The Most Expensive Cities for Business Travel in 2019

Image: PHOTO: Landmarks of New York City. (Photo via spyarm / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Image: PHOTO: Landmarks of New York City. (Photo via spyarm / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Alex Temblador
by Alex Temblador
Last updated: 2:24 PM ET, Fri April 19, 2019

While the main intention for business travel is to do business and make money, ECA International has found that some cities aren't very cost-effective for business travelers.

New York City is the priciest destination in the world for business travelers, with ECA International estimating that the daily rates for business travelers are $799. That's more expensive than Swiss cities like Geneva, which came in second at a $716 daily rate, and Zurich which came in third at $661.

Other U.S. cities included on the list were Washington D.C. ($621), San Francisco ($581) and Los Angeles ($578). European cities on the list also included Paris, Reykjavik, Basel and Bern.

ECA determined the daily rate by average hotel prices of a four-star hotel and the cost of transportation, taxis and meals. The company says that New York is the priciest business destination because of hotel room prices.

"US cities -- the dollar's being doing quite well -- have moved towards the top of the list," ECA's benefits and daily rates analyst, Qasim Sarwar told CNN. "There's high demand there."

However, for some cities, like Reykjavik, their ranking at number six correlates with how tourism and business work together.

"Hotel occupancy rates have been improving [in Reykjavik] with less supply -- and demand is high there," Sarwar said. "So hotel prices have increased and that's a big part of the daily rate allowance."

According to Sarwar, business travelers who want to keep the cost of their trip down may want to look at the daily rate forecasts before taking a trip and avoiding peak tourist travel times.


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