NEW YORK -- Businesses have been spending more overall on travel in recent years, but continue to scrimp by forcing executives into less luxurious surroundings while on the road, a new survey says.


Fewer companies allow their employees to book first- or business-class seats on long flights, the every-other-year survey by American Express showed.


Hotel choices are more frequently limited to those that have negotiated special rates and employers are more apt to limit the size of rental cars, the survey said.


Most companies spent more on travel and entertainment than when the survey was last conducted in 1992. Spending per employee, however, was down 20 percent to $2,484. The 1992 number may have been inflated by the heavy job losses in 1990 and 1991.


Companies allow their workers to buy international business class tickets 31 percent of the time, down from 34 percent, the survey showed.