PORTLAND, Maine, Oct. 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading automated travel and entertainment expense management software provider, Certify, today announced the results of its Certify SpendSmart™ Report and analysis of business travel spending for the third quarter 2017. Data shows Uber’s growth hitting its first roadblock down 1% from 55% of rides in Q2 to 54% in Q3 2017, its only decline on record since Certify began measuring ride-hailing data. Still, ride-hailing’s popularity among business travelers continues to grow with competing provider Lyft increasing 3% from Q2 for 11% of the category total in the third quarter, its greatest historical gain. Elsewhere in ground transportation, taxi and car rental each lost 1% dropping to 7% and 28%, respectively.
The Certify SpendSmart™ report tracks business travel expense spending across major categories such as food, airlines, lodging and car rental. The report highlights top vendors and emerging trends by analyzing data from millions of expenses and receipts processed through the Certify system. Data is compiled each quarter and at the close of every year to help CFOs, controllers, accountants and business travelers make more informed expense management choices.
Analysis of business traveler spending across expense categories shows the leading brands and preferred vendors for meals, airlines, hotels and car rentals. Perennial favorites Starbucks, Delta, Hyatt and National round out the most expensed by category. In addition, SpendSmart user ratings show the most expense brands are rarely the most loved; with the exception of car rental, only one or two most expensed vendors from each category were also among the top rated.
Taking a closer look at ground transportation, car rental and taxi appear to be bearing the brunt of losses in the business travelers’ trend toward ride hailing. After declining to a single-digit share in the second quarter, taxi continued in reverse losing another percentage point to end Q3 with 7% of receipts and expenses. A review of major metro areas in the U.S. patterns after national trends, with Uber losing between 1% and 8% and corresponding gains for Lyft. San Francisco, hometown to both ride-hailing rivals, saw the largest decline for Uber (-8%) and the greatest gain for Lyft (+9%). The number two ride-hailing provider also improved in user review rankings, reaching 4.76 stars to Uber’s 4.1 and taxi’s 3.59.
Also, new this quarter, Uber now allows passengers to tip drivers through its app. With the absence of tips once considered something of a competitive advantage, SpendSmart data shows tipping is off to a slow start with just 3% of Uber rides receiving a gratuity for an average of $3.10. Despite overall trends indicating a slight downturn for Uber, the ride-hailing leader remains the number one vendor in business travel ground transportation and the most expensed brand of any category in the Certify system for the third quarter of 2017; more than double second place Starbucks as a share of transactions.
“The latest Certify SpendSmart report shows how the business traveler is more in the driver’s seat than ever before when it comes to making purchasing decisions on the road,” said Robert Neveu, CEO, Certify. “Whether it’s reaction to the latest headlines or the introduction of new features like tipping, the power of consumer choice has become a major factor in travel and entertainment expense spending that in many ways extends beyond the reach of the accounting department or corporate travel policy.”
Additional analysis of the more than 10 million receipts and expenses logged by Certify in the third quarter of 2017 includes the most expensed and highest rated brands for business travelers such as Starbucks, McDonald’s, Subway, Delta, United, Marriott, Hampton Inn, National Car Rental and more. User ratings and average expense amounts are broken out by category below.
The Certify SpendSmart™ Report provides analysis of vendors, expense amounts and satisfaction rating data from corporate expense reports collected directly from its customer base. Certify SpendSmart™ reports on millions of receipts and expense transactions every quarter, delivering valuable insights to Certify clients and the business travel and expense industry at large. Certify is a premier provider of integrated travel booking, travel and expense management, and reimbursement in one automated, cloud-based system. Previous quarterly reports are available here.
Third Quarter 2017 Highlights:
Most Expensed Restaurants:
Starbucks: 4.95% of expenses, averaging $12.20 per receipt
McDonald’s: 3.02%, averaging $9.19
Panera Bread: 1.68%, averaging $44.08
Subway: 1.53%, averaging $18.07
Chick-Fil-A: 1.42%, averaging $25.02
Most Expensed Restaurants by Meal
Breakfast: Starbucks 15.86%
Lunch: McDonald’s 3.44%
Dinner: McDonald’s 1.76%
Top Rated Restaurants (On a scale from 1 to 5, as indicated by travelers)
Chick-Fil-A 4.5
Panera Bread 4.4
Jimmy John’s 4.3
Starbucks 4.3
Texas Roadhouse 4.3
Most Expensed Airlines
Delta: 20.98%, averaging $419.47
American: 16.95%, averaging $333.44
Southwest: 15.37%, averaging $277.23
United: 14.12%, averaging $393.10
Alaska Airlines: 1.58%, averaging $282.32
Top Rated Airlines
Southwest 4.5
Alaska Airlines 4.5
JetBlue 4.5
Delta 4.3
American 3.9
Most Expensed Hotels
Hampton Inn: 9.20%, averaging $248.13
Marriott: 8.18%, averaging $257.02
Courtyard by Marriott: 7.66%, averaging $185.39
Holiday Inn Express: 4.93%, averaging $244.39
Hilton Garden Inn: 4.62%, averaging $227.75
Top Rated Hotels
Hyatt 4.4
Embassy Suites 4.3
Hilton Garden Inn 4.3
Homewood Suites 4.3
Marriott 4.3
Most Expensed Car Rental Services
National: 27.22%, averaging $193.05
Enterprise: 15.82%, averaging $208.51
Hertz: 13.45%, averaging $209.79
Avis: 13.01%, averaging $180.53
Budget: 4.27%, averaging $202.83
Top Rated Car Rental Services
National 4.4
Enterprise 4.3
Avis 4.0
Hertz 4.0
Budget 3.6
For complete data and analysis from the SpendSmart Q3 2017 Report, go to: http://www.certify.com/CertifySpendSmartReport.aspx.
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.
Media Contact
Kevin Wolf, TGPR
kevin@tgprllc.com
(650) 327-1641