Global and domestic political and social challenges created uncertainty for business travel in recent years, but conditions are stabilizing and prospects are improving.
After business travel spending declined in 2016, spending recovered with an estimated 1.7 percent increase in 2017 and forecasts projecting growth of more than 6 percent in 2018.
Hotel demand remained fairly steady over the past year, yet 2018 forecasts indicate continued upward momentum. At the same time, new accommodation models keep appearing, reshaping the business travel landscape and expanding options beyond traditional hotels.
According to the Bureau of Transportation, Americans take roughly 405 million work-related trips annually. To manage costs and improve flexibility on these trips, companies of all sizes are increasingly exploring alternatives to standard hotel stays, including rental platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway, as well as managed rental marketplaces.
One such managed rental platform is RentalsCombined, an online booking site that lists more than 700,000 professionally managed properties at competitive rates. The platform emphasizes instant booking confirmations, availability for last-minute reservations, and a range of higher-end spaces, while offering the reliability of managed properties compared with unmanaged peer-to-peer listings.
Recognized in 2015 by Sabre as a top online travel app, RentalsCombined supports both short- and long-term stays. Its properties are well suited to business needs—client meetings, team-building trips, extended work assignments and maintaining a healthy routine on the road—by offering features like fully equipped kitchens and on-site fitness facilities.
For business travelers, RentalsCombined lists properties in major U.S. markets such as New York, Miami and Chicago, as well as in European cities including Paris, London and Barcelona. The platform also serves leisure travelers with options in popular vacation regions like Florida, Hawai’i, Thailand, Portugal and Spain.
As companies continue to balance cost control with employee comfort and productivity, managed rental platforms present a viable alternative to traditional hotels, offering more space, flexible terms and the operational assurance of professionally managed accommodations.