A situation that is as close as possible to their expectations, while a tourist can be satisfied with being a little away from the key places, but also with a smooth check-in, a room that allows them to work, and a nice lobby where to relax: the major expectations of business travelers in terms of hospitality, observed by the Coach Omnium agency, leave little room for surprise. The survey «Decryption of the expectations of hotel clientele», conducted face-to-face in February and March 2026 with 603 hotel customers in France, also highlights other priorities that are part of their professional daily life. These include the possibility of having a quick breakfast, even if they leave early in the morning, or the presence in the room of a desk, reinforced by numerous outlets and a high-performance Wi-Fi connection.
Although only 29 % respondents to this survey stay at the hotel for business reasons, this minority clientele is nevertheless strategic to the profitability of the establishments due to their regular attendance. While 69 % leisure customers only visit a hotel once to three times a year, nearly half of business travelers sleep there at least once a month – 26 % – and even several times a week for 10 % of them.
Among the findings of the survey, Coach Omnium notes that fewer professionals book their accommodation themselves, with the latter being handled by an assistant, a travel agency or an agency. While 5 % of the respondents rely on their company’s choice.
Bleisure or not bleisure
Another lesson, contrary to many thoughts, is that bleisure is not as widespread as one might think. In fact, 59 % of the business travelers surveyed never practice it. As for the % remaining 41, they only rarely engage in it (26 %) or sometimes (15 %). Similarly, the Y generation, often cited as seeking a better balance between work and personal life, is not the driving force behind this practice. Thus, those aged 30-45 are no more likely to engage in bleisure than other age groups, around 40 %. Foreign clientele, on the other hand, is much more receptive: 58 % sometimes or rarely take advantage of it. It is indeed difficult to resist the urge to prolong a trip or a seminar by a weekend in Paris or elsewhere.
More generally, without making any distinction between business and leisure clientele, the survey «Deciphering the expectations of hotel clientele» highlights several expectations regarding service, notably the primacy of human interaction despite the deployment of kiosks and mobile check-in. In fact, 58 % of the clients prefer a receptionist to manage their arrival and departure, whereas only 14 % prioritize an app or a self-service kiosk. For the % remaining 22, as long as the arrival in the room is simple and smooth, that’s all that matters.
While new-generation hotels, driven by the lifestyle trend, place particular emphasis on the lobby, only half of their customers visit them occasionally. But this shift towards lively common areas undoubtedly affects business travelers much more than tourists passing through. And this is true whether for relaxing or working. Nomadic professionals are thus more sensitive to the presence of a bar in the hotel (35 % compared to 27 %), while coworking spaces, less in demand by the general clientele (9 %), are of greater interest to business travelers, 20 % of whom take advantage of them or wish to do so.
In the same vein, breakfast also makes a real difference between leisure customers and business travelers; the latter take it systematically 66 % % of the time, compared to 59% % for all customers. The fact that this service is commonly included in corporate rates or included in mission expenses explains this.
