Beware the "Y" axis. That's the message of BTN's Corporate Travel Index data when you track per diem business travel costs since 2019 in U.S. gateway cities.
Including hotel daily rates, car rental daily rates and three meals per day, business travel costs have increased in every gateway city by at least 10 percent comparing Q4 2019 to Q4 2024. Miami and New York are up 23 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
From the depth of pandemic - let's call that Q2 2020 - the spikes are colossal. Seattle and Houston have been the steadiest markets, falling about 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in the depths of the pandemic and then rising 17 percent and 18 percent respectively since then. Altanta, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco have each surged at least 42 percent (Atlanta has increased 49 percent) from their lowest points, while Chicago, Dallas and Miami have spiked between 50 percent and 55 percent.
Have your travelers been doing business in New York? Since the depth of the pandemic, costs in the city have increased 85 percent.
It's easy to do your own comparisons of 200 cities in the U.S. and global markets. BTN's Corporate Travel Index Calculator enables you to create and download your own reports. Check it out.
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