San Francisco unsurprisingly tops the list as the most expensive U.S. city for business travelers, according to a Business Travel News report that analyzed spending in the 100 largest American cities. Business travelers in San Francisco spend an average of $547 per day, the report found.
California cities generally rank high on the list: Santa Barbara is sixth at $409 per day; Los Angeles is eighth at $402; San Diego ranks 23rd at $348; and Anaheim comes in 35th at $319. One notable finding was that Detroit registered the fastest year-over-year increase in hotel rates, rising 22.5 percent from 2014 to 2015. Even so, Detroit’s average nightly hotel rate of $198 remains far below San Francisco’s average hotel rate of roughly $370 per night.
High prices have not deterred visitors to San Francisco. The city reported a record 24.6 million visitors last year, a 2.7 percent increase over 2014, indicating that both leisure and business travelers continue to frequent the city despite elevated costs.