TravelAdvisory
Consulting® AUGUST 2018 23
Overall,
205
consultants
took our annual
Best Places
to Stay
survey in the
Spring of 2018.
<$10M
$10M to $50M
$50M to $250M
$250M to $1B
$1B to $10B
>$10B
Financial Services
Health Care
Energy
High Tech
Manufacturing
Public Sector
Retail
Other
<100 consultants
101 to 1,000 consultants
> 10,001 consultants
FIRM
SIZE
FIRM
REVENUE
INDUSTRY
FOCUS
WHO
TOOK THE SURVEY?
21%
18%
24%
15%
17%
7%
8%
6%
19%
21%
20%
18%
13%
18%
20%
16%
20%
14%
18%
CEO/Managing Director
Director/Senior Partner
Partner/Vice President
Manager/Senior Manager
Consultant
ty programs, Marriott, once again,
takes the top spot with Hilton edging Starwood for the second spot.
Those results were unchanged
from last year’s survey. And when
it comes to Wi-Fi, no one wants to
pay for it anymore with a whopping
98 percent expecting Wi-Fi to be
free. Typically, it is—especially for
a brand’s loyalty club members.
Staying a little bit longer? When
the stay is extended—that is travel
lasting a few consecutive weeks or
more—the quality of accommodations is the first priority with price
being second. Meanwhile, loyalty
programs, location and company
travel policy round out the Top
5. When it comes to specific extended stay brands Marriott finished first overall in the survey,
while Starwood, Hilton, Oak-wood Worldwide and BridgeStreet
rounded out the top five.
I BELIEVE I CAN FLY
A vast majority of the trips consultants take begin and end at the
airport. And let’s face it: There’s
no shortage of horror stories—
consultants shared plenty in the
open-ended questions on the survey—and bad press about airlines
and passengers’ behavior.
So, when it comes to air travel,
which carriers do the best job and
which do consultants prefer? Well,
for starters, it would be helpful if
a consultant had some steady clients in Alaska as flying Alaska Air
brought about the most satisfaction
from consultants. Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic
and Delta round out the Top 5
And in terms of choosing that
airline, Price is—far and away—the
top consideration for consultants
with 53 percent saying it is the top
priority. Corporate travel policy is
a pretty distant second, followed by
change fees. Baggage fees and fuel
surcharges, which seem to keep
being added but never taken away,
round out the Top 5, although the
bottom two barely even register.
BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CAR
While an automobile isn’t always
necessary, they are often a big part
of the travel experience. This year,
National repeats in the No. 1 spot
while Hertz, Avis, Enterprise and
Dollar round out the Top 5.
And when it comes to choosing
the right car, Price is the biggest
indicator at 32 percent, while Ease
of Check-In, Check-Out comes in
a close second at 29 percent. This
year, Car Availability leapfrogs
Corporate Travel Policy in terms of
importance. Meanwhile, those annoying fuel surcharges aren’t keeping anyone awake at night.
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