旅游业出现报复性反弹，移动办公是一个原因
在经过了长达18个月的防疫限制后，旅游行业正迫切渴望迎来复苏。
大家自由出行的渴望都被压抑了很久——对很多人来说，哪怕是在一定的防疫限制下，能尽量自由地出去玩一趟也是好的。正是这种心态导致了近期“报复性出行”的增加。这意味着现在人们比疫情爆发前更渴望旅游了——这既是为了“报复”疫情，也是为了弥补疫情以来被画地为牢的这一年多的时光。
万豪国际的全球品牌与营销总监蒂娜·埃德蒙森认为，人们之所以会有报复性旅游的倾向，是为了找回失去的时间和机会。这一年多来，有的人失去了探索新的目的地和文化的机会，有的人失去了陪伴家人和朋友的机会，大家都觉得自己被剥夺了时间和经历。
“过去的18个月让人们开始重新认识旅行对生活的意义。对很多人来说，旅行已经从一种‘心愿’变成了一种‘需求’。”埃德蒙森表示：“旅行对世界是有好处的，它能开拓人的思维，促进人的联系，拓宽人的视野，激发人的灵感。疫情让人们重新认识了生活中什么才是最重要的东西，很多人对旅行有了新的认识，旅行也因此有了更高的意义和重要性。”
根据SAP Concur公司最近进行的一项调查，在全球25个市场的3850名商务旅行者中，有96%的人表示，他们现在对再次出国工作感到兴奋。有80%的受访者担心，如果他们不增加商务旅行的次数，他们的职业生涯将受到影响。
商务住房供应商AltoVita的联合创始人、CEO维维·卡哈迪·希默尔表示：“随着旅游业和企业界的防疫限制有所放宽，人们在疫情期间积累的沮丧情绪已经到了非宣泄不可的地步。”AltoVita的客户包括谷歌、阿迪达斯和摩根大通等多家全球知名企业。希默尔表示：“而报复性旅行对商务旅行的影响，就是员工现在愿意延长出差时间，去更远的地方，并且寻求更加多样化的住宿安排。”
这种渴望也延伸到了消费性旅游，从而进一步模糊了商务出差与休闲旅游的界限。越来越多的人还将这两者结合了起来——在梦想的旅游地点的酒店里办公。
Kayak公司CEO史蒂夫·哈夫纳对《财富》表示：“人们正在努力弥补失去的假期。既然现在很多工作在任何地方都可以干，那么谁不想在夏威夷的海滩上工作呢?”
另外，现在的人也更乐意在旅行上花钱了。Tripadvisor公司的市场研究总监克里斯·席表示，今年秋天，美国人单次旅行的平均预订价格为776美元，远高于全球588美元的平均水平，这表明美国人花在旅游上的钱要明显高于世界其他地区。
克里斯·席指出：“今年秋天，大部分美国人（84%）都选择了国内游。41%的人会选择在离家不超过两小时路程的地方短途出游，这表明大多数人还没有做好长途旅行的准备。周末小长假（2到5天）是最常见的旅游形式，未来几个月，我们还可能见到更多的短期游甚至‘工作游’等形式。”
埃德蒙森指出，万豪国际发现，随着人们旅游欲望的增加，加上移动办公和移动学习带来的灵活性，使得很多旅客停留在一个目的地的时间加长了。比如以前很多热门旅游地都带有明显的季节性特征，或者是较为亲近大自然——比如国家公园、名山大川、海滨等等。但是现在，很多人都想在开启一天的视频会议前，先到海边冲个浪或者散个步。“我们还看到，很多人开始抱着‘活在当下’的心态打卡这些‘愿望清单’。另外，人们也越来越喜欢一些偏远、独特甚至小众的旅游目的地，只要它们亲近大自然，或者能为旅客带来新的视角。”
虽然在防疫限制尚未解除期间，很多人都避免前往热门旅游景点，而更青睐户外和自然景观，但现在人们的兴趣正在逐渐向城市回归。据Tripadvisor公司观察，在今秋美国人最青睐的10大热门旅游目的地里，大城市和海滨各占了50%。其中，拉斯维加斯、纽约、奥兰多、南卡州的默特尔海滩和马里兰州的海洋城是今秋美国人最爱的五个旅游地。克里斯·席还特别提到了纽约市，因为自疫情爆发以来，纽约市还从未出现在任何Tripadvisor的“最受欢迎旅游地”榜单上。
移动办公模式
AltoVita公司最近发布的一份疫情后美国灵活租房市场的调研报告显示，有68%的灵活租房从业者发现，人们对延长租期的需求有所增加；59%的受访者发现，租客对大空间的需求有所增加。希默尔表示：“很多人开始青睐长途旅行，并且将工作与休假相结合，还有很多人要求更大的空间，以便与家人和朋友一同旅行。这也表明，远程办公为员工带来了更大的灵活性和自主性。反过来，这对他们的健康和生产力也有积极影响。越来越多的公司也从长期看到了这样做的好处。”
