Domestic business trip costs rose this year by between $140 and $175, and international business trip expenses rose by $315 to $400 for U.S.-based travel buyers polled by the National Business Travel Association, according to results of two surveys that the organization released today.
Three-quarters of respondents said they have increased the use of teleconferencing and Web-based meetings, while 57 percent reported an increase in videoconferencing. About 80 percent said these technologies are replacing business trips.
Regarding their overall perceptions about the future growth of business travel, half said they expect some level of growth into 2009, but the other half agreed with this statement: "The deteriorating economy will continue to decrease business travel during 2008-2009." Seventy percent of buyers polled said they are not concerned that their job "might be eliminated" or their "travel department reduced because of the current situation," while 19 percent said they were somewhat concerned and 6 percent said their department was already recently downsized.
Regarding air travel, 39 percent of respondents said they consider new airline feesto be a "minor inconvenience" for budgeting, while an equivalent number said they do not yet know the impact. Eleven percent said there is a major impact. Three-quarters said airlines are "misleading the public" with the fees. Seventy percent said they are "considering" or "planning" to raise a discussion about fees in their next negotiations with airlines. More than nine in 10 respondents said airlines should be required to disclose fees at the point of sale.
The survey found that the top measures buyers are taking to contain air travel costs are:
- pushing the use of advance-purchase tickets
- "encouraging" or "requiring" reduced travel
- cutting conference attendance
- further enforcing policies
- encouraging such alternatives as Web-based meetings
About half of respondents said they do not "see a buyers' market in the hotel industry despite the current economic situation." About one-third said both that they have seen rates fall below the level of negotiated rates and they are re-negotiating hotel rates. Half said that over the past few months they have been encouraging travelers to book mid-priced or limited service hotels (versus luxury hotels) to cut costs.
The results came from two NBTA surveys of U.S.-based travel buyers. The first, active from July through September, garnered responses from more than 230 companies. Ninety companies responded to the second, which ran from mid-September to Oct. 10, NBTA said.