5 Tips for choosing business hotels when travelling for work

As someone who has travelled a fair bit for work in the last few years, I have had my share of learning from each stay. The hotel you choose is extremely important and yet, we do not look at the little things that can make the stay uneventful. Trust me, during business travel, an uneventful stay is a successful stay. So here are my 5 Tips for choosing business hotels when travelling for work

5 Tips for choosing business hotels when travelling for work

Choose a reliable chain of hotels – A chain of hotels would have similar processes and facilities across properties so you can expect the same experience when you travel across locations. When you book regularly with one chain, they begin to value you as a loyal customer. Who knows, they may even give you a little extra special treatment! I have always felt that in the hospitality business, a business hotel is the trickiest segment to be in. Luxury hotels, Spa Resorts and Boutique hotels command a high premium. Budget hotels can get away by cutting a few corners but business hotels… well, they need to combine low cost that the organisations demand and good facilities that their travelling employees do. It is a tough balance to maintain and only few manage to get it right. A new name that is emerging in this space is Accor Hotel’s FORMULE1 hain of hotels.
Stay close to the office – We want to make the most of our business travel. Don’t we? Even our organisations expect us to deliver enough value for every rupee they spend on us. This usually translates to multiple agendas clubbed in a single travel resulting in early mornings and late nights! Staying close to the office helps save time and energy. If you can walk to work, well even better. This is emphasised by the FORMULE1’s seventh property that has come up in Hyderabad’s HITEC city. They have chosen a location that is the hub of IT in Hyderabad and hence can cater to a lot of young business travellers visiting the huge corporate and IT parks there. They even have a green zone where they provide bicycles to the guests. You can ride to work if the office is too far away 🙂
Test the hotel for Comfort – Basic things like soundproof rooms, working stations, reading lights, comfortable beds and pillows and even a clean wash room can not be taken for granted. A weary business traveller needs all these sorted for the limited time he spends in the hotel.
Look at technological facilities – Business travellers always need to be connected and the Gen-Y is very difficult to please and FORMULE1 hotels have nailed the one thing that this generation is always asking for – free Wifi for every guest! Jokes apart, having a good, hi-speed internet connection is a must have.
Ensure they have a Breakfast Buffet – I can not tell you the number of times I have thanked the hotels for having buffet breakfasts laid out early morning. Even for an 8:00 am meeting, I have been able to have coffee and a quick bite before leaving. While travelling, we tend to miss out on eating lunch at the proper time. Starting your day with a hearty breakfast will keep you sustained for a long time and you can focus on work and not food. A buffet breakfast is also great when you have overslept after a long night and do not have the time to wait for a custom order. Just pick a few fruits and muffins and you can eat on the go!

The first thing that came to my mind when I read this name was that the name is quirky and will appeal to the young business travellers. They seem to be well aware of all the needs of a young business traveller as well as their responsibility to the environment. While they promise to give their guests a great experience with the kind of amenities I have mentioned above, they are also a low carbon footprint hotel! FORMULE1 is currently running an ‘always more’ launch offer of INR 2399 and by paying Rupee 1 additional the guests can get can get you free buffet breakfast, free hi-speed Wi-Fi and local transfer. For more information about this, you can check out their website or Facebook page

I am being remunerated for this post but the travel tips and views are my own.