Hotels for Business Travelers

True, you could stay at any hotel and use your room as a headquarters on a business trip. You’d make a wiser choice and enjoy the additional amenities if you stay at hotel brands that cater to the business traveler.

Hotels for business travelers offer much more than the traditional complimentary breakfast. Business travelers’ amenities may include free shuttles from the airport, workspaces with faxing and printing, conference/meeting rooms, and free stays as loyalty rewards points accumulate.

The Top Hotel Brands

The leading hotel brands catering to hotels for business travelers are Hilton Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Choice Hotels, Windham Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, and Ritz Carlton Hotels. By frequently choosing these top hotel chains, you can accumulate rewards such as free nights and/or complimentary room upgrades.

Each of these hotels offers a range of choices, from mid to upscale accommodations. For example, the upscale major hotel chains within the brands are upscale hotel resorts, which may include dry cleaning and ironing services, a spate of tours and activities, fitness centers, and more.

• READ MORE: Business Travel Tips

The Best Hotels for Business Travelers

Business travelers consider several factors when choosing the best major hotel chains, including location, necessary amenities, points/rewards programs, and pet-friendliness. The additional cost (usually between $20 and $40) for bringing a pet along is often lower than the daily rate for pet boarding.

All provide complimentary breakfast and room service in addition to your guest room. Many hotels for business travelers can be classified as resort properties, as they offer additional amenities like club lounges, swimming pools, barbecue areas, and reserved parking.

Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts by IHG

This upscale brand is located in most major urban centers. A focus is on facilitating meetings. The Crown Plaza Hotels resorts also include work-life rooms (private rooms with office set up) or plaza workspaces (which multiple workers can use). For more info, see IHG

Wyndham Hotels Resorts

Wyndham’s choice hotels include 22 chains in 95 countries. The abundance of hotel chains under the Wyndham umbrella makes it a great choice for earning free rooms, and you’ll earn a free hotel room stay each time you pay for two stays. Wyndham reservations specialists offer a road trip planner. For more info, see Wyndham Hotels.

Homewood Suites by Hilton

When you join the Hilton Honors (annual fee) program, you’ll quickly reach elite status for business travel. Elite status means participation in generous points programs. There’s a free breakfast, but you won’t need it – suites include a one or two-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and even an outdoor grill. Pets are welcome. For more info, see Hilton.

Holiday Inn Express

Holiday Inn Express is a great choice for business travelers’ meetings. Reservationists will assist you by blocking guest rooms for a meeting or conference. With the Holiday Inn Express rewards program, businesses will earn 3 points for every $1 spent by business guests. That includes lodging, meals, and other costs. For more info, see Holiday Inn Express.

Intercontinental Hotels Group

IHG is the largest hotel chain. It includes Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood, Residence Inn, Staybridge (long-term stays), and more. Choosing business lodging from IHG Hotels Resorts is a great choice for international travel since IHG hotel resorts are all over the world. For more info, see IHG.

Hyatt Hotels

Along with the benefits of the Grand Hyatt, the Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, and Hyatt House Properties, there’s an additional service that offers the business employee a chance to feel like a leisure traveler. It’s called Offsite meeting space. Hyatt specialized in helping “work teams” get away – to work, of course, but also to relax and reconnect in work lounges. For more info, see Hyatt.

Hilton Hotels and Resorts

Within the Hilton Honors program is Hilton hosting for your meetings and events. You’ll register as the meeting planner, and Hilton will help you set up the details using a checklist that you can tweak for your needs. Hilton is a pet-friendly hotel chain. For more info, see Hilton.

Embassy Suites

Embassy Suites, a brand by Hilton, is included in the Hilton Honors program. These hotels offer upgrades such as Embassy Business Link Business Centers, which are equipped with essential amenities like wifi, fax machines, and printers, available 24/7. For more info, see Embassy Suites.

Conrad Hotels

Conrad Hotels is another offering by Hilton. The Conrad Hotels are luxury lines with resort-like accommodations without resort fees. Companies often use Conrad Hotels to reward employees with a vacation-like stay while getting work done. For more info, see Conrad Hotels.

