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.
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!