Business Travel Smarts
Create clear spending guidelines. The single most effective way to begin controlling travel costs is to mandate a spending policy. This spells out how flights should be chosen, which hotels to book, how big a car to rent, whether or not to take extra renter's insurance, and how much a reasonable per diem is for meals.
Give the policy some teeth. Audit bookings--to catch policy violations at point of purchase--and/or expense reports before reimbursement. Make it clear that booking out of policy has consequences. Some companies, for example, will not reimburse any non-approved travel. Others generate exception reports that highlight out-of-policy purchasing to managers, who take action at their own discretion.
Need help? Electronic workflow solutions can help monitor compliance. For example, if Traveler X wants to take a flight that isn't the lowest logical fare, his travel agent will get a pop-up on his or her screen, and will remind Traveler X that a cheaper fare is available. Or if something put on an expense account is out of policy, reimbursement won't take place unless an exception report is filed and okayed.
Enlist the help of travelers in travel purchasing decisions. Form a travel committee that can advise on everything from the suitability of, for example, certain hotels in a market where they travel frequently, or the cities where it makes more sense to use public transportation than rent a car. Some companies offer financial incentives for frugal travelers, refunding 10% of actual savings to employees who voluntarily share a hotel room with a colleague or take a red-eye flight to avoid staying overnight. Other companies pay a bonus to employees who use their personal frequent flier miles for business trips.
Use Web-based tools for travel bookings and expense reports. When travelers book their own itineraries online, they save as much as 15-20% on average ticket prices, according to research conducted by the National Business Travel Association. When employees actually see how cheap some of their options are, they invariably choose the lower-cost option--even if it means a different departure time than they originally wanted, or requires a connection or some other kind of inconvenience, such as a secondary airport. Using the Web instead of a travel agent also saves on agency transaction fees--which, on average, cost $75 for a $500 airline ticket. Most travel agencies that specialize in small and middle-market accounts will set up a business travel intranet site for clients to use for researching travel options and making bookings. There are also several third-party travel websites designed for companies that don't have a travel manager or which have a travel program that's considered "lightly managed." Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz all allow companies to program in policy controls--such as vendor preferences and out-of-policy reason codes--and load in any negotiated rates for airline tickets and hotel rooms. In other words, if your company has a volume agreement with Delta and an itinerary is requested for a route that Delta flies, your travelers won't see any flights from any other airline on their screen.
Travelocity Business, for example, provides small companies with their own unique, secure website with which employees plan and book their business trips. Frequent travelers can build a portfolio containing frequent flier and other membership program numbers, as well as seat and vendor preferences. Travel arrangers can create and manage trips on behalf of multiple travelers; other special features include graphical seat maps, detailed maps, and driving directions, and the ability to set travel alerts on company policy, breaking news, events, etc. Data analysis tools allow managers to analyze spending by individual or department, and ensure compliance with travel policies by allowing managers to designate spending caps and class-of-service restrictions.
As for expense reports, by replacing simple spreadsheet-style worksheets that are filled in by hand with Web-based electronic versions, companies are able to reduce process costs by as much as 75%, according to Melissa Abernathy, a spokesperson at American Express. Some companies have reduced cycle time in half, which saves them money (in administration) and makes travelers very happy (because they're reimbursed in a matter of hours or days rather than weeks). Small companies, even those with a handful of employees, have an abundance of expense-account software from which to choose. Among them are Gelco's Traveletter Direct, ExpenSite, and Zoom Systems Inc.'s Expense Reports Pro.
Use low-cost carriers whenever possible. Low cost doesn't necessarily mean no frills anymore. True, on discounter Southwest Airlines , meal service consists of a pack of peanuts and a soft drink. But other carriers that charge higher fares aren't necessarily feeding passengers full meals, either. And the new breed of low-fare carrier--JetBlue , Song and Ted--offers plenty of amenities, from leather seats (JetBlue, Song) to all-digital satellite TV from DISH Network (Song), to XM Satellite Radio (AirTran Airways). Look around for route-specific bargains, too. America West recently launched coast-to-coast nonstops with walkup fares for $600 for Boston-Los Angeles, 75% lower than the last-minute fares of its competitors, according to CEO Douglas Parker.
Scope out all of the discounts already available to you that you may have overlooked. Industry groups, professional associations, and corporate card providers all offer pre-negotiated discounts with travel suppliers. For example, American Express has a corporate-card program called Savings at Work that offers discounts of 20-25% at Starwood Hotels, Avis, and Budget.
Use the Web for last minute bookings. If your travelers must book travel at the last minute, when fares and rates are highest, consider using "distressed inventory" sites such as hotels.com or lastminutetravel.com. Many small companies also use Priceline effectively for hotel bookings.
Use a corporate card. Centralizing purchasing through a single payment vehicle leads to a number of benefits. The first is transparency. By channeling all of your company's T&E spend through a single payment vehicle, you'll see immediately who is spending what and where. Many companies log on to their card provider's websites every day to look at spending. Another benefit of a corporate card program is improved, cleaner, and more comprehensive information, which leads to more accurate reporting.
Take supplier-level information from the card to your vendors. Once you know how much you spend on hotels in, say, Chicago every year, talk to a few hotel managers there. You'll be surprised how generous they'll be with room discounts and soft benefits, such as room upgrades, if you agree to put all of your travelers going to Chicago in their beds. According to Carol Ann Salcito, President of Management Alternatives, a Stamford, Conn.-based travel management consultancy, even small companies that can direct market share to a single hotel or a single airline on specific city-pairs may find they have some leverage. "You never know until you ask," Salcito says.
