Recently, I was fortunate enough to be bumped up to business class on a flight to the Big Apple. Being surrounded by business professionals and jetting off to one of the biggest financial centres of the world got me thinking - why do companies fly their staff business class so often? Corporate finance departments spend their days scrutinising over how to save pounds wherever possible. We'd all love to travel in luxury of course: fresh food prepared on board, seats reclining in to beds, being waited on hand and foot - not to mention the inflight entertainment. But how does this benefit a company sending their employees away on business?
Business trips are frequently short and the need for the traveller to be on top form is vital. With this in mind, if a person steps off the plane jet-lagged, uncomfortable and agitated then it’s quite likely it’ll take a day or two for them to readjust to the new environment. The detrimental effect of an employee who’s lacklustre can extend to poor brand image, bad decision making and low morale. Although business or first class travel will always be more expensive than economy, HR, travel teams and those responsible for booking travel must accept that employees need to land feeling refreshed.
Many business travellers also utilise their journey to complete work as they would if they were in the office, so it’s crucial that the environment is able to reflect this. Singapore Airlines have recently trialled the first ‘all business class’ service to New York and Los Angeles. This suggests that airlines are meeting the demand of the business traveller and that companies know flying their employees in economy isn’t always the best option for productivity. A serviced apartment is like business class in many ways. What use is it sending an employee away on business, at a considerable expense only to make them spend weeks at a time cooped up in a hotel room? Ample kitchen space, greater privacy, more room and a homely feel are crucial to making sure your employee is ready to take on their working day. Take a look at one of our international serviced apartments for a superior solution when your staff will next be travelling on business.
