- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly: ‘If things don’t improve, this just can’t continue’
Posted on 9/8/20 at 9:07 pm to Barrister
Posted on 9/8/20 at 9:07 pm to Barrister
quote:
He is wrong.
Business travel is predicated upon business and the opportunity to make profit. Business is always looking for a competitive edge, so the first company to loosen restrictions and start flying employees will start a domino effect. No one is going to allow themselves to fall behind in the marketplace.
People have short memories and assuming the availability of routes and planes, numbers will be back next year
i hope you are right but the thing to keep in mind is that the legacy carriers are not just wringing their hands over declining travel but the concern that businesses will forego the traditional airlines entirely and instead patronize charters, buy into fractionals like net jets, or use jet "sharing" services like jet smarter, wheels up or wingly. that is where the hit to business travel is going to come from.
0
Posted on 9/9/20 at 5:36 am to Paul Allen
quote:
With all due respect, that’s one heck of an assumption. Salespeople and marketing/manufacturers reps are extroverted people that like to entertain clients and travel.
Sure, maybe not every single day of the week as work/life/family all have a balance but I know several salespeople in various industries that are beyond excited to resume pre Covid-19 travel.
So much wrong with this statement. I have hired, trained, managed and been in sales for 20 years, not all sales people are extroverts, not even close. That changed about 15 years ago. Also, being one, I can tell you, sales people don't love the constant travel. It's great for about a year and gets old quick. And honestly, a lot of sales people haven't stopped traveling.
Posted on 9/9/20 at 10:10 am to djrunner
As said 2018-2019 was likely a bubble that popped for airlines. Will it grow back over time? Most likely. But with virtual meetings now being universally excepted and to some preferred, it’s not something that’s just going to bounce back imo.
Let’s also not forget that meetings require 2 people, and just because the sales guy wants to travel doesn’t mean the customer wants to meet him.
Again though, I personally think of business travel does slow down considerably leisure travel will pick a considerable amount of the slack up. Not 100% and maybe not 80% but 40% or more I could easily see.
I’m seeing it in the Destin area, with kids doing virtual learning and parents working from home a lot of people are taking extended affordable trips away from home.
Let’s also not forget that meetings require 2 people, and just because the sales guy wants to travel doesn’t mean the customer wants to meet him.
Again though, I personally think of business travel does slow down considerably leisure travel will pick a considerable amount of the slack up. Not 100% and maybe not 80% but 40% or more I could easily see.
I’m seeing it in the Destin area, with kids doing virtual learning and parents working from home a lot of people are taking extended affordable trips away from home.
Posted on 9/9/20 at 11:57 am to baldona
quote:
How many business travelers are unhappy their travel time is reduced?
I flew 55 times in 2019 on Southwest. This year, I've only flown 20 times. I'm finally able to start flying again more frequently to see clients and employees. I'm on the fence though...sure not traveling 3-4 times a month has been nice on one hand, but on the other I feel like I'm missing out on connections with people I used to make pretty regularly.
And it feels like I could gain a leg up on my competition if I had been flying like usual this whole time.
This post was edited on 9/9/20 at 11:59 am
Posted on 9/9/20 at 12:38 pm to MaxDraft
quote:
but on the other I feel like I'm missing out on connections with people I used to make pretty regularly.
And it feels like I could gain a leg up on my competition if I had been flying like usual this whole time.
Agreed 100%. I think maybe not for the rest of 2020 but eventually next year you’re going to see more companies take this approach.
Especially if you’re in a sales/marketing role and in-person connections are vital for productivity.
Posted on 9/9/20 at 5:19 pm to Paul Allen
quote:
I guess we’ll see in 6 months.
When people say it will never be the same I’m always skeptical.
If that was true, they wouldn’t need to say it. We would all just know it.
And whenever I’ve heard that in the past, after a crisis, it’s gone back to normal. Covid also isn’t deadly enough to warrant this disruption. Public health officials panicked, and we ended up with a lockdown. There will be a correction as people accept that we made a mistake.
We may not talk about it. But we’ll correct course.
Posted on 9/9/20 at 9:46 pm to Paul Allen
probably ought to post this on the money board
Posted on 9/10/20 at 7:31 am to 8thyearsenior
What horse? AOC?
Posted on 9/10/20 at 8:40 am to Dizz
quote:
I guess the real question is how much business travel was not really needed. How much travel will companies realize was not really necessary and can be cut out to save costs.
