Business Travel Poised for Growth in 2016 According to Latest "Travel Leaders Group" Survey

Increase in delayed flights is growing concern among business travelers; Numbers expand substantially among business travelers approved for TSA Precheck™

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Travel Leaders Group

Dec 22, 2015, 10:51 ET

PLYMOUTH, Minn., Dec. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Results from Travel Leaders Group's authoritative 2016 Business Travel Trends Survey indicate overall growth within the marketplace, along with substantial increases among those business travel clients who now enjoy expedited passage through airport security with TSA Precheck™ approval. A plurality (40.2%) of business-focused travel agents expects their 2016 corporate travel bookings to remain on par with 2015, with nearly as many (36.6%) expecting their bookings to increase year-over-year. By a wide margin, the top concern clients are expressing to agents is the proliferation of "delayed flights" – directly reflecting this year's increased weather disruptions.

Conducted November 17-December 8, 2015, these business travel trends are based on responses from 423 Travel Leaders Group travel agent experts throughout the United States whose portfolio consists of 50% or more business travel clients.

"Almost in spite of headlines forecasting a global recession, the U.S. economy continues to show positive growth, and with that, our outlook for business travel in 2016 remains cautiously optimistic," noted Ninan Chacko, CTC, Travel Leaders Group CEO. "This past year proved to be a challenging one for air travelers as they faced extraordinary flight delays and cancellations. So it is no surprise the top concern agents are hearing from clients focuses on 'delayed flights.'"

Anticipated Level of Business Travel in 2016
When asked, "What have your business travel clients indicated in terms of either actual bookings and/or client feedback as to the amount of travel they anticipate for 2016 compared to 2015?" agents said:

	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012
Booking levels will increase compared to last year	36.6%	45.5%	38.4%	38.7%	34.5%
Booking levels will remain on par with last year	40.2%	34.0%	39.4%	40.8%	42.2%
Booking levels will decline compared to last year	6.6%	4.9%	5.7%	9.8%	4.7%

Top Business Travel Concerns
When asked, "What are the top three concerns for your business travelers?" survey participants indicated:

	2016	2015	2014
Delayed flights	78.7%	68.5%	70.1%
Limited airline seat availability	38.3%	42.0%	46.7%
Earning frequent flyer/loyalty points	37.6%	32.9%	37.5%
Ease of passing through security	33.8%	33.1%	28.3%

"All four client concerns are issues on which our agents' expertise can save the day. While we clearly have no control over airline cancellations and delays, our agents are specifically trained to provide proactive assistance to get our corporate travelers where they need to go," explained David Holyoke, President of Travel Leaders Corporate. "When road warriors know we have their back, they gain further peace-of-mind, allowing them to concentrate more on their business at hand. This extends from our assisting with flight delays to signing up more of our travelers for TSA Precheck™."

TSA Precheck™
When asked, "What percentage of your business travel clients are approved for TSA Precheck™?" 35.6% of agents now indicate that a majority of their business travel clients are approved for TSA Precheck™, up from just 22.3% last year.

Ancillary Fees for Business Travelers
When asked, "Please choose the most frequently charged Ancillary Fees your business travel clients encounter," the majority of surveyed agents cited three airline-related fees – for changing flights, gaining seat assignments and checking bags. As more hotels offer free Wi-Fi, the percentage of agents naming it among the top ancillary fees dropped to 9.5% from 17.7% last year. Additionally, an increasing number of agents said that clients are paying hotel "resort fees" and airline Internet fees.

	2016	2015	2014
Airline flight change fees	73.5%	73.7%	77.4%
Airline seat assignment fees	62.2%	53.9%	52.6%
Airline baggage fees	58.6%	53.2%	55.0%
Hotel "resort fees"	16.5%	11.7%	11.8%
Airline Internet fees	12.3%	8.9%	6.8%
Hotel Internet fees	9.5%	17.7%	18.5%
Hotel parking fees	6.6%	10.3%	10.1%
Hotel early check-in/late check-out fees	6.6%	4.4%	4.0%
Car rental one-way drop-off fees	5.4%	5.6%	9.0%
Airline food fees	3.1%	2.8%	4.5%

These business trends are part of a comprehensive travel trends survey of 1,316 U.S.-based travel agents from Travel Leaders Group's flagship Travel Leaders brand and All Aboard Travel, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, Results! Travel, Travel Leaders Corporate, Tzell Travel Group and Vacation.com units. Results from Travel Leaders Group's 2016 Travel Trends Survey are here.

Travel Leaders Group is one of North America's largest travel companies – encompassing nearly one-third of all travel agents – and generated gross travel sales of approximately $20 billion annually. Travel Leaders Group is a leader in both leisure and corporate, consistently ranking as one of the top travel companies nationwide.

About Travel Leaders Group
Travel Leaders Group (www.travelleadersgroup.com) is transforming travel with a commitment to our vacation and business travel clients via our progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Having already assisted millions of travelers – through our beginnings as Carlson Leisure Group, a division of Carlson Companies, TraveLeaders and Tzell Travel Group and through the additions of Nexion, Vacation.com and Protravel International – Travel Leaders Group manages leisure, business and franchise travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands. With annual sales of approximately $20 billion through over 6,500 locations, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry's largest traditional travel agency companies.