Runzheimer, the premier relocation and living costs intelligence solution, powered by Motus, today released its 2019 Cost of Business Travel Report, which helps organizations and professionals understand the expenses associated with business travel across the U.S. The report revealed that business travel costs have increased steadily in recent years and predict that this trend will continue in 2020. Specifically, airfare is anticipated to increase between a half of a percent and one percent, ground transportation is expected to rise two percent and hotel prices are likely to jump two to three percent.
Motus found that the average business trip costs $1,293, and although many people think of airfare as the most expensive part of a typical business trip, it only makes up 34 percent of the cost. Lodging (28 percent), meals (19 percent) and ground transportation (18 percent) combine to make up the majority of a business traveller’s expenses today.
“Travel is one of the most difficult expense categories to control. By understanding the costs of business travel in detail, organizations can gain deeper insight into their T&E expenses,” said Ken Robinson, market research analyst for Motus. “These insights can be extremely valuable to a wide range of professionals. For example, finance professionals can forecast more accurate travel budgets, event planners can understand the true costs of the locations they choose and government officials can make sure that their cities are competitive destinations to attract business travellers.”
The report also reveals location-specific insights for business travellers and their organizations to keep in mind as they plan business travel, as high-cost areas can range as much as 55 percent higher than the U.S. average, due to price variations related to lodging, meals, airfare and ground transportation.
The top ten most expensive states for business travel, ranked from most to least expensive, are:
Hawaii
Massachusetts
California
Vermont
Washington
Rhode Island
New Jersey
New Hampshire
Connecticut
New York
The cities of New York, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose are the top five most expensive cities to travel to, in order. These cities are likely to cost up to 55 percent more than the average destination when compared to cities such as Denver and Cleveland. Many of these cities are expensive for business travel because of high hotel costs, but other costs can make a trip pricey. For example, New York City has higher meal and hotel costs, but below average car rental costs. Boston has above-average costs in all categories.
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