See how business stay trends have changed from 2019 to 2023 with our in-depth data analysis.
Since a new type of travel industry emerged in 2023, travel trends and travel behavior have changed for corporate travelers.
Booking.com for Business aims to make business travel easier for everyone. One way we do this is by helping you understand the trends and data that shape your travel experience. We studied how corporate travelers’ behavior has changed regarding stays by diving deep into length of stay, property type, and facilities data. We looked at data from customers who indicated traveling for business purposes in the first half of 2019 and compared it with data for the same period in 2023.
This data revealed:
Business travelers stayed significantly longer in 2023.
One of the biggest trends our data shows is that travelers in general booked longer stays in the first half of 2023 than in the first half of 2019. Business travelers stayed 4.76% longer on average in the first half of 2023 than in the first half of 2019, which can be explained by the fact that corporate travelers and companies want more for their money. They might have preferred opting for longer stays to compensate for higher airfares. For example,
The Middle East (+12.5%), Europe (+10%), and North America (+8.3%) were particularly affected by the increase in the number of nights business travelers stayed in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2019.
At a country level, France (+11.1%), Germany and Spain (+10.5%), and the US and Canada (+9%) saw business travelers increase the duration of their stays significantly. In Italy and Great Britain, business travelers stayed, on average, 5.2% longer in the first half of 2023 than in the first half of 2019.
Business travelers have specific preferences regarding property types where they like to stay. Let’s see how these patterns have changed from 2019 to 2023.
Our data shows hotels were still the preferred type of property for global business travelers. In fact, 71.6% of business travelers in 2023 chose to stay at a hotel. But the proportion of business travelers booking hotels decreased by 2% between the first half of 2019 and the first half of 2023.
Apartments were the second most booked type of property for global business travelers, and travelers stayed longer in apartments than in any other property type, with an average of 3.5 nights in the first half of 2023.
Business travelers around the world booked apartments, on average, 3.1% more in the first half of 2023 than in the first half of 2019.
A key business trend we observed is that business travelers stayed 13% longer in apartments in the first half of 2023 than in the first half of 2019, showing that this type of property is increasingly appreciated by the business world. In comparison, the average duration of their stay at hotels hasn’t changed. During the pandemic, companies relied on serviced apartments to avoid surrounding employees with people, and this trend is here to stay. This could be one of the reasons we’re seeing longer stays at apartments.
In the US specifically, we noticed certain trends. The preference of hotels for business travelers increased by 2% over the 2019–2023 period. Like the rest of the world, hotels were the number one choice, though motels and resorts were very popular in the US.
Motels were the second most popular property type—unlike in the rest of the world—thanks to their convenient location, while resorts took third place due to their luxurious amenities and on-site conference and event facilities. However, the preference for motels decreased by 3%, and resorts showed a slight decline too.
When traveling for business, travelers have specific facility needs. Let’s see what facilities business travelers expected from their accommodations.
What pushes travelers to book one property over another? Our data shows that business travelers increasingly valued a property's facilities. Business travelers were at least 4% more likely in the first half of 2023 than in the first half of 2019 to book accommodations with the following facilities:
Guests traveling for business were 8.8% more inclined to book a place with meeting or banquet facilities. They also gave high priority to quiet and accessible rooms and easy access to food and drinks. Business travelers want to get their job done efficiently.
In the US specifically, we saw a bigger increase in business traveler bookings at properties with a fitness room between 2019 and 2023. Staying active is seen as an essential part of a business traveler’s well-being, especially in the US.
At the room level, the biggest increase (+4%) in bookings by business travelers revolved around rooms with connectivity options (telephone, cable channels), comfort (slippers, carpeted floor, bath), and wake-up services.
When it comes to booking a room, corporate travelers have high expectations. They like a nice private bathroom equipped with towels, a hair dryer, free toiletries, etc. – and services such as a flat-screen TV and a phone.
The travel industry underwent some changes in recent years. Business travel, in particular, saw an increase in the number of nights per stay, and apartments are the property type with the greatest increase in length of stay. We can also point out the specificity of the US, as travelers stayed there longer for business purposes than they did for leisure.
Data for this article is based on global gross bookings by continent or country made for business purposes on the Booking.com platform between the first six months of 2019 and the first six months of 2023.
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