Business Traveler

Back in January, I was able to attend an event hosted by Hilton Hotels that would help professors learn how to better travel. The event was titled “Hilton Hotel & Resorts Recruits Business Travelers for Bootcamp.” The event was focused on giving these travelers tips on how to maximize their time on the road. They are many challenges that professions face when traveling and the wanted to teach us how to do it better.

The night’s event looked at how young professionals when armed with the right travel tools can be successful.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts commissioned a survey of business travelers ages 23-35, which revealed overwhelmingly positive feelings towards work travel:

• Work Perks: Seventy-five percent of young professionals consider business travel a work perk
• Loyalty Life: Seventy-four percent say hotel points or airline miles are a top benefit of work travel
• Career Deal Breaker: Thirty-nine percent go so far as to say they wouldn’t take a job that didn’t allow them to travel for business
• Parents On-the-Go: Sixty-two percent of parents create reasons to travel for business

Findings also illuminated sources of tension and challenges for today’s new business travelers:

• Road Warrior Workouts: Sixty-five percent admit that they regularly pack workout gear, but end up not using it; 44 percent have gained weight due to traveling for business
• Expense Anxiety: Forty-three percent often misunderstand what can be expensed and end up owing their company money
• Sunday Scaries: Thirty-eight percent start to feel stressed and can’t enjoy the weekend when anticipating business travel the next week
• Bleisure Stress: Sixty-nine percent wish they could extend their trip for leisure, but 46 percent admit they feel guilty about doing so

When staying with Hilton, business travelers can find an array of solutions to combat the challenges they face:

• In addition to earning Points, Hilton Honors, Hilton’s free-to-join loyalty program, offers instant benefits and helps put members in control of their stay experience. Through the award-winning mobile app, members can check-in, choose their room and access their room using a Digital Key directly from their smartphone.
• With Five Feet to Fitness, maintaining a wellness regime is as easy as rolling out of bed. The revolutionary in-room wellness concept brings 11 different fitness equipment and accessory options into the guest room itself.
• Inspired by Travel with Purpose, Hilton’s approach to responsible travel and tourism, Meet with Purpose allows meeting professionals to choose from a variety of health-conscious menu packages. Favorites include “Yoga and Yogurt”– which offers yoga classes followed by a gourmet yogurt bar – or the “Cut & Create” salad – an interactive dining experience that lets attendees customize their meal from a unique, custom-made wood display of fresh greens and accouterments.

After the event, I got an opportunity to ask some questions of Vera Manoukian, global head and Senior Vice President for Hilton Hotels & Resorts and ask her about what her job was like and where she saw the Hotels & Resorts going.

How did you feel about being named Global Brand head?

The opportunity to lead a brand that both I’ve admired and is a pioneer in the industry was one I couldn’t pass up. I’m naturally very curious and like to challenge the status quo, so exploring ways to further innovate a brand as iconic as Hilton Hotels & Resorts is something that really excites me. What is particularly exciting for me about this new role is we are at a time where people are more inspired and motivated to travel than ever. More often than not, whenever I meet new people, I find that travel is a shared passion. I consider myself fortunate to be in a position to help make people’s travel experiences exceptionally around the world.

 What are your plans in the next couple of years?

One of Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ main focuses right now is on young professionals in the workforce. We recently hosted a “Business Travel Bootcamp” in New York, which helped introduce young professionals to the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand in a new, unexpected way. Over the next few years, I want to continue to find ways to strengthen our engagement with these travelers and continue to help smooth out some of the challenges they face while on the road for work.

 What do you think are the keys to growth in the future?

Today’s travelers are demanding more from their experiences and are consistently choosing  experience over a physical product. Brands that understand and adapt to this change, while finding ways to give them a personalized stay, will come out ahead. For Hilton, innovation has always been in our DNA, so making some of these changes to enable personalization, particularly in the digital experience, are already in progress. That being said, listening to our guest feedback and quickly taking into consideration their expectations, wants and needs will challenge us to be much more nimble. This ability to adapt is going to become critical to ensure we stay relevant to today’s travelers.

How do you plan to cater to young business travelers?

The next generation of business travelers are a very intentional group, from the airlines they choose to the hotels where they stay. There is a thoughtful selection process, and travel brands that consider their wants and needs are ones that will capture their attention. Taking this into account, we wanted to find genuine ways to reach this audience of young professionals and show that we are listening to them.

