TORONTO, Canada, March 11, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - A frigid winter, dipping commodities pricing and improved teleconferencing software have not slowed optimism for the travel or business sectors in Canada, according to senior travel executives at the annual Business Travel Summit in Toronto. Executives from Best Western International, Egencia, the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) and Vision Travel Solutions cited the adaptation of online and mobile, personalization tactics and the continued growth of new offerings appealing to today's traveler as reasons to expect 2015 to be another successful year for Canadian business travel.
Vision Travel Solutions Senior Vice President of Sales and Account Management Ian Race said business travel will be up modestly in 2015 – an expected eight percent increase, with Ontario leading the way. Though some business travelers say they have reduced their business travel because of a greater use of tele and video conferencing, as well as fuel prices, the projections for 2015 tell otherwise.
In Canada, Best Western's 2014 numbers were very good with consumed room nights up 6%, revenue up 8%, and the brand set record-breaking revenue per available room (RevPAR) index compared to midscale/upper midscale brands at 114.
Other panelists concurred that RevPAR for the region has remained strong. Egencia Vice President of Supplier Relations Chris Vukelich went as far as to say that RevPAR is currently at the highest Canada has seen for quite some time, driven by the lack of big time growth capacity and continual high demand for business travel. Adding to this, referencing the recently completed Hotel Association of Canada Annual Travel Survey, HAC President Tony Pollard said capacity has been restrained and demand continues to be high.
Though many thought decreasing fuel prices would have a large impact on the travel industry, to date, there hasn't been a significant impact, and most likely won't be until the price sustains for an extended period of time. "Logic says if fuel prices fall, airline prices should fall with them, but the reality is that this is not happening and most airline CEOs have no intention of lowering flight costs," noted Vukelich.
One of the key topics at the panel was centered on today's traveler and their fundamental needs – fast Wi-Fi, mobile connectivity and personalization throughout their entire experience. In terms of technology adaptation, Canada has traditionally been much slower to adapt with online sales, given different currency and tax structures. The market is now at a turning point and sees tremendous growth in online booking. "For Best Western, more than 50 percent of our volume is booked through the web today," Best Western's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Dorothy Dowling stated.
Though online sales have adapted at a quicker pace, an even larger change is in store with mobile. To date, mobile is generally used solely for searching, not necessarily for conversion. However, in the next 18 months, the panelists expect that to change as most of what's in desktop will be handled in mobile.
In the same vein, technology will play an even larger part for business and leisure travelers alike in 2015. Mobile, wearables, drones and in-room/in-hotel experiences are expected to play a major role for consumers as they travel. According to Pollard, "Eighteen to 24-year-olds use their smartphones for everything except making a dinner reservation." According to HAC's recent survey, business travelers use their smartphones for three primary reasons: to communicate with friends and family (60 percent), to check the weather (51 percent) and for GPS access or to gather directions (50 percent).
There is also a movement toward the "consumerization of business travel" where companies are challenged by employees that find better deals on their own rather than going through outside resources. Likewise, online booking has significantly reduced the cost for managed travel. "Five to six percent of transactions were booked through an online booking tool five years ago. Today, we're at 40 percent, which will only grow," said Vukelich.
Looking ahead, mobile, personalization, and new features appealing to today's traveler will remain key for growth. Travelers expect brands to know them and know what they want as they travel, whether for leisure or business – or "bleisure."
To view a video recap of the Business Travel Summit, please visit http://youtu.be/WOqu-Ea9MF4.
About Best Western International, Inc.
Best Western International, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., is a privately held hotel brand with a global network of 4,000+* hotels in more than 100* countries and territories worldwide. Best Western offers six hotel products to suit the needs of developers and guests in every market: BEST WESTERN®, BEST WESTERN PLUS®, BEST WESTERN PREMIER®, BEST WESTERN PLUS EXECUTIVE RESIDENCY℠, Vīb℠ and BW Premier Collection℠. Now celebrating 69 years of hospitality, Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, and online and mobile booking capabilities. More than 22 million travelers are members of the brand's award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western hotel worldwide. The brand's partnerships with AAA/CAA, Minor League Baseball, and Harley-Davidson® provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Best Western continues to set industry records and accolades, including Business Travel News naming BEST WESTERN and BEST WESTERN PLUS as the best mid-price and upper mid-price hotel chains, three consecutive Compuware Best of the Web gold awards for the best hotel website and six consecutive AAA/CAA Hotel Partner of the Year awards. Best Western-branded hotels worldwide won four times more TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence awards than industry average.
For more information or to make a reservation, please visit http://www.bestwestern.com.
*Numbers are approximate and may fluctuate.
About Vision Travel Solutions
Vision Travel is the largest Canadian-owned and operated travel management company, employing nearly 600 travel professionals and processing almost $600 million dollars in annual sales. The company has been providing a full range of corporate, meetings & incentives and leisure travel services from coast to coast to a wide spectrum of Canadian companies since 1953. Vision Travel is a leading member of Virtuoso, the world's most prestigious travel network, and the Canadian shareholder in Radius Travel, one of the world's largest travel management organizations. We are a company committed to a more personalized and responsive approach to the business of travel.
About Hotel Association of Canada
The Hotel Association of Canada is the effective voice of the Canadian Hotel & Lodging industry. For over 100 years, it has worked to enhance the prosperity of the Canadian Hotel and Lodging Industry through strong member engagement, effective advocacy, and the provision of value added programs and services. The Hotel Association represents more than 8,500 hotels, motels and resorts that encompass the $17 billion Canadian hotel industry which employs 290,000 people across Canada.http://www.hotelassociation.ca.
This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/03/prweb12577894.htm