Certify SpendSmart™ Report Q4 2013

Back to Current SpendSmart Report >> SpendSmart Report Q4, 2013

Certify SpendSmart™ Report

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

The Certify SpendSmart™ quarterly report analyzes the most recent business expense transactions and vendor ratings data to provide valuable insights to Certify clients and the corporate T&E industry at large.

Fourth Quarter, 2013

October 1, 2013 - December 31, 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) 4.98% $10.26
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) 2.97% $7.57
Subway 1.73% $14.56
Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) 1.68% $37.00
Dunkin' Donuts (NASDAQ: DNKN) 1.27% $10.84
HMS Host 1.20% $16.24
Chick-Fil-A 0.83% $23.75
Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN) 0.79% $8.82
Burger King (NYSE: BK) 0.68% $8.61
Applebee's 0.66% $33.13
Miscellaneous* 80.39% 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*
Chick-Fil-A 4.4
Chick-Fil-A 4.3
Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) 4.3
Panera Bread 4.1
Dunkin' Donuts 4.1
Jimmy John's 4.1
Starbucks 4.0
Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL) 4.0
Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) 4.0
Olive Garden (NASDAQ: DRI) 4.0
Buffalo Wild Wings 3.9
*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 13.91%
Lunch McDonalds 3.03%
Dinner McDonald's 1.55%

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 (NYSE: MAR) 9.27% $225.96
Hampton Inn 7.45% $195.88
Courtyard by Marriott 6.28% $170.52
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) 4.68% $189.71
Holiday Inn (NYSE: IHG) 4.26% $148.42
DoubleTree 3.66% $174.49
Holiday Inn Express 3.14% $203.06
Hilton Garden Inn 3.10% $170.96
Hyatt (NYSE: H) 2.77% $232.49
Sheraton 1.83% $236.71
Miscellaneous* 46.97% 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*
Residence Inn 4.5
Westin Hotels 4.3
Marriott 4.2
Courtyard by Marriott 4.1
Embassy Suites 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 18.20% $166.67
Avis Car Rental (NASDAQ: CAR) 16.18% $173.83
Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) 14.872% $226.80
Enterprise Rent-A-Car 12.59% $182.96
Budget Car Rental 4.14% $186.09
Miscellaneous* 34.17% 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*
Avis Car Rental 4.2
National Car Rental 4.1
Enterprise Rent-A-Car 4.0
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 (NYSE: DAL) 19.77% $408.14
United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) 14.08% $419.29
US Airways (NYSE: LCC) 9.70% $291.78
American Airlines (NYSE: AAMRQ) 9.53% $352.20
Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) 8.92% $297.94
*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 4.2
Delta 4.0
Alaska Airlines (NYSE: LK) 3.8
American Airlines 3.7
United Airlines 3.7
*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

Boston

Legal Seafood moves above Dunkin’ Donuts to take the second place as the most expensed meal vendor in Boston with 5.28% of meals, averaging $84.94 per receipt.

Chicago

Zip Car continues to be a popular choice of transportation in Chicago, coming in as the 5th most expensed car rental service. The continued growth for Zip Car by business professionals may be due to its more than a 75% lower average cost per expense price tag at $55.84, compared to $216.16 with a traditional car rental service.

Dallas

Convenience is king in for business travelers in Dallas as the most expensed meal vendor is Starbucks with 8.02% of all meal expensed. Just behind Starbucks is T.G.I Friday’s with 2.93% of meal expenses.

Los Angeles

Boingo Wireless holds the #2 spot for general expenses with 3.58% of receipts.

New York

To no surprise, Starbucks come in as the #1 most expensed meal vendor in Los Angeles with 8.35% of all meals expenses. Interestingly, the average expense amount for Starbucks in Los Angeles is $0.39 less than the average national average at $10.26.

About This Report: The Certify SpendSmart™ Report provides a quarterly 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 Kevin Wolf of TGPR, kevin@tgprllc.com or (650) 327-1641.

Archived SpendSmart™ Reports

  • 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