Research has told us that this group unequivocally loves business travel, but has serious questions around everything from packing to working out while on the road. For example, 65 percent of business travelers admit they regularly pack workout gear, but don’t use it, and 44 percent even say they’ve gained weight due to work travel.

So how as a brand do we address this? One of our focuses has been promoting our innovative wellness options, like Five Feet to Fitness, Hilton’s in-room wellness concept that brings 11 different fitness equipment and accessory options into the guest room. We also partnered with the ClassPass Founder and Chairwoman, Payal Kadakia, to share her tips on how she maintains her workout routine and diet while on the road. This approach has really resonated and opened up a two-way conversation with this group, allowing us as a brand to garner even more insights to inform future development.

I also got an opportunity to ask Brit Morin, Founder & CEO of Brit & Co.  As a pro-business traveler, Brit can provide some business travel tips from the perspective of managing business travel as a parent and young professional.

What are your top tips for business travelers?

To avoid jet lag, stay on your NEW time zone as much as possible for eating and sleeping, make sure your co-workers know you are traveling and will be a bit delayed to email, always bring a phone charger (it’s great to knock off emails when in transit between meetings), make sure to keep a healthy diet and fitness routine so you don’t get sick on the road, take at least one opportunity to enjoy the city you’re in — an hour to explore, visit a famous site/museum, restaurant, etc.

 

What advice do you have for people with big dreams and no idea how to achieve them?

Break down your big goal into baby steps and focus on a little bit of progress every week. Last year, instead of picking one big new year’s resolution (that I knew I’d ultimately fail at by mid-year), I chose 52 personal growth challenges. I ended up calling it #GiveItAWeek and it’s all currently archived on my Instagram profile. A year later, and I’ve never been as confident, well-rounded or proud of myself in my entire life. You can do it!

Best piece of advice you’ve been given?

“Don’t eat yellow snow.” Just kidding. Actually, it’s a quote by Nietzsche: “Those that have a ‘why’ can endure almost any ‘how.” I don’t think that enough people focus on the “why” in their life — why are they doing what they are doing? Why get married? Why have children? Why take that job? Why go out with friends vs stay in? Starting with the why will help you realize a lot more about yourself than you know now, and help you focus on the direction your life should go rather than living in anxiety that you are constantly making the wrong choices or saying “yes” to something that is probably not as fulfilling as it should be.

 

 If you tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

You can achieve anything you want in life… truly ANYTHING. This world was made of people no smarter than you are — they just believed in themselves more and worked harder than others. So, block out your own insecurities, meet a lot of people who may be able to help you, work as hard as possible and take care of yourself along the way. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.

What are things that you believe all hotels should have for travelers with children?

Babysitting services!!! But also: kid-friendly food options, kid-friendly entertainment (pools, playroom), and definitely a small store/shop where you can get emergency products (like wipes, diapers, etc.) if needed.

 

Armed with this information, I decided that the Hilton would be my choice for my next trip. I got a chance to stay at the New York Hilton Midtown while attending the annual Toy Fair in February.

The New York Hilton Midtown towers 46 stories at Sixth Avenue and West 54th Street. More than 1,980 rooms and suites feature large windows with sweeping views of the city, contemporary furnishings in neutral colors and plenty of space to spread out. Comfy Hilton Serenity bedding contains pillow-top mattresses, down duvets and feather pillows. Families can splurge on the five-bedroom penthouse for luxurious reunions, or stay in a suite with separate bedrooms and living areas. All rooms have marble baths and upscale bath products. Video games and refrigerators are available on request. The hotel hosts the Fitness Club and in-room Spa that offers massages and facials.  A theater and transportation desk helps guests book shows and get around the city. A separate desk provides guidance in the area’s activities and recreational pastimes. Pets are welcome at New York Hilton Midtown.

The Hilton has also done more to provide rooms for those that are disabled. With rooms that have push-button to open doors which an assistant dog could operate so an individual can easily get their wheelchair through. The rooms also have enough space for individuals to move their wheelchairs around.  The bathrooms are huge, with a large wet room and flip-down shower seat.

Whether arriving for a destination wedding, corporate conference or a family vacation, the Hilton Hotels & Resorts will provide you with all the opportunities to enjoy your stay and leave the place rested and relaxed.