Business Travel 2024: Hotels Bet on the New Road Warriors

Gloria Gonzalez, a travel agency account manager in Fort Worth, used to fly back-to-back business trips as a travel manager before the pandemic.

Drew Pinto, Marriott’s chief revenue and technology officer, still travels for work, but when he does, he thinks more about how flight times, jet lag, and other travel realities will affect him. 

And Sophie Hulgard, Accor’s chief sales officer, has traveled almost weekly for years. But recently, she has become more conscious of the physical toll.

Gonzalez, Pinto, and Hulgard are part of a growing trend among corporate travelers. As long-time road warriors, they’re prioritizing their physical and emotional health for sustained effectiveness. 

Business travel may be on its way back — but for many travelers, it feels very different. 

“Maybe I’m not taking the red eye and going right into a meeting, but I'm instead arriving the night before, especially for international travel,” Pinto said. “There’s just this new mentality of being at your best when you’re on a business trip instead of fitting in as much as you can.”

Gone is the era of “more-is-more” business travel that George Clooney glamorized in the 2009 movie Up in the Air.

“It used to be you just rush, rush, rush — going from meeting to meeting,” Hulgard remembers. Now, she is more deliberate in evaluating what makes trips effective. And Hulgard is far from the only one.

Skift spoke to a few dozen frequent corporate travelers and travel managers, and some key themes emerged: First, corporations recognize the importance of in-person meetings, but at the same time, travelers have become more mindful and selective when planning trips.

And hotels are rushing to profit from this mindset shift.

Some brands are pivoting to cater to so-called "executive athletes" who demand more than just a bed. Trips blending business and leisure remain elevated, supported by hybrid work options — even though so-called blended travel is down from 2022 highs. Extended-stay demand is booming, driven by workers having protracted trips on infrastructure and tech projects. New software dashboards are helping travel professionals keep an eye on potential stressors.

The bottom line is that business travel feels different than five years ago. Skift has examined the trillion-dollar sector from a few different ang