Cvent recently published its report "The European Travel Manager in 2019based on a survey of 506 travel managers in five European countries (Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain and Italy) working in all sectors of industry. Business travel decision-makers say they are finding it more difficult to manage their budgets because of the "economic downturn".price rises in the hotel and air transport sectors. Travel managers are under increased pressure to maximise the value of travel spend.
The Cvent study points out that, against this backdrop of rising tariffs, almost seven out of ten decision-makers expect their travel budget to increase in 2019, with 16 % of those surveyed even mentioning a very significant increase in their budget. On the other hand, 25% believe that their travel budget will remain unchanged, while only 6 % forecast a year-on-year decrease.
The report also notes that 57% of business travel is carried out in Europe, well ahead of North America (14%), Asia/Pacific (9%), the Middle East/Africa (4%) and South America (3%). 13% of travel managers also say they deal with domestic travel.
In addition, the study reveals that 73% of travel influencers across Europe select their accommodation at least once a year, 16% do so more than once a year, while 25% consolidate their hotel list once every two or even three years.
Hotel chains are the type of accommodation most favoured by travel prescribers (53%), while a third of the establishments selected are medium-sized hotels (24 %), boutique hotels or independent establishments (12 %). When it comes to selection criteria, travel managers give priority to location (69 %), followed by price (59 %) and then services included such as breakfast and WiFi (53 %). The number of stars or loyalty programmes are less significant in the selection of accommodation, receiving 30 % and 25 % of votes respectively.
