day, which represents the birth of the modern environmental movement. The American Bus Association used the occasion to call attention to the critical role that the motorcoach industry plays in helping the environment.
Calling them the “unsung heroes of transportation,” ABA noted that buses are among the greenest forms of transportation by taking up to 50 individual vehicles off the road. Buses shuttle millions across the country to work and school, the airport, running errands, for vacation, senior and low-income transportation, military movement, and in times of crisis like natural disasters. Buses are even being used by major airlines to help transport passengers between airports amid a pilot shortage. And the slow recovery of the industry has had a noticeable impact across the nation as state and local agencies struggle to find bus companies to manage fixed routes and other large group moves.
Bus and motorcoach manufacturers have greatly improved the gas-guzzling and exhaust-choking image of buses from yesteryear with lighter, more fuel-efficient offerings (even some electric!) that are also stylish and, dare we say, luxurious. Now it’s time to banish that outdated “public city bus” image from the minds of your traveling passengers who might be surprised to learn how economical and comfortable bus travel can be for their next trip.
According to a 2019 report produced by the American Bus Association Foundation, “motorcoaches use the least amount of energy and produce the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per passenger mile compared with cars, van pools, heavy rail, intercity rail, commuter rail, domestic air travel, trolley bus, light rail, ferry boat, and demand service vehicles. In the pre-pandemic era, the private motorcoach industry moved nearly 600 million passengers annually utilizing 36,000 motorcoaches.”
With gas prices hovering over $4 per gallon on average in most parts of the country, finding alternatives to cars has become a necessity for many. The release cited a study by Longwoods International that cited rising gas prices and inflation as the barrier to travel for many Americans over COVID, with two-thirds indicating that fuel prices will impact their travel decisions in the next six month (and beyond).
As chauffeured transportation continues to get back on its feet, the importance of buses cannot be overstated in the recovery and overall economy. With fewer buses, drivers, and companies to go around, the demand has never been greater and more important.
To read the rest of the press release, click here.
[04.26.22]