SAP Concur Spending Data: Travellers Are Maximizing Their Budgets

This is what SAP Concur data reveals about spending behaviour in 2025:

Travellers making the most of their travel allowance

Most Canadian business travellers (88%) have recently started taking steps to make ends meet at the end of a business trip – ranging from making sure not to overspend on daily allowances to making the most of freebies. More than a third (37%) eat cheaper meals in order to underspend on their per diem, while a further 29% prepare their own meals rather than dining out. Some business travellers also benefit by taking leftover food and drinks (31%) and packing the complimentary amenities from hotels and conferences (24%) to return home with. There are clear generational differences: 92% of Gen-Z travellers take steps to make the most of their travel allowance, compared to 87% of millennials, 73% of Gen X, and 64% of baby boomers.

Travellers splash the cash on business trips

Different spending patterns apply on a business versus a private trip. Just over one in three employees (33%) opt for higher quality hotels or premium rooms when travelling for work, while a third (33%) book direct flights, even if they’re more expensive. They’re also more likely to take private transport options, such as Ubers (37%) and spend more dining in nicer restaurants (28%). The generations most likely to adjust their spending behaviour are Gen Z (94%) and millennials (89%), followed by 72% of Gen X and 56% of baby boomers.

Travellers spend their own money on upgrades

Travel budget cuts are affecting the experience travellers have on the road. While employees try to make the most of their travel policy, the majority of Canadian travellers (86%) are also willing to spend their own money to enhance a trip. Younger employees are more likely to invest in their experience, with 93% of Gen-Z and 88% of millennial travellers willing to spend their own funds on upgrades, compared to 62% of baby boomers and 74% of Gen X.

Canadian travellers will pay their way for perks including higher-quality accommodations (42%), an additional hotel night to avoid a long travel day (35%), and seating upgrades (27%). They are also willing to shell out for more sustainable travel options (28%), more expensive routes that avoid layovers or use their preferred airport (27%), or preferred airlines or hotels (28%).

Integrated travel management solutions offer companies the ability to define travel policies and set booking categories to guide booking behavior. Friendly nudging with suggestions for cheaper or preferred providers with whom companies have negotiated particularly favorable terms can also help provide employees with the greatest possible convenience without paying exorbitant amounts.

Find more insights in the seventh annual Global Business Travel Survey from SAP Concur.