Editor’s note: Business Travel, Vacation Travel and Unemployment on the upswing. Good reason to question “surveys.” 

Business travel on rise as economy rebounds
Dayton Business Journal
by Laura Englehart, DBJ Staff Reporter
Sunday, July 24, 2011 

Business travel, once a perk or headache of many an executive, slowed in recent years by a flattened economy and better teleconferencing equipment. But times are changing and the business community is again packing overnight bags and booking flights and hotels.

With economic winds gathering speed, business travel has increased 6.3 percent this year. 

In the first half of 2011, an estimated $62.2 billion was spent on business travel nationwide. By year’s end, total spending is expected at 6.9 percent better than 2010, according to a recent Global Business Travel Association Survey. 

Click here for a slideshow of top business-travel apps. 

International business travel has increased more than domestic business travel, but any travel increases are good news, said Tina Hamdan, business development manager for The Travel Authority in Springboro. 

“Business travel is a leading indicator of job growth, so it is encouraging to see overall business travel on the increase,” Hamdan said. 

Dayton Airport traffic climbed in May with American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp.driving the gains by posting a nearly 20 percent increase. 

Meanwhile Dayton hotels have begun to notice the increase. 

The Dayton Crowne Plaza Hotel has experienced a modest increase in business travelers, said General Manager Michael Cooney. 

“We’re very happy to see it returning. Dayton, I think, has lagged behind some of the larger cities and that’s to be expected, but we’re happy to see it returning,” Cooney said. 

Dayton has not detected the same increase as larger metropolises, but Wright-Patterson Air Force Base kept business travel steadier than in other locations. Lockheed Martin Corp. , Boeing Co. and other defense contractors have stayed constant customers, Cooney said. 

Marriott International Inc. , which has numerous Dayton-area hotels, said its revenue per room rose 7.7 percent in the second quarter and turned a $135 million profit. 

And Intercontinental Hotels Group saw revenue climb 9 percent in the first quarter and revenue per room increase nearly 7 percent. 

The survey contends strong corporate profits, management sentiment, economic growth in emerging countries and rising travel prices continue to drive business travel spending. 

Many national employers have announced significant expansions, hiring or acquisitions, which may signal a reviving economy and lead to more travelers. 

General Motors is spending several billions dollars in U.S. plant expansions and hiring. Amazon.com Inc. said it plans to hire 17,000 people this year. CSX Corp. and Google Inc. also are hiring thousands this year. 

But Cooney isn’t singing hallelujah chords, yet. To combat the recession, his hotel and others in the region slashed room rental prices to attract visitors and undercut competition. 

“We’re still well below 2008 levels in terms of pricing,” Cooney said. “(Hotels) tried to slash prices to increase occupancy, which never ends up working like they want, and now they’re trying to regain the losses in rates that they had.” 

With travel price increases, companies spent 1.4 percent more on trips in 2010 than in 2009. The GBTA survey estimates that with price hikes considered, the amount companies spend on trips in 2011 will remain relatively flat. That means companies will keep sending their travelers on the road at a similar pace to 2010, but they will pay more per trip, the study says. 

And while many have noted a rise in business travel, it is not yet a boom, a local travel agent said. 

Tony Huffman, president of Dayton-based Huffman Travel Ltd., said business travel through his agency has started to rebound, but at a snail’s pace. The travel agency caters to vacationers and small and mid-size businesses. 

“Business travel is rebounding somewhat but it’s very slow, compared to vacation travel, which is back to normal levels,” Huffman said. 

Read it with links at Dayton Business Journal