The average cost for a first-quarter domestic U.S.trip by Travel Leaders Corporate clients dropped for the first time since early 2010, according to the travel management company.
The marginal $1 year-over-year decline in total domestic trip cost to $953 — including air, car and hotel costs — resulted from a 2% drop in average airfare (the first such reduction since 2011, according to Travel Leaders Corporate) and a 3% decrease in average daily car rental rate (to $42, "a three-year low"), offsetting a 1% rise in hotel cost per night.
Based on Travel Leaders Corporate data, Miami had the largest first-quarter increase in nightly hotel cost, up 11% year over year, followed by Dallas and New York (each 9%).
"The number of hotel room nights booked by our clients has jumped 21% year over year," noted Travel Leaders Corporate president David Holyoke. "Clearly, there is significant demand for business travel."
Travel Leaders Corporate clients on average spent $2,534 on first-quarter international trips, down 3% year over year.
The average international airfare declined 3% year over year (marking a third consecutive quarter of decline), as did the average hotel cost per night. The average daily car rental rate declined 2%.
Source: Business Travel News