Bosses in the UK do not give sufficient notice to book travel and accommodation arrangements, according First Option, which surveyed over 1,300 secretaries and PAs on their booking procedures.
Although almost half the people surveyed are only given 2-3 days notice between instruction to book and day of travelling, their preferred notice period would be a week or more. The majority of instructions are received on a face to face basis, with email instructions only registered in 17% of situations and by telephone a mere 6%. Preferred options showed that 60% would still like to receive instructions on a face to face basis with email almost doubling to 40%.

Kevin Wayt, General Manager - First Option Corporate, said, “Unsurprisingly the results showed that secretaries require more lead in time for a booking. Secretaries and PAs still like to receive instructions in person possible because it enables them to ask questions. Although email is proving more popular for them to receive instructions from their bosses - perhaps this is because it can act as a future reference source to resolve any issues.

As a hotel booking agency we understand the pressures secretaries and PAs face when making travel, accommodation and conference arrangements. Our suggestion for small to medium sized businesses is to create an email booking form which can record all the necessary details. This could then be sent to the secretaries - hopefully in plenty of time.”
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