Wotif annual business survey
The results from Wotif.com’s (www.wotif.com) annual business travel survey are in, and while, ultimately, business travellers may not have a choice about when, where and how often they travel, the results indicated that they clearly have preferences for each.Â
Sydney - Love it or hate it. Australia’s largest city polarised the nation, with most respondents listing Sydney as either their favourite (32%) or least favourite (28%) destination for business trips.Â
Sitting behind Sydney as least favourite business travel destinations, were Adelaide and thenation’s capital, Canberra, who shared 15% of the votes each. Melbourne was well down thepolls with only 12% of respondents disliking it as a destination for doing business.Wotif.com Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Wood, commented: “Despite these findings, Sydneycontinues to be Wotif.com’s top-selling destination.”Â
Melbourne was clearly the nation’s favourite destination for business travellers, with 40% of respondents listing the Victorian capital city as their preferred destination. With 13% of the votes, Brisbane rounded out the top three. When surveyed about their preference for warmer climates, respondents also demonstrated a clear preference for warmer climates, with Queensland’s Cairns, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast favoured ahead of other regional destinations with cooler climates.Â
Favourite destinations for business travel
1. Melbourne
2. Sydney
3. Brisbane
4. Perth
5. Adelaide
6. Darwin
7. Hobart
8. CanberraÂ
Least favourite destinations for business travel
1. Sydney
2. Adelaide
3. Canberra
4. Melbourne
5. Brisbane
6. Perth
7. Darwin
8. HobartÂ
Business is moving online. Increasingly, business travellers are arranging their trips online with respondents signalling that price, simple navigation and the ability to make secure online payments were the driving factors for this continuing trend. Respondents said convenience, the ability to compare rates at a glance and instant confirmation capabilities were important features of a good on-line accommodation site.Â
Wotif.com Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Wood, commented: “A large proportion of business travel is organised at the eleventh-hour, making online accommodation bookings the easiest and cheapest option for business travellers.”Â
“Increasingly, we’re finding that companies, with corporate travel managers encourage their employers to check for a cheaper alternative online, prior to booking their accommodation,” commented Wood.Â
In search of a good night’s sleep.Â
Over two-thirds (67%) of respondents listed a comfortable bed as the most important aspect of their business trip, with location, the inclusion of breakfast, free parking and internet access in rooms, the next most important factors. At the other end of the scale, well-equipped business centres and complimentary gifts on arrival, e.g. wine or massages, were of little interest to the business travellers surveyed by Wotif.com.Â
Most important aspect of business travellers’ accommodationÂ
1. Comfortable bed
2. Location close to their meeting
3. Breakfast included
4. Internet access in rooms
5. Free parking
6. Restaurant, bar or lounge facilities onsite
7. Modern décor
8. 24-hour check in
9. Room service
10. Fitness centreÂ
Mixing business with pleasure.Â
While 70% of respondents travelled either alone or with a business partner on trips, 50% admitted they try to incorporate a leisure component into each business trip, with many preferring to schedule meetings near the weekend. Further adding to this theme, 30% of respondents said they travelled with their partner or family on all business trips.Â
Other business traveller factsÂ
- Shorter, more frequent trips are clearly the nation’s favourite, with the average business person travelling five to six times each year.
- Although 4 and 4 ½ star hotels remain the most popular type of accommodation for business travel.
- 82% of accommodation bookings occur within four weeks of travel, with more than 50% of bookings being made less than two weeks before the date of travel.
- Fully prepaid accommodation was the preferred methods of payment for business travellers.
The Business Travellers Survey was conducted online in October 2006. The 2,241 respondents, the majority of whom were managers or directors, came from an  ndependent list that the company purchased. Respondents included users and non-users of Wotif.com.Â
About Wotif.com
Wotif.com sells accommodation online in over 40 countries. Our great rates, broad accommodation range, easy-to-use site and 24/7 Customer Service Centre have
made us the most popular way for business and leisure travellers in Australia and New Zealand to book accommodation online. Every month our site attracts almost 2.5 million user sessions, with customers making over 160,000 bookings through our 28-day booking window.Â
We launched in Brisbane, Australia, in March 2000 and now have offices in Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom to support our growing international presence. Wotif.com is listed on the ASX, trading under the code WTF.
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