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Sending Employees on the Road = Higher Profits
Businesses that continued to send employees on the road during the recession were more profitable than those that cut back on business travel, a new study has found. The study, conducted by Oxford Economics and commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association, attempted to show how travel can affect a company's bottom line just as businesses are starting to once again spend money on trips to meetings and conferences.

For every dollar invested in business travel, U.S. companies generated $9.50 in revenue and $2.90 in profit, according to the study, based on an analysis of government data on 14 industries over an 18-year period. An accompanying survey of 298 business travelers conducted in November found that 57% believed cutting their travel budgets during the economic downturn hurt their company's performance. Only 4% said it helped. Business travelers believe that they would lose 42% of their customers without in-person meetings, the study found. They said they were twice as likely to get new customers with face-to-face meetings than without them.

InterContinental Hotels Group plans to make free basic Internet access standard throughout its brands. Charges for basic Internet access are set to end at a collection of major hotels starting this summer, removing a frustrating fee for travelers and showing that a onetime amenity is now widely considered a necessity. IHG intends to announce that travelers in the elite tiers of the guest program, a status typically earned by staying 10 to 15 nights a year at IHG-branded hotels, will get free basic Internet access starting this July. IHG will extend the free service to all members of the program by 2014.

To receive IHG's free Internet service, guests must sign up for their frequent guest club. For more information, visit: IHG Rewards Club 

Owners of IHG's hotels are betting that the revenue they will forego by providing basic Internet for free will be eclipsed by the new business the program will bring to their hotels.

Other hotel chains internet offerings:

• Hilton, with more than 3,900 hotels globally, doesn't charge for basic Internet service at its mid-market and extended-stay hotels. In its upscale DoubleTree and Hilton hotels, it charges for basic service in the rooms but provides it free in its lobbies and restaurants. At its high-end Conrad, Embassy Suites and Waldorf-Astoria hotels, charges for Internet access vary by property. High-level members of Hilton's frequent-guest program aren't charged for Internet access at any Hilton hotel.
• Marriott, with more than 3,800 hotels globally, doesn't charge for basic Internet access at its midmarket hotels like Fairfield Inn & Suites and Courtyard by Marriott in the U.S. It does charge at its upscale and luxury brands such as J.W. Marriott and Renaissance. Most Marriott hotels offer free Internet service in their lobbies; that will become a standard at all Marriott hotels on Sunday.

YOUR LIFE 

PhoCusWright's U.S. Consumer Travel Report Fifth Edition, which looked at consumers' leisure travel and booking habits in 2012 determined that six in ten U.S. adults traveled for leisure in 2012. 30% of U.S. leisure travelers took an international trip in 2012, up from 28% in 2011 and 24% in 2010. Another trend is that travelers are choosing more upscale hotels. Nearly 32%, purchased a room at an upscale (4 or 5 star) property in 2012, up from 26% in 2010. The percentage of travelers choosing to stay at an all-inclusive resort also increased from 8% in 2010 to 14% in 2012.