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Business Travelers Start to 'Just Say No'

Reps for Six Columbus, the eternally unopened Manhattan hotel, have told us that the hotel would like to go after a high-end business traveler. But if this is the kind of group the hotel is targeting, they may want to consider lowering the rates.

According to a July 3 article in the Wall Street Journal, "This year more than 76 percent of employers say they are booking fewer luxury hotels in favor of midclass properties."

Titled Business Travel, Downgraded, the article provides anecdotes of business travelers sleeping on friend's sofas, doubling up in rooms, and downgrading to much cheaper hotels. Meaning intstead of a Four Seasons or a Thompson Hotel, biz travelers will be hitting up Doubletree or Embassy Suites.

It's not hard to see why. Hotel rates are up 19.2 percent in the U.S. since the end of 2004, 7.2 percent of that just last year. And rates are expected to rise another 6 percent this year.

It's even worse internationally: London prices are up 30.3 percent in dollar terms and forget any thoughts of Asia being cheap. "Mumbai, India has seen a rise of 48.8 percent over the same period and Singapore's has climbed 32.9 percent." Ouch.

If you're part of a young start-up on a shoestring, you might want to check into GlobalFreeloaders.com or Couchsurfing.