Businessmen Hold Luggage Business Trip

After two years of mostly heavy restrictions and the implementation of mask mandates, the recent loosening of mask mandates/guidelines has been a welcoming turn for the majority of American business travelers. Many companies have had to compromise or cancel in-person events or gatherings altogether, and while most have been able to adapt appropriately, a recent study from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) have indicated that virtual work in general has negatively impacted workplace culture and productivity (65 and 64 percent respectively), as noted in an article from Travel Pulse. 

The study also revealed that nearly half (43 percent) of participants in the study indicated increased travel plans for work compared to the previous year, which will give both general offices and event-centric facility more opportunities for in-person interactions. This also, however, means facility cleaning staff will likely need to ramp up cleaning frequencies and perhaps get a refresher on full occupancy standards again in many instances. There are many resources available to facility cleaning managers to help frontline staffs ramp back up to full speed, including a detailed reopening guide from the Cleaning Coalition Of America, available here. 

The return to in-person interactions will be a welcoming change for distributors too, especially those trying to secure new clients and improve their overall office productivity. Per the AHLA report, 88 percent of business travels deemed face-to-face interaction as essential for maintaining longtime clients — or even establishing them in the first place. 

A link to the entire AHLA report can be found here.