Travel and Tourism
The road less traveled
Take a proactive approach to keep your travel costs in check.
By Jessica Tremayne
Smart Business | December 2008
Page 1 of 3
With tough economic times taking a
toll on all of us, your first instinct to rising business travel costs might be to
eliminate the expense across the board.
Don’t do it.
Travel leads to growth and cutting it is
counterproductive. If you’re looking to
adhere to a more realistic plan, consider re-evaluating your travel policy and
consulting with a travel management
company to save 20 to 30 percent on
travel while keeping worthy trips in the
budget.
Travel is the second-largest controllable cost for the average U.S. business,
seated between data collection and
salaries, yet most companies have little
or no management of it.
While your company may have an unofficial policy instructing employees to
‘get the cheapest rate,’ a policy that isn’t
managed and enforced is equivalent to
not having one at all.
A Smart Business poll showed that 75
percent of respondents’ employees are
responsible for making their own travel
arrangements. The problem is, if your
employees are utilizing online booking
agencies or different vendors, your company is likely losing out in the long run.
If you lump your travel needs together
with selected vendors and submit
requests for proposals, your annual
negotiated rate will outweigh nickel-and-dime savings earned on a case-by-case
basis.
