When you have staff who fly to different destinations at different times, it might seem challenging to make corporate travel savings. While there are ways to reduce your costs without sacrificing traveler safety or service, there are also ways to keep those costs low.
It is possible to save money every time you take a trip and ensure your travelers and stakeholders are happy in the process as well. Discover the best ways to reduce your overall corporate travel expenses.
1. STRICKEN UP YOUR CORPORATE TRAVEL POLICY
There are many considerations when setting up a corporate travel policy, from booking flights to handling expense reports. The net can easily slip through, so many things slip through. Check your current corporate travel policy carefully to see if it covers everything your company spends on travel.
Start by organizing the basics – getting approvals in order, and posting guidelines regarding bookings, reservations, and spending on-site. Your business travelers will be more likely to make decisions within your policy and limit additional costs detrimental to your bottom line if you define clear procedures.
2. CONTRIBUTE TO A PRE-TRIP APPROVAL PROCESS
Establishing an approval system for every booking is one of the easiest ways to reduce corporate travel costs. It will be easier to avoid wasting resources by making it clear who needs to approve travel.
If you partner with a travel management company, make full use of their online booking solution. They allow you to control which employees can make hotel and flight reservations and quickly track those bookings. If they break your policy, it means you can respond quickly. In the end, you will have more control over the process of making travel arrangements.
3. SAVE ON AIRFARE
Make sure you book your airline tickets wisely since they can be expensive. Booking Economy flights only and being flexible on your travel dates and airline could save you money. In general, it’s cheaper to have a fixed travel schedule when you book. Make sure you only purchase flexible tickets that offer you the option of returning when required to do so.
Travel-management applications help you find the best rates and the most competitive airfares. Some sites and apps automatically cancel and rebooks tickets when it finds a lower rate to the same destination when it detects a cheaper deal. It could also massively reduce your corporate travel expenses if you receive alerts regarding airfare promotions.
4. COMBINE HOTELS TO DROP PRICES
Even though rooms can vary significantly among hotels, being smart will enable you to save money. If your business travelers aim to choose where they want to stay, you might want to let them. If you wish, you can set up a budget or star rating. The contract might also specify that standard room requests are necessary, as well as whether minibar charges, Wi-Fi costs, etc., are covered or not.
A little research will also help you remain in control of bookings. Discounts on hotel rooms are sometimes available for frequent visitors to the exact location.
5. AIM FOR RELIABLE FOOD AND TRANSPORT ALLOWANCES
It might be possible to reduce overspending by allowing employees to control their food and transportation budgets. Employees may receive an overall allowance per day to cover their meal expenses, so they may choose how much to spend on dinner, lunch, and breakfast. It’s always possible to find an exception, so reserve your top-end restaurant for your most important client meetings. To make sure employees choose cost-effective transport methods, you should need to factor in journey times. To get from A to B, they might use their vehicles and then receive reimbursement.
6. ADVANCE PLANNING
Any time the idea of saving money comes up, and this must be the golden rule. As a rule of thumb, corporate travelers should book flights and hotels well in advance as prices can rapidly escalate closer to departure.
Through Trip Estimator, you can gain insight into ticket pricing and booking trends along with hotel rates and other information. Similarly, be sure someone is available to cover client meetings – is it necessary to send someone hundreds of miles to protect an appointment if an employee in the area is already capable of doing so?
7. RECOGNIZE TRAVEL AUXILIARY CHARGES
The charges for Wi-Fi and parking may surprise you when you get back from a trip, especially if they said they would include it in everything. Bundling your business services providers’ costs into one combined package will allow you to keep these costs under control.
8. IMPROVE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF YOUR EMPLOYEES
You make your business travelers’ lives easier by reducing the amount of time they spend organizing trips. Your business travelers can spend more time working, therefore keeping your company profitable. The easiest way to stay productive during their trip is to make their journey run smoothly at every stage.
It is possible to automate this process using the software. For example, employees’ travel schedules can be synced with their business smartphone calendars, giving them access to crucial travel details whenever necessary. It will also enable employees to find local discounts and information without having to search for them down, giving them more time to do other things.
9. USE A TRAVEL MANAGEMENT SERVICE
Business travelers can cut their costs by hiring a corporate travel specialist. They work with global organizations to manage travel in a personalized manner, which can save time, money, and stress – and we offer industry-leading customer service to assist you.
Whether you’re planning a trip abroad or staying locally, a travel management company can offer you preferential airfares, hotels, and other advantages of on-site promotions. It allows you to see everything in one place, your travel accommodations, making it easy to make informed decisions that contribute to reduced expenses.
10. COMMEND YOUR EMPLOYEES AND YOUR BUSINESS
Choosing more cost-efficient options saves your company money every time you have a traveler. What if they got incentives to save even more money? Perhaps you can give them a gift card, a share of the savings, or some time off – a way to thank them for working hard and keeping them motivated. The cumulative effect can be staggering for a year.
Additionally, you can save money by taking advantage of corporate reward programs. The company earns points every time it books with one of them. Points are redeemable for airline tickets, upgraded seats, hotel reservations, and car rentals.
You cannot overemphasize how important it is to keep your startup’s travel expenses in check. You could lose a significant amount of money if you don’t solve the problem, and the organization could also lose efficiency. Putting these four tips into practice will help you create a system that’ll save you time and money while at the same time making sure you don’t miss any important meetings.
