A huge competitive advantage

Business travel and in-person meetings, a huge competitive advantage

Data speaks for itself: the San Diego State University School of Hospitality & Tourism Management on behalf of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has revealed in a recent survey that in-person business travel and meetings have huge and undeniable advantages over virtual options.

But that’s not all; the report has also revealed that businesses and organizations that have resumed business travel and meetings more quickly are likely to be more competitive than those who do not. But why is that?

Productivity boost

One of the key points is productivity. Business travel and in-person meetings facilitate productivity in a way virtual interactions cannot.

As a matter of fact, a recent survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of AHLA found that 80% of employed Americans and 86% of business travelers say face-to-face interactions are important for maximizing company success. And that’s not all, as according to another survey, nearly half of people (49%) say in-person meetings allow for more complex strategic thinking, and 44% say in person is a better environment for tough, timely decision-making.

In-person meetings provide an energy that is not usually found in virtual meetings. Contact, having a group of people in a room working towards a common goal, speeds up projects.

Collaboration improves

Business travel and in-person meetings build organizational strength and foster collaboration in a way virtual interactions cannot.

Working remotely has many benefits, but when the team meets in person, collaboration improves significantly. Although there are currently many collaboration tools, being in the same room allows for more direct communication. More factors come into play, such as non-verbal communication, and the immediacy is absolute.

Face to face connection need

This is another key point. COVID-19 has created a greater need for face-to-face connection that virtual-only meetings simply cannot satisfy.

The pandemic has caused us to be for very long periods of time without having personal contact with colleagues. And as social beings that we are, we feel even more the need to connect. We long for meetings with colleagues, being able to talk with them and work with a different energy, which has been described on many occasions as collective effervescence

Workplace culture and team building

It has also been proved that increased reliance on virtual meetings negatively impacts workplace culture and team building, while also hurting productivity.

Connection need

This is why we need to connect, and to organize meetings in the most effective way, there is a tool on the market that allows you to do it in just a few minutes.

TROOP is a single, centralized hub that enables a scientific, algorithmic and data-driven approach to planning the most effective global meeting and events for your team, saving time and money while significantly reducing your carbon footprint.

The tool takes efficiency to the next level in the world of meeting planning, offering data on costs, times, restrictions associated with COVID, as well as carbon footprint data. In this way, decisions are informed and can be made in minutes, instead of days as was the case before.

Do you want to know more? Don’t hesitate and book a meeting with our team now!