Business travel volumes and trip lengths increased in the fourth quarter of 2022, and airfare and hotel spending for business travel also started to moderate, according to expense management supplier Embers’ quarterly SpendSmart Travel Trends report.
The data, based on more than 140,000 transactions by travel management companies on the Embers platform in the fourth quarter, showed a 84 percent increase in the number of domestic flights in the quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, down 11 percent. In the fourth quarter of 2019. Spending on domestic air travel rose 80 percent year-on-year in the quarter.
According to Embers, international air travel spending in the quarter was 18 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Total hotel bookings on the Embers platform increased 89 percent year-over-year, down 45 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. The average stay was 4.13 nights, a 55 percent increase compared to the average trip length in the fourth quarter of 2021. 8 percent from the same period in 2019. Average nightly spending at hotels was $138 this quarter, compared to $184 in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Embers CEO Erik Friedrichsen said in a statement that the decline in domestic ticket prices and lodging costs means “passengers are finding a balance between maintaining travel volume and effective cost control by choosing low-cost flights and hotels.”
Total car rentals rose 73 percent year-over-year in the quarter—down 48 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019—and car rental spending increased 110 percent. The average rental period was up to 5.38 days compared to 3.54 days in the fourth quarter of 2021, and the average rental period decreased from $59 to $47 for the same period.