By Michelle Breitstein
If you have an idea or happen to come across sales representatives even a few years ago, engaging trips, exciting tours, and exhilarating tour experiences were quite evident. Things have transformed to a great extent today. Gone are the days when sales reps could have the time of their lives while on business trips and get away by just handing over the bills to the accounts section.
Time has changed and so have work cultures. The budget for business trips and sales tours isn’t unlimited which makes it imperative for representatives to consider crucial aspects while planning the tour. Getting the expenses approved by higher authorities as well as receiving reimbursements turns out to be a tough ordeal. It almost becomes as tough as sealing the professional deal you went for.
How to save more on a business trip?
As a judicious and wise business traveler, you can do a lot of things to cut down travel expenses. Right from choosing affordable and smart tour packages to opting for the right airlines, there are a myriad of things you can do to reduce the overall costs. Here’s a list of essentials and things-to-do for ardent business travelers.
1. Save On Airlines Flights
Choosing the most affordable, cost-effective, and flexible flight options happen to be crucial. It is imperative to choose the most affordable flight deals that make your travel packages cost-effective. With some of the leading search engines helping you look for best flights, it becomes easier to reduce costs and save on airfare.
2. Choose The Most Affordable Hotel
Your business trip is incomplete without factoring in the accommodation. You can get in touch with the top business travel management services and make them book a comfortable hotel that ensures optimum affordability too. If you are on-site for more than a week then it makes sense to check in to a hotel which is nearby so that commuting doesn’t eat up a lot of time.
3. Set Realistic Transport and Food Charges
When you are traveling, food, transportation, and other charges would be highly imperative as well as an integral part of the business tour. Always set realistic goals and make sure there’s no overspending. Employees should have complete control over their spending limits when it comes to food and travel allowances.
You can sets aside predetermined budgets for each department namely, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In case of client meetings, you will have to allot costs for five-star meals. Make sure that’s done smartly and the entire process gets planned judiciously.
Traveling to and fro destinations also require effective planning. Choose cost-effective modes and also consider journey times while nailing down the final choice. You can also use your vehicle if the reimbursements for fuel charges are easily available.
4. Try Achieving Productive Travels
Cutting down on business trips isn’t an easy thing to do as it requires support from both ends. While employees should look for affordable ways and means, the management should also have an eye for employee convenience. It is highly crucial to let your employees work and take the initiative to arrange the trip.
Special apps and software systems will help you to a great extent, as employees can sync their trips with their smartphones.
5. Stay Connected With Your Staff/ Utilize Technology To Its Fullest
Technology makes it possible to organize schedule easily. Plan your schedule with some of the latest mobile applications with reminders fit for every task.
Use your gadgets such as laptops and mobile phones conveniently, while leaving for any meeting. Further, also plan if carrying a laptop, mobile, and tablet is necessary or if you will be able to manage with just mobile and tablet. This would help you save space. There are a lot of gadgets that exist today’s world, while you are on business travel stay connected with cloud-based phone system for an easy communication with your clients, employees and other business as well. Communication is perhaps one of the most important elements if you want to stay productive. Thus, it is highly recommended to communicate all the important stuff with your colleagues and make all the necessary arrangements.
Preparation is the only key for an efficient corporate travel management so that everything at the office stays on track while you are away. Further, do not forget to communicate regularly through e-mails and phone calls so that everything is at its place in the office.
6. Strategizing Is Important
Conceptualizing, thinking, and working on innovative travel strategies will help you to a great extent. Just in case you are planning to visit a new destination for work. A little bit of research and strategic planning will help you find time for exciting sightseeing trips too. Complimentary accommodations and hotel stays would be quite beneficial. You would get the best services at reduced rates.
Planning and zeroing-in on the dates is also important. Find the right days for travel and make sure you carve out a personalized tour itinerary too.
7. Compare, Compare and Compare
When it boils down to choosing a trip, browsing through different sites, comparing the services, and opting for the right plan is quite crucial. Make sure you draw comparisons between the services of various tour operators. In case you are breezing through the online sites, make a point to check the various options offered by them.
Effective and targeted comparisons will help you crack the best deal and you will end up choosing tour packages that are affordable and enriching.
8. Utilize Ridesharing Apps
Ridesharing applications and cab services can cut down expenses to a great extent. Find the best service providers and they will help you navigate through the entire process. Most importantly, the overall costs get deducted which means the accounting section will have less things to say about overspending. Ride sharing applications provide the opportunity to enhance your trip and gain some new experience.You can schedule an appointment with the best corporate travel management company and ask the features of their business tour solutions.
9. Avoid Over spending at Airport
Many people have this habit of buying too many things at the airport. There’s no point in spending money on purchasing stuff at the airport or have lunch for that matter. If you wish to purchase something special from the destination you are traveling to, make sure you don’t keep it away until reaching the airport. The charges would be quite high and there’s no logic in buying them.
10. Stack Points and Cash For Reward Optimization
The presence of rewards and special offers in tour plans have affected travels to a great extent. Some of the leading hospitality partners have come up with ‘stack points’ which help tourists build a robust rewards optimization plan. Frequent flyers also get special facilities as the airfare rates get reduced.
Pack Your Bags
Before taking the plunge and embarking on the journey, it is highly imperative to understand that you are going on an official trip and not an adventure travel. Now, if you follow the right tips, planning an affordable, cost-effective, and unique tour won’t be difficult at all. This will also help add brownie points with the company management as you are optimizing costs for the company.
Michelle Breitstein is a Senior Business Associate working with industry-leading brands and new market entrants, enabling them design effective business strategies and make efficient decisions in the domain of technology and tech applications for business. She leverages different publishing platforms to share her rich experience and expertise through pieces of written content. She loves not only to write about several topics but also loves to explore new ideas well. @iammichelle_05
Business travel stock photo by Jacob Lund/Shutterstock
