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By Dana Knight
Videoconferences, teleconferences and Webcasts just can't measure up to a face-to-face meeting with a client.
But virtual meetings often had to suffice after the September 2001 terrorist attacks caused corporations to curb business travel.
Craig Chapman, an international salesman with Allied Van Lines, is thankful that the freeze on business travel has nearly thawed.
"Companies have found you can't replace a handshake," said the 41-year-old Greenwood resident. "Travel is definitely up since 9/11."
This year, experts predict, business travel for the first time will rebound to pre-9/11 levels. The National Business Travelers Association says there will be 219 million domestic business trips in 2005, up from 210.5 million in 2003 and close to the 220 million made in 2000.
"There is a real recovery in business travel," said Caleb Tiller, spokesman for the National Business Travel Association. "The slump that began in 2000 and was exacerbated by the (attacks) has ended."
The association's most recent numbers show American companies spend $153.2 billion a year on business travel. In 2004, 76 percent of travel managers surveyed expected to increase expenditures. Eighty percent surveyed this year by NBTA said they expect to increase corporate travel in 2005.
At Indianapolis International Airport, business suits and laptops are appearing almost as frequently as Hawaiian shirts and tennis shoes.
Corporate passengers in late September 2001 accounted for 30 percent of flyers at the airport. Today more than 40 percent of the airport's customers are traveling for business, said Dennis Rosebrough, spokesman for the Indianapolis airport.
"It's quite fair to say there is a rebound occurring," he said.
Despite the increase in passengers, airlines continue to struggle, said Helane Becker, a Wall Street airline analyst with The Benchmark Co.
"(They struggle) because the price of oil is $70 a barrel. That's pretty much it," she said. "The industry would be very profitable if oil would just drop."
The price of jet fuel was $58 a barrel in November, rising to $70 by April.
The business travel boom is happening at major corporations and small businesses.
At HirePursuit, an Indianapolis-area consulting and recruiting firm, travel has exploded by 300 percent in the past two years.
"A big part of it is the economy is picking up," said Dave Hickman, managing partner at the firm.
His 32-employee company is tripling business travel each month coast-to-coast and the cost of doing so is easily made up in results.
"What is important is relationships (with clients)," said Hickman. "The more time you spend face-to-face, the more we are part of their culture."
Travel was at a low in 2001 for HirePursuit and didn't pick up until the past 24 months, but only after careful evaluation.
"We don't squander our resources," he said. "It's something we analyze on every trip. Do we really need to go there?"
Even as the number of business trips picks up, employees are noticing a different type of travel. Perhaps they're not flying first-class, parking in the premier lots at airports or sleeping at four-star hotels.
"Everyone has been squeezing the heck out of travel budgets," said Paul Lubinski, 40, an engineer with ArvinMeritor in Columbus.
His travel schedule has picked up in the past two years to a business trip about every month. But, he said, he's felt the travel budget squeeze since 2001.
"(Even) during this (recovery) time, U.S. companies will look for ways to maximize their effectiveness and minimize costs and will increasingly look to things like new technology and smart travel management to do so," said Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the Travel Industry Association of America.
Companies are making sure they truly need the employee to board that flight, said Lisa Casteran, division director for Robert Half Management Resources in Indianapolis.
Robert Half's July survey found companies placing a greater emphasis on communication Webcasts, virtual meetings software and videoconferencing, Casteran said.
"Because of new communication tools, you don't have to have that business meeting," she said.
But some jobs still require travel, especially executives and those in financial and auditing professions, she said.
Norman Borders' last job required so much travel as a senior Sarbanes-Oxley project specialist that he took a pay cut to spend more time with his wife and two kids.
"I lost $50,000 a year to get off the road," said the 45-year-old Jamestown resident.
His new job as director of internal audit at Aearo Corp. in Indianapolis requires that he travel about half as much.
What he has noticed as a frequent traveler since 2001 is increased time spent in airports because of security concerns -- which means lost productivity for employees.
"There is certainly a great deal of inconvenience," he said.
Still, he is traveling and will leave for Sweden in a week.
People like Borders are bringing a smile to Mary Caldwell's face.
"In general our business has come back to really pre-9/11 levels since the beginning of the year," said Caldwell, owner of Caldwell Travel on Indianapolis' Far Southside. "They're not afraid to go on vacation and they're not afraid to travel for business."
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Business Travel
July 27, 2005
By Dana Knight
Videoconferences, teleconferences and Webcasts just can't measure up to a face-to-face meeting with a client.
