What Business Travellers Want- Expextations of Today's Jetsetter.

In the lead up to the feBusiness Traveller awards, this month’s cover story delves into the expectations of corporate jet setters. Are travel service providers, including airlines and hotels doing enough to woo them? Or, is the charm of value additions wearing off? What do executives really want?

Pooja Shetty catches up on movies on long distance flights. Nothing unusual about that, perhaps. Except that while choosing an airline, this managing director of IMAX Adlabs Theatre ensures that she picks a carrier that offers a bouquet of entertainment options. With a legion of music and television channels, innumerable games, and a frequently updated movie library, Shetty says that Emirates is her best bet. She adds, “If you’re flying first or business class, up to 50 titles are also available in the movie library. That way I can catch up on several movies that I had earmarked to see, but hadn’t for the sheer lack of time.”

Shetty typifies today’s business traveller - the executive who flits from one corporate hub to another, armed with discerning tastes and demanding impeccable service. In the last few years travel figures have soared to phenomenal highs and swooned to incredible lows. While holiday goers and visiting relatives have fallen prey to wars and SARS, the business traveller has remained resilient. In travel industry lingo, that translates as the most valuable client - in some hotels, more than 85 per cent of guests are business travellers. Airlines, hotels and all other service providers have rolled out the red carpet to their cash cows.

Business travellers today are pampered silly: from flat beds in business class to WiFi in hotels, from customised meals on board and tele check-ins to eight hour check-out facilities at hotels, the travel industry has gone all out to please its prestigious customers. The question now is whether the jet-setting, wallet-happy, fast-thinking business traveller with ever-evolving needs is feeling cosseted, claustrophobic, or just plain indifferent. Are the travel and hospitality industries doing enough?

Business on the move

While the downside of the tech mania is that your boss can almost always reach you, the convenience of conducting business on the move is undisputed. Sipping a tall glass of Pina Colada, lounging on the poolside deck of a hotel, it may look like the businessperson is in R&R mode. Add a sleek black laptop to the props and the stage is set for high profile business meetings. Leading national and international chains, including Taj, Oberoi, Hyatt, ITC, Carlson Hospitality, Leela, and Concept Hospitality, are offering wireless Internet connectivity in their key properties. Hotels and airlines have sunk their teeth into the ‘time is money’ concept, completely revamping the environment to enable business people to, quite literally, walk through the deal. The Park Sheraton & Towers in Chennai was one of the first in the city to venture into providing Internet access, taking its first few cautious steps in 1999. By the end of 2002 the hotel had introduced WiFi. “Wireless connectivity has changed the way business is conducted. It is much more user-friendly, and convenient,” says Banu Kumar, Telephone Executive Manager at the Park Sheraton, adding that the connections work at a speed of 128 kbps. “I have seen guests walking around the hotel corridors logged on to their laptops,” she adds. The hotel also provides laptops on request, and for some corporate packages Internet access is complimentary. There is no second-guessing the fact that businesspersons prioritise a work-adaptable environment when choosing a hotel or even an airline. Ashank Desai, chairman and MD, Mastek Ltd says, “Time for me is a decisive factor. Thus, various mediums, which facilitate travel have to prove gainful with respect to time.” Airlines too are playing the corporate game with panache. For instance, SWISS offers its business travellers electrical power outlets for laptops but with the caveat that a special aeroplane adapter cable compatible with a 15 volt DC hypertronic socket would be required. For shorter notes, the airline offers an e-messaging system that enables travellers to send short text messages to any e-mail, mobile phone or fax world wide. Business executives are undoubtedly choosing those airlines where deals can be struck at while flitting through international skies. Shekar Bajaj, chairman and MD of Bajaj Electricals Limited says, “I rate Singapore Airlines very high because they are able to provide passengers all the convenience needed to turn their flight into an office in the sky. Another airline that matches my expectations, even though I do not fly it frequently, is Emirates. The airline offers a host of modern benefits.” By all accounts, it looks like the business traveller is able to carry on his work uninterrupted - whether in the air or in the coffee shop of a hotel - and the industry is bounding ahead to match his expectations.

Flight Fare

While culinary fare in luxury hotels has always been highly ranked, menus on flights left many frequent fliers with a bad taste in their mouths. Airlines are now bending over backwards to cater to the needs of the upscale traveller. Flight food has moved light years away from the cold mashed potatoes, rock-hard bread rolls, wilted salad and dehydrated chicken routine. Cuisine has become an art form among most airlines today and the business traveller is undoubtedly picking up on this. Ashank Desai, managing director, Mastek Ltd, says, “I definitely look upon the availability of Indian meals on board as a bonus while flying on international airlines.” Weave in celebrity chefs, exotic menus, New World wines, and voila - the days of wincing over insipid flight fare are shattered to smithereens. Today, a panel of celebrity chefs is often roped in when airlines draft menus. Says Robert Stainoch, country manager, Austrian Airlines - India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives, “The chef who has won the maximum awards in Austria has been appointed by us to plan the menu and select the wines. The F&B department is left to his discretion.” Beverages are also high on the priority list. South African Airlines, for instance, organises an annual wine tasting and selection event, on the basis of which the selection is made. “A panel of world renowned wine tasters is responsible for the selection,” says Rich Mkhondo, South African Airlines, executive manager, corporate communications. He adds, “Extensive research is undertaken on the basis of customer feedback” So, how are corporate globetrotters reacting to this trend? Abraham Thomas, managing director, IBM India Limited, affirms, “I have my own menu preferences while flying. Light meals and a lot of fresh fruits is what fits my bill just right. The culinary fare on some select airlines suit my palette which naturally predisposes me toward that specific airline.” Says Roshan Abbas, chairman and managing director, Encompass, Entertainment Solutions Provider, “We have set up an office in the Dubai Media City which calls for a visit to Dubai almost twice a month. Being a complete foodie, Emirates is my chosen carrier not only for its proficient service but food that takes you completely by surprise making it difficult to believe that you are air bound. The Arabic coffee served just before take-off is second to none.” Business travellers have lucidly spelt out the fact that they will opt out if the menu doesn’t live up to expectations. A common grouse among several corporate persons is that “good south Indian coffee” is simply not available on flights - simple as it may seem, this little value addition has the potential of winning die-hard loyalists to the airline.

