Business travel costs to soar in 2006
Published: April 3, 2006
Despite record lows in domestic airfares paid in 2005, business travelers should expect to shell out more in 2006, says the Business Travel Monitor (BTM) report released by American Express’ business travel unit.
An increase in hotel room rates is largely to blame. Increased demand and reduced supply (due to increased construction costs and condo-hotel conversions) have allowed hoteliers to steadily raise rates as well as add more surcharges and fees to hotel room bills. PriceWaterhouse Coopers projects a 7 percent increase in hotel room fees and surcharges in 2006 for amenities such as mini-bars and in-room safes as well as group-specific fees such as energy surcharges, and room set/re-set and bartender charges.
Airfares, despite record low fares last year, began to increase steadily throughout 2005, a trend the BTM report says will continue due to airlines’ soaring fuel costs and carrier capacity reductions. The average daily cost per car rental also grew 3 percent from final quarter 2004 to final quarter 2005, fueled by an increase in travelers using cars to reach destinations.
Last month, AAA released tips on how to save money while traveling. Among the advice given: be flexible, avoid flying on weekends, and travel Monday through Thursday.
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