Business travel spending rises 6.3% in second quarter

Business travel spending totaled $62.2 billion in the second quarter, rising 6.3% from a year ago despite headwinds facing the economic recovery, according to the latest estimate from the Global Business Travel Association.

GBTA, a trade group for corporate travel managers, also estimates business travel spending will grow 6.9% for 2011.

The growth forecast is based on its expectation that the U.S. economic recovery will march on and resist a double-dip recession despite rising oil prices, slowing global growth and shaky consumer confidence. Growing demand will also allow hotels and airlines to boost pricing, it says.

"We've now hit a soft patch in the economic revival, but business travel spend levels tell us the recovery should continue," says Michael McCormick, GBTA's executive director. "Now is the time when companies will absolutely call upon their strategic travel programs to help offset rising costs and keep travelers doing business."

Business travelers can expect higher prices for the rest of the year compared to a year ago, but the rate of increase will be more moderate than earlier in the year, GBTA says. With higher airfares and hotel rates, business travel prices are expected to increase by 4.5% to 5% in 2011.

International travel spending is growing much more quickly than domestic spending, GBTA says. Total spending on trips abroad is estimated to hit $31.8 billion in 2011, a 9.1% increase over 2010.

The same market forces that are causing travel prices to rise for transient business travel will also push group travel spending to $107.2 billion for 2011, a 6.8% increase.

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Are travel deals from Groupon-Expedia the best you can find?

Groupon's partnership with Expedia started selling travel discounts late Monday, joining an increasingly crowded market of online companies offering discounts on hotels and tour packages.

Like other Groupon deals, Groupon Getaways members can buy a travel voucher that can be redeemed within a certain period - typically a year, but based on availability - without committing to a vacation date. Deals are available for about a week.

"It gives us access to what we think is a new large market, spontaneous travelers," says Scott Durchslag, president of Expedia Worldwide. "Some travel just because they get a great deal."

As of Tuesday morning, the site features a dozen deals, including $89 for a weeknight stay at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Groupon claims a 55% discount for the deal, but the Palms is also selling a $89 deal on its own website.

Other offers include: $79 for a weekday night at The Pointe Hotel in Cavendish, Vt.; $99 for a night at Loews Denver Hotel; and a 4-night stay at The Lotus at Diamond Head in Honolulu.

Groupon Getaways' deals will be mostly for hotels initially, but it plans to offer airline tickets and rental cars in the coming weeks. Expedia already offers discounted deals, called ASAP, but they require customers to lock in a date at the time of purchase.

Inspired by Groupon's success in selling daily deals, other "flash sale" travel sites have proliferated in the last year. But as this USA TODAY story points out, the discounts found on flash-sale sites often aren't as extraordinary as advertised.

Many flash-sale sites — Jetsetter, HauteLook Getaways, Rue La La, SniqueAway, Vacationist and Voyage Privé, among them — concentrate on high-end options and restrict access to members, though membership is free to anyone with an easy-to-land invitation or code. Others, like Overstock's Vacations, Trippo and Yuupon, cater to more mass-market tastes.

"Because most flash-sale deals require advance payment and can't be changed or canceled, buyers risk losing out on a better (or less restrictive) rate from a different site or the hotel itself," writes Laura Bly of USA TODAY.

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