The average total cost
of a U.S. domestic business trip among Travel Leaders Corporate clients during
the fourth quarter of 2012 was $928, up 4 percent from a year earlier, according
to the travel management company.
Including air, car and
hotel costs, that total average cost "decreased for consecutive quarters
for the first time since 2010." It was $981 in last year's second quarter
and $933 in the third quarter. The average domestic air ticket cost
specifically increased nearly 3 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2011 while
domestic rental car costs per day on average fell 4 percent and the average
hotel cost per night dropped less than 1 percent.
A Travel Leaders
official explained that "complex" total trip cost calculations
include not only per-night costs for car rental and hotel stays but also total
costs for those items during a given trip, which therefore makes length of stay
a factor. Additionally, some trips booked by Travel Leaders do not include car
or hotel bookings, the official added, which can affect comparisons.
For international trips,
Travel Leaders Corporate clients on average paid $2,430 in total, down about 1
percent year over year. It marked a decrease "for the third straight
quarter to the second-lowest cost since the first quarter of 2010,"
according to the TMC. International air ticket costs were down 6 percent on
average versus the fourth quarter of 2011 while the average international hotel
cost per night increased by nearly 6 percent.