目前，美国的一些企业已经重新开放了办公室，还有一些仍未开放实体办公，有的甚至已经彻底关门了。AltoVita公司还发现，有些企业采用了“移动办公”模式，其员工分布在世界各地，只是定期在某地召开一次扩大会议（按月或按季度）。这样一来，员工的生产力反而提高了，而且也模糊了工作与旅行的界限。
希默尔指出：“疫情很大程度上改变了员工的工作习惯，现在很多人依然选择在家工作，或是在自己喜欢的任何地方工作。人们对工作地点的灵活性有了比较高的要求，我们也知道，员工们希望能够按照自己的心愿，在世界上任何他们喜欢的地方工作。”
不过，虽然越来越多的公司采用了移动办公（或者远程办公、长期在家办公等），但是注意个人安全、服从防疫指导仍然是一件愈发重要的事。随着德尔塔毒株的流行，美国疾控中心已经将多个旅游目的地列入高风险地区名单，一些旅客只得出于安全考虑做出某些让步。根据普华永道的假日旅游展望，今年秋天，有72%的美国人打算开车自驾游，有91%的人可能会和家人或者朋友一起住品牌酒店。
“现在，人们在旅行时肯定考虑得更多，节奏也更慢，大家在一个地方停留得时间更长了，也更有兴趣深入探索一个地方。”埃德蒙森说：“他们已经不喜欢在一次旅程中走马观花地打卡很多地方了。他们真心希望能支持一下在疫情中受到重创的当地企业和商户。人们希望这些创业者能生存下去，所以不管是小餐馆还是夫妻店，人们都希望支持一下这些比较特别的地方。”
Tripadvisor公司的克里斯·席指出，随着德尔塔病毒确诊病例的增加，北美地区消费者的旅行意愿略微有所降温。他认为，休闲旅游的复苏仍将是不均衡的，但很多游客仍然抱有旅行的热情。“新毒株和一些不确定性因素让一些旅客调整了他们的日程安排。很多旅客在预订酒店时，都会搜索‘免费取消预订’和‘入住时付费’选项。而且卫生仍然是旅客入住时最在意的问题，所以Tripadvisor的‘安全旅行’筛选工具也就成了我们的网站最常用的功能。”
Zoom用户的爆炸式增长表明，从长远来看，科技仍然是支撑移动办公和远程工作者的基石。AltoVita公司最近的调查也显示，灵活租赁供应商目前最关注的优先事项就是高速互联网（43%）、提供办公桌和办公空间（29%），以及适合使用笔记本电脑的环境（9%）。在被问到哪种租赁安排最适合远程办公者时，74%的从业者支持月租，而超过三分之二（68%）的从业者已经开始支持灵活取消。
希默尔表示：“除了通过各种安排支持灵活旅游，我们还应该拿出资源，持续进行长期投入，以满足消费者的需求。比如我们都知道具体问题要具体分析，每名游客都有不同的需求和偏好。”为了满足从企业员工到数字码农的各种旅客的需要，AltoVita也在它的平台上增添了一些新元素，比如将支持延长租赁的房型从短租公寓、民宿、别墅扩展到了酒店、公寓式酒店和共居住宅等等。
希默尔还表示：“在商务旅行中，安全和合规变得比以往任何时候都重要。在未来几个月里，企业需要更多认识到这一点，同时也要意识到员工们对‘在任何地方工作’和‘移动办公’的需求。”
希默尔相信，这种报复性旅游的趋势仍将持续下去——尽管凛冬已经不远了。现在全球有36.1亿人口已经接种了新冠疫苗，特别是最新数据显示，欧洲、亚洲和北美的各大商业中心的多数人口也均已完成接种。
希默尔表示，虽然人们对新型变种毒株还有一些担心，但是商务旅行的需求仍在增加，很多员工都担心再次叫停商务旅行会对企业的业务包括对他们的个人前途产生不利影响。许多城市和国家也担心旅游人数减少会继续给经济带来负面影响。
“世界已经受够了疫情带来的挫折，虽然未来几个月，大家肯定还要谨慎对待，但只要有了正确的流程，企业和他们的员工仍然可以对远程办公有充分的信心。” 希默尔说：“归根到底，远程办公是有很多好处的，而且现在，员工在地点和时间安排上也有了更大的灵活性。长远看来，如果更多公司不跟进采用移动办公，这才是一件让我们惊讶的事。”（财富中文网）
译者：朴成奎
在经过了长达18个月的防疫限制后，旅游行业正迫切渴望迎来复苏。
