TravelPerk Data: Global business travel prices showing signs of stabilization in first half of 2023
US hotel and airfare made significant strides, while Europe lags behind due to energy inflation and increased demand
US Airfares Remain Stable_:_ One of the most promising findings is that in Q2 2023 flights departing the US (including domestic airfares) showed only a small +1% YoY price increase. This represents a significant change from the +57% increase YoY in Q2 2022. The US tapped into strategic fuel reserves to combat global energy inflation, and flight prices have remained around $520 throughout Q3 2022 until Q1 2023.
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Europe Still Feeling Energy Inflation: European travel prices are improving, but the region is still feeling the impact of energy inflation. This trend is most notable in airfare costs as prices peaked in Q3 2022 across Europe with a +69% YoY increase, while the UK and France saw YoY prices skyrocket at +125% and +110%, respectively. Fortunately, airline ticket price inflation has slowed in Q2 2023, but it is still trending +9% higher YoY (eight percentage points more than the US)
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European Rail Travel Prices Drop Below Pre-COVID Levels: Train fares in various European countries, including Spain, dropped significantly in H1 2023 – even when compared to the same quarters pre-COVID (2019). Q1 2023 prices were -23% lower, and Q2 2023 saw a decrease of -15%. Government incentives may play a role in driving train ticket prices down in some markets.
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Hotel Demand Drives Rate Increase: Daily hotel rates in Q2 2023 increased to a $166 average across all markets as the lowering of COVID restrictions drove an increase in both business and leisure travel. This represented a +4% YoY increase in Q2 2023 and a +19% increase for the same quarter versus pre-COVID (2019) pricing.
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“The global business travel market has been influenced by pent-up demand post-COVID, energy price inflation from the war in Ukraine, and numerous strikes, cancellations, and travel disruptions. And yet, TravelPerk is seeing prices in many verticals across the US, Europe and the UK stabilize, down significantly from their earlier peaks in 2022,” said Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo, Chief Operating Officer of TravelPerk.“In fact, September 2023 was a record month for TravelPerk with our booking volumes up 50% compared to September 2022, and we also broke six single-day booking records. This tells us that people are excited to see customers, colleagues, and partners in real life and we will continue to use our industry-leading tech platform to enable more opportunities for human connection.”
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Tips for Lowering Business Travel Costs in 2023
Data Methodology_**
- Travel verticals within this report include flights, hotels and trains.
- European (UK) and US flight graphs show both domestic and international flights departing these countries/regions.
- European (UK) and US hotel and train graphs show trips and stays within these countries/regions only.
- YoY % = % difference of the current Q vs the same Q in the previous year
- Precovid = % difference of the current Q vs the same Q in 2019
- Price conversion: EU to USD and GBP as per currency rates on 03 September 2023.
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