Electronic advancements should have reduced business travel, but that is evidently not the case, it seems. Business travellers, or ?road warriors?, made more than 300 million trips last year, and over six million of them were international. Some 1.6 million of these road warriors flew over 50,000 miles. That’s two full work weeks spent just in the air.
Not only are these trips more frequent and further afield than ever, the stays are also shorter. Once a trip abroad was a perk, a nice break from the workaday world, where there was time to enjoy some leisurely meals with the hosts or clients and to explore trendy bars and clubs.
Now such trips are replaced by what seem like all-day marathons. Witness Bob Seelert, chief executive of Cordiant PLX, a London-based advertising conglomerate, who shuttles between New York and London more than once a month, sometimes for less than 36 hours, door to door. His worst trip ? London to New York to Philadelphia to New York to London to New York in 48 hours.
A little comfort, please
It’s no surprise then that what the weary warrior, after his whirlwind journeys across the globe, now values most is some creature comforts. Companies are now loosening up the reins they tightened at the start of the decade ? 53 per cent of companies in a recent survey allow their employees to travel business class on international flights, versus 38 per cent in 1992.
Full-sized and mid-sized cars are another perk provided as the corporate purse strings relax. Hotels on approved lists are no longer just the low-rent ones, but on the pricier side. Warriors get to stay in nicer lodging and have learned the art of asking for better rooms, adding not only to their plush comfort during the stay but going a long way to ensure a good night’s sleep.
How about some personal time?
Another wish for the traveller on the road is privacy or personal time. While some spent warriors relax with room service, others will take themselves ? alone ? to one of the town’s nicest restaurants. Spouses are joining the warriors on the road and enjoying a relatively cheap vacation.
Cars and hotels are part of the business expense, so the spouse pays for his or her ticket and coasts with the rest. This year, more than 41 million business trips will include children, up over 50 per cent from 1990.
All this business travel has led to a now familiar phenomenon: ?dwell time?. This is time spent in the airport waiting, and we have all seen it increase in recent years as airport congestion increases. Businesses, from massage bars to putting greens, to meditation rooms, are springing up all over airports in an attempt to cushion the wait and add to travellers’ convenience and comfort.
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