大家自由出行的渴望都被压抑了很久——对很多人来说，哪怕是在一定的防疫限制下，能尽量自由地出去玩一趟也是好的。正是这种心态导致了近期“报复性出行”的增加。这意味着现在人们比疫情爆发前更渴望旅游了——这既是为了“报复”疫情，也是为了弥补疫情以来被画地为牢的这一年多的时光。
万豪国际的全球品牌与营销总监蒂娜·埃德蒙森认为，人们之所以会有报复性旅游的倾向，是为了找回失去的时间和机会。这一年多来，有的人失去了探索新的目的地和文化的机会，有的人失去了陪伴家人和朋友的机会，大家都觉得自己被剥夺了时间和经历。
“过去的18个月让人们开始重新认识旅行对生活的意义。对很多人来说，旅行已经从一种‘心愿’变成了一种‘需求’。”埃德蒙森表示：“旅行对世界是有好处的，它能开拓人的思维，促进人的联系，拓宽人的视野，激发人的灵感。疫情让人们重新认识了生活中什么才是最重要的东西，很多人对旅行有了新的认识，旅行也因此有了更高的意义和重要性。”
根据SAP Concur公司最近进行的一项调查，在全球25个市场的3850名商务旅行者中，有96%的人表示，他们现在对再次出国工作感到兴奋。有80%的受访者担心，如果他们不增加商务旅行的次数，他们的职业生涯将受到影响。
商务住房供应商AltoVita的联合创始人、CEO维维·卡哈迪·希默尔表示：“随着旅游业和企业界的防疫限制有所放宽，人们在疫情期间积累的沮丧情绪已经到了非宣泄不可的地步。”AltoVita的客户包括谷歌、阿迪达斯和摩根大通等多家全球知名企业。希默尔表示：“而报复性旅行对商务旅行的影响，就是员工现在愿意延长出差时间，去更远的地方，并且寻求更加多样化的住宿安排。”
这种渴望也延伸到了消费性旅游，从而进一步模糊了商务出差与休闲旅游的界限。越来越多的人还将这两者结合了起来——在梦想的旅游地点的酒店里办公。
Kayak公司CEO史蒂夫·哈夫纳对《财富》表示：“人们正在努力弥补失去的假期。既然现在很多工作在任何地方都可以干，那么谁不想在夏威夷的海滩上工作呢?”
另外，现在的人也更乐意在旅行上花钱了。Tripadvisor公司的市场研究总监克里斯·席表示，今年秋天，美国人单次旅行的平均预订价格为776美元，远高于全球588美元的平均水平，这表明美国人花在旅游上的钱要明显高于世界其他地区。
克里斯·席指出：“今年秋天，大部分美国人（84%）都选择了国内游。41%的人会选择在离家不超过两小时路程的地方短途出游，这表明大多数人还没有做好长途旅行的准备。周末小长假（2到5天）是最常见的旅游形式，未来几个月，我们还可能见到更多的短期游甚至‘工作游’等形式。”
埃德蒙森指出，万豪国际发现，随着人们旅游欲望的增加，加上移动办公和移动学习带来的灵活性，使得很多旅客停留在一个目的地的时间加长了。比如以前很多热门旅游地都带有明显的季节性特征，或者是较为亲近大自然——比如国家公园、名山大川、海滨等等。但是现在，很多人都想在开启一天的视频会议前，先到海边冲个浪或者散个步。“我们还看到，很多人开始抱着‘活在当下’的心态打卡这些‘愿望清单’。另外，人们也越来越喜欢一些偏远、独特甚至小众的旅游目的地，只要它们亲近大自然，或者能为旅客带来新的视角。”
虽然在防疫限制尚未解除期间，很多人都避免前往热门旅游景点，而更青睐户外和自然景观，但现在人们的兴趣正在逐渐向城市回归。据Tripadvisor公司观察，在今秋美国人最青睐的10大热门旅游目的地里，大城市和海滨各占了50%。其中，拉斯维加斯、纽约、奥兰多、南卡州的默特尔海滩和马里兰州的海洋城是今秋美国人最爱的五个旅游地。克里斯·席还特别提到了纽约市，因为自疫情爆发以来，纽约市还从未出现在任何Tripadvisor的“最受欢迎旅游地”榜单上。
移动办公模式
AltoVita公司最近发布的一份疫情后美国灵活租房市场的调研报告显示，有68%的灵活租房从业者发现，人们对延长租期的需求有所增加；59%的受访者发现，租客对大空间的需求有所增加。希默尔表示：“很多人开始青睐长途旅行，并且将工作与休假相结合，还有很多人要求更大的空间，以便与家人和朋友一同旅行。这也表明，远程办公为员工带来了更大的灵活性和自主性。反过来，这对他们的健康和生产力也有积极影响。越来越多的公司也从长期看到了这样做的好处。”
