NBTA Report Predicts Increase in U.S. Business Travel

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) has provided its members with the 2010 U.S. Business Travel Buyers’ Cost Forecast. This latest installment of the widely respected annual tool for the U.S. corporate travel industry forecasts that average airfares this year are $299 and stay roughly the same for 2010, ranging from 2 percent below to 3 percent above this year’s fares.

The average hotel rate this year is forecast to be $136 and the NBTA projects that will continue to drop by 2 to 8 percent next year. Car rental rates now average $46 and the NBTA projects they will dip slightly, by 1 percent to 3 percent.

With air travel and car rental costs expected to remain nearly flat and hotel rates expected to decline, businesses expect to travel more. That growth in travel is expected to lead to increases in travel expenditures.

Nearly 7 in 10 (69 percent) of travel managers responding to an NBTA survey expect business travel volume to grow in 2010. Fifty-six percent of travel managers project their total travel spend to increase in 2010; another 31 percent expect their total travel spend to remain flat year over year. Travel and meetings buyers also expect to see an easing of travel & meeting reductions in 2010.

Compared to the previous year, the percentage of travel managers expecting to see cuts has gone down in the following areas: number of meetings (down 27 percent), non-essential travel and conference (down 20 percent) and event attendance (down 15 percent).

In the new business travel environment, corporate travel managers expect to drive good values with preferred travel suppliers, with 70 percent of buyers expecting to negotiate better hotel discounts for 2010. More than 30 percent forecast better discounts with airlines, and car rental companies.