The costs of the average business trip has skyrocketed to $1446

The Cornerstone Travel Index, which documents the average business travel spending for airline tickets, hotel stays, and car rental costs has risen to $1446 for each domestic business trip. This is an 11% increase compared to the trip cost from December 2023. The average business cost for airline tickets for January was $750 (up 17% from December)  hotel spend was $540 (up 6%) and the average for car rental was $206 (up 18%) for a total cost of $1446. In addition to the increase in business travel cost, the number of business trips increased 17% in January as well. CLICK HERE to read more. CLICK HERE to hear more.

The dominos continue to fall as United and Delta join American increasing baggage fees – Two weeks ago American Airlines announced they were increasing the fees for check-in luggage from $35 to $40 and the second bag increasing to $50. Unsurprisingly, just a day later United Airlines raised their baggage fees. This past week all the dominos fell and Delta jumped on this bandwagon. CLICK HERE for more. 

Will carry-on fees be the next revenue grab for the airlines? – The past three weeks all three major domestic airlines have increased their baggage fees so that you will be paying anywhere from $35 to $50 to check your bag. Looking into the future I see that the airlines will someday start to charge you for a carry-on bag. Last year the airlines generated $7 billion dollars in revenue from baggage fees and this was before the recent increases. Just think how much revenue the airlines could generate if they charged a fee for carry-on? Every time the airlines increase fees Southwest Airlines smiles as their motto, “Bags fly free” really is becoming a competitive advantage. CLICK HERE to hear Paul and I discuss more.

Airlines start to fly again to Israel despite the war going on –  I was surprised to learn that United Airlines is planning to fly non-stop from Newark to Tel Aviv starting on March 6, 2024. I never thought that airlines would return to service Tel Aviv while the war continues in Israel. Usually, airlines are very conservative as it relates to flying in war zone areas. Hopefully, this means that sometime later this year the war will be resolved and tourism will start back up in the region.  CLICK HERE for more. 

The Sheraton Hotel brand seems to have fallen off a cliff – Eight years ago Marriott purchased Starwood Hotels which included iconic brands such as Westin, St. Regis, Le Meridien, W Hotels and the flagship of the company was Sheraton. Realizing that Sheraton Hotels were getting quite dated, the new owner Marriott launched new branding and updating for all the Sheratons. Currently there are still 436 Sheratons around the world, however, it appears that they have fallen rapidly down the quality chain of hotels. Recently it has been reported that the average revenue per available room at a Sheraton was a very low $118. Unless Marriott puts a lot more energy and money into this brand it may go the way of the fax machine. CLICK HERE to read more.  CLICK HERE to hear more. 

Greece – Join us this Fall! – Greece is among my top five places to visit. This fall, we offer a myriad of adventures in a beautiful country with world-class museums, UNESCO World Heritage Sites next to one another, captivating islands, and the most hospitable people in Europe. Join our “Footsteps of Apostle Paul”-journeys. One is open to all (October 3-14); one is with Women of the Midwest, a women-only journey (September 18 – October 1). The third trip is our popular “Eat, Live, Love”-tour (October 4-17). This is a delightful and fun foodie tour with Women of the Midwest. Register now to secure your spot(s); these trips fill fast. Reach out to our friendly group department at 888.549.1186 or GroupDepartment@executivetravel.com to learn more. CLICK HERE to hear more. 

Check out our Weekly Travel Alert Podcast – Did you know our Weekly Travel Alert Video Podcast is available on YouTube plus all your favorite podcast stations, Spotify, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast ? Each week we are adding new and upgraded features. Please jump on board. CLICK HERE to see the Weekly Travel Alert podcast that is hot off the presses.