BUSINESS TRAVEL COMES BACK SLOWLY
HOSTING LOCAL BUSINESS PARTIES THIS HOLIDAY MAY BE A GOOD START FOR HOTELS
B usiness travel spending is up this year, although it rose more slowly than anticipated. Besides COVID variants and surging cases in some regions, the work-from-home trend may also negatively affect business travel. MORE BUSINESS TRAVEL IS EXPECTED, BUT A FULL RECOVERY WON’T COME UNTIL 2024 According to a November CNBC report (Josephs, 2021), global business travel will likely increase 14% to $754 billion from the 2020 level. That was down from the forecasted 21% year-to-year growth. As a reference, other relevant statistics include: n Global business travel spending was at $1.4 trillion in 2019. n It dropped 54% to $661 billion in 2020. n Global business travel spending is expected to surpass $1 trillion again in 2022, with a 37% year-to- year increase. n China and the U.S. will lead the growth. THE MOST-WATCHED NEW YEAR’S EVE “PARTY” WILL RETURN TO TIMES SQUARE After a scale-down celebration at Times Square last year, the world’s most-watched New Year’s Eve Party will finally return to its “full strength” this year, although
it will only be open for the fully vaccinated people (Wong & Rubinstein, 2021). The ring in this new year will also symbolize the rebirth of the post-pandemic world. Hotel bookings and restaurant reservations are already up in that area, also thanks to the easing international travel restrictions. People can now book their New Year’s Eve parties in nearby venues too. SMALL-SCALE EVENTS AND BUSINESS PARTIES ARE COMING BACK FIRST People and businesses want to get together and aim to resume some normalcy. Hotels become an ideal place for small events and gatherings. For example, CHLA (California Hotel & Lodging Association) and ALHA hosted the California Hotel Conference at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach in November 2021. The event brought over 100 attendees to the conference and 200+ guests to the CHLA Hospitality Foundation Scholarship Awards Gala. Events like the California Hotel Conference and small business parties are coming back to hotels already. Check out your hotel’s sales team to see if this holiday season will mark a rebound for business events. n
LINCHI KWOK, PH.D.
CONTRIBUTING WRITER linchikwok.net
REFERENCES Josephs, L. (2021, November 17). Business travel demand expected to surge in 2022, but full recovery still two years away. CNBC News. Retrieved on November 18, 2021, via https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/17/business-travel-demand- expected-to-surge-in-2022-but-full-recovery-still-two-years-away.html Wong, A., & Rubinstein, D. (2021, November 16). New Year’s Eve will return to Times Square for vaccinated guests. The New York Times. Retrieved on November 20, 2021, via https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/16/nyregion/new-years- eve-times-square.html
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