Best Options for Business Travel From Either the US or Europe to Asia for a trip of 7 days considering cost, recovery, morale, productivity, and health.

1. Optimizing Business Travel To
Asia
Best Options for Business Travel From Either the US or
Europe to Asia for a trip of 7 days considering cost,
recovery, morale, productivity, and health.
Bill Kohnen
January 2014

2. Executive Summary
For extended trips to Asia the optimum travel plan is
Travel via coach
Stay in a 5 Star Hotel (Shangri La, JW Marriott or
Peninsula)
Start work as soon as possible upon arrival
Travel home a day after concluding your business.
Bill Kohnen
January 2014

3. Methodology of Review
Assume US or European Business Traveler
Occasional to Frequent Business Traveler
Total trip length 7 or more days
Key Elements Considered:
Actual Cost
Productivity
Morale
Health
Recovery from trip
Travel Elements Considered
Class of Air travel
Hotel Class
Schedule
Data and rating based on proprietary content, interviews, data collection and market intelligence
Bill Kohnen
January 2014

4. Findings
Business travel can be 2.5x coach travel
Higher end hotels in Asia typical are 1.5 – 2.0 times the
cost of the lowest cost safe business hotel.
Hotels in Asia in general are lower cost relative to US
and Europe
Bill Kohnen
January 2014

5. Findings
1. For an extended trip traveler experience generally is
influenced more heavily by hotel choice
2. Secondly it seems that starting work early upon arrival
but adding recovery time at end of trip is beneficial
Companies can accommodate both items to improve
total travel experience and save direct cost of 30%
Indirect costs related to productivity, health and morale
are debatable but estimates range from 1 to 3 times the
actual cost of the trip
Bill Kohnen
January 2014

6. Details of Study
Trip Configuration
Air
Hotel
Coach
5 Star
Business
5 Star
Business
5 Star
Business
3 Star
Coach
5Star
Coach
5Star
Business
5 Star
Business
3 Star
Coach
3 Star
Business
3 Star
Coach
3 Star
Coach
3 Star
Day Starting Business
Arrival
Arrival
Next Day
Arrival
Next Day
Arrival
Arrival
Arrival
Next Day
Next Day
Arrival
Arrival
Next Day
Next Day
Next Day
Next day
Next Day
Last Day
Business
Last Day
Business
Last Day
Business
Next Day
Next Day
Next Day
Last Day
Business
11
11
10
11
8
51
12
12
12
12
2
50
10
10
11
9
1
41
8
7
7
10
5
37
9
5
5
8
3
30
7
4
4
6
6
27
6
3
3
5
10
27
2
6
6
4
4
22
3
2
2
2
11
20
1
1
1
1
12
16
Departure
Rating Factors
Productivity
Health
Employee Morale
Recovery
Cost
Total Rank
Comment
Bill Kohnen
Best for
Company
January 2014
Best for
Traveler
But
Marginal
Return for
cost
Only where
there are
Most
very good 3
Expensive Star Hotels
and
or
maximum experienced
time
traveler
knows the
area
5
8
9
7
7
36
4
9
8
3
9
33
Extension of
Recovery or
time could
Higher cost
Definitely a
Best Case
moral of
help some Second Best
Air wasted
waste of
Pennywise and Pound
for traveler
extended
with
Option for
with high
Business Foolish may take months
with no
time only if
recovery
company
impact on
Class Air for Employee to recover
extra time
in a nice
and morale
traveler
Benefit
place
others not

7. Conclusion
Business travel to Asia from Europe or the US is expensive and hard on
travelers.
The best managed corporate travel programs recognize that meeting total
needs of travelers will result in lower actual and indirect costs.
The return on spend with higher end hotels in Asia is better than spend on
business class travel
Managing schedules is also important with astute travelers typically starting
work as soon as practical but at the end of a trip not rushing to catch the
next flight out as they might do with domestic travel.
Action: Negotiate Corporate Rates with High End Hotel Chains in Asia.
They all have direct Sales Representatives in the US and Europe.
Bill Kohnen
January 2014