Surge in Summer Car Rental Spending as Travelers Hit the Road

Gas prices might be soaring again, and it might take a little longer to get to your destination, but spending on automobile rentals is up significantly this summer compared to last year.

Companies spent more than double the amount they spent on car rentals in Q2 2023 over the same quarter last year, according to new data released by Emburse. With the declaration of the pandemic’s end in May came a business travel high not seen since 2019.

Q2 2023 saw the biggest annual increase in spending on car rentals overall (+224 percent) and per day (+150 percent) since Emburse began reporting this metric.

Spending on other travel metrics is also up, including:

Spend on air travel is up 22 percent domestically and 92 percent internationally year over year.
Spend on hotel reservations is up 50 percent year over year, averaging 4.18 nights per stay.

Volume metrics are up for all measurements: flights, car, and hotel.

When the pandemic emergency was declared over in May 2023, a boom in demand for car rentals drove prices up exponentially, which is reflected by the data released.

Said Eric Friedrichsen, CEO of Emburse: “Business travel continues to rebound, but the economy we are in is different from that of 2019 or even last year. While our customers are lifting travel bans, they are still looking to maximize the value they get for each trip. And we’re helping them by reducing the cost side of the ROI calculation.”

Emburse has more than 18,000 clients in 120 countries. It produces data and research to help companies streamline their finances when it comes to travel.