The ROI of Business Travel

It fascinates me to no end to watch otherwise smart people do stupid things in tough times. Like cutting marketing, slashing prices and letting customer service slide...when all the research proves such tactics are a recipe for failure.

New research out last week from Oxford Economics adds another study to the pile that smart people will likely ignore: For every dollar spent on business travel, companies experience $3.60 in new profits. And, that the average company that eliminates business travel stands to forfeit 17% of its profits in the first year.

With numbers like that, I know I wouldn't be cutting back.