COVID-19: prevalence of job-demands, stress, work–life difficulties and work–life balance among international business travelers

PurposeInternational business travelers (IBTs) face daily challenges pertaining to the frequency and duration of travel. Following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the study aims to draw upon the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and the literature on work–life balance (WLB) to examine how this crisis have disrupted IBTs routines and the implications for their WLB.Design/methodology/approachData were collected in April 2020 with an online survey answered by 141 IBTs from different locations. The first set of analyses examined the perceived change in job-demands (i.e. business travel and workload) including stress and work–life difficulties following the outbreak of COVID-19. The second set of analyses tested the hypotheses that the perceived change in workload and stress predict IBTs' work–life difficulties, which, in turn, affect their WLB.FindingsThe results show that the decline in job-demands (i.e. business travel and workload) after the outbreak of COVID-19 was not enough to reduce IBTs' stress and ameliorate their work–life difficulties and WLB. Only respondents who experienced a decrease in workload, including less relational difficulties, reported a superior WLB.Originality/valueThe study widens the scope and relevance of global mobility studies in crisis settings by timely reporting the changes in job-demands, stress and work–life difficulties among IBTs following the outbreak of COVID-19. Additionally, the research extends the use of the JD-R model in the international context by advancing our knowledge of the interplay between contextual demands and job-demands in affecting IBTs' stress, work–life difficulties and WLB.

From Quantity to Quality: Capturing Higher Spending Markets through a Segmentation of Travelers’ Expenditure

Many tourism destinations aim at expanding their market share of high spending visitors by shifting from quantity to quality. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the introduction of social distancing requiring hotspots and mass destinations to reduce their capacity. This paper proposes a two-step approach for identifying top spending European countries over time, distinguishing between leisure and business travelers. The methodology employs the Country Product Dummy index with a hierarchical clusterization, enriched by a convergence analysis. This approach overcomes general shortcomings of descriptive statistics and cluster analyses directly applied to raw expenditure data. The outcomes of this analysis provide a detailed picture of the European travelers’ expenditure across time and geographical area. The identified top spending countries of leisure and business travelers can be targeted through ad-hoc marketing campaigns and specific packages for privileging quality tourism and planning economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 reopening phase, while shifting away from mass tourism.

Jet-Lag Countermeasures Used by International Business Travelers

INTRODUCTION: Research has highlighted the significant impact that jet lag can have upon performance, health, and safety. International business travelers have an important role in economic growth; however, there is a lack of research investigating jet lag and jet-lag management in international business travelers. This study aimed to investigate international business travelers use of jet-lag countermeasures. METHODS: International business travelers from Australia (N = 107) participated in a survey examining use of jet-lag countermeasures (pharmacological and nonpharmacological). Chi-squared tests were conducted examining the association between duration of stay and traveling experience on jet-lag countermeasure use. RESULTS: Most subjects had traveled for business for less than 15 yr and 57% reported taking between 14 trips annually. Durations of stay averaged 10 d (SD 13 d). Nonpharmacological countermeasure use was high. Pharmacological countermeasure use was less common. There were no significant associations between duration of stay and countermeasure implementation. Travel experience was only associated with nonpharmacological countermeasures after arrival home. CONCLUSION: Education programs delivered through businesses would be beneficial for providing information on jet lag, its implications, and recommended countermeasures to travelers. Rigney G, Walters A, Bin YS, Crome E, Vincent GE. Jet-lag countermeasures used by international business travelers. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2021; 92(10):825830.

