10 Business Travel Cities With Big Expenses
Redmond, Wash.-based travel and expense management company Concur recently looked over data from 15 million of its business travel users and found 500 million expensed items that added up to $50 billion in travel spending for last year alone. In the U.S., average spending on business airfare increased 6.6%, while spending on hotel rooms jumped 4.15%. Those categories alone account for nearly 54% of all business spending.
While some costs jumped nationwide, there are clearly some cities taking a far bigger bite out of the business traveler's wallet than others. With help from Concur, we found the 10 most expensive destinations for both business travelers and their expense reports: 
10. Washington, D.C.
Average travel spending minus airfare: $519
Avoiding business in the nation's capital is nearly impossible if you deal regularly with the nation's regulatory bodies, the military or even your local representatives. Unless you plan to camp on the National Mall, conducting business in D.C. is pretty costly as well. The average $164.30 business spent on lodging there per trip is the second-highest among all U.S. cities -- and that doesn't even count the third-in-the-nation $40.21 cost of getting to and from the airports. 
9. Chicago
Average travel spending minus airfare: $529.76
There isn't one big item that makes Chicago a costly destination, just a lot of little ones that add up. The $188.60 cost of renting a car here is the third-lowest on the list, and the $35.58 dining average is remarkably low for a town that's home to a Michelin-star restaurant such as Alinea. Unfortunately, if you want to head out a show at Steppenwolf, a day at the museums or a Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, Cubs or White Sox game, it'll set you back an average $146.28. That's still somewhat low for a city of Chicago's size, but it still requires a big-league business budget. 
8. Bellevue, Wash.
Average travel spending minus airfare: $529.76