Advertisement

Starbucks and McDonald’s popular with business travelers

Starbucks is the most popular breakfast eatery among business travelers, according to a study of expense reports.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Share via

Business travel has rebounded from the Great Recession, but lots of travelers remain frugal when spending company money on the road.

That was one of the findings of a new report that analyzed millions of business travel expense reports.

For breakfast, the most frequent eatery for business travelers was Starbucks -- 14% of travelers bought food from the coffee shop, spending an average of $8.44 per meal, according to an analysis for the last three months of 2013 by Certify, a travel and expense report management company based in Portland, Maine. The company processed more than 15 million expense reports and receipts in 2013, worth about $4.5 billion.

Advertisement

For lunch and dinner, the most frequent expense report was for the fast-food giant McDonald’s, for an average lunch cost of $7.19, and $7.47 for dinner, the report said.

Certify’s chief executive, Bob Neveu, said the report makes sense because fast-food and quick-service eateries are speedy and convenient and usually offer wireless Internet access.

“Most people are traveling individually, and they are out for the week trying to get something fast, convenient and consistent that is within their company policy,” he said.

Advertisement

ALSO:

Americans vent about cellphone calls on planes

The hotel minibar may soon go extinct, experts say

Advertisement

Most annoying etiquette violation on a plane? Survey says ...

Advertisement