Business travelers embrace the sharing economy

Rick Swope not only uses Uber regularly, but he encourages all 12 employees at his Florida engineering company to do so.

"In my mind if you do not use a service such as Uber, you need serious help," he says.

Taxis and rental cars are quickly falling out of favor with business travelers, who are increasingly turning to the sharing economy to produce what they believe will be more reasonable expense reports. Even Airbnb, the home-sharing service, is becoming a popular alternative among business travelers, according to a report released last week.

An analysis of millions of receipts by Certify, which helps companies manage expense reports, found that on-demand ride service Uber has overtaken taxis as the preferred way to get around among road warriors on business.

From the second quarter of last year to the second quarter of this year, Uber's percentage of transportation receipts grew from 8% to 31%. At the same time, the market share of taxis declined from 37% to 24%. Rental car use also decreased from 55% to 45% of receipts.

Uber competitor Lyft comprised just 1% of ground transportation receipts. Even so, the company had a 153% increase in ridership among business travelers in the second quarter over the previous one.

"The idea of renting a car and picking it up and parking it and refueling it. ... Rental cars are really a hassle unless you're going a long distance," says Robert Neveu, CEO of Certify. "On the taxi side, you don't have to ask that infamous question with the cabbie, 'Do you take a credit card?'"

Lyft and Uber also got better reviews than taxis and rental car companies in the Certify study. Employees say they like that the on-demand car companies accept credit cards and offer more alternatives. Uber, for instance, has SUVs, regular taxis and a ridesharing option.

Sally Berry, a tourism sales manager in Corning, N.Y., says Uber has saved her time and money. She and her colleagues used it last month in Orlando, Fla., to get back to their hotel after an evening event.

"We knew it would be a long wait for a taxi and sure enough, Uber was there within five minutes," she says.

Recognizing the potential, both Uber and Lyft are specifically targeting corporations.

Last July, Uber launched a dedicated platform for business travel. Uber for Business lets employees bill their car hires to their companies. In place of receipts, administrators and small business owners get trip information directly from Uber.

Around the same time, Lyft debuted "Lyft for Work," an employee transportation program that also bills employers directly.

"We have seen a tremendous response from the business community since we launched Uber for Business less than a year ago," says Max Crowley, manager for Uber for Business.

Harry Campbell, who drives for Uber and Lyft and writes a blog for drivers called "The Rideshare Guy," says he's seen an uptick in business travelers, particularly those who need rides to and from the airport.

Some U.S. airports prohibit on-demand ride companies from picking up passengers. But that's starting to change. Last week, for instance, the Los Angeles International Airport Board of Commissioners voted to lift the ban. The decision is pending approval by the city attorney and the airport.

"In the past, many travelers only had the option of taking taxis and it was a hassle to use cash, expense things, etc.," says Campbell. "Most companies ask that their employees pay for everything with the corporate card unless they absolutely have to pay in cash."

Employers were once reluctant to let their employees use Uber and similar services because they worried about their safety. Companies are relenting as the sharing economy becomes more mainstream.

"As they become more credible in the quality of services, more and more companies will add them to their preferred vendor list," Neveu says.

Doug Messer, CEO of New York-based University Beyond, a job search company for college students, encourages his six employees to use on-demand car services over taxis.

Messer also encourages employees to use Airbnb rather than rent hotel rooms.

"If my employee is traveling for a conference or somewhere where there will be a lot of people attending, it's almost guaranteed to be cheaper and closer to the conference than a hotel," he says.

Like Lyft, Airbnb still accounts for a small portion of business travel receipts but has had a significant growth — 143% — in the second quarter from the first quarter of this year.

Last year, Airbnb partnered with travel management company Concur to start a program specifically for business travelers. Companies that use Concur's TripLink service can book directly on Airbnb and track expense reports.

Marc McCabe, business travel lead for Airbnb, says 10% of customers are traveling for business. In addition, the number of companies that have added Airbnb to their corporate travel programs has increased in the last year, he says.

"These are companies that recognize that employees want to redefine what a business trip is," he says.