USTA Calls for Consistent Standards To Accelerate Business Travel Recovery

The U.S. Travel Association called on governments and business leaders to establish “consistent” standards for health and safety protocols so that business travel and professionally managed events could restart more rapidly. CEO Roger Dow said the pandemic has “disproportionately” damaged business travel and projections are “very concerning.” He said that in contrast, leisure travel is already at 99 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels.

Dow said the association has launched a “Let’s Meet There” campaign, whose objective is to bring back corporate events safely. He said there is now a “patchwork” of protocols from city to city and state to state with outdated restrictions in some places, and the association is urging the adoption of federal guidance that is clear and consistent—and that recognizes that health and safety measures can be more readily implemented at professionally managed events than at other forms of large gatherings.

According to new research from Tourism Economics, a partner with U.S. Travel, spending on travel for large, in-person professional meetings and events declined by 76 percent in 2020 – a $97 billion loss in spending. Only about a third (35 percent) of U.S. businesses are currently engaging in any business-related travel.

Dr. Bernadette Melnyk, dean of the college of nursing at Ohio State University, said that safe meetings are possible with vaccinations and the proper procedures. She said meetings are a critical connection point for business to be conducted and that a return to these events with evidence-based precautions in place “is possible in the current environment.” She offered these recommendations:

—Requiring masks for all unvaccinated people and encouraging but not requiring masks for vaccinated people. She said fully vaccinated attendees do not need to physically distance except where required. When there are unvaccinated attendees as well, six-foot distancing is still recommended.

—If meetings require proof of vaccinations, attendees do not need to physically distance.

—Prepackaged meals with low-touch distribution methods for food and beverage are important, as well as proper ventilation systems.

—Attendees should follow Centers for Disease Control recommendations on disinfecting surfaces and hand hygiene.

—Finally, attendees should be responsible for their own lifestyle behaviors, critical to boosting immune systems.

As circumstances evolve – such as the prevalence of virus variants – there is a need, said Dr. Melnyk, to continually re-evaluate conditions and stay vigilant.

Chris Nassetta, CEO of Hilton, said that while 2019 business travel levels are not expected to return for three years, it’s possible to accelerate that time frame. He said surveys show 85 percent of people believe in-person meetings are “irreplaceable.” Nassetta called on all business leaders and regulators to recognize that in-person meetings can happen safely. He said it’s not possible to simply wait for a full recovery, but that it was important to take measures to speed the process.

Speakers said there were multiple criteria for holding safe meetings. They include: requiring vaccinations; having a combination of vaccination and testing requirements; and requiring proof of antibodies from having had COVID-19. “It’s up to meeting planners,” said Dow, “to set up criteria.”

The importance of business travel was cited by Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, who said that data shows companies that maintained levels of business travel during the financial crisis of 2008-09 outperformed those that cut back. He said maintaining that level of travel was clearly a competitive advantage. Without the in-person relationships developed pre-pandemic, said Sacks, virtual business would not have been as successful.

Those states that opened early, said Sacks, have “jumped out in front” as far as the recovery. He said cities have suffered the most because business travel and meetings are most dominant in those locales. Sacks also noted that there is a correlation between levels of education and getting vaccinated and most meeting attendees on average have higher levels of education and thus are more likely to be vaccinated.