The corporate travel market is growing moderately, but complexity abounds. Though budgets may be increasing, so are costs. At the same time, success and sustainability markers are getting increasingly complicated to measure as companies reevaluate travel’s primary benefits, potentially changing the course for their broader strategy. The proportion of professionals traveling for work declined from 36 percent in 2024 to 31 percent in 2025. At the same time, the composition of business travelers is shifting: Occasional travelers are becoming regulars, regular travelers are moving up to frequent status, while seasoned road warriors are scaling back their travel. In its new report, “Forecast in Flux: 2025 Deloitte Corporate Travel Study,” Deloitte examines what is shaping the corporate travel landscape and what that means for travelers, their companies and travel providers alike.
Three in four travel managers responding to the survey report expanding budgets this year, similar to 2024. However, the share anticipating cuts rose significantly, from 6 percent to 10 percent. Notably, the scale of both increases and decreases grew, though the average budget decrease widened more.
Although the majority of surveyed big companies reported they expect to increase travel, the survey indicates that big companies are cutting back more. One in five companies with more than $7.5 million in 2024 travel spend expect budget declines in 2025, and only 59 percent expect increases, in sharp contrast to smaller companies. These trends by company size run counter to 2024, when larger companies were more likely to expect budget growth.
Surveyed travelers generally expect to travel more than in 2024. However, frequent travelers (10 or more trips per year) expect to reduce their trips. Just 53 percent expect to travel three or more times per month, down from 63 percent.
Mixed Signals
These patterns play out against a backdrop of mixed and muted signals, suggesting an uncertain short-term outlook. CoStar cited lagging corporate demand in its recent forecast of a 0.8 percent decline in U.S. revenue per available room. The hotel-performance data provider also noted a 3 percent drop in group demand for the second quarter of 2025.
Deloitte’s 2025 Corporate Travel Study is based on two surveys. The first surveyed 151 U.S.-based corporate travel managers between July 10 and July 23, 2025, who are tasked with company-wide travel initiatives including employee-oriented policy, supplier negotiations, duty of care, and the procurement of booking technology. The second surveyed 1,003 U.S.-based corporate travelers who took a business trip in 2024 and also traveled in 2025, fielded from July 3 to July 12. Among those corporate travelers, 215 qualified as budget owners, leaders who make travel decisions for teams or business units.
For more information on Deloitte’s 2025 Corporate Travel Buyer Survey, visit Hotel Management's sister site Meetings Spotlight.