More than a third (35%) of British business travellers say they seek the best located accommodation most when booking work trips, according to new research by shopping and fundraising website, Give as you Live.
That’s not the only priority, with a further quarter (24%) admitting that, even if it costs their company more, they’ll opt for the shortest train or flight time when booking business travel. The need for proximity and short travel times may come down to business travellers having little time to explore, with 40% admitting they have “a few hours if I’m lucky” of free time on a typical business trip.
Don’t take it personally
When comparing business with pleasure, it seems the boss’s dollar has an effect on choices. One in five (22%) business travellers said they purchase direct flights on business travel, but that they wouldn’t usually do so for personal travel.
Businesses travellers benefit from a better accommodation when travelling for work too, with 21% saying they purchase four or five-star hotel rooms on business travel, but wouldn’t on their own vacation.
Almost a third (32%) of business travellers have also confessed to purchasing meals or food on business travel that they wouldn’t if they had paid from their own pocket.
Greg Hallett, Managing Director, Give as you Live commented, “Business travel can be pricey and little extras can amount up to a hefty expense, but sometimes it’s necessary to pay for perks like a great location if there won’t be much time at the destination. Likewise, from an employer’s perspective, it’s sometimes worth paying for the little extras if it means you’ll keep your staff happy and engaged with the business. There are ways to keep costs reasonable though through sites such as Giveasyoulive.com, which allows business travellers to purchase from over 4,000 retailers, including travel retailers Hotels.com and Expedia, whilst also raising a free donation for the charity of their choice.”
These results come from a survey by Give as you Live of over 1,000 business travellers across the UK, who were asked about their business travel spending.
To date, Give as you Live has helped to raise over £7 million for UK charities. Every registered UK charity can benefit, and more than 4,000 online retailers are listed on the site, including Tesco, John Lewis, Selfridges, lastminute.com, ASOS.com and many more.
For more information about Give as you Live, please visit: www.giveasyoulive.com/business