Leisure Travel To Rebound Before Business, JLL Analysts Say

Although both have been hammered by the coronavirus crisis, leisure travel is likely to rebound before the convention and meeting business, according to analysts from JLL.

Gilda Perez-Alvarado, CEO of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Americas, told JLL real estate researcher James Cook in a recent podcast interview that “cooped up” individuals and families were already preparing to hit the road before rates of infection began rising again around the country.

Corporate travel, however, is a different story.

“We’ve been functioning just fine with technology,” Perez-Alvarado said. “I used to hop on a plane all the time. I’d go around the world literally once a quarter. Well, we’re in the midst of doing a virtual global roadshow right no.  I’ve never felt closer to my colleagues and my peers and my clients, because now this is getting personal. It’s not just a phone call. I can see you.”

When business travel does return, she continued, it will take on a much different appearance, thanks to the discovery that technology can minimize the impact of physical distance. Still, geographically dispersed teams and members of professional organizations will find reasons to meet again in person.

“What I miss most right now, of all of the different types of meetings and travel that I used to do for work, was the sort of small to medium size group offsite meeting at a hotel somewhere where everybody was out of town. So you kind of felt like the small group on an Island and you’d get work done,” Cook said. “You do a lot of creative stuff, and then you’d go out and have dinner and have drinks together.”

The crisis may also give the hospitality a chance for a reset, turning away from unsustainable forms of tourism with pernicious effects on host communities and towards lower impact approaches.

“We don’t need a lot of mass tourism. Let’s go for the niche specialty, low impact type tourism. You know, we can still make a profit. We can charge accordingly. But we’re going to take care of our destination in the longer term,” Perez-Alvarado said. “I am from Costa Rica, you know. We’re all about eco-friendly low impact tourism, respect of the environment and your surroundings. And I think a lot of other destinations are taking notice.”

Meanwhile, hotels will also be investing more in technology and design, in order to reduce the infection risks that come from personal interactions.

“Prior to COVID, we were thinking more about the public areas and the fact that just having a small space to sleep and a tiny desk was fine because people want it to be in the lobby or the other public areas,” Perez-Alvarado said. “ I think people now want to rethink the room experience and maybe add a little bit more square footage, make sure that the technology in that room is amazing so that you can continue to stream all the shows that you watch or have that video call with your colleagues while you’re in your guestroom.”