How 452 Million Business Trips Define Road Warrior Travel in Surprising Ways

The Global Business Travel Association Foundation, with an assist from corporate sponsor InterContinental Hotels Group, issued its latest gung-ho report on the beneficial impact that business travel has on the U.S. economy.

In sum, business travel spending reached $384 billion in 2012, the year under review, and contributed about 3% to U.S. gross domestic product. And every 1% bump in business travel spending adds some 71,000 jobs to the workforce, the study says.

But, the GBTA study also crafts a fascinating profile of U.S. business travel and the U.S. business traveler in 2012. Consider that:

• U.S. businesses dispatched road warriors on 452 million trips in 2012.
• The average business trip in the U.S. in 2012 lasted just 1.75 days and covered a mere 268 miles, which lends credence to the argument that business travel by train and car is very common, and just gets no respect.
• When business travelers take flights for a work-related trip, the average distance covered jumps to 945 miles per trip, but most trips did not involve flights.
• U.S. business travelers spent on average per trip $147 on hotels, $230 for transportation, $100 on food and beverage, $28 on shopping, $22 on entertainment, and $13 on miscellaneous items — for a grand total of $540 per trip. Or presumably these are the amounts they billed to the company.
• When breaking out business trips that included air travel, the average spend per trip rose to $1,100.
• During 2012, the average business traveler spent 1.58 nights per month in a hotel, or 19 nights throughout the year. That comes to an average daily rate of around $93.
• Most business trips do not involve overnight stays. In 2012, business travelers averaged two overnight trips per month, and four day trips.
• Who were these 2012 business travelers in the U.S.? The majority were 35-55 years old, three-quarters of them were married, and their average household income was $102,329.