Would you like to travel on business even more than you do now? If that seems like a chilling prospect, you’re probably getting on in years, according to a new study by the Global Business Travel Association and American Express.
The online survey of some 845 U.S. road warriors about various aspects of business travel found that Millennials (which it defines as those age 34 or younger) are almost twice as likely as Baby Boomers (age 55 and up) to want to add more trips to their schedules — by a rate of 45 percent to 26 percent.
Thirty-six percent of the respondents in all age groups said they’d like to travel more on business, while only 16 percent wanted to stay in the home office more often. Almost half — 48 percent — said they were traveling just about the right amount.
You might think that tech-savvy Millennials would be happy to meet with colleagues or clients via Skype or videoconferencing instead of flying somewhere to see them, but the research found that 57 percent of younger business travelers are big believers in face-to-face meetings. That’s not to say technology doesn’t affect other parts of their experience, though — e.g., 46 percent of Millennials said they use social media to meet up with friends on business trips, compared with only 17 percent of Baby Boomers.
Asked about eight different aspects of the business travel experience, the respondents rated hotel stays as the most satisfying part of their trips (78 percent), while going through airport security was the most frustrating, garnering only a 45 percent positive rating — down 10 points from the previous quarter. Airplane travel ranked second from the bottom at 55 percent positive.
Maybe because they’ve never known any other way of doing it, Millennials were less likely to have a problem with airport security than their older counterparts (35 percent vs. 59 percent for Baby Boomers and 56 percent for Gen Xers).
One thing the generations seem to agree on is that they’d rather not have to put up with fellow passengers talking on their phones while in flight. Two-thirds of the survey respondents said they were opposed to this, vs. just 9 percent who thought it was a good idea.
Are you a millennial traveler or boomer? Agree with these findings? Please leave your comments below!
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