New Corporate Travel Spend Data Suggests Significant Revenue Opportunities for Restaurants as Consumer Spending Stalls

Dinova Inc., the authority in business dining, anticipates a continued surge in corporate dining activity after a recent Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) announcement that overall business travel spend is expected to reach a record $1.48 trillion in 2024. Business travelers are projected to spend $245 billion on food and beverage, the second-largest travel expense category.

Meanwhile, consumer dining spend has plateaued. Technomic, the leader in foodservice insights, reported negative average YOY growth for full-service (-1.5%) and limited-service (-1%) restaurants. In the Vericast 2024 Restaurant TrendWatch Survey, 68% of respondents said they are opting for grocery store food over restaurant meals to avoid rising costs.

“The record growth in business travel and dining spend is welcome news for restaurants when consumer sales and attitudes look bleak,” said Dinova CEO Alison Quinn. “As consumer traffic and spending continue to dampen, the business travel and dining boom offers a new avenue for growth.”

The spike in corporate travel spend is the latest in a string of promising business dining trends:

• Corporate catering has become the largest source of revenue for catering companies, with spend projected to soar to $103 billion by 2027.
• Catering purchases (over $250) now comprise over a third of business dining transactions, according to Dinova’s corporate cardholder data and analysis in Dinova’s latest State of Business Dining Report).
• U.S. corporate travelers spend an average of $700 out-of-pocket per trip, with 63% of that money used towards dining.
• Large events and conferences, a major business dining and catering driver, are back in full force, reaching 90% of pre-pandemic levels in major markets.

“Business dining needs are diverse, from quick fast food stops to sophisticated client dinners, meeting catering, and culture building,” said Quinn. “Millions of employees in our corporate dining program turn to our restaurant partners for all these occasions.”

“Restaurants in the Dinova dining program can tap into a dedicated and consistent base of business diners and gain a significant revenue opportunity in the face of weakening consumer sales.”