Four-star services and business traveler wellness are not a luxury for road warriors
~ Travel managers, take note
A uniformed driver (we still call the best ones chauffeurs) with a polished luxury Lincoln sedan pulls into your neighbor’s Darien driveway: “Impressive.” But it was at 5AM. So next time you see the neighbor, you ask and learn she had a 7:30AM flight out of LaGuardia to Chicago. “Business class!? Nice.” And she stayed at an upscale business hotel for two nights and enjoyed a couple of splendid dinners at 4-star restaurants – not bad at all!
But if you are envious, don’t be. An extensive 2018 study[1], by the Global Business Travel Association and American Express found a “strong correlation between frequency of business travel and a wide range of physical and behavioral risks” according a 2018 article[2] in Harvard Business Review.
Think back and there seems to be a private car service driver in her driveway about every other week! ..and usually very early in the morning. She tells you she’s been on that punishing schedule for years. She is away from her family until late Wednesday or Thursday night on those weeks. That is a lot of missed Little League games and dance recitals – a heavy burden indeed.
“Compared to those who spent one to six nights a month away from home for business travel, those who spent 14 or more nights away from home per month had significantly higher body mass index scores” writes Andrew Rundle in HBR, “and were significantly more likely to report the following: poor self-rated health; clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression and alcohol dependence; no physical activity or exercise; smoking; and trouble sleeping. The odds of being obese were 92% higher for those who traveled 21 or more nights per month compared to those who traveled only one to six nights per month, and this ultra-traveling group also had higher diastolic blood pressure and lower high density lipoprotein (the good cholesterol).
Sixty-seven percent of surveyed business travelers reported that frequently or occasionally they experienced “reduced confidence that I can keep up with the pace of work and fulfill commitments” according to a slide in an April 2020 Business Travel News webinar attended by this author. Well over half surveyed also ‘frequently or occasionally’ felt significant fatigue, back disorders, anxiety, trouble sleeping and a negative impact on personal/family relationships.
Even with the cost of executive car service, seat upgrades and top hotels, business travel has a 12:1 Return on Investment. And the people who travel most frequently typically command a company’s highest pay scale. So, it pays to keep your road warriors not only happy, but safe and productive. The best talent demand a valid and vetted safe executive-tier car, upgraded air and hotel services and command it at the best companies.
There is just no easy way to get from Connecticut or Westchester to LaGuardia (LGA), Kennedy (JFK) or Newark Liberty Airport (EWR).
After all, New York City and Fairfield County are consistently ranked as two of the top five worst traffic areas in the United States. So, having a heavily-vetted professional driver in a gracious Lincoln motorcar – with fully 7.2 inches more rear seat legroom than Mercedes’ biggest sedan – will take a tremendous burden off the shoulders of your top rainmakers and go far in helping them be successful on behalf of your company. A private car service from the airport gets them home much sooner and lets road warriors get their post-meeting work done, instead of fighting New York traffic, and be ready to enjoy the family when they arrive home.
For Teddy’s Hartford County clientele, the benefits are manifold:
It is downright dangerous to think you can safely drive yourself all the way home from JFK or Boston Logan (BOS) after an international or west coast flight.
Recruiting top talent?
The BTN webinar findings show the top three travel wellness wants are:
- “the option to include an extra day in-destination to prepare and acclimate
- Time off work at the employee’s discretion after long trips
- The ability to upgrade my room or bed type
Teddy’s Transportation System, established in Westport in 1932, is the 2020 LCT magazine National Limousine Operator of the Year.
[1] https://www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/press-room/business-travel-responsible-547-billion-gdp-2016-creates-74-million-jobs/
[2] https://hbr.org/2018/05/just-how-bad-is-business-travel-for-your-health-heres-the-data