T&E expense forecasts for 2012. How does it look?

So what is the prognosis for business travel in 2012? Here is the long story short:

1) Companies are expecting more business travel

2) Increased pricing from suppliers across the board

Sounds like more of good news with a little bit of bad news. Companies are looking to grow their businesses and therefore expect more travel. Increased supplier pricing is expected to put a small dent. Companies can expect to see their corporate travel budgets rise.

Here is the numerical breakdown of % price increase in a few key areas:

Flights

* North America Short Haul (Economy): 2 – 5%

* North America Long Haul (Economy): 0.5 – 3.5%

* North America Short Haul (Business): 5 – 7%

* North America Long Haul (Business): 3 – 5%

Hotels

* North America Mid-Range: 2.5 – 6.5%

* North America Upper-Range: 1.5 – 5.5%

Car Rentals

* North America Base Rates: (-1)% – 0%

* North America Rate Per Day: 2 – 3%

For detailed information, see the reference article .