RESTON, Va., March 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA) annual conference, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico last month, focused on rapidly-evolving technology and a rise and adoption of self-booking tools designed to address the needs of corporate travel planners and their individual business travelers. This shift in industry focus comes from more and more companies allowing their business travelers to have more control over their travel. Many employees and executives now plan and book their own business travel accommodations, unlike in the past when corporate travel planners managed the entire reservation process.
The annual CHPA conference is one of the most important events in the global, extended stay business travel planning industry. Leaders in business travel attend this event annually to learn and participate in the discussion regarding the evolving trends that are redefining extended stay business travel sector.
When asked about the challenges CHPA is facing while being at the forefront of the industry, Mary Ann Passi (CHPA's CEO) summarized the intention of the event, saying that "Corporate housing is just one part of the overall service accommodation sector, and the industry is continually evolving." She also shared that "Every conversation at CHPA centered around how technology is affecting the accommodations business." These were the overriding themes of the 2019 CHPA annual gathering.
This year, HeretoStay.TV, powered by BridgeStreet, interviewed more than 20 leading professionals in the business travel space. Especially insightful interviews included a conversation with Brian David Johnson, CHPA's designated Futurist, who painted a picture of where the business travel planning sector is going, and how this assessment fits the overall theme of the conference: Travel option continuous sourcing, dynamic price comparisons, booking and customer service must ALL be online functions. There is no going back to this industry's outmoded, fragmented ways to find and book international business travel accommodations.
Jonathan Hamblett, VP of Partner Communities at BridgeStreet, summed up how a wave of technology and more choice are dramatically changing how professionals book long-term business travel accommodations. "We need to think about the changing demographics of the workforce and deliver experiences that our clients are looking for," Hamblett emphasized.
"HeretoStay.TV was launched to promote the thought leadership in the extended stay, 5+ night sector and to raise its profile. We're seeing boundaries within the industry players. Shared knowledge encourages a collaborative spirit," added Sean Worker, BridgeStreet's President & CEO. "HeretoStay.TV enables multiple viewpoints to be heard", Worker added.
To see all the industry insights that BridgeStreet's HeretoStay.TV captured by interviewing industry leaders at the 2019 CHPA conference in San Juan last month, please visit HeretoStay.TV.
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