To get the most out of your corporate travel budget, it’s critical to plan to get the most out of your program for what it’s worth. Telling travelers to select the lowest logical airfare is not enough. These are the elements that should be considered when planning or evaluating your travel program.
one. travel policy
A well-written and publicized travel policy is the foundation of any good travel program, and it always amazes me that so many corporations have such an outdated and ill-conceived travel policy, if at all. It is not difficult to find a well-written policy. One can be found online quite easily. All that remains is for it to be edited to reflect the corporate culture and disseminated within the company so that everyone understands it and agrees to follow it. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have everyone sign a copy of the travel policy to ensure that it is read, understood, and owned by all company personnel. I suggest that everyone in the company sign a copy of the travel policy, whether they are traveling or not. They may change jobs at the company later and be forced to travel. A travel policy does not have to be long or complex. Some of the best travel policies I have ever seen were only a few pages long.
2. Internally and externally centralized travel
Many companies do not centralize their travel schedule and pay a price in terms of lost opportunities for cost reduction and internal efficiencies. Many companies that don’t centralize travel are afraid of requiring travelers to do something they might not want to do, along with the idea that centralizing travel will require hiring a travel manager. Both can be legitimate concerns, but they don’t have to be in most cases. By requiring travelers to book centrally, you don’t necessarily lose flexibility. You can centralize travel while allowing travelers to book on their own, either with a travel agency of your choice or online through a provider you’ve partnered with and trust. By assigning someone with responsibility for overseeing travel, you get a single point of contact both internally and externally for travel-related issues. If your business spends less than $1 million on air travel, you probably don’t need a full-time travel manager. In these cases, travel supervision can be given to the finance department, human resources, or even an executive level assistant. Here’s a look at the benefits of centralizing travel.
When you centralize travel with a single agency, you win in several important ways. You’ll have a single point of contact for issues while travelers are on the road, and you’ll have one go-to entity for all your travel needs. This eliminates the problem of consolidating a trip report between multiple sources. By bundling trips, you will reap significant benefits from economies of scale. If you can measure total travel between multiple divisions or locations, you can get more for your money from travel providers. This will allow you to get more from airlines’ soft dollar programs, which means more free tickets and upgrades, get a higher percentage off our preferred airline, and get better negotiated rates from your hotel and car contracts. Your compliance costs will also decrease, as your travel agency will often discount your rates for a higher total volume of trips.
3. Combination of online booking and personalized service
This is an addition to the previous item, which calls for centralizing trips with a single travel agency. This is important, but doing so doesn’t require travelers to use an online booking system, and travelers don’t need to call the agency directly. By offering travelers the option to do either, you are accomplishing several goals. It will reduce your fulfillment costs as online booking is cheaper in terms of service fee. By giving travelers choice, you’re giving them a sense of control, which boosts morale and has a better chance of achieving a high adoption rate. Third, it leaves open the best practice of using its online booking engine for less complex itineraries and allowing senior executives, frequent travelers and complex itineraries to book directly with a travel agent who can offer a higher level of service and a better overall experience. travel experience where it is most justified.
Four. look under every stone
While the bulk of most travel programs revolve around the air budget, there are several other areas that can be investigated for savings opportunities. There are a couple of more obvious areas to consider, like negotiated hotel rates at your favorite hotels or discounts on car rentals with a favorite provider. Often your travel agency will already have discounted rates through consortium affiliations and agency car contracts. There are also some less common areas that need to be investigated. For example, if ground transportation is a concern, most providers will offer discounted rates and a direct billing option. Direct billing agreements with hotels and car rental agencies are also a great way to increase efficiency and make the work of the accounting department easier.
5. Take advantage of hard dollar and soft dollar contracts
Most major airlines today offer hard dollar discounts as well as soft dollar incentives in exchange for the company’s loyalty to their product. If your travel program exceeds $1 million in air spend, you can get a discount on the lowest fares from the airline of your choice in exchange for a market share commitment. For your secondary airlines, or if your volume is less than the airline’s required minimum, you can enter soft dollar programs for free tickets and free upgrades, as well as traveler status upgrades or airport club passes. These programs require little volume, but aren’t well advertised, so you may need to look them up or ask Baker Travel or your current agency to point you in the right direction.
6. Do not neglect the hotel volume
Hotel volume is sometimes overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. Negotiated rates can be obtained through your travel agency or directly with the hotel properties of your choice. Individual hotels near corporate locations will negotiate discounted rates for you in exchange for a minimum room/night commitment. By using a travel agency, you are likely to receive discounts from 5% to 50% at thousands of hotels around the world.
7. Have at least one car rental contract
Car rental agreements are easy to enter into and require little commitment on the part of the corporation. Choose a partner with airport locations and a reputation for excellent customer service. You can save 5-10% very easily and you can also negotiate frequent renter membership for all your employees. This will make them more efficient and improve morale. You can also enter into direct billing arrangements at the same time which can make the jobs of your travelers and accounting staff much less stressful.
8. Understanding group and meeting contracts
Airlines and hotels will discount their fares and fees when you have groups traveling together or meeting at a single destination from multiple points of origin. These meeting contracts can get you airfare discounts from 2% to 10%, and if you have enough travelers on a single airline, you can negotiate free tickets that will be awarded at the end of the contract. The minimum requirement is usually 10 travelers going to the same place at the same time. Some airlines have higher minimums, so be sure to ask before creating a contract. Hotels will discount their rates in a similar way with a minimum of 10 room nights. These discounts can range from 10% to a much higher discount based on occupancy rate and seasonal variations.
9. Use reports to constantly improve metrics
Well-managed travel programs require constant monitoring and financial controls to make the most of them. Insist on timely, personalized reports that can be designed to give you the information you need most. By receiving regular reports on traveler behavior and supplier contract performance, you’ll be in a better position to meet contract obligations, achieve cost reduction goals, and see where savings opportunities may lie in the future. .
10 Use every avenue to improve traveler comfort and efficiency
Ultimately, any well-run travel program will take into account the comfort and productivity of its travelers. When travelers feel comfortable, they can focus on their top priorities that help drive their business forward. If travelers are happy, they perform at a higher level. Ask if your travel agency can upgrade your travel status on a preferred airline. Try buying blocks of airport club passes so they can be used strategically during long and complex itineraries. There are many ways to reward travelers for the difficult and often exhausting task of traveling. These types of rewards generate feelings of loyalty and greater productivity and efficiency.
If you would like more information on how your company can best leverage your travel program to benefit your bottom line and executive level satisfaction, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am happy to point you in the right direction.
