Business Travelers Chained to Favorite Hotels

Nearly 70% are Brand Loyal, According to TripAdvisor Survey

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. October 14, 2008

SEPTEMBER 26, 2006. According to a recent TripAdvisor(TM) survey of more than 2,100 travelers from around the world, 68 percent of travelers regularly stay at the same hotel chain when on business trips. Marriott was selected as the top hotel choice when traveling for work. Thirty-four percent of respondents plan to take one to three business trips this year, and nearly ten percent will take ten or more trips for work this year.

Business Travel Benefits

Forty-eight percent of respondents consider business travel something they "don't mind too much," while 32 percent said they find business travel to be "enjoyable." The most appealing part of traveling for work, according to respondents, is seeing new places (35 percent). In terms of the favorite luxuries of business travel, 34 percent cited the "luxury sheets and fancy bath products" while 22 percent said it was having a room to themselves. The most important hotel feature when traveling on business is a hotel's location and proximity to meetings or the airport (32 percent), followed closely by having a high-speed internet connection (30 percent).

Business Travel Beefs

Missing the significant other and family was the least favorite part of business travel, according to respondents. Not surprisingly, the most irritating aspect of business travel, according to 48 percent of respondents is flight delays and cancellations. The most annoying type of leisure traveler is the child sitting behind you who kicks your seat, according to 55 percent of business travelers.

Other Business Travel Tidbits

Forty-six percent of travelers are likely to tip more generously when they know it is a reimbursable business expense. Almost half of those surveyed (48 percent) said they sometimes fly into secondary airports, just for the convenience when traveling for work. Twelve percent of respondents acknowledge having visited a strip club while on a business trip.

"Happy travelers beget happy travelers. The fact that business travelers are loyal to hotels that meet and exceed their expectations speaks to the same power of shared experiences that send visitors back to their favorite brands and to TripAdvisor to write and read reviews," said Michele Perry, director of communications for TripAdvisor(TM). "Consistent with our survey results, the vast majority of TripAdvisor reviews for the top business travel brands are positive, and the number of reviews for these top business brands exceeds the average for all hotels."

Top Five Cities for Business Travelers * New York City * Chicago * London * San Francisco * Washington, D.C. Top Five Most Popular Hotel Chains for Business Travelers * Marriott * Hilton * Holiday Inn * Sheraton * Best Western About TripAdvisor LLC

TripAdvisor.com(TM) is the largest travel community in the world, with more than 5 million unbiased reviews and opinions, covering 220,000+ hotels and attractions. With more than 20 million unique monthly visitors worldwide (source: comScore Media Metrix, July 2006), TripAdvisor(TM) features real advice from real travelers and easy access to major online travel sites, including Expedia.com(R), Orbitz, Hotels.com(R) and American Airlines, for great deals. TripAdvisor(TM), which operates sites in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/) and in the U.K.

(http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/) provides travel suppliers a graphical advertising and cost-per-click marketing platform. Winner of dozens of awards, including PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites and Forbes Best of the Web, TripAdvisor(TM) is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. .

"TripAdvisor" and "TripAdvisor.com" are trademarks or registered trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries of TripAdvisor LLC. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.