Look up âtips to reduce travel spend,â and youâll be inundated with suggestions and opinions. You may get so wrapped up in the reading that you forget to book your trip and you miss that meeting with the potential new best client youâll ever have. Thereâs just so much advice out there. To help you out, weâve gathered some of the best tips and put them all here, in one place. So, read on â then book that flight and win that business!
Develop a travel policy and stick to it!
Include important details like per diem payments, preferred hotel, airline, or car rental brands and whether or not you have a 14-day advance booking rule. Expand on when your employees need managerial approval to book travel or go over budget. Define what is and is not reimbursable.
Once youâve got a solid policy in place, socialize it with your team, gain buy-in and understanding and post it where employees can easily refer to it before they book travel. Remind them regularly that the policy exists â and share metrics about what the company has saved since implementing the policy. You might even treat your team to a bonus or company BBQ with the money your company has saved, just by following some common sense rules.
Negotiate with travel suppliers to cut costs.
Make arrangements with one airline and one hotel chain. Incorporate these into your travel policy to enforce them. The more volume your company gives these vendors, the more leverage youâll have in future years to negotiate better rates and manage ancillary fees like baggage check fees, which can considerably increase the price of travel.
Many three-star hotels offer the same amenities as a five-star chain. They often have complimentary breakfast and free wifi. But donât skimp on a hotelâs cleanliness or your employees will not book with that hotel chain again. Also, donât require your employees to bunk up in hotels! Not only is that likely an unpleasant experience for your team, but may lead to larger intra-team issues.
Go virtually if possible
Before booking anything, confirm that you need to be in person. Virtual meetings and teleconferencing tools have come a long way and can save you thousands of dollars and hours of travel time so you can be more productive and efficient without ever leaving your office.
Book travel two weeks in advance. Always.
Book ahead. Book ahead. Book ahead.
Research from Cheapair.com shows that the sweet spot for booking a flight is actually 54 days in advance. Thatâs not always realistic since business travel often sneaks up on us, but you will pay a LOT more booking a day or two prior to a flight, versus 14 days in advance.
Establish a per diem travel policy.
Adjust per diems based on the city of travel.
West Coast and East Coast travel will be more expensive than a trip to the Midwest. Do you need $100/day to eat in St. Louis? Probably not.
Additional travel saving tips
Research whether the hotel has complimentary transportation to and from the airport or other popular locations to eliminate the need for car rentals. Avoid Summer, Spring Break and other holiday travel to save some serious dough.
Take advantage of rewards programs with airlines, hotels and car rental companies.
Lead by example
Follow your own policies.
If your employees see you sitting in business class and taking private cars to and from meetings, they will follow your lead. Reward those who follow the rules. Share your rewards to give them an airline seat or hotel room upgrade.
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