Company News

BUSINESS TRAVEL TRENDS FOR 2010

JENKINTOWN, PA, December 2009 - TLG is forecasting that business travel for 2010 is likely to be somewhat higher than the level of business travel booked during all of 2009. That’s in line with the recently released nationwide findings of Travel Leaders in which 67% of its business-focused travel agents throughout the United States have indicated business travel for 2010 will match or exceed their total bookings for last year.  Conducted November 30-December 18, 2009, Travel Leaders’ national business travel trends are based on responses from Travel Leaders business travel experts throughout the United States.

“Nationally, businesses tightened or even completely cut their travel spending in 2009 due to the toughest economic conditions most of us have seen in our lifetimes," noted Bonni Simon, President of TLG Travel.. “In 2010, as businesses everywhere are continuing to be smarter in the way they spend their discretionary travel dollars, we are seeing an increased level of travel on their part. We are also continuing to work with businesses to further manage every dollar spent on travel more effectively.”

Anticipated level of business travel in 2010
Simon said she expects business travel this year to increase by 5% over 2009 levels. Nationally, when Travel Leaders business travel experts were asked, “What have your business travel clients indicated in terms of either actual bookings and/or client feedback as to the amount of travel they anticipate for 2010 compared to 2009?” 38.3% said booking levels would remain on par with 2009, 28.6% said that booking levels would increase in 2010, and only 11.9% indicated that they expected a further decline.

First/Business Class vs. Coach
TLG business experts show a third (35.2%) of business agents who indicated that 11% or more of their bookings are in first or business class. Another 53.7% indicated that 1-10% of their clientele is flying “up front.”

Hotel accommodations
Simon said that business travelers are staying at the same level of hotel accomodations as they did in 2009. That compares with the national survey results showing the vast majority of Travel Leaders clients were booking the same category of hotel accommodations (71.8%), while 17.2% indicated that business travel clients were actually trading up.

Domestic travel
Over 90% of Travel Leaders nationally say their clients make reservations two weeks or less before their travel commences. 

International travel
Nationally, nearly 73% of Travel Leaders’ business travel experts said their clients make reservations 1-3 weeks before their travel date (the top response was two weeks at 31.3%, followed by three weeks at 22.5% and one week at 18.9%). 

Earlier this year, Travel Leaders Group was ranked number one among American travel management companies in Business Travel News’ Business Travel Survey 2009, an annual compendium. Business Travel News is considered “the voice of authority for corporate travel buyers throughout North America for over 20 years.” The rankings are based on the reported volume of airline transactions for 2008 verified by the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), which is the premier financial transaction processing and settlement corporation that facilitates the distribution of travel products and related information.

About The Leaders Group Travel Management
The Leaders Group Travel Management (TLG) custom tailors corporate travel programs for corporations with travel budgets from $100,000 to $10 million.  Clients include companies in industries such as pharmaceutical, medical, engineering, banking and financial, sports and entertainment, colleges and universities, construction, and real estate management.  With offices and affiliations throughout the United States, The Leaders Group presently serves over 500 corporate clients. 

To learn more about The Leaders Group Travel Management, visit www.theleadersgroup.com.