Yep. When I traveled more for work, I'd guesstimate that 50% of it was unnecessary. That's a lot of $$ over a year across a staff of about 5 people that traveled regularly. And I absolutely milked the hell out of it as well. Extending trips to cool cities by a day or two, booking flights later in the day to get a couple extra meals covered, etc.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:10 am to The Spleen
Do you think your company is going to alter your travel budget going forward?
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:16 am to Paul Allen
quote:
Do you think your company is going to alter your travel budget going forward?
I no longer work for that company and my current travel is pretty limited. I travel overnight maybe 2-3 weeks a year now, and none of it is air travel, so no I don't see our travel budget changing any going forward.
I do think some companies are going to have serious discussions on scaling it back, at least in the short term.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:20 am to Paul Allen
quote:
His opinion on business travel languishing for a decade has to be disconcerting for the hotel industry.
Not mad since hotels are for pussies.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:23 am to The Spleen
I wonder what the impact is going to be for people in sales roles. You can do a lot through teams and zoom but it still isn’t the same as meeting in person in order to build the relationship.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:23 am to canyon critter
Don’t talk like that
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:30 am to The Spleen
I think you guys are focused on the salesman traveling, what about the customer?
Some customers are going to care, why invite a salesman when you can see a pitch online with some more flexibility. Some sales guys I don't mind inviting to the office, some of them honestly I'd rather have them zoom me so I can have some more flexibility on time and also frankly getting them the hell out sooner.
I just don't think its realistic to get back to anywhere close to 100% of business travel. 80% and maybe 90%, but that's still a significant hit. I think it was a bubble, I just don't see planning to get back to 2019 levels is realistic for business travel anytime soon.
Some customers are going to care, why invite a salesman when you can see a pitch online with some more flexibility. Some sales guys I don't mind inviting to the office, some of them honestly I'd rather have them zoom me so I can have some more flexibility on time and also frankly getting them the hell out sooner.
I just don't think its realistic to get back to anywhere close to 100% of business travel. 80% and maybe 90%, but that's still a significant hit. I think it was a bubble, I just don't see planning to get back to 2019 levels is realistic for business travel anytime soon.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:46 am to baldona
quote:
just don't think its realistic to get back to anywhere close to 100% of business travel. 80% and maybe 90%, but that's still a significant hit. I think it was a bubble, I just don't see planning to get back to 2019 levels is realistic for business travel anytime soon.
If this comes to fruition, airlines and especially hotels are going to be severely affected. Not to mention, more of your customers over the age of let’s say 45 probably prefer an in person meeting. I would bet the majority of people under 35 or so probably prefer the virtual meeting.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:47 am to baldona
quote:
I think you guys are focused on the salesman traveling,
I wasn't, because none of my prior travel was sales related. I traveled to either other offices within the company I worked for, or clients of our company. Some of that travel was absolutely necessary, but close to an equal amount wasn't. And even now with Skype, Zoom, and other video conferencing technology it seems even less necessary.
Here's an example. I was in a supervisory role, and 3 of the people I supervised worked in our company's Chicago office. No idea why it was structured that way, but I was required to go to Chicago once a quarter to "check-in" on them and get some face time. I'd spend 3-4 days in Chicago not really doing much work just to check a box on my job requirements. It was sometimes beneficial to help them on some training issues, but often times I found myself sitting in a conference room all day by myself working on my work. Though they did enjoy my visits because I took them out to eat most nights and had an unlimited budget to do so.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:56 am to The Spleen
I was focused on sales roles because of any company structure, who does the lion share of the travel? Salespeople are trying to cultivate relationships while selling and promoting your company. Just wondering if companies are going to jettison their traditional in person sales model and go virtual or once Covid is gone things resume back to where they were without missing a beat.
Posted on 9/10/20 at 9:56 am to Paul Allen
quote:
especially hotels are going to be severely affected
The only travel we are talking about is for meetings. There is still plenty of business travel that's not just for meetings. Businesses still need to send managers to check on staff, engineers to look at a job site, etc.
As said already, I think having more Zoom meetings with an occasional on site visit may do the same for bonding as multiple trips.
Posted on 9/13/20 at 3:37 am to 8thyearsenior
quote:
Yep, Trump screwed the pooch on this.
quote:
8thyearsenior
dumbass confirmed
Page 2 of 3
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News