On the Road

5 Trending U.S. Destinations for Business Travel

September 5, 2024

If Kalamazoo, Mich., isn’t yet on your host destination prospect list, you may want to reconsider. That’s just one of the top five trending U.S. destinations for business travel.

What five U.S destinations are on the rise for business travelers these days? While they may not be the first to come to mind as hot business travel destinations, according to the recent Amex Trendex: Business Travel Edition, keep your eye on Princeton, N.J.; Durham, N.C.; Southwest Michigan (Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids); Sacramento, Calif.; and Honolulu, Hawaii. While some of these cities may be a bit surprising, based on commercial customer hotel transactions, American Express found that these are the spots that have experienced the most commercial growth year over year.

What’s behind some of this growing appeal to business travelers? The key appears to be encouraging growth in specific business sectors and educational institutions, which in turn draw in more business travelers. In the case of Princeton, N.J., which is making a big push to get companies to relocate to the Garden State, there’s also a plan in the works to make the destination a hub for AI researchers, industry leaders and private sector companies. California’s capitol city of Sacramento, which has focused on growing its semiconductor and life sciences sector, also has added new direct routes to the Sacramento International Airport, which is also undergoing a $1.3 billion expansion.

Known for biotech, Durham is growing its tech corporate sector along with its airport, which recently added four airlines, 25 destinations and 49 routes. Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids are investing $5.5 billion in upgrading corporate offices, event centers and other facilities, while Honolulu, finally rebounding in a big way from pandemic-era tourism drop-offs, remains popular for incentive trips and corporate retreats.

While each of these destinations has undergone upgrades to make themselves more business-traveler-friendly, the rise in business travelers who want their work trip with a side of vacation may have something to do with it. Because they likely will be on their own dime for part of their trip, 85% said they tend to be a bit more thrifty while on the road.

Other findings from the Amex Trendex study:

Today’s business traveler may be pinching pennies a bit more, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to spring for a little extra comfort. More than three quarters said they had paid for a hotel or airfare upgrade — this is especially true for millennials and Gen Z, who were almost twice as likely as their Gen X and Baby Boomer colleagues to pay for upgrades out of pocket or with personal points.
Speaking of points — 80% say a trip is more enticing when they can score some airline or hotel loyalty points.
Expense management is getting a bit easier than it used to be. Business travelers say this is especially true for doing expense reports. While T&E spend management automation can take the credit for a lot of this improvement, companies are increasingly looking to AI to further improvement the experience when it comes to everything from T&E expense management to travel booking and contingency planning.

“Travelers are taking advantage of amenities to make their journeys more convenient and comfortable, corporate policies are adjusting to trends like remote work, and tech investments are improving expense management,” said Fernando Iraola, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Global & US Large Enterprises, American Express. “Business travel continues to drive connectivity among colleagues and partners, drive business for companies, and is even helping to fuel economic growth in emerging business travel markets.”