Hampton Inn

Hampton Inn is an offering by Hilton that offers moderate to mid-scale pricing. You’ll get a generous complimentary breakfast, wifi, and spacious lodging with room to spread out with desks and tables provided. With more than 2,500 Hampton Inn offerings in 30 countries, it’s a great option to build up rewards in the Hilton Honors program. Pets welcome. For more info, see Hampton Inn.

Marriott Hotels

Marriott Hotels provides benefits for hotels for business travelers, such as late check-outs and early check-ins when requested at the time of booking. You can also collaborate with a Marriott event planner to assist in organizing your work event or conference. Additionally, Marriott offers fax, copier, and overnight mail services. Through the Marriott Bonvoy program, you can accumulate points that can be redeemed for car rental upgrades, future stays, and/or gift cards. For more info, see Marriott.

Quality Inn by Choice Hotels

This budget-friendly option from Choice Hotels features a complimentary hot breakfast. The Choice Hotels portfolio includes Comfort Inn, Mainstay, and Cambria. With over 7,000 locations available, you can earn points during your stay. Additionally, you can take advantage of discounted corporate rates. For more information, see Quality Inn.

Ritz Carlton

The Ritz Carlton offers luxury business travel accommodations with more amenities. If you’re organizing a business event, you’ll be connected with a Ritz Carlton meeting expert who will offer personalized service. The service can include arranging meeting extras, such as group outings to local attractions. For more info, see Ritz Carlton.

Sheraton Buenos Ares Hotel and Convention Center

This sprawling luxury hotel is the premier meeting spot in South America. It includes 21 different meeting venues and 10 different selections of room types. For example, room types range from the basic to the deluxe, apartment, and suite-style. Meeting venues include any equipment you need, such as LCD projectors and microphones. For more info, see Sheraton.

Windward Passage

The Windward Passage is located in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands – business travelers don’t need a passport. Windward Passage services and amenities include free airport transportation, banquet facilities, meeting rooms, dry cleaning, and ironing services. For more info, see Windward Passage.

How to Choose the Best Hotels for Business Travel

The best hotel for your business travel depends on the amenities you need:

• Free nights
• Rewards or Loyalty program
• Fitness Center
• Pet friendly
• Conference and/or meeting rooms
• Fax and copy service
• Free wifi
• Free hot breakfast
• Swimming pool

What is the best hotel chain for business travelers?

One of the biggest differences in choosing the best hotel chain for your business is the size of your business.

If you’re a sole proprietor, having a meeting or conference room available isn’t as important to you. If you’re a business owner with a team of business travelers on the road, you’ll opt for a chain with a good rewards points program. If, after a great year or special project, you want to reward that team, you’d choose from a list of business hotel resort destinations.

If there are certain cities where you most often visit for business, obviously you’d choose from the business hotel offerings there.

Business travel is considered a deductible expense for your business, but it’s wise to keep those costs manageable. One option is to enroll in a rewards program with a major hotel chain while opting for mid-scale hotel choices.

What is a business-class hotel?

Yes, you could stay at any hotel and conduct business work. You could use a hotspot on your cell phone to get on the internet. However, a business-class hotel focuses on the business traveler. You’ll typically get as minimum amenities free wifi and a space that’s set up for work, such as a desk designed for computer work, in your room.

Many business-class hotels also offer workspaces where you can use fax machines and copiers as needed. Many of the workspaces are open 24/7.

What sort of hotels are most popular for business?

Both business and leisure travelers are looking for value. They don’t want to pay for amenities they don’t need. For example, you may not need a meeting room or business center for a work team. If it’s a one-night stay, you don’t need laundry service. If you travel 4 nights out of the week, of course, you want the benefit of good rewards or a loyalty program, where you’ll earn points or dollars towards future stays.

READ MORE:

• Business Travel Tips
• How to Save Money While Traveling for Business

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This article, "Hotels for Business Travelers" was first published on Small Business Trends