Swedish business travelers don't spend much time when looking for hotels compared to other countries. Over 30% say they spend no more than 15 minutes comparing hotels before booking their rooms. 26% say that they don't even compare hotels before booking, which is the highest percentage across all countries surveyed.
STOCKHOLM – VIA Egencia, the business travel company of Expedia, Inc., announced the results of a global study that reveals the behavior of business travelers when choosing hotels for business. The Swedes tend to value an efficient and eco-friendly hotel experience, while the importance of human interaction at the hotel is by far the lowest among the countries covered in the study.
Booking quickly
Swedish business travelers don’t spend much time when looking for hotels compared to other countries. Over 30% say they spend no more than 15 minutes comparing hotels before booking their rooms. 26% say that they don’t even compare hotels before booking, which is the highest percentage across all countries surveyed, and 11 points higher than the global average. This brings the average number of minutes spent on comparing hotels in Sweden among the lowest in the study – 26 minutes compared to the global average of over 30 minutes.
Not always early adopters…
Swedes are often identified as early adopters and known to be tech-savvy. Even if the overall use of smartphones is very high in Sweden, Swedish business travelers have not yet developed the habit of booking hotels on their mobile devices. According to the study, Swedish travelers are, surprisingly, the ones booking the least on their mobiles: only 17% of the respondents have done it compared to 46% in the US and 38% in the United Kingdom. The global average is 30%. Not surprisingly, the study also shows that the behavior is related to age, and that younger travelers tend to book more through their mobile devices than older travelers.
…but with a preference for technology
When it comes to the relation between technology and human interaction while staying at a hotel for business, the Swedes distinguish themselves heavily from the rest of the countries. 30% of the respondents state that the human interaction i.e. face-to-face contact with a hotel representative, is not at all important or not very important. The equivalent number for the US, Canada and Australia is 11% and 13% for France and Germany (global average 16%).
Internet, breakfast and sustainability
The most important amenities for all business travelers in the study are free Wi-Fi and complimentary breakfast. The Swedes particularly rate these amenities as important, compared to the travelers from the other countries. Almost 50% of the Swedish business travelers even say that having to pay for Wi-Fi is one of the main frustrations when staying at a hotel for business.
In terms of services, the Swedes also distinguish themselves when it comes to rating the importance of establishments that offer a sustainability program. 35% of the Swedish respondents answered that a sustainability program is a key service, compared to only 22% of the French and 29% globally. Another key service for the Swedes is digital check-in and check-out (33%). Only the American travelers rate the importance of this service higher (34%), while only 18% of the French describes it as important.
Michael Schuller, managing director at VIA Egencia Sweden, comments: “With the results of this study we clearly see that the Swedish business travellers want an efficient, functional and modern hotel experience while traveling for business. Egencia’s main mission is to consistently develop innovative technology and solutions in order to improve all aspects of our travelers’ experience. Understanding the travelers’ needs and expectations will help us achieving this mission”.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
