When the recession hit businesses had to look very hard and their budgets and many were cut. Business travel was one of the areas that was often cut. Businesses have started to look less for luxury travel options and more to practical but comfortable travel.

1. Changes In Business Travel Since The Recession
Luxury business travel has changed during the recession and the period since. A lot of business
travel in the period before was luxury because of the fact that businesses had bigger budgets and
would be able to spend more.
In the period since the recession there have been budget cuts in many areas and business travel has
been one of the areas that has been affected. Many companies have cut back significantly and have
made cuts in the types of accommodation they use for employees as well as the methods of
transport.
Luxury travel has reduced
Business class or first class flights have been substituted with economy class in many cases. Airlines
especially have had to change who they are trying to attract for different services. For example
budget airlines have started to target business travellers due to the demand for cheaper business
travel.
This has also happened in the accommodation industry. Accommodation providers needed to
change because of the recession. Business travellers still wanted a high quality of service but they
had smaller budgets and were less concerned with luxury, so accommodation providers had to offer
something different.
Serviced apartment providers seized their opportunity
This is where serviced apartment providers had a good opportunity, they were able to offer an
alternative to luxury hotels by providing something that was comfortable and had everything you
need but also at a reasonable cost.
For longer stays, serviced apartments generally work out cheaper than hotels for the same period.
This can be ideal for business travellers who are visiting an area for longer lengths of time. Even for
someone who is relocating to a country or area it is a great solution.
Serviced apartments help business travellers spend less as they have cooking facilities which they
can use to cook their own meals as well as the ability to be centrally located so there aren’t many
travel costs.
Flexibility is important
Businesses need to know that their travel providers are understanding of their budget concerns and
that they can be flexible and accommodating to their new budgets. The accommodation providers
that had a long term relationship with businesses before the recession and maintained that
relationship during and after the recession were often the ones that were able to be flexible with
their prices and could adapt accordingly.
The providers that didn’t change their prices or become more flexible during the recession would
have lost out on clients in the long term. Those companies that maintained relationships and were
flexible in pricing during difficult times are the ones that still have those clients now.