Business travel

Business travel

U.S. business travel spending is expected to increase 4.9 percent this year, to $302.7 billion, but concerns about the U.S. economy likely will dampen what could be even more growth, according to the Global Business Travel Association and Visa.

“U.S. business travel was poised for significant growth in 2015, but the erratic performance of key economic drivers caused some to tap the brakes on additional travel spending,” said Michael W. McCormick, executive director of the Global Business Travel Association, in a statement.

Next year, business travel is projected to increase by 5.4 percent to $318.9 billion.

Since hitting a low in 2009, global business travel spending has increased 38 percent.

Geography quiz

Q. What is the capital of Australia?

A. Canberra. Located in the southeastern part of the country, it has a population nearing 400,000, well below that of Sydney and Melbourne, which both are near the 4 million mark.

AARP travel survey

A new survey from AARP Travel finds that more than 7 in 10 people 45-plus say that road trips are their favorite way to travel.

“Our research shows that the 45-plus leisure travel audience has clearly embraced this way of travel, with 87 percent having taken at least one road trip in the past year,” said Stephanie Miles, VP, Products & Platforms, AARP.

Top road-trip destinations include:

A city or town (39 percent).

A friend or family’s home (29 percent).

The beach (12 percent).

Among the most-popular reasons why travelers choose road trips include:

They will have a vehicle at their destination (58 percent).

Flexibility (46 percent).

Cost (35 percent).

Scenery (28 percent).

Hotel resort fees

Mandatory hotel resort fees that aren’t wrapped into the advertised nightly rate can be frustrating but they don’t represent a deceptive business practice.

That was the response from the Federal Trade Commission to a nonprofit group that complained last week about the expanded use of mandatory resort fees by hotels.

“It’s a very simple thing,” said Charlie Leocha, president of Travelers United, an advocacy group with 23,000 members. “If the fee is mandatory, it must be included in the room rate.”

In the case of airlines, the Transportation Department has ordered carriers and travel agents to include all mandatory fees and taxes in the advertised price of airfares.

But that isn’t the case with hotel resort fees.

Ranging from about $20 to more than $100 a night, resort fees are meant to cover hotel extras such as swimming pools, saunas or fitness centers.

But in most cases, hotel guests are required to pay the fees even if they don’t use the facilities.

7-Eleven at airport

Los Angeles International Airport has become the first airport in the nation to add a 7-Eleven convenience store.

The store is in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, offering many of the same snacks and drinks offered at neighborhood stores. That includes the giant 32-ounce Big Gulp.

One major difference is that most neighborhood 7-Eleven stores are open 24 hours a day. The one at Los Angeles International will be open only from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Combined dispatches