Explore our best options for reducing travel costs today before booking your next corporate trip.
1. TIGHTEN TRAVEL POLICIES
If you already have a corporate travel policy in place, take a look at how your company is handling allowances and expenses. Do you cover necessities only or are there luxury charges for which employees require reimbursement? Some employers don’t offer coverage for child care costs, seat upgrades, parking tickets, airline change fees, and in-room charges. If you’re covering all these expenses for your employees, you should consider reducing reimbursements to ensure business travel savings for the company.
Inform employees of changes and reinforce them with a required signature that employees understand and will comply with the new policies.
2. REQUIRE BOOKING APPROVAL
Some employers delegate booking responsibilities to employees. Instead of fully trusting them to book everything right away, request that they submit all travel expenses for approval prior to booking. With a review in place, you can suggest better hotel options or car rentals that meet your travel budget requirements.
Requiring pre approval will necessitate a lot of extra work for most individuals in your office. Without travel policies in place, these employees will spend work time conducting research to ensure everything they want to book is at the best price. Some companies aren’t willing to delegate these extra tasks to ensure they are able to maximize corporate travel savings.
3. SET REALISTIC FOOD ALLOWANCES
Whether you offer daily stipends or reimburse expenses after the trip, giving employees more control and setting an overall allowance can actually reduce expenses. Now employees can decide how much they want to spend on each of their meals and they aren’t forced to eat at restaurants with options that are far too expensive.
Giving your employees more control also solves any dilemmas your booking team may have with allergies and dietary restrictions. Discover corporate travel savings on day to day expenses when you pass the responsibility onwards to your employees.
4. MAKE DEALS WITH HOTELS
If there are cities or locations that your company flies to often, you may want to require all employees to stay in the same hotel every time. We can speak with hotel management on your behalf to negotiate a better room rate because of your frequent and exclusive booking with them. Most hotels will appreciate the extra business and lower costs to help you with business travel savings.
5. INCENTIVIZE EMPLOYEES
Each time your employees make cost effective decisions when booking travel, they are saving the company money. To incentivize them to continue making better budget decisions, offer them rewards. You could thank them for reducing travel costs with gift cards to popular stores, allowing them extra time off, or passing on a portion of the savings to them with a bonus.
WORK WITH PROFESSIONALS
At Telios Travel, we’re a professional travel management company that can help you find solutions to your business travel needs. With customizable services, you can enjoy corporate travel savings, hassle-free bookings, and personalized recommendations based on your company needs. Book a demo today to learn more.
