Business guests in 2009 and goals for 2010

[JBloggs]

Did you have more business guests in 2009, the same or less, compared to the year previous? What are you anticipating this year? Any goals to obtain more business travelers this year?

 

[Morticia]

We had more biz guests (as in different guests here on biz) than prior years. I just noticed that our reviews show that those biz guests are leaving reviews and marking themselves as biz travel rather than solo travel.
I think having a dedicated webpage for biz travelers is something to work on this year.

 

[egoodell]

We don't get them.
RIki

 

[wendydk]

We don't get them.
RIki.

We don't get them.
RIki

With the exception of one lady several times a year, we don't either.

 

[Samster]

We definitely had more thanks to having direct billing set up with our local university. I would definitely recommend exploring that option with local institutions of higher learning, corporate offices, even local government. After a few guests got the word back to some of the key people at the university, we started getting most if not all of their bookings. Everything is taken care of for the department heads and other folks since I just send the statement to the university finance department and they then cut me a check. There's a couple of weeks lag time but I save any credit card fees, too.
Whatever you can do to make it easier for whoever is making travel arrangements, the guest, and the billing person will make you a hit!

 

[JBloggs]

from the google article posted under resources:
"The study also found that slightly more travelers use general search engines, instead of travel search sites or online travel agencies, when planning trips. 64% of consumers surveyed use search engines for personal travel and 56% for business travel. The travel sites also fared well, but don’t have quite the traffic, with 52% using them for personal travel and 55% for business travel. Talking hotel specifics, 81% of business travelers depend on the search engines, compared to 67% of leisure travelers. Does your Website speak to the needs of business travelers? Does it emphasize the amenities and local attractions that leisure travelers seek?"
from article here

 

[Kesous]

from the google article posted under resources:
"The study also found that slightly more travelers use general search engines, instead of travel search sites or online travel agencies, when planning trips. 64% of consumers surveyed use search engines for personal travel and 56% for business travel. The travel sites also fared well, but don’t have quite the traffic, with 52% using them for personal travel and 55% for business travel. Talking hotel specifics, 81% of business travelers depend on the search engines, compared to 67% of leisure travelers. Does your Website speak to the needs of business travelers? Does it emphasize the amenities and local attractions that leisure travelers seek?"
from article here.

Joey, thanks for posting that and the link to the article. The article was very informative, and knowing about that website and the newsletter is helpful as well.

Kesous