Member Article

62% travellers admit absence makes heart grow fonder

• 62% of people think working away from home helps improve their relationships
• 71% find working away from home makes them appreciate their loved ones more
• 2,000 business travellers surveyed nationwide; 40% of whom travel more than once every six months

Business travel is the key to a healthy relationship, according to new research carried out by CitySuites, Manchester’s first and only luxury serviced apartments. The survey, which questioned 2,000 business travellers, revealed that 62% of people thought working away from home improved their relationships, while 71% felt that being away from home for work actually made them appreciate their loved ones more.

Traditionally, frequent business travel and maintaining a healthy family life or relationship haven’t always gone hand in hand, but CitySuites’ recent study has discovered otherwise, shattering many of the stereotypes surrounding working away from home.

The luxury accommodation provider undertook a similar study at the end of 2016, which revealed that the majority of British workers, 63%, never have their family come to stay with them when they are away on business. This was despite 65% of those respondents saying they’d like to have the opportunity for them to join them at evenings and weekends and almost half (49%) admitting they miss their family more than anything while away on business. The former stat has undoubtedly been a contributing factor to the misconceptions surrounding business travel, with the lives lead by business travellers often seen as more glamorous than they are in reality, putting the onus on play over work.

Gavin Bailey, Operations Director at CitySuites, commented:

“It’s encouraging to see that working away from home might be helping to improve relationships and have some beneficial results to workers’ wellbeing and home life. The negative connotations of a glamorous lifestyle and fractured home life that have surrounded business travel seem out-dated, and the research clearly echoes this. What we’re seeing now is a much more accurate reflection of business travel, which is actually bringing loved ones closer together.

He continued: “At CitySuites we pride ourselves on providing a service that puts the customer first, but we appreciate that some business travellers may not be familiar with this level of attention! We’re committed to providing convenient and luxury accommodation solutions for business travellers and are focused on doing all we can to recreate that feeling of home whilst people are away from their usual comforts.”

Tell us what you think on Twitter by using @citysuitesmcr or if you’re interested in staying at CitySuites, contact reservations@citysuites.com or call 0161 3020202.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Savage .