Business Travelers Spent Less On Food In 2011

Heading out on a business trip? New reports show the most popular destinations for business travel, and even more surprising news — meal expenses for business travelers went down 4 percent in the last year.

Two reports from Concur Technologies show the 10 most-visited U.S. cities for business; the number one place for business? New York City, of course. The rest of the list:

Las Vegas
Chicago
San Francisco
• Orlando
• Houston
• Atlanta
• San Diego
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Dallas

International business travelers went to London more than any other city, followed by Shanghai, Singapore, Beijing, and Toronto.

But in these cities, business travelers are spending less on meals. (Maybe because they have no one to eat with?) The average meal cost is about $38, according to the report. Co-founder of Concur Technologies, Mike Hilton, said because travel costs have gone up (about 5 percent in 2011, or $20 per trip), cuts have to come from some other category. Hilton said to the LA Times, "...For most companies, when the price of air travel goes up, they try to get cost savings from somewhere else... Instead of eating at a nice steakhouse, you are dropping it down a notch or two."