While some might complain about the logistical hassles, the loneliness, the anxiety and the physical and psychological demands of business travel, a new survey by Fairfield Inn & Suites finds that going on the road is in fact "a source of personal happiness" for most road warriors.

The company, a division of Marriott, said it surveyed more than 1,000 of the nation's "most frequent business travelers" about the non-business aspects of their time away from home, and found some surprising satisfactions with life on the road.

"The vast majority of frequent business travelers report positive emotions when preparing for (86 percent) and during (88 percent) a trip," the company reported. "The most common emotions reported include feeling confident, knowledgeable, interested, calm, excited, eager, well-connected and happy."

The survey results indicate that 76 percent of the respondents "feel more prepared in life" because of their travel experiences. They also get some bragging rights, as 76 percent "claim that their friends view them as expert travelers," the company said.

Putting a positive spin on one of the downsides of business travel, Fairfield Inns said that 86 percent of the respondents place a greater value on their time with family and friends because of their heavy travel schedules, while 83 percent value their own personal time more.

"The overwhelming majority of travelers are satisfied or very satisfied with the amount of time they travel for business, which says a lot about the personal benefits to business travel," said Shruti Buckley, Fairfield's vp and global brands manager. "Thirty percent would even like to travel more often."

Buckley said more than half of the respondents report working twice as much on the road as they do when they're in the home office. Still, "Sixty percent report feeling free to do whatever they want, which is empowering, as is getting their job done."

More than half (52 percent) said the biggest benefit of traveling with a colleague rather than alone is "having someone to talk to," while 43 percent said it helped to have someone who could share the workload.

Some of the "most enjoyable" aspects of business travel cited by the survey respondents, the company said, include "experiencing new places, meeting new people, going out to eat, earning mileage or loyalty points, trying new foods, not going into the office, spending time alone and meeting up with friends."