Travel Leaders Corporate reported its clients’ first quarter booking data for 2014, including evidence that domestic business travelers who book their airline tickets 14-20 days prior to departure save on average 33 percent versus those who book 0-6 days prior, creating the highest percentage of cost savings during this booking period within the last eight quarters.
In addition,Travel Leaders says domestic business travelers who book their airline tickets 7-13 days in advance save on average 25 percent versus those who book 0-6 days prior to departure. Travel Leaders Corporate is a division of Travel Leaders Group.
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The table below illustrates the percentage of cost savings for a domestic airline ticket when purchased within the designated timeframe as compared to a ticket purchased 0-6 days prior to departure.
“It’s because of our unique Smart Data approach that we are able to provide our clients with specific information and recommendations on how they can be most cost effective with their travel expenses,” said Travel Leaders Corporate president David Holyoke. “We continually monitor the trending data for significant cost savings within the 7-13 and 14-20 day booking windows and consult our clients accordingly, while taking into consideration all factors including the often unexpected cost of ticket exchanges, which in most cases start at $200 per transaction.”
Recent data also confirms that the average trip length for domestic business travel is typically three days and two nights at a pre-tax and pre-ancillary cost of about $970 per trip. The data also indicates that the average international airline ticket cost has decreased approximately 6 percent with business travelers paying about $93 less per ticket in the first quarter of 2014 as compared to the first quarter of 2013.
Among other first quarter findings from Travel Leaders Corporate:
The average cost per day of a domestic car rental decreased 1 percent in the first quarter of 2014 as compared to the first quarter of 2013, while the average cost per day of an international car rental increased 3 percent during the same time period.
The average cost per night in a domestic hotel room was up 2 percent in the first quarter of 2014 as compared to the previous quarter. The average cost of an international hotel room increased 9 percent during the same time period.