Business Travel

General

Business travel can be a very costly item for any business. The industry has had a number of fruitful years where the prices belied the potential competitiveness of the market. The Market underwent a massive change with the events of 9/11. Airlines in particular can no longer afford to price their products and services for business at the traditional premium. For the moment at least it is a buyers' market and shrewd buyers can cut costs significantly. Budget airlines are experiencing a boom. In the USA they have a 15&percent market share and in the UK it is as high as 20%. Easyjet say that business flyers account for half of their revenue. We can supply an independent analysis of your current travel arrangements and produce an unbiased report highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, together with recommendations for improvements. In the meantime, here are a few suggestions:

Reduced rates and fares can be achieved by consolidating travelling requirements through one Travel Management Company (TMC). Corporate deals are based on volume of business which is easier to leverage when using one TMC. Online bookings for all modes of travel are cheaper as the TMC overhead cost of administrating the booking is drastically reduced.
Encourage staff to fit meetings around travel not the other way round, that way you can often save money by travelling outside the peak times.
Buying travel in bulk is a jungle so it pays to have an experienced professional buyer do the deals and manage the business centrally. It is no longer a job for the inspired amateur such as the manager's secretary. However the rest of the process can be de-centralised with the arrangements being organised by the traveller if required - following policies and procedures of course. To avoid fraud or lack of compliance to policy thought must also be given to the segregation of duties required for travel authorisation and expense approval.
One huge advantage of using a single source TMC is that they will gather information and produce a database of travel patterns right across the entire organisation - something that your own systems may not be capable of doing. This dat can then be used to leverage the best deals to fit with your travel profile.
Aim to negotiate a "never knowingly undersold" deal with your TMC, this will help you and them to counter any of your more experienced travellers claiming they can obtain a better price elsewhere for a particular trip.

The Alternatives

Explore the many alternatives to business travel such as video and telephone conferencing. A good TMC will provide a video conferencing service, or you may be able to do a deal with another business in your area that will let you use their facilities.

Travel Policies

It is impossible to buy business travel efficiently without having a wide ranging set of travel policies in place that will cover most eventualities. The policy should be approved and championed at board level with sanctions in place for non-compliance. Dependent on the size of the company and travel budget a good travel policy will guide travellers to use only company negotiated deals. It should also be used to instruct travellers on what the acceptable expense limitations are (hotels, train and airline class etc.) when travelling on company business. Companies should communicate the Policy details to their nominated TMC thus enabling them to use the most appropriate deals they may have with airlines, rail companies and hotels, and authorise them to police the Policy on the company's behalf.
In most organisations business travel is such a political hot potato that an effective set of policies championed and lead by example at senior level is the only way for an organisation to control its travel budgets in a cost effective manner.

Legal Obligations

With the advent of the Corporate Manslaughter Act and the more generic Duty of Care obligations which corporations have towards their employees, it is now accepted practice that employee travel is tracked and that contingency plans are developed to allow for urgent changes to itinerary or even rapid repatriation in the event of a disaster or incident. Think 9/11, Mumbai bombings, Libya etc. This is not a 'nice to have' but rather a necessary element in any H&S or business continuity planning exercise these days, and organisations and senior employees can be held to account in the courts if it is proved that the level of planning wasn't sufficient...

Entry to the USA

CThe rules for entry into the USA are many and varied, and have changed significantly over the last few years with the introduction of the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) and changes to the Visa Waiver programme. Contrary to the vast majority of their compatriots US Customs officials can be inhospitable, and the process very bureaucratic so always make sure your entry documents are in order - if necessary check with the US Embassy - http://london.usembassy.gov/ and remember that visas and entry requirements will differ depending on the nationality of the traveller - something often overlooked.

Software

The Internet has made it very easy for users to do their own thing and book direct, thereby avoiding Company policies and fragmenting the organisational spend. Help is at hand by using dedicated self booking tools (SBT's) - a kind of travel booking portal. Linked to your agent it can save them a great deal of work, which should reduce their fees considerably. It will also reduce ticket prices by around 15% because of evidence which suggests users feel compelled to use the cheaper options when presented with a list of fares. This software can also be customised by the Travel Manger to only display the fares/tickets which are allowable in line with company policy, thereby forcing users/travellers to use preferred airlines/hotels/car rental only.

