Travel Cost Optimization: Travel is a crucial part of many businesses and industries. Even during the COVID era, people are still travelling, mainly because it’s a job requirement. Not all job meetings or discussions can be handled over a Zoom video call. Many still require a person on the ground to inspect what is transpiring, guide workers, and act on the situation.
That means that a travel budget is required for a business. Unfortunately, in many cases, these travel budgets take up a lot of money, time, and resources. According to JP Morgan, large companies spend up to 31% of their money on travel, which is a staggering amount even for large companies.
That’s why there should be ways in which you optimize your travel costs so you get the most out of your money and resources. With the help of corporate travel management experts, Frontier Lodging Solutions, we have five ways you can save money on your travel expenses.
Five Ways To Optimize Your Travel Expenses
1- Perform a Comprehensive Travel Audit
The first step to controlling what you’re spending your money on is KNOW what you’re spending.
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Conducting a comprehensive audit on all your travel trips and transactions over the past year or even six months can help gather the key information that will help you know what is worth the money and what isn’t.
You can’t target areas until you know where exactly you are spending. An audit can help optimize the services and expenses later down the road.
2- Have a Clear Policy on Expenses
Too often, too many businesses don’t establish policies – or rules – by which travel expenses should be executed. It’s usually a “free for all”, in which management or employers splurge the budget on anything that is deemed a “corporate expense”, such as business meetings, deals and so forth.
The best way to mitigate that is to have a comprehensive policy that guides and states to members what is considered a corporate expense. This can make the process more efficient and effective to manage, particularly for smaller companies. It will ultimately reduce the expenditure that comes with costly travel trips.
The best way to approach this is by researching your management and employees’ needs during a trip. Being more inclusive can result in a better approach to policies without aggravating your team.
3- Plan Ahead for Trips
Business trips work very differently from holidays. Deals aren’t always available, and you’ll end up paying more for last-minute flights or hotels. That’s why when it comes to business trips, planning ahead is available.
It’s wise to schedule your flights and hotels as far ahead as possible, which will dramatically decrease the price of these amenities and services. Yes, it can be difficult to gauge when meetings occur and when they don’t, but it’s crucial to schedule them ahead as far ahead as possible, so you optimize your travel cost better.
As an added plus point, it’s better to keep some of your budget stored away as a “safety” for last-minute meetings that occur when you least expect it.
4- Offer Incentives For Management and Employees
There is nothing better than enticing management and employees with rewards to save money on their trips. Making it as part of the company policy would better entice the team to cut back on their expenses, rewarding them with bonuses or gifts as a thank you.
It might be out of place – you’re still technically using funds – but you’ll save more in the long-term.
5- Hire a Corporate Travel Management Consultant
Designating a professional consultant or company to handle your travel management and expenses can prove highly beneficial.
These experts will handle everything, from organizing bookings and finding deals to providing you with pre-loaded credit cards and post-trip financial reconciliation.
While these experts might charge you fees or a commission for their service, if you set a budget or timeframe, they’ll be able to handle it for you, saving you money in the process.
Better yet, you’ll also reduce the time, resources and money on in-house staff managing these trips, allowing them to focus on more important tasks.