Understand future pricing in air, hotel and ground transportation to build and budget your travel and events program.
Planning for stability amid economic uncertainty
The pricing of global business travel is entering a new phase. In the shortterm, economic uncertainty, policy shifts, and trade volatility are weighing on pricing. Over the longer term, we expect continued, though more moderate, price increases in 2026.
The fundamentals that are supporting higher prices remain in place: constrained air capacity growth, steady but limited hotel supply pipelines, and persistently high supplier costs. While the post-pandemic rebound in leisure travel demand appears to have leveled off, it is not showing any significant signs of waning. Meanwhile, business travel demand also remains resilient.
Lower fuel prices, interest rates cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB), and favorable exchange rates could help temper price increases. However, this is countered by persistent or volatile inflation in several key markets.
While there are short-term pressures, our baseline forecast points to a period of relative pricing stability — a shift from the more volatile post-pandemic years to a more predictable rate of growth. But risks remain. The threat of a recession or stagflation (a troubling mix of sluggish growth and persistent inflation) could significantly reshape the pricing environment.
