Given that business travelers who are responsible for theirown travel budgets tend to review their cheap traveloptions closely, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and discounttravel deals, closely before making any reservations, thefact that Uber and Lyft are growing in popularity among such travelers isnoteworthy.
For the first time ever Uber has surpassed car rentals asbusiness travelers preferred way of getting around town.
A review of over 30 million business expense transactionsin 2015 found that in the fourth quarter, 41 percent of rides taken by businesspeople nationwide were with Uber. Thatcompared to 39 percent of rides taken in rental cars and 20 percent of rides intaxis between October and December.
Uber rides rose in excess of 400 percent in 2015 vs. theprior year. Ride share company Lyft experiencedan increase in rides of 700 percent vs. 2014.
Airbnb, which arranges for people to rent out their homes,apartments, and single rooms, also grew more popular with businesstravelers. There was a 261 percentincrease in the number of room nights rented through Airbnb in the US during2015.
Uber has proved popular with business people in partbecause they find it easier not to have to deal with money, and the cars tendto be cleaner than the average taxi. Uber vehicles are generally far easier to hail than a taxi.
Customers know via Uber when a car is coming, can pre-entertheir destinations, and be automatically billed, with the receipt going intotheir email for future retrieval for expense reporting.
Lyft riders use this service on corporate trips in part becausethe price is competitive, often as much as 15 percent lower than comparabletaxi fares. The cost of parking lots andcar rental prices have become so expensive in major cities that the price andconvenience of Lyft make it attractive.
In foreign speaking countries, services like Uber mean thatthe rider does not need to explain the destination because it was sent when thecar was requested.
Airbnb often appeals to business people because it tends tostill offer rooms when hotel rooms cannot be found in busy cities that may behosting multiple events/conventions.
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