More hotels are asking business travelers to come on in and stayawhile. Both major hotel chains and companies that specialize inextended-stay lodgings-hotels that cater to longer-term travelersand typically charge by the week-have plans to establish moreextended-stay properties within the coming year.
"With the shortage of hotel rooms and cases where travelerswant to stay for two or three weeks, people in the industry believeextended-stay lodgings are really in need," explains RobertNozar, editor-in-chief of Hotel & Motel Managementmagazine.
Extended-stay lodgings have a lot to offer business travelerswho attend conferences, work on short-term projects or take lengthytrips. For one, they're more affordable than pricey luxuryhotels. Unlike economy lodgings, they offer a kitchen complete withrefrigerator, microwave and dinnerware. Plus, with traditionalhotels cutting back on personal amenities these days, most alsohave oversized towels, built-in hairdryers and other personal-careitems to their advantage, says Nozar.
A few hotels that are expanding in the extended-stay sectorinclude Extended Stay America and Choice Hotels, through its newMainstay Suites, which opened in October. Holiday Inn also expectsto make its entry into the extended-stay market by year-end.
Site Seeing
Business travelers are developing travel plans and even bookingreservations on the Internet because-let's face it-it can bemore convenient, personalized and sometimes even downright fun.Following is a sampling of newly established travel sites on theWeb:
Check airline, car rental, hotel and rail rates and then bookreservations at the TravelQuest site (http://www.TravelQuest.com).International travelers can also find currency and exchange rates,passport requirements and up-to-the-minute weather advisories. Tocheck out meeting space availability nationwide, link to thehelmsbriscoe.com site by clicking on "meetings" from thehome page.
Visa Expo (http://www.visa.com) offers easy accessto lists and maps of Visa/Plus ATM locations worldwide. A specialmapping function provides U.S. travelers with a glimpse of thethree ATMs closest to their selected location.
Travelocity (http://www.travelocity.com) is amust-stop site for business travelers. You can book reservationsfrom a mind-boggling choice of 31,800 hotels, 50 car rentalcompanies and more than 400 airlines. Then check out the latesttravel accessories in the Travel Merchandise section, entercontests in the Minibar, or chat with travel experts inTravelive.
Tips on packing, personal safety, fitness and more can be foundon The Executive Woman's Travel Network
(http://www.delta-air.com/womenexecs).You can share valuable travel experiences with other femalebusiness travelers in the Travel Forum. In addition, you'llfind special offers from Delta Air Lines on ticket upgrades,companion fares and car rental discounts.
Take one step into the Travel and Transport's virtual traveloffice (http://www.tandt.com),and you can book all your airline, car rental and hotelreservations in one shot.
Road warriors making late-breaking decisions about where to staywill appreciate Hotel and Travel Index Online (http://www.traveler.net/htio/).This source lets users search for specific hotels or search by aparticular region. The site also includes information on currentspecials such as reduced room rates, free upgrades and more.
If you're in a hurry, get your airline tickets deliveredwithin two days by making reservations and paying with a creditcard at Preview Travel's Reservations.com site (http://www.reservations.com).Details on airline fares and schedules are the main attractionhere.
Low And Behold
You only had to witness the fare wars that occurred whenSouthwest Airlines announced a sale on tickets last summer torealize how much clout the low-fare airlines have. And TerryTrippler, editor and publisher of The Airfare Report,predicts that in the near future, low-fare airlines offeringflights with inexpensive fares and limited service will become evenstronger in the domestic market.
Expect more air carriers like Southwest, Western Pacific,Frontier and Reno Air to increase their flights into existingmarkets and to move into new regions traditionally served by majorairlines, says Trippler. Most of the significant growth will be onthe East Coast, where markets are ripe for the picking. Few of thelow-fare airlines have yet to penetrate these areas-and frequentfliers are demanding their service.
Low-fare airlines will continue to grow because of theinnovations they've introduced that save travelers money. Thesecarriers were the first to implement ticketless travel and Internetbookings, which meant they could lower their ticket prices evenfurther, says Trippler. To drive up sales, several low-fareairlines will also establish companion fares and gimmicks wheretravelers receive free tickets after purchasing a certain number ofthem.
Trippler believes recent concerns over the safety of low-fareairlines won't hinder their growth much. Says Trippler,"Consumers just have to be rational about this and use theirbest judgment."
At press time, low-fare carrier Kiwi Airlines announced achapter 11 reorganization, calling into question theseairlines' financial stability. At the moment this case seems tobe the exception, though it's worth doing a little extraresearch to make sure the low-cost airline you choose is on firmground.
Up, Up And Away
If extensive business travel is in your future, so are highercosts. Prices are expected to rise an average of nearly 5 percentin 1997. Rates for lodging will jump 7.5 percent; for air traveland ground transportation, 4 percent; and for meals, 5 percent. Butit's car rental rates that will experience the largest hike-awhopping 8.5 percent.
But don't despair: By the end of 1997, new competition intravel services-including automated reservations through theInternet and ticketless air travel-should bring overall costsdown.
