Analysis for The Americas

Among key hotel markets in the Asia Pacific region, Sydney’s gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) level came closest to its 2019 comparable, according to STR‘s April 2022 P&L data release. After coming in at just 51% of 2019 GOPPAR levels in Mar-2022, Sydney posted an April GOPPAR of USD52.08, which was 82% of the pre-pandemic comparable.  

Business leaders believe business travel will be necessary and take on many forms as corporate culture evolves. They suggest there will be more of a strategic focus on earning customer trust and winning revenue but also building culture, teamwork and employee relationships. The observations were published in a new whitepaper, ‘How We Meet Matters’ from tClara, sponsored by Cytric by Amadeus, CWT and Delta Air Lines.  

The first round of data from the new Quarterly Business Travel Tracker from JD Power, US Travel Association and Tourism Economics has revealed that business travel is bouncing back strongly in the United States of America, and that is a positive sign for the rest of the world. The research found that more than four in five (84%) business travellers expect to take at least one trip to attend conferences, conventions or trade shows in the next six months.  

Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, one of Hilton’s iconic luxury hotel brands, will expand into Australia with the signing of Waldorf Astoria Sydney. The hotel is part of AW One Circular Quay’s mixed-use development, One Circular Quay, which is considered one of the few prime harbourside sites in Sydney.  

The travel, tourism and aviation industries in the across the globe witness policy and upper level changes on a daily basis. It is important to not only keep tabs of these organisations direction, but to also monitor changes in executive branches to see the wider picture of the travel market. CTC – Corporate Travel Community aims to keep you informed of these movements each month, with a full wrap of the key changes across regional markets, while also featuring key appointments announced for the month.

Here are the key executive changes for Mar-2022:

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has unveiled new details about its upcoming economy extended-stay hotel brand. Among them, newly awarded contracts to develop 50 new construction projects across the US with its first two partners: Sandpiper Hospitality and Gulf Coast Hotel Management.  

It is often said that we don’t always recognise the importance of what we have until it’s gone. Whether that’s friends, colleagues, suppliers, or in the corporate travel sector, travel management companies. “In a world where moments really matter, one of lockdown’s legacies is that the value of meeting travellers face-to-face has never been so profoundly understood,” says Drew Crawley, chief commercial officer at American Express Global Business Travel (AmexGBT).  

Fluctuating energy prices can be a constant issue for businesses across the travel industry, but while a rising trend in pricing can actually be better managed, it can have severe implications. As COVID fears now recede, energy costs are taking over as a major concern for airlines, logistics specialists and tour operators.  

The travel, tourism and aviation industries in the across the globe witness policy and upper level changes on a daily basis. It is important to not only keep tabs of these organisations direction, but to also monitor changes in executive branches to see the wider picture of the travel market. CTC – Corporate Travel Community aims to keep you informed of these movements each month, with a full wrap of the key changes across regional markets, while also featuring key appointments announced for the month.

We are increasingly seeing the return of business travel across the world, but we still remain far from certain what post-pandemic business travel will look like for corporate travel management. With the significant regional variation in recovery though, we can start to get some ideas of changing habits from those geographical areas more advanced with their rebound.

A new study from The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) shares some light on corporate travel managers observations across the US and Canada and suggests it might not be business–as–usual post-pandemic for corporate travel managers, programmes and policies.