CHICAGO, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Business travel serves as an important barometer for overall economic outlook and sentiment, and consistent with Wall Street's strong first quarter, employers started out the year bullish with 74 percent of business travelers expecting the same amount or more business travel in 2013, compared to last year,according to a survey of business travelers conducted by the Newsweek & The Daily Beast research department in partnership with Orbitz for Business, the corporate travel brand of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW). 

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Online adoption is also strong with 90 percent of respondents booking travel online at least some of time and 67 percent booking at least three fourths of their trips online.  Mobile represents a distinct area of opportunity with only 12 percent of respondents using a mobile device to book flights or hotel rooms.  In comparison, leisure travel booked on Orbitz.com sees much higher mobile penetration, with nearly 25 percent of hotel bookings now being generated through mobile channels. The survey found that over 81 percent of all respondents indicated they are "very satisfied" or "mostly satisfied" with the processes in place to plan, book and execute their business trips.

Among respondents who participate in an employer-mandated corporate travel program, 72 percent were "mostly satisfied" or "completely satisfied" with their employer's managed travel guidelines and 96 percent feel "very obligated" or "somewhat obligated" to save money for their company when they travel.  Further demonstrating an inclination towards policy compliance, 56 percent of managed travelers reported that they never book travel outside company policy and an additional 33 percent said they do so less than 25 percent of the time.

"The results of this survey reinforce what we've learned from our clients – booking travel online provides a much more satisfying user experience, as evidenced by our customers' 90 percent online adoption rate, and business travelers save money for their employer by complying with corporate policy wherever possible," said Mark Walton, vice president of global strategic accounts at Orbitz for Business.  "Since business travel is an important driver of economic growth, we must continue to provide the service, technology and tools that give travelers the most convenient and cost effective travel options."

Additional findings from the survey include:

• In the past 12 months, over 37 percent of respondents took five or more business trips and nearly 39 percent stayed at least 20 hotel nights
• Among those respondents in a managed travel program, 47 percent book their own travel while only 17 percent report their travel being booked by the company travel department
• Only 34 percent of managed travelers who book their own trips are "very satisfied" with the technology available to plan and book travel
• Customer service is one aspect of business travel that remains largely in the offline world – nearly 65 percent of respondents prefer to phone a customer service agent if there are any issues while on a business trip
• When it comes to company reimbursement for travel related extras, 65 percent say their company will reimburse for the first checked bag but only 23 percent will be reimbursed for the second.  Meanwhile, 58 percent of respondents can expense the cost of hotel room Internet service but only 15 percent can expect reimbursement for in-flight Internet access.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

• Newsweek & The Daily Beast Research Department, in partnership with Orbitz for Business, conducted an online survey via email recruitment of in-tab Newsweek readers
• The study was fielded between December 14, 2012 and January 1, 2013
• 572 business travelers who had taken at least one trip in the past 12 months participated
• Potential respondents were incentivized by an Orbitz for Business travel giveaway offering airfare vouchers to a randomly selected, completed-survey respondent

About Orbitz for Business

Orbitz for Business is the corporate travel brand of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW).  Launched in 2002, Orbitz for Business offers a complete portfolio of global business travel products and services that help corporate customers plan, search and book travel. Orbitz for Business leverages Orbitz Worldwide technology, customized for corporate travelers. In addition to its leading technology, Orbitz for Business delivers full service, cost effective travel management solutions including 24/7 customer support; expense reporting and policy management tools; and comprehensive choice in travel inventory.

About Newsweek & The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast was founded in 2008 as the vision of Tina Brown and IAC Chairman Barry Diller. Curated to avoid information overload, the site is dedicated to breaking news and sharp commentary. In 2011, The Daily Beast became the online home of Newsweek magazine, which has served as the world's preeminent conversation starter since its founding in 1933. Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Talk, serves as editor-in-chief of both publications. The combined operation now regularly attracts over 18 million unique online visitors a month and the magazine reaches millions more through its tablet and international editions.

About Orbitz Worldwide

Orbitz Worldwide is a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products. Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com), ebookers (www.ebookers.com) , HotelClub (www.hotelclub.com), RatesToGo (www.ratestogo.com) and the Away Network (www.away.com). Also within the Orbitz Worldwide family, Orbitz Worldwide Distribution (corp.orbitz.com/partnerships/distribution) delivers private label travel solutions to a broad range of partners including many of the world's largest airlines, and Orbitz for Business (www.orbitzforbusiness.com) delivers managed corporate travel solutions for corporations. For more information on partnership opportunities with Orbitz Worldwide, visit corp.orbitz.com.

Orbitz Worldwide uses its Investor Relations website to make information available to its investors and the public at investors.orbitz.com. The public can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the company posts new information to the website.

SOURCE Orbitz Worldwide