According to a new survey by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Foundation, home-sharing properties are allowed in one out of every six travel policies (17 percent). However, more than double the number of business travellers (37 percent) are under the impression that their company’s business travel policy supports home sharing properties.
As a result, many travellers are booking and staying in properties unsupported by their travel policy – a serious duty of care issue.
Travel professionals are most worried about the safety and security of home-share properties (87 percent) as they have a responsibility to maintain duty of care for all travellers, compared to 55 percent who have this same concern for traditional hotels.
Two-thirds (61 percent) of travel professionals are very concerned about the current inability to collect traveller information during bookings with home-shares (such as AirBnB). If home-sharing options were integrated into the GDS (Global Distribution System) so traveller bookings could be tracked, one-half of travel managers (52 percent) say this would increase the likelihood of including these options in their travel policy.
The latest results from the European Business Travel Barometer 2017 - a survey of 982 travel, HR and procurement professionals across Europe conducted by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) - also found that traveller safety remains the greatest priority for companies.
The question is what can be done
What can be done to give business travellers more security while away on business and companies the right systems, and data, in order to track and monitor which travellers are where at any given time?
It’s a topic that’s often discussed at Acomodeo and with our customers. One of the main benefits of the Acomodeo White Label solution, the integrated corporate booking system for serviced apartments, is the ability to get an easy overview of all travellers and bookings. We are also looking at ways we can introduce additional safety features into our system, which is clearly a vital aspect of business travel.
Safety isn’t the only aspect of home-sharing that causes concern for company; financial policies and reservation stability are closely followed. Travel professionals expressed concern about:
- Non-refundable deposits (58 percent)
- Cancelling reservations at the last minute (51 percent)
- Enforcing strict cancellation policies (44 percent)
Why are serviced apartments the perfect choice for business travellers?
Acomodeo does not feature private rooms or vacation rentals since they're lacking constant quality and legal security. We only partner with professional serviced apartment providers to ensure that:
- Full legal security is met
- Quality is guaranteed
- B2B invoicing and payment options are available
- Professional cleaning service, maintenance and repair service
- Reception or sales offices are on site
- Additional facilities give business travellers what they need (high speed internet, gym, sauna etc)
- No deposits are required
- Standardised cancellation policies are in place
You can find out more on our website, including a detailed explanation of what is a serviced apartment.
