By Peter Myers

(Reuters.com) – Companies that send their employees off to do business in far-flung places are bracing for rising prices this year that will stretch tight travel budgets, a new report says.

The U.S.-based Global Business Travel Association GBTA.L suggests international travel will see the highest price jumps, with hotels and airfares (both economy and business class) set to become around 8 percent more expensive.

By Peter Myers

(Reuters.com) – More travellers are foregoing human interaction at Frankfurt am Main than any other airport.

Self-service check-in was used by 76 percent of fliers at Germany’s busiest airport, compared to 68 percent elsewhere according to a new survey by aviation IT group SITA. The figures could explain why passengers at Frankfurt rate airport processes as less stressful than at other airports, SITA says.

By Peter Myers

(Reuters.com) – What does a luxury holiday mean? Private transfers by Rolls-Royce and gold-plated taps on the double vanity, or an intrepid, individually tailored excursion to better understand a new destination?

Industry experts think affluent holidaymakers now place more emphasis on service, personalisation, and authentic and enriching travel experience than the mere physical trappings of luxury.

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) – When Robert Reid last visited
London from the United States for a short trip he stayed in an
apartment he found on a “couch-surfing” site in the
off-the-beaten north London suburb of Muswell Hill.

“I wanted to be at the place where The Kinks were from,”
says Reid. “The people were super and it gave me a great outlook
on London and I appreciate the city more than I did before.”