Select vendors with special programs for small businesses. WorldTravel BTI, a mega-agency that caters to global companies, recently launched TravelAgent.com, an online travel management "suite" of products targeted at companies with under $2 million in annual air volume. There's an online booking tool for travelers; their managers get Web-based reports, and there's access to travel agents when they need one. Some discounts are available as well.
Other major corporate travel agencies with special programs for small-to-midsize businesses include Carlson Wagonlit Travel, whose partner in this venture is IBM Leveraged Procurement Services (Business Travel Savings Program), and American Express (RezExpress).
Look to airlines, too, for special programs for small businesses. Several carriers, including Virgin Atlantic , Continental, AirTran, Northwest, and American, and most major car rental companies, including Avis, Dollar, Hertz, Alamo, and Budget, offer special purchasing programs for small companies, even sole proprietorships, and reward modest spending with all sorts of freebies and/or discounts. Some of these airline programs, such as Virgin Atlantic's "flyingco.," reward both the travelers and the company with points that can be exchanged for future flights and hotel rooms.
Provide travelers with the high-tech tools they need to stay productive. GoToMyPC, a user-friendly and secure remote-access solution, is designed for employees who need access to anywhere from 1-20 PCs when they're traveling. With GoToMyPC, travelers can easily access email, files, programs, and network resources. The product has earned widespread praise for its easy installation, fast performance, and affordability.
So-called converged devices also win high marks with road warriors because they carry (and charge) only one device. The Handspring Treo 600, for example, is a combination smart phone, Palm OS organizer, MP3 player, and digital camera. The device, which allows for such wireless applications as e-mail, text messaging and Web browsing, also has a built-in QWERTY keyboard. Flash drives, such as San Disk's Cruzer Titanium, make file updating and transferring a matter of a few mouse clicks. Concerned about file security? Sony's "Puppy" Fingerprint Identity Token, a USB storage device, allows only users with authorized fingerprints to access its encrypted files via a Flash device. That means that travelers can access their corporate intranet from almost any computer, even a public-access computer at a hotel business center or an Internet cafe, without leaving so much as a trace of their communications behind.
Ultralight laptops, such as Toshiba's Protege and Fujitsu's LifeBook, weigh a slim four pounds or less, but still offer high-capacity batteries (as much as six hours, long enough for a transatlantic flight) and built-in Wi-Fi capability.
Speaking of which, Wi-Fi usage is growing exponentially, with hot spots (wireless access points) popping up in all sorts of places that travelers frequent: airports, hotels, resorts, train stations, and convention centers. Hot spots can also be found at fast food restaurants (McDonald's), coffee houses (Starbucks, Surf and Sip), and bookstores (Borders). Many international carriers, such as Malaysia Airlines, offer broadband wireless Internet access in their airline lounges as well.
Other high-tech services road warriors can benefit from include Internet check-in for flights. Most major carriers offer this service, allowing passengers to print out their own boarding pass from their home or office computer, change a seat assignment and/or get an upgrade, and credit frequent flier programs for a flight leg. Also worth noting is Verizon Airfone's JetConnect service, now available on Continental, United, and USAirways, which provides one- and two-way e-mail, instant messaging and text messaging during a flight. Similarly, Singapore Airlines, a world leader in in-flight cabin services, offers Connexion by Boeing for high-speed Internet-based communications on board.
Sidebar: Access your PC from Anywhere
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Sidebar: Country Inns & Suites By Carlson makes hotels stays even more rewarding
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson offers Gold Points Rewards, the brand's guest loyalty program which awards 10 points for every dollar spent on accommodations at all U.S. and Canadian properties. Enrolled members can earn a free night's stay when 15,000 Gold Points are accumulated. Points are also earned and can be redeemed for rewards at other Carlson hotels and restaurants which include Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises and T.G.I. Friday's restaurants, in addition to other national partners.
Country Inns & Suites is also part of Carlson Hotels Gold Rewards Elite program for its most frequent guests. The program enables Elite members to earn a 20 percent bonus on points for stays at the brand and similar bonuses at the other Carlson hotel brands. All Elite members must earn a minimum of 30,000 base Gold Points per calendar year to maintain Elite-level status.
For more information, visit www.countryinns.com or call toll-free 800-456-4000.
Sidebar: Double DIP to earn both points and miles only with HHonors
Stay anywhere but HHonors hotels and you're only getting half of what you deserve. That's because other programs make you choose between earning points or miles. Hilton HHonors gives you both. As an HHonors member, you can earn both hotel points and airline miles--what Hilton calls Double Dipping - for the same stay. It's available on stays at most every business and leisure rate. And you have any of more than 60 participating airline partners to choose from, more than any other hotel program. It's the fastest way to earn a free vacation. Simply present your HHonors and frequent flyer numbers at time of reservation and at check-in for most any rate stay with Hilton HHonors.
Double dipping is available for stays at the Hilton family of hotels: Hilton(R), Conrad(R), Doubletree(R), Embassy Suites Hotels(R), Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn & Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R), Homewood Suites(R) by Hilton and Scandic hotels. For more information, visit www.hiltonhhonors.com
