PORTLAND, ME--(Marketwired - October 08, 2013) - Leading cloud-based travel and expense management software provider Certify announced the results of its latest business spending report, covering the third quarter of 2013. Top-expensed vendors for the quarter include Starbucks, McDonald's, Marriott, Hampton Inn, Delta, United, National, Avis, Shell and Verizon.
The survey revealed that business people are spending noticeably more on meals and airfare. The average meal cost, based on data from the top-expensed restaurants vendors was $18.72 in Q3, compared to $16.72 for Q2. The average airline cost in Q3 was $362.77, up from $346.31 in Q2.
The vendors rated the highest by employee satisfaction includes Jimmy John's, Westin Hotel, Southwest Airlines and Enterprise Rent-a-Car. The biggest gainers in terms of expensed items, however, were US Airways, which moved up from fifth-most expensed airline to fourth-most expensed airline from Q2 to Q3; Hilton, which moved from fifth to fourth-most expensed hotel; and National Car Rental, which overtook Avis as the top-expensed car rental company in Q3.
The quarterly Certify SpendSmart™ Report analyzes vendors, expense amounts and satisfaction rating data on business expenses collected directly from end users. Certify SpendSmart reports on millions of receipts and expenses, delivering valuable insights to Certify clients and the business travel and expense industry at large. Certify has been tracking corporate travel and expense data since 2009 and uniquely offers integrated travel booking, travel and expense management and reimbursement in one system.
"Our results from the Q3 survey show that companies are likely experiencing T&E budget pressures, due to rising prices from vendors," says Robert Neveu, CEO of Certify. "It'll be interesting to see what impact, if any, pricing will have on future business travel and entertainment this year. The SpendSmart Report is a valuable report for companies to plan ahead and determine which vendors offer the best value and the best prices. Certify customers receive similar analysis on their internal spending trends, made possible by detailed data collection and tracking in each employee expense report."
Category Highlights:
Most-Expensed Restaurants:
Starbucks: 4.93% of expenses, averaging $9.51
McDonald's: 2.95%, averaging $7.45
Subway: 1.88%, averaging $14.09
Panera Bread: 1.55%, averaging $35.35
HMS Host: 1.34%, averaging $16.26 [moved down 1 spot from Q2]
Top Rated Restaurants
Chipotle: 4.4
Jimmy John's: 4.4
Chick-Fil-A: 4.3
Panera Bread: 4.2
Dunkin Donuts: 4.2
Most-Expensed Hotels
Marriott: 9.27% of expenses, averaging $208.21
Hampton Inn: 6.59%, averaging $204.33
Courtyard by Marriott: 6.21%, averaging $163.25
Hilton: 4.78%, averaging $155.81[moved up 1 spot from Q2]
Holiday Inn: 4.67%, averaging $176.90
Top Rated Hotels
Westin Hotel: 4.4
Residence Inn: 4.3
Hilton Garden Inn: 4.2
Courtyard By Marriott: 4.1
Hyatt: 4.1
Most Expensed Airlines
Delta: 21.11% of expenses, averaging $403.17
United: 13.49%, averaging $420.50
Southwest: 10.26%, averaging $286.76
US Airways: 9.13%, averaging $294.00 [moved up 1 spots from #5 to #4]
American: 8.42%, averaging $409.35
Top Rated Airline
Southwest: 4.6
Alaska Airline: 4.1
Delta: 3.8
American Airlines: 3.7
United: 3.4
US Airways: 3.4
Most Expensed Car-Rental Services
National: 17.33%, averaging $170.32 [moved from #2 to #1]
Avis: 16.77% of expenses, averaging $168.41
Hertz: 14.80%, averaging $226.22
Enterprise: 10.43%, averaging $204.29
Budget: 4.43%, averaging $199.18
Top Rated Car-Rental Services
Enterprise: 4.1
National: 4.0
Avis: 3.8
Hertz: 3.8
Budget Car Rental: 3.7
Top-Expensed Vendors in General Expense Categories
1. Shell
2. Verizon Wireless
3. AT&T
4. Walmart
5. Taxi (non-specific to company)
6. Exxon Mobile
7. Sunoco
8. Staples
9. Amazon
10. BP
Regional Highlights:
Atlanta
HMS Host is the top-expensed food vendor with 5.39% and average cost of $13.89. AT&T is the most-expensed vendor outside of standard categories with 5.87% of general expenses. Competitor Verizon Wireless garnered 2.34% of expenses in the same category.
Boston
Legal Seafood is the third-most expensed meal vendor in Boston with 4.05% of all expenses behind Dunkin' Donuts as the #2 meal vendor with 4.8% and Starbucks as the #1 meal vendor with 7%.
Chicago
Taxi services are the most expensed item in Chicago with 15% of all expenses. The average cab ride costs $25.60 in Chicagoland.
Dallas
TGI Fridays takes the #2 spot for most-expensed meal vendor in Dallas with 2.18% of all meal expenses, behind Starbucks at 7.07%
Los Angeles
Boingo Wireless holds the #2 spot for general expenses with 3.58% of receipts
New York
Seamless takes the #1 spot for most-expensed meal vendor in New York with 7.01% of all expenses, beating out Starbucks at 5.44%.
About Certify
Certify is the leading online travel and expense management solution for companies of all sizes. Organizations worldwide book travel and complete expense reports quickly, easily and cost effectively using Certify cloud and mobile applications. For more information about Certify please call 207.773.6100 or visit http://www.certify.com.
Contact Information:
Media contact:
Kevin Wolf
TGPR
(650) 327-1641
kevin@tgprllc.com