目前，美国的一些企业已经重新开放了办公室，还有一些仍未开放实体办公，有的甚至已经彻底关门了。AltoVita公司还发现，有些企业采用了“移动办公”模式，其员工分布在世界各地，只是定期在某地召开一次扩大会议（按月或按季度）。这样一来，员工的生产力反而提高了，而且也模糊了工作与旅行的界限。
希默尔指出：“疫情很大程度上改变了员工的工作习惯，现在很多人依然选择在家工作，或是在自己喜欢的任何地方工作。人们对工作地点的灵活性有了比较高的要求，我们也知道，员工们希望能够按照自己的心愿，在世界上任何他们喜欢的地方工作。”
不过，虽然越来越多的公司采用了移动办公（或者远程办公、长期在家办公等），但是注意个人安全、服从防疫指导仍然是一件愈发重要的事。随着德尔塔毒株的流行，美国疾控中心已经将多个旅游目的地列入高风险地区名单，一些旅客只得出于安全考虑做出某些让步。根据普华永道的假日旅游展望，今年秋天，有72%的美国人打算开车自驾游，有91%的人可能会和家人或者朋友一起住品牌酒店。
“现在，人们在旅行时肯定考虑得更多，节奏也更慢，大家在一个地方停留得时间更长了，也更有兴趣深入探索一个地方。”埃德蒙森说：“他们已经不喜欢在一次旅程中走马观花地打卡很多地方了。他们真心希望能支持一下在疫情中受到重创的当地企业和商户。人们希望这些创业者能生存下去，所以不管是小餐馆还是夫妻店，人们都希望支持一下这些比较特别的地方。”
Tripadvisor公司的克里斯·席指出，随着德尔塔病毒确诊病例的增加，北美地区消费者的旅行意愿略微有所降温。他认为，休闲旅游的复苏仍将是不均衡的，但很多游客仍然抱有旅行的热情。“新毒株和一些不确定性因素让一些旅客调整了他们的日程安排。很多旅客在预订酒店时，都会搜索‘免费取消预订’和‘入住时付费’选项。而且卫生仍然是旅客入住时最在意的问题，所以Tripadvisor的‘安全旅行’筛选工具也就成了我们的网站最常用的功能。”
Zoom用户的爆炸式增长表明，从长远来看，科技仍然是支撑移动办公和远程工作者的基石。AltoVita公司最近的调查也显示，灵活租赁供应商目前最关注的优先事项就是高速互联网（43%）、提供办公桌和办公空间（29%），以及适合使用笔记本电脑的环境（9%）。在被问到哪种租赁安排最适合远程办公者时，74%的从业者支持月租，而超过三分之二（68%）的从业者已经开始支持灵活取消。
希默尔表示：“除了通过各种安排支持灵活旅游，我们还应该拿出资源，持续进行长期投入，以满足消费者的需求。比如我们都知道具体问题要具体分析，每名游客都有不同的需求和偏好。”为了满足从企业员工到数字码农的各种旅客的需要，AltoVita也在它的平台上增添了一些新元素，比如将支持延长租赁的房型从短租公寓、民宿、别墅扩展到了酒店、公寓式酒店和共居住宅等等。
希默尔还表示：“在商务旅行中，安全和合规变得比以往任何时候都重要。在未来几个月里，企业需要更多认识到这一点，同时也要意识到员工们对‘在任何地方工作’和‘移动办公’的需求。”
希默尔相信，这种报复性旅游的趋势仍将持续下去——尽管凛冬已经不远了。现在全球有36.1亿人口已经接种了新冠疫苗，特别是最新数据显示，欧洲、亚洲和北美的各大商业中心的多数人口也均已完成接种。
希默尔表示，虽然人们对新型变种毒株还有一些担心，但是商务旅行的需求仍在增加，很多员工都担心再次叫停商务旅行会对企业的业务包括对他们的个人前途产生不利影响。许多城市和国家也担心旅游人数减少会继续给经济带来负面影响。
“世界已经受够了疫情带来的挫折，虽然未来几个月，大家肯定还要谨慎对待，但只要有了正确的流程，企业和他们的员工仍然可以对远程办公有充分的信心。” 希默尔说：“归根到底，远程办公是有很多好处的，而且现在，员工在地点和时间安排上也有了更大的灵活性。长远看来，如果更多公司不跟进采用移动办公，这才是一件让我们惊讶的事。”（财富中文网）
译者：朴成奎
After 18 months of pandemic-related restrictions, the travel sector is itching for a comeback.
