Uber, Lyft and Airbnb soar in popularity with business travelers

For the first time, Uber passed car rentals as business travelers' top mode of choice for getting around town, according to a new report.

Expense  management  company Certify analyzed more than 30 million transactions in 2015 and found that in the fourth quarter,  41% of rides taken by corporate trekkers nationwide were with Uber. That was in comparison with 39% of rides taken in rental cars and 20% of rides in taxis during that three-month period.

“It’s a very big shift in spend,"  says Robert Neveu, Certify’s CEO, noting that more companies allow ride share services such as Uber and Lyft to be among their approved vendors for use on the road. “I think companies are saying, look we feel comfortable with the liability and risk in allowing our employees to use these services. ...  If you’re a ground transportation provider, you’ve got to come up with a solution to compete with this, or you’re  going to lose market share."

Uber rides were up more than 400% last year vs. 2014, while ride share company Lyft  saw  its percentage of rides jump  700% last year compared with 2014.

Airbnb, which allows people to rent out their homes, apartments or even a room, is also growing more popular with business travelers. Certify saw a 261% uptick in the number of room nights logged with the service in the USA during 2015.

Airbnb appears to be used more by employees working for smaller businesses that may not have a corporate travel department, as well as groups traveling to meetings or conventions, Neveu says.

“When you have four to five colleagues going to a conference or trade show together for three or four nights, it’s becoming more commonplace to say, ‘Let’s go to Airbnb and rent a house,' " Neveu says. “It can be more affordable. ... But you’re always challenged with that living situation with your co-workers, so it’s certainly not for everyone."

Lisa Brauch, manager of accounting operations for Garmin International, says that when it comes to ground transportation, the company’s travel department will book an employee a  rental car. If they don’t want one, they’re free to choose Uber to get around.

“We don’t have a specific policy related to Uber, but if an associate wants to use Uber vs. a taxi or a rental car even, it’s certainly an option," she says. “We reimburse their receipt the same as if it was a regular taxi."

Several members of USA TODAY’s panel of frequent-flying Road Warriors said they find Uber particularly convenient.

“If I have a full day of meetings and am running around New York City or Toronto, it's so much easier not to have to deal with money, plus the cars are cleaner than a taxi," says Ira Gostin, a vice president of a mining company, who lives in Reno. “I have had too many suits ruined in taxis." He says dealing with a rental car can be a hassle on hectic days jammed with meetings.

Rahul Kapur, a New York-based  managing director of  an executive search and consulting firm, says  he uses Uber frequently.

“It's far easier than trying to hail a taxi," he says. “I know when it's coming. I can pre-enter my destination, so there's no confusion, and it's automatically billed, and (the) receipt goes right to my email for future retrieval for expense reporting."

David Stollman, a Road Warrior who works in the higher education industry and lives in Parkland, Fla., has used Lyft on corporate trips and found that the price was right. “Parking rates and car rental prices have gotten so outrageous in major cities that the price and convenience make it a no-brainer," he says.

Ryan Luther, a distribution sales manager in Cincinnati, has found Uber to be useful when he's traveled to international destinations such as  Mexico City and Lima.

"In foreign-speaking countries, you don't need to explain the destination because it is (sent) when I hail the car,'' Luther says. "Great for rider and driver alike."

Road Warrior Justin Nihiser, an Atlanta-based director of franchise development for the music program School of Rock, found that Airbnb came in handy when he couldn't find a hotel vacancy.

“I was looking for a hotel in Denver twice," he says, “and both times, there were no rooms available. I then used Airbnb."

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