5 Travel Executives React to Muted 2017 Business Travel Outlook
Photo Credit: Top travel executives say business travel is edging downward a bit despite some relative improvement in recent months. The inside of the Marriott Marquis Atlanta is pictured here. Flickr / Thomas Hawk
Skift Take
A lack of business travel demand generally means lower prices and less spend for businesses. It also means business travel could be waning, a bad sign for the overall economy.
Now that the dust has settled on the U.S. Presidential election, travel companies have the task of dealing with a decline in business travelers and the uncertainty in pricing that comes with it.
Forecasts have shown a slight decline in the growth rate in business travel, perhaps a sign that overall economic strength is less robust than previously thought.
It's also a struggle for travel providers to negotiate strong rates for 2017 in this environment, which reflects a positive for travel managers and companies looking to limit their spending on travel.
Hotel executives are seeing a small increase in their negotiated rates for next year, while airline executives are seeing fares rising on bookings close to the time of travel.
Here's what some of the world's top airline and hotel CEOs think, in their own words on recent earnings calls, about the struggles facing travel companies when it comes to business travel and the high level of unce