Pent-up demand to travel freely again, or as freely as can be under COVID restrictions, has resulted in an increase in “revenge travel.” That has come to mean the strong desire to travel even more than before the onset of the pandemic—more about getting revenge on the coronavirus and more than a year lost to lockdowns.
Tina Edmundson, global brand and marketing officer for Marriott International, views revenge travel as the act of making up for lost time, as well as lost opportunities. Whether it was missing out on the chance to explore new destinations and cultures, or to connect with family and friends, people feel as though they have been robbed of time and experiences.
"The past 18 months have forced people to reevaluate the importance of travel in their lives. For many, what was seen as a 'want' has really been reclassified as a 'need,'" explains Edmundson. "Travel is good for the world. It opens minds, fosters connection, broadens perspectives, and fuels inspiration. The pandemic made people reprioritize, and travel has risen to the top of the list as many people have developed a new appreciation for travel or it has taken on a greater meaning and higher importance."
According to a recent survey from SAP Concur, 96% of 3,850 business travelers in 25 global markets say they’re now excited to venture abroad again for work, and 80% admit to worrying that unless they increase business travel, their professional lives will suffer.
"The frustration that people have felt during COVID-19 has started to come to a head as restrictions have eased, in both the tourism and corporate sectors," says Vivi Cahyadi Himmel, CEO and cofounder of corporate housing provider AltoVita, which works with large companies worldwide, including Google, Adidas, and J.P. Morgan. "When it comes to business travel, the knock-on impact of ‘revenge travel’ is that employees are now open to extended stays, traveling further afield, and looking for a more diverse range of accommodation."
The desire extends to consumer travel as well, further blurring the lines between traveling for business or pleasure as more people are just combining the two: working from a hotel at a dream destination.
"People are scrambling to make up for lost vacations," Kayak CEO Steve Hafner tells Fortune. "Now that most can work from anywhere, who wouldn’t want to work from a beach in Hawaii?"
And now, those who are traveling are more willing to splurge on trips. The average price for trips booked by Americans this fall is $776, compared to $588 globally, suggesting Americans are spending significantly more on travel than the rest of the world, says Chris Hsi, head of market research at Tripadvisor.
"This fall, the majority of Americans (84%) who are traveling are staying in the U.S.," Hsi says. "And 41% of them will stay within two hours from home, demonstrating that most of us aren't quite ready to venture too far. Long weekend trips (between two and five days) will be most common, so we can expect quick getaways, with potential for 'workcations' over the coming months."
Edmundson says Marriott is seeing that this desire to travel, combined with a newfound flexibility when it comes to remote work or learning, has resulted in travelers staying longer at a destination. Destinations that in the past have been traditionally seasonal and offer easy access to nature and wide-open spaces—such as national parks, the mountains, or beachfront communities—continue to be popular with travelers who may be looking to fit in a hike or go for a surf before a day of video calls, she notes. "We are also seeing a new willingness to embrace the now and act on those bucket list trips. In a similar vein, there is greater demand for unique, remote, and off-the-beaten-path destinations as travelers seek places that offer access to nature or a new perspective."
But even as many travelers preferred outdoor and nature destinations during lockdown in order to avoid crowded tourist spots, the focus is gradually shifting back toward cities. Tripadvisor says it's a 50/50 split between big cities and beach destinations in the top 10 destinations Americans are visiting this fall, with Las Vegas, New York City, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Ocean City, Md., rounding out the top five most popular U.S. destinations for fall travel, respectively. Hsi singles out New York City, in particular, which hasn’t been on any of Tripadvisor’s “most popular” lists since the pandemic started.