Developing an Economy-Hotel Service Quality Scale in a Non-smoking Environment

Objectives: Sustainability of the non-smoking environments remain a challenge, as the effect declines over time due to inadequate regulations and incomplete law enforcement. The hotel industry is even more obliged to promote non-smoking environment policies. Numerous studies have explored the dimensions of hotel service quality; however, most of them have been conducted for international tourist hotels. Studies on the service quality of economy-hotel are scarce. The present study developed a reliable and valid scale for measuring service quality for business travelers. The components of the economy-hotel service quality (EHSQ) scale were reconstructed according to theoretical definitions and a literature review, in which the variables representing EHSQ characteristics were adopted. This study administered a survey among hotel business travelers to ensure the validity of this scale, which yielded 472 valid responses. Following factor analysis, item-to-response, and correlation analysis, 5 dimensions with 24 items were extracted, namely reliability, facility, empathy, pleasantness, and rooms and dining. In conclusion, this developed scale is a valid service quality measurement in the economy-hotel industry. Finally, economy-hotels are very competitive in providing better service quality and a non-smoking environment.

WHAT INFLUENCES BUSINESS TRAVELERS BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS OF TRAVEL BOOKING: A STUDY OF THE BOTTLENECKS OF ONLINE TRAVEL PORTALS

This study aims to explore the bottlenecks of the Online Travel Portals while catering to business travelers. Data collection was done from Online Travel Portals and 379 foreign tourists using varied scales to determine their comprehensive perceived experience, technology adoption perception, the bottlenecks encountered and the ability to adapt while selecting online travel portals. Findings revealed that building trust is a major bottleneck for business travelers as they are skeptical of online transactions, cases of online thefts and internet security issues is another bottleneck. Safe and secure payment gateway is a big hurdle. Hotels booked through Online Travel Portals are sometimes not up to the mark and quality is a major bottleneck Online Travel Portals felt that expected tour components by the business travelers was the most problematic factor for them. Another problem was the unfavourable payment terms with the suppliers as well as non-availability of right accommodation demanded by the business travelers. Another bottleneck included not meeting the special needs of Business Travelers.

Rabies Vaccine Disposition: Trends in Vaccination Among Israeli Travelers

Travelers are a risk-group for rabies; however, few are protected. We describe changes in pre-travel vaccination rates and post-travel referrals after animal contact. We conducted a nationwide, retrospective study for 2014–2018. The ratio of rabies vaccine courses distributed to travelers and the number of Israeli-tourist-entries to endemic countries was calculated, as was the proportion of travelers referred to a post-travel clinic after animal contact. During the study period, the ratio of pre-travel vaccine courses distributed nationally to outgoing tourism to endemic countries was stable at ≈0.7%; 13% of 256,969 pre-travel consultations included recommendation for rabies vaccination. Backpackers were more likely to be immunized (40.2%) than business travelers (4.4%) or travelers planning organized/high-end travel (2.0%). However, rates of rabies vaccination among backpackers showed a decline during the study period. Post-travel referrals after animal contact were stable at 2% of all referrals; most were exposed in Asia (69.5%) and 51% were bitten by dogs. Only 38% received post-exposure prophylaxis abroad. We conclude that only a minority of Israeli travelers, including backpackers, receive rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis. The proportion of travelers with potentially rabid animal contact is not decreasing; however, many exposed travelers do not receive post-exposure prophylaxis during travel. Because rabies control programs have been compromised in endemic countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to provide rabies protection to travelers has become more urgent. After the ACIP’s adoption of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2-dose regimen, a revision of current vaccine guidelines is required to provide a simplified, more inclusive rabies vaccine policy.

Airbnb Host Scaling, Seasonal Patterns, and Competition

This paper explores the scaling (size) effect in the seasonal patterns, a proxy for competitive threats, of Airbnb’s host providers, with the aim of understanding possible similarities and differences. This explorative study uses the city of Milan (Italy) as a case and daily occupancy data from Airbnb listings for four completed years (2015–2018). A mutual information-based technique was applied to assess possible synchronizations in the seasonal patterns. Empirical findings show progressive dissimilarities when moving from single to multiple listings, thus indicating a differentiation correlated to the presence of managed listings. There are fewer differences during the seasonal periods more centered around leisure clients and they are higher when considering business travelers. The evidence supports the scaling effect and its ability to reduce the competitive threat among different hosts.