Certify SpendSmart™ Report Q3 2013

Back to Current SpendSmart Report >> SpendSmart Report Q3, 2013

Certify SpendSmart™ Report

How business travelers are spending the corporate dime while on the road

Third Quarter, 2013

July 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

Restaurant Summary

The restaurant summary is a snapshot of all meal expenses including breakfast, lunch and dinner. This data indicates which vendor is most frequently expensed, the average expense amount and the average satisfaction rating.

Most Expensed Restaurants
Vendor Name Expense Percentage* Average Amount
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) 4.93% $9.51
McDonald’s 2.95% $7.45
Subway 1.88% $14.09
Panera Bread 1.55% $35.35
HMS Host 1.34% $16.26
Dunkin’ Donuts 1.20% $10.27
Chick-Fil-A 0.81% $21.62
Wendy’s 0.74% $9.10
Applebee’s 0.71% $32.86
Chili’s (NYSE: BK) 0.64% $30.75
Miscellaneous* 80.90% NA
*Expense Percentage represents the number of expenses divided by the total number of expenses for the expense type.
*Miscellaneous is compiled of all remaining restaurants expensed with a total expensed percentage less than 0.69%.
Top Rated Restaurants
Vendor Name Average Rating*
Jimmy John’s 4.4
Chipotle 4.4
Chick-Fil-A 4.3
Panera Bread 4.2
Dunkin’ Donuts 4.2
Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) 4.2
Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: DRI) 4.1
Cracker Barrel 4.0
Residence Inn 3.9
Outback Steakhouse 4.0
*Average Rating represents the average 1 through 5 star rating for all expenses for each vendor, with 5 stars being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest.
Most Expensed Restaurant by Meal
Breakfast Starbucks 15.78%
Lunch Subway 3.25%
Dinner HMS Host 1.44%

Insight from Certify Partner Seamless

GrubHub Seamless shares the following information regarding employee meal expenses that flowed through its corporate ordering platform in the third quarter.

Average Order Value

>Metro Lunch Dinner
Boston Metro $12 - $14 $22 - $24
Chicago Metro $11 - $13 $22 - $24
DC Metro $19 - $21 $24 - $26
Los Angeles Metro $12 - $14 $20 - $22
New York Metro $16 - $18 $23 - $25
Philadelphia Metro $14 - $16 $19 - $21
Philadelphia Metro $14 - $16 $19 - $21
San Francisco Metro $16 - $18 $24 - $26
All US Markets Combined $15 - $17 $23 - $25

To learn more about Seamless visit, www.seamless.com/business.

Lodging Summary

The lodging summary is a snapshot of all lodging expenses. This data indicates which vendor is most frequently expensed, the average amount per expense and the average satisfaction rating.

Most Expensed Hotel
Vendor Name Expense Percentage* Average Amount
Marriott 9.27% $208.21
Hampton Inn 6.59% $204.33
Courtyard by Marriott 6.21% $163.25
Hilton 4.78% $193.17
Holiday Inn 4.67% $155.81
Hilton Garden Inn 3.35% $176.90
Holiday Inn Express 3.33% $216.24
DoubleTree 3.26% $167.83
Hyatt 2.48% $191.09
Fairfield Inn 1.76% $218.64
Miscellaneous* 49.14% NA
*Expense Percentage represents the number of expenses divided by the total number of expenses within the expense type.
*Miscellaneous is compiled of all remaining lodging vendors expensed with a total expensed percentage less than 1.70%.
Top Rated Hotels
Vendor Name Average Rating*
Westin Hotels 4.4
Residence Inn 4.3
Hilton Garden Inn 4.2
Courtyard by Marriott 4.1
Hyatt 4.1
*Average Rating represents the average 1 through 5 star rating for all expenses for each vendor, with 5 stars being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest.

Rental Car Summary

The rental car summary is a snapshot of all of the rental car expenses. This data indicates which vendor is most frequently expensed, the average amount per expense and the average satisfaction rating.

Most Expensed Rental Car Companies
Vendor Name Expense Percentage* Average Amount
National Car Rental 17.33% $170.32
Avis Car Rental 16.77% $168.41
Hertz 14.80% $226.22
Enterprise Rent-A-Car 10.43% $204.29
Budget Car Rental 4.43% $199.18
Miscellaneous* 36.24% NA
*Expense Percentage represents the number of expenses divided by the total number of expenses within the expense type.
*Miscellaneous is compiled of all remaining rental car vendors expensed with a total expensed percentage less than 4%.
Top Rated Rental Car Companies
Vendor Name Average Rating*
Enterprise Rent-A-Car 4.1
National Car Rental 4.0
Avis Car Rental 3.8
Hertz 3.8
*Average Rating represents the average 1 through 5 star rating for all expenses for each vendor, with 5 stars being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest.

Airline Summary

The airline summary is a snapshot of all airfare expenses. This data indicates which vendor is most frequently expensed, the average expense amount and the average satisfaction rating.

Most Expensed Airlines
Vendor Name Expense Percentage* Average Amount
Delta 21.11% $403.17
United Airlines 13.49% $420.50
Southwest Airlines 10.26% $286.76
US Airways 9.13% $294.00
American Airlines 8.42% $409.35
Miscellaneous* 37.59% NA
*Expense Percentage represents the number of expenses divided by the total number of expenses within the expense type.
*Miscellaneous is compiled of all remaining air line vendors expensed with a total expensed percentage less than 1%.
Top Rated Airlines
Vendor Name Average Rating*
Southwest Airlines 4.6
Alaska Airlines (NYSE: LK) 4.1
Delta 3.8
American Airlines 3.7
United Airlines 3.4
*Average Rating represents the average 1 through 5 star rating for all expenses for each vendor, with 5 stars being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest.

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.

Boston

In Boston, Starbucks beats out Dunkin’ Donuts with 9.27% of all meals compared to Dunkin’ Donuts 3.72%.

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 This Report: The Certify SpendSmart™ Report provides a snapshot of the current spend trends of business travelers in North America with all data compiled from actual expense data from submitted expense reports.

For all media inquires please contact Tim Wheatcroft of Certify, pr@certify.com or 888-781-0088 x4468.

Archived SpendSmart™ Reports

  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Second Quarter Report, 2019 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - First Quarter Report, 2019 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Fourth Quarter Report, 2018 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Third Quarter Report, 2018 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Second Quarter Report, 2018 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - First Quarter Report, 2018 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Fourth Quarter Report, 2017 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Third Quarter Report, 2017 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Second Quarter Report, 2017 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - First Quarter Report, 2017 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Fourth Quarter Report, 2016 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Third Quarter Report, 2016 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Second Quarter Report, 2016 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - First Quarter Report, 2016 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Fourth Quarter Report, 2015 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Third Quarter Report, 2015 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Second Quarter Report, 2015 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - First Quarter Report, 2015 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Fourth Quarter Report, 2014 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Third Quarter Report, 2014 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Second Quarter Report, 2014 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - First Quarter Report, 2014 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Fourth Quarter Report, 2013 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Third Quarter Report, 2013 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - Second Quarter Report, 2013 View Report
  • Certify SpendSmart™ Report - First Quarter Report, 2013 View Report
see more