When it comes to business travel, the average overall cost per night of a domestic hotel room increased just 1 percent in the first quarter of 2013, compared with the same quarter a year ago. The average cost per night of an international hotel room decreased by 3 percent during the first quarter.
These and other trend statistics were released on Tuesday by Travel Leaders Corporate (http://www.travelleaderscorp.com) which tracks travel data for its clients' business travel bookings. Travel Leaders Corporate is a division of Travel Leaders Group, a travel management company that annually posts approximately $18 billion in sales.
The average room night costs were based on stays in the travel organization's 10 most booked cities. They include New York, NY, Chicago, IL, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, CA, Boston, MA, Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Miami, FL, San Francisco, CA, and West Palm Beach, FL.
The largest year-over-year increases in the average nightly cost of a hotel room were in Miami, FL (11 percent), Dallas, TX (9 percent) and New York, NY (9 percent). The Washington, DC-area (1 percent), West Palm Beach, FL (2 percent), and Chicago, IL (2 percent), had the smallest year-over-year increases in average nightly cost of a hotel room.
When comparing first quarter 2013 to fourth quarter 2012, New York, NY (-16 percent), Chicago, IL (-4 percent), the Washington, DC-area (-2 percent), and Boston, MA (-1 percent), were the only cities in the top 10 most booked cities to show decreases in their average nightly rates.
“Several industry indicators have suggested that overall domestic hotel rates would continue to inch upward, and our data reflects that trend, said David Holyoke, president, Travel Leaders Corporate.
In addition, "despite the modest increase in domestic hotel room rates, we are seeing a significant increase in our overall number of bookings,” he said, noting that the number of hotel room nights booked by his firm's clients has jumped 21 percent year-over-year.
"So, clearly, there is significant demand for business travel and we continually work with each of our clients to make sure they are taking advantage of their negotiated programs," Holyoke said.
On the rental car side, Travel Leaders Corporate data shows that rental car rates hit a three-year low in the first quarter of 2013. The average daily rate was $42.
The average cost per day of a domestic car rental decreased roughly 2 percent in first quarter 2013 as compared with the same quarter a year ago. The average cost per rental was down roughly 3 percent during the same time period.
When putting all the factors together, Travel Leaders Corporate data reveals that the average cost of an international trip – including combined air, car, and hotel costs – decreased by 3 percent in the first quarter of 2013 as compared to the first quarter of 2012.
Clients paid $2,534 on average for international trips in the first quarter of 2013 as compared to the $2,613 clients paid in the first quarter of 2012.
Meantime, the average cost of a domestic trip decreased by $1 – or less than a quarter of a percent in the first quarter of this year – as compared to the first quarter of 2012. It’s the first time the average cost of a domestic trip has decreased since the start of 2010.