Cutting the costs of Corporate Travel

With Ian Race, Senior Vice-President, Sales & Account Management 

Even when the economy is buoyant, there are benefits in keeping a close rein on corporate travel costs. Recently I gave a presentation to the Global Business Travel Association in which I shared some of Vision’s top suggestions for cost containment.  Then we asked members of the audience to chime in with some of their tried-and-true methods.

Financial Planning and Review of Year End Reports

 

Interestingly there are conventional and unconventional (and sometimes surprising) ways to trim costs. Here’s a look at some of the conventional ones:

l) Book meetings around flight times, not vice versa

2) Book flights in advance where possible but not so far in advance that there may be a change, triggering change fees. 14-21 days is typically the “sweet spot”.

3) Focus on fewer suppliers, especially in the hotel and car sector.

4) Use a corporate credit card that allows benefits to accrue to the corporation and the traveller.

5) Ensure all employees abide by the corporate travel policy and keep a departmental score card.

6) In the event of a termination, part of HR checklist should include immediate cancellation of future travel plans.

7) Make sure all employees are enrolled in loyalty programs to accrue benefits such as free Wi-Fi.

 

Next month, I’ll talk about some of the more unusual methods of cost savings we came up with!