Flight delays most irritating aspect of business travel

A third of people take up to three business trips a year, with 10% travelling ten or more times for work, according to a new survey.

The poll of more than 2,100 travellers by travel information and advice domain TripAdvisor found that 34% planned between one and three trips away on business this year while almost 10% said they would travel ten or more times.

The most irritating aspect of business travel according to 48% is flight delays and cancellations. A child behind kicking the seat on an aircraft was nominated most annoying type of leisure traveller by 55% of business travellers.

Twelve percent acknowledge having visited a strip club while on a business trip.  Forty-six percent of travellers are likely to tip more generously when they know it is a reimbursable business expense.

Forty-eight percent said that business travel is something they “don’t mind too much,” while 32% said they find it to be “enjoyable.”

When asked what they like about business travel, 35% said the most appealing part of travelling for work is seeing new places.  Other favourite business travel perks were “luxury sheets and fancy bath products”.

Up to half of those surveyed said they sometimes fly into secondary airports, just for the convenience when travelling for work.

Almost 70% said they regularly stay at the same hotel chain when on business trips, with Marriott nominated as the top hotel choice. Amongst British travellers Marriott and Holiday Inn were the top choices.

The most important feature when selecting a business hotel is its location and proximity to meetings or the airport (32%), followed closely by having a high-speed internet connection (30%).

TripAdvisor European communications manager Ian Rumgay said: “While hotel loyalty programmes may pay dividends, there is no doubt that a satisfied business traveller can be the most potent sales tool of all.

“The internet has replaced the traditional hotel comment card and reviews posted on the web can reach many thousands or more of like-minded travellers.

“And business travellers are much more likely to share their experiences than their leisure counterparts. It is interesting to note that most of the TripAdvisor reviews for the top business travel brands are positive, and that the number of reviews for these top business brands easily exceeds the average for all hotels.”

Top five cities for business travellers:

  1 New York City

  2 Chicago

  3 London

  4 San Francisco

  5 Washington, D.C.

Top five most popular hotel chains for business travellers:

  1 Marriott

  2 Hilton

  3 Holiday Inn

  4 Sheraton

  5 Best Western

Report by Phil Davies