British employees are now less inclined to go on business trips, with the main reason for dreading them is poor accommodation at hotels.
A survey conducted by Exclusiveprivatevillas.com, a luxury villa rental company found that only three per cent enjoy business trips.
Business professionals gave multiple reasons as to why they do not enjoy their stays at hotels. The two top biggest reasons both at 18 per cent were it was too noisy to sleep or work in, as well as a lack of wifi. Broken air con came in at 13 per cent and 12 per cent said the hotel they stayed at was unhygienic.
Worryingly, 10 per cent stayed at a hotel which they did not feel safe in, as well as 10 per cent visiting a hotel that was still under construction.
Some professionals would leave the hotel with a bad taste in their mouth as eight per cent suffered from food poisoning due to eating at the hotel restaurant.
Due to this feeling, the survey found that 36 per cent would rather stay in somewhere more private, like a rented house.
Keith Potts, chairman of Exclusiveprivatevillas.com said:
Your employees are your most important resource and they need to be looked after when they are away from friends and family. It’s clear that uncomfortable, weary staff are not going to be as productive.
As well as making conference travel more rewarding, we’re seeing a real move towards luxury private travel for employee group getaways. There are large villas available which give staff privacy but come with a host of facilities to promote team bonding. Some even have their own private water parks, private ice rinks, bowling alleys and games rooms!
It’s a far cry from the bland environment of business hotels, that could each be anywhere in the world. Enlightened bosses aren’t turning business travel into holidays, but what they are doing is ensuring that their employees are rewarded, engaged and invigorated.
The villa rental company asked 1,000 business travelers.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