Rail Travel

If you book rail through a travel agent they will receive a 3% commission. Travel agents will often use this commission discount to part fund your account, but obviously this knowledge can be a useful negotiating tool with the TMC.
On-line rail bookings purchased in advance (even by as little as one day) and utilising two single tickets rather than a conventional 'anytime return' can be bought much cheaper than if purchased at a railway station. e.g. 1st Class rtn London to Manchester - purchased at the station on the day of travel £336, purchased on-line a week in advance using two single tickets, £185 - saving £151... and the ticket booked in advance via the agent also provides 3% commission which the station purchase does not!
Regular travellers may also benefit from the discounts provided by an annual railcard, dependent on travel patterns

Useful websites – (please let us know of any more you find useful):

www.trainline.com

www.virgin.com No need to queue!! - Virgin has equipped a number of main city rail stations with e-ticket machines.

Hotels

Ideally all bookings will be made via your TMC (all of whom have their own negotiated hotel programme) who should be able to achieve better hotel rates than you booking direct. This offers cost saving opportunities even when the room night volume with any given property is low for you as a company.
Most hotels still offer commission for each booking made by an agent of between 8/10&percent, which again can be used to offset TMC costs if your volume is sufficient to generate income from this source
The business hotel industry has off peak periods in January and August when promotional rates may be offered and extra discounts negotiated.
Negotiate a deal with frequently used hotels, for instance get them to throw in breakfast and wi-fi in their basic price, and also make sure that all invoices from the hotel are generate in the name of your company, otherwise the VAT element cannot be reclaimed.
The new budget hotels offer perfectly acceptable standards of comfort. So even the Managing Director, if he/she is arriving late and leaving early should be prepared to use one, and set an example for others!
Look out for new hotels - they will often offer mouth-watering introductory rates.
Hotel loyalty schemes. Negotiate that the benefits are returned to the company not the individual in the form of bigger discounts.
Warn travellers about rip-off minibars and inflated phone and wi-fi charges in your Policy. If they are required to use the internet for email access whilst away from the office, consider issuing them with wi-fi dongles or 3G cards for their laptops.

Airlines

The business class traveller is a shrinking breed as many organisations have realised the huge savings available from switching to economy or budget airlines.
Consolidate, as high volume repetitive business should be used to negotiate lower net fares with carriers.
However you can also "cherry pick" as bargains can be obtained from airlines who do not fly direct or are lesser well known. For instance a BA business class ticket from Heathrow to LA is around £6,100, whereas the Air New Zealand charge is around £2,800.
Low cost airlines are generally cheaper if the booking is made in advance bookings made nearer the date of travel can often be more expensive
Nearly all airlines globally have now reduced or even eradicated travel agent commission discounts to zero
Most of the traditional UK airlines will now offer lower fares for the UK and Europe as a direct response to the very successful low cost carrier marketplace
The International Air Transport Association has removed restrictions forbidding travel agents in one country from issuing tickets in another country. It could therefore now be cheaper to buy two single tickets in different countries than buy a return in the country of departure. Your TMC will be well placed to advise as to the suitability for your travel patterns.
Reputable TMC's have a 'special fares' unit staffed by very experienced consultants who are trained to "build" a cheaper fare on long-haul air itineraries, however, this may mean the traveller has to change planes or stop over at a hub mid journey.
Where appropriate for long trips look at "round-the-world" tickets - they can sometimes be cheaper than say a London/New York return. And for several flights within a specific area of the world an airpass could prove beneficial. Open jaw tickets may also be beneficial when a traveller flies into one destination, makes their way to another city and returns from there. The open jaw fare is calculated by adding both the return fares and then halving them. Again, a good TMC will be able to advise.
If frequent flyer economy travellers complain about not being able to use airline lounges buy them a Priority Pass which buys them world-wide lounge access starting at £62 per year plus £15 per visit. www.prioritypass.com

Car hire, Driving and Taxis

Carefully time your car hire because they charge by 24hour "rental days" with usually only one hour’s grace being allowed. So careful timing can save an extra day's hire. In addition,
Airport parking charges can vary hugely so do a bulk discount deal with one of the least expensive companies for you home airport.
A taxi between the airport and the city is often a huge waste of time and money because new fast train links are so good. Some European airports where you should forget taxis are - Heathrow, Gatwick, Amsterdam, Milan Malpensa, Frankfurt, Geneva. Oslo, Paris CDG, Stockholm Arlanda and Zurich. Check out others world-wide on the Internet.

Incentive Schemes

Most airlines and hotel chains offer incentive schemes that reward the bookers and the travellers for loyalty to their brand — these rewards are sent to the individual direct. The rewards are usually free flights or free hotel stays. This is a controversial issue as some question the ethical acceptability of these inducements. Some organisation have solved the dilemma by insisting that incentive points gained on business travel can only be redeemed against business travel. It also has the advantage that the traveller is more likely to make arrangements to suit the company's interests rather than the collection of incentive points