Meal and entertainment business expenses have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to expense reports saved in SAP Concur, the travel and expense management platform. The numbers are based on reports filed by SAP Concur customers in Concur Expense between Jan. 1, 2023 and June 30, 2023, and equivalent time periods from 2019 and 2022.
Among the report’s highlights:
•Entertainment expenses suggest that in the first six months of this year, employees spent more on nonwork events than in years since the pandemic began. Spending on entertainment increased more than 10% (11.86%) in the first half of 2023 compared with the first half of 2019.
•The greatest contributors were small and mid-size businesses (SMBs), which saw the largest increase in entertainment, at 32% over 2019. That’s compared with a 4% increase at large businesses.
•It’s possible that workers are simply entertaining clients or partaking in group outings more, or the increases represent an uptick in costs from inflation. The average entertainment expense increased 23% from 2019 to 2023 — from $123 to $151 — although that’s down from a high of $155 in 2022.
•Whether it’s return-to-office incentives or inflation hiking prices, spending on meals in the first half of 2023 increased nearly 10% (9.1%) compared with the first half of 2019.
•The average meal expense was $55, up 23% from $43 in 2019.
•SMBs seem to spend more on meals, with a $64 per expense report average. On the flip side, large businesses are a bit lower, at $53. The difference in average meal expense likely stems from expense policies and the guardrails around what may and may not be expensed.