The mobile-office model
A recent report from AltoVita about the state of the flexible-rentals market coming out of COVID-19 found that 68% of the flexible-rental sector is seeing an increased demand for extended stays, and 59% is seeing a demand for large spaces. "Taking longer trips and combining work with a holiday (workcations), as well as having more space to travel with friends or family, [are] a sign that working remotely provides greater flexibility and autonomy for employees," Himmel says. "In turn, it has a positive impact on their well-being and productivity, and more and more companies are beginning to see the long-term benefits."
In terms of the current working landscape, some offices have reopened, others are still closed, and some have been closed altogether. AltoVita is also seeing some companies that are adopting "mobile offices" and choosing different locations to work around the world, or to bring team members together in a single location for extended meetings (every month or quarter). Employees can then benefit from increased productivity and the ability to blur the boundary between work and travel.
"The pandemic has altered employees’ working habits on a huge scale, with many still choosing to work from home, or from anywhere they choose to," Himmel says. "The appetite for flexibility is there, and we know that employees want to be able to work from anywhere in the world, at their own convenience."
However, with more and more companies adopting a mobile-office model (or working remotely/from home permanently), staying safe and compliant has never been more important. And with the Delta variant and the CDC adding more destinations to the high-risk list, travelers are still making concessions to safety: 72% will travel by car, and 91% are likely to stay with friends and family or in a branded hotel, according to PwC’s holiday travel outlook.
"Travel right now is certainly more thoughtful and taking a slower pace. People are staying longer, and they are more interested in exploring a place on a deeper and more meaningful level," Edmundson says. "They are no longer hopping between multiple destinations on one trip. There is a real, genuine interest in supporting local businesses and institutions that may have taken a hit during the pandemic. People want these independent entrepreneurs to survive, so whether it’s making the time to visit a hole-in-the-wall restaurant or a mom-and-pop shop, people are eager to support these special places."
As the number of new Delta variant cases rise, particularly in North America, consumer optimism of travel intent has slightly plateaued, Tripadvisor's Hsi notes. Leisure travel recovery will continue to be uneven, but he says many travelers still remain optimistic and excited. "New variants and uncertainty have caused travelers to shift their priorities. Free cancellation and 'pay at stay' have become popular when searching for accommodations. And cleanliness (which travelers equate to personal safety as a public health matter) remains a top priority, as Tripadvisor's Travel Safe filter is the most commonly used on-site."
As the explosion of Zoom calls demonstrated, technology is a key for future-proofing and supporting mobile offices and remote workers in the long term. As outlined in AltoVita’s recent survey, flexible-renting providers in the sector have prioritized high-speed Internet (43%), providing desk and office spaces (29%), and laptop-friendly surfaces (9%). When it comes to the best lease structure to support working from anywhere, 74% favored monthly leases and over two-thirds (68%) began offering flexible cancellations.
"As well as making these considerations to support flexible travel, resources required for long-term support should be continually developed to meet the needs of consumers," Himmel says. "For example, when it comes to supporting our sector, we know that one size does not fit all, and each traveler has different needs and preferences." In order to accommodate every type of traveler—from corporate employees to digital nomads—AltoVita made several additions to its platform, including expanding extended-stay assets types from serviced apartments, single-family homes, and villas to also include hotels, apart-hotels, and co-living.
"The importance of safety, security, and compliance in corporate travel is more important than ever," Himmel says. "Over the coming months, businesses need to be more aware of this, as well as the appetite for ‘working from anywhere’ and the ‘mobile office’ amongst their employees."
Himmel is confident that revenge travel is here to stay—and is still going strong despite the threat of a tough winter ahead. With 3.61 billion people worldwide now vaccinated, and counting, the latest statistics highlight that the majority of people across business hubs in Europe, Asia, and North America have received protection against COVID-19.
While there is some concern regarding new strains and variants, she says demand for business travel is increasing regardless as many employees are concerned about the business impact of halting travel again, and what it might do to their future career prospects. Many cities and countries are also concerned about the economic impact of lower travel levels continuing.
"The world is tired of the setbacks that the pandemic has brought about, and although there is definitely a need to approach the next few months cautiously, with the right processes in place, businesses and their employees will remain confident in working from anywhere," Himmel says. "Ultimately, working remotely has a lot to offer, and now that employees have greater flexibility on location and time frames, we would be surprised if many more companies don’t follow suit when it comes to ditching offices in favor of the mobile office long term."
