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The Hidden Costs of All These Canceled Business Trips

Value of face-to-face meetings can’t be replicated online, execs say. But firms will adjust and might realize they don’t need as much travel once coronavirus recedes.

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An almost empty plane flies from Milan to London.
An almost empty plane flies from Milan to London. Photographer: Laurel Chor/Getty Images

Nick Desai had been planning last week for months, envisioning what some call the Super Bowl of the grocery industry to flaunt his big idea: junk food snacks made from peas, instead of corn.   

The chief executive officer of PeaTos hired a hip-hop DJ. He planned to send about 15 staffers and spend more than $100,000 at Natural Products Expo West, a trade show in Anaheim, California, expected to draw nearly 88,000 attendees and 3,700 exhibitors. But last Monday, on the eve of the opening, organizers postponed the event as the coronavirus outbreak deepened in the region.