Finetuning Their Act

Even the music in the luxury car can be chosen by the business executive being ferried from the airport to the hotel. That’s how The Park, Chennai, adds that extra special touch for winning over their corporate visitors. A cold pack, wet towel, mineral water, soft drinks and the day’s paper ensure that even the car ride through the chaotic city traffic spells luxury. Coming to accommodation, most hotels have specific floors -- positioned as ‘a hotel within a hotel’ -- allocated for business travellers. Innovative and creative services are being dished out to pamper the business traveller. Some luxury hotels, for instance, have launched a ‘complete butler service’ concept. However, many corporate guests prefer at least some degree of privacy and opt out of “in your face” type service. Another feature that guests are not swooning over is ‘interactive television’ whereby they can remotely access several services of the hotel. However, the string of waiters and hotel staff fussing over the guest is intrinsic to the hotel industry in India, and the newfangled device has a negligible fan following. Airlines, too, are taking off on flights of fancy, to capture the business traveller - even tray tables are being lined with fine linen, and embellished with flower arrangements. While the details make the difference, the business traveller, in most instances, is not bowled over by the trimmings, and often finds them intrusive and cumbersome.

Winning Them Over

It’s not just the frills and fancies or the food. Business travellers are demanding high quality service in an environment where they can dictate terms. Practical benefits like tele check-in, eight hour check-out, convenience of location, quick service, and details like well-designed worktables, dedicated communication facilities (with two lines, direct dialling, personalised voice-mail and in some cases fax, copier, printer and scanner etc) and safes with laptop chargers have become crucial features in hotel rooms. “To cater to the corporate segment, hotels have brought about a massive change in their service design. Services provided, benefits offered and technology used are very different from the yesteryears,” says K B Kachru, senior vice-president, Carlson Hospitality India Inc. Nurturing a relationship depends on attention to customers’ needs and serving them efficiently. One faltering step and the client is lost forever. Rajat Sharma, business manager, Electronic Data Systems, a loyalist to Sheraton and Taj brands, thinks only quality service can buy loyalty. “Location is important, but service comes first. Recently, I stayed in a five-star property in Pune instead of Taj Blue Diamond. The food served in the room was cold and it took 45 minutes to get a shirt ironed after promising to deliver it in 15 minutes. So, I stick to Taj or Sheraton,” he says. Delivering on schedule is key - especially when it comes to business guests. The dictum that most corporate patrons swear by is: deliver what you promise. The “it’ll be there in five minutes sir” can often frustrate the guest, if it is not followed by action. Glossy words and smooth talking managers can soothe ruffled feathers, but only as a stop-gap agreement. Ultimately, the service has to live up to expectation.

Stepping Into a Comfort Zone

Wooing the business traveller doesn’t come cheap. What it does, however, is convert the unfaithful flier into an unwavering devotee. A Lufthansa patron, Prashant Kumar Mishra, managing director, Biodiesel Technologies Incorporation (I), says, “While most airlines’ first class offer superior comfort and services, Lufthansa’s first-class seats still stand out, primarily because one can create your own private area of generous dimensions. The sleeper seat with adjustable head and shoulder rests also has diverse places to stash or store your belongings, and converts easily into a bed two meters long.” Business and first class doesn’t merely mean more leg room and a higher density of stewards per passenger. It is, in essence, a mobile luxury hotel, embedded with every conceivable amenity. An astounding 600 million pounds was shelled out by British Airways (BA) for their ‘lounge in the sky’ concept incorporating a completely new design which included a fully flat bed. Another example, China Airlines, with its fleet of new Airbus A340s, has brought to the skies a ‘new level of comfort, convenience and security’. Stretching one’s legs takes on a whole new meaning in the exclusive First Class 14 seats. Add a personal coat hook, beverage table, book bag and shoe cubby, and you got yourself personalised space. From all accounts, there is a clear indication that business travellers are lapping up the mollycoddling which the airlines are generously doling out. Arun Nanda, executive director, Mahindra & Mahindra, swears by Singapore Airlines. “For a business traveller it is very vital to sleep well on flight to avoid jet lag. Singapore Airlines has perfected the art of service and its ‘turn down service’ leaves nothing to chance, not only do they offer a flat bed but also ready it up for you. I arrive feeling fresh ready to take on the most challenging business meeting,” he says.

While airlines and hotels may be doing cartwheels to impress the business traveller, the guest simply believes that he is justified in demanding the highest quality: when the executive is emptying his pockets (or the company coffers), he expects impeccable service and standards. Anything that falls short of his anticipation means that he shifts his bags and business elsewhere. In this competitive environment, where executives are shelling out big bucks, luxury takes on a new dimension. In an environment where only the fittest can survive, keeping pace with technology, creatively offering new services and constantly upping the bar is an intrinsic part of the game. In the wings stands the executive - a puppeteer of sorts, co-ordinating the drama with his purse strings.

(Compiled by Susan George, with inputs from Bhisham Mansukhani)