But virtual meetings often had to suffice after the September 2001 terrorist attacks caused corporations to curb business travel.
Craig Chapman, an international salesman with Allied Van Lines, is thankful that the freeze on business travel has nearly thawed.
"Companies have found you can't replace a handshake," said the 41-year-old Greenwood resident. "Travel is definitely up since 9/11."
This year, experts predict, business travel for the first time will rebound to pre-9/11 levels. The National Business Travelers Association says there will be 219 million domestic business trips in 2005, up from 210.5 million in 2003 and close to the 220 million made in 2000.
"There is a real recovery in business travel," said Caleb Tiller, spokesman for the National Business Travel Association. "The slump that began in 2000 and was exacerbated by the (attacks) has ended."
The association's most recent numbers show American companies spend $153.2 billion a year on business travel. In 2004, 76 percent of travel managers surveyed expected to increase expenditures. Eighty percent surveyed this year by NBTA said they expect to increase corporate travel in 2005.
At Indianapolis International Airport, business suits and laptops are appearing almost as frequently as Hawaiian shirts and tennis shoes.
Corporate passengers in late September 2001 accounted for 30 percent of flyers at the airport. Today more than 40 percent of the airport's customers are traveling for business, said Dennis Rosebrough, spokesman for the Indianapolis airport.
"It's quite fair to say there is a rebound occurring," he said.
Despite the increase in passengers, airlines continue to struggle, said Helane Becker, a Wall Street airline analyst with The Benchmark Co.
"(They struggle) because the price of oil is $70 a barrel. That's pretty much it," she said. "The industry would be very profitable if oil would just drop."
The price of jet fuel was $58 a barrel in November, rising to $70 by April.
The business travel boom is happening at major corporations and small businesses.
At HirePursuit, an Indianapolis-area consulting and recruiting firm, travel has exploded by 300 percent in the past two years.
"A big part of it is the economy is picking up," said Dave Hickman, managing partner at the firm.
His 32-employee company is tripling business travel each month coast-to-coast and the cost of doing so is easily made up in results.
"What is important is relationships (with clients)," said Hickman. "The more time you spend face-to-face, the more we are part of their culture."
Travel was at a low in 2001 for HirePursuit and didn't pick up until the past 24 months, but only after careful evaluation.
"We don't squander our resources," he said. "It's something we analyze on every trip. Do we really need to go there?"
Even as the number of business trips picks up, employees are noticing a different type of travel. Perhaps they're not flying first-class, parking in the premier lots at airports or sleeping at four-star hotels.
"Everyone has been squeezing the heck out of travel budgets," said Paul Lubinski, 40, an engineer with ArvinMeritor in Columbus.
His travel schedule has picked up in the past two years to a business trip about every month. But, he said, he's felt the travel budget squeeze since 2001.
"(Even) during this (recovery) time, U.S. companies will look for ways to maximize their effectiveness and minimize costs and will increasingly look to things like new technology and smart travel management to do so," said Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the Travel Industry Association of America.
Companies are making sure they truly need the employee to board that flight, said Lisa Casteran, division director for Robert Half Management Resources in Indianapolis.
Robert Half's July survey found companies placing a greater emphasis on communication Webcasts, virtual meetings software and videoconferencing, Casteran said.
"Because of new communication tools, you don't have to have that business meeting," she said.
But some jobs still require travel, especially executives and those in financial and auditing professions, she said.
Norman Borders' last job required so much travel as a senior Sarbanes-Oxley project specialist that he took a pay cut to spend more time with his wife and two kids.
"I lost $50,000 a year to get off the road," said the 45-year-old Jamestown resident.
His new job as director of internal audit at Aearo Corp. in Indianapolis requires that he travel about half as much.
What he has noticed as a frequent traveler since 2001 is increased time spent in airports because of security concerns -- which means lost productivity for employees.
"There is certainly a great deal of inconvenience," he said.
Still, he is traveling and will leave for Sweden in a week.
People like Borders are bringing a smile to Mary Caldwell's face.
"In general our business has come back to really pre-9/11 levels since the beginning of the year," said Caldwell, owner of Caldwell Travel on Indianapolis' Far Southside. "They're not afraid to go on vacation and they're not afraid to travel for business."
Executive Search | Recruitment Process Outsourcing | Contract Staffing | College Recruiting | Site Map
This site is optimized for 1024x768 resolution and Internet Explorer.
Copyright © 2010 PrincetonOne