The Muslim Business Traveler Insights 2016 (MBTI) is a report presented by CrescentRating and Mastercard that focuses on the travel patterns and preferences of the average Muslim business traveler. The MBTI 2016 report goes to show that Muslim business travelers are no different from regular business travelers when it comes to travel patterns. However, their needs and the facilities that are required are certainly different when compared together.
According the research, it has been shown that 4-star hotels are more popular by the majority of Muslim business travelers with 45 percent of the demographic preferring this kind of accommodation – with 26 percent opting for 3-star hotels and just 19 percent choosing 5-star hotels. The preference is quite low for budget hotels - which is at 6 percent and with only 4 percent selecting AirBnB style accommodation.
When it comes to maintaining an accommodation budget for business travel, data from the MBTI 2016 report shows that a little more than 45 percent prefer maintaining a budget between USD 100 to USD 200 and a little less than 30 percent will spend less than USD 100 on accommodation per night. However, less than 15 percent will maintain a budget between USD 200 to USD 300 and less than 5 percent will exceed USD 300.
The services that are required by the average Muslim business traveler as presented in The MBTI 2016 report are –
The need for a Wi-Fi service is the most important service to more than 80 percent of Muslim business travelers – and the remaining listed services are necessary to 20 percent or lower.
As stated earlier, regular business travelers and Muslim business travelers differ when it comes to certain requirements – such as dining options, accommodation, prayer facilities and Halal amenities etc. Taking these factors into consideration, the MBTI 2016 research has shown that the availability of Muslim-friendly services listed below are considered as important accommodation services -
According to the MBTI 2016 research – more than 60 percent of Muslim business travelers consider the proximity to Halal dining options and bathrooms with easy access to water as important factors when selecting accommodation. However, slightly more than 30 percent feel that the selected accommodation should offer only Halal food and beverages and just 20 percent prefer that a hotel does not serve alcohol.
Being located close to a local mosque is important to more than 50 percent of the travelers and a little less than 50 percent require prayer facilities such as prayer rugs, directions and times. Television facilities with no adult channels and recreational activities with privacy for males or females are preferred by more than 20 percent of Muslim business travelers.
Click here to download a free copy of the Muslim Business Traveler Insights report
