How to keep travel costs down
Tips to keep on par with your business budget when you’re on the move
Travel helps Canada’s small businesses maintain connections to suppliers and customers and build contacts that can be a source of longterm revenue. But it doesn’t come cheap.
“In order for companies today to remain competitive, they need to keep costs down,” says Michelle Harris, director of marketing for Corporate Travel Management Solutions.
“And travel is typically a company’s second or third most controllable expense.”
Here’s how to keep travel expenses from taking an oversized bite out of your business budget.
Bundle to save. Many small businesses make the mistake of allowing individual travellers to book hotels and flights. But by bundling your bookings with specific suppliers you can often get a better rate on hotels and flights, points out Harris.
Don’t have bulk-buying power? Corporate travel specialists can help by bundling all of their clients’ needs to negotiate special deals. “We usually promise savings of 11 to 18 per cent,” says Harris.
Don’t wait until the last minute to book flights. Last-minute selloffs are rare these days, says Anne Barclay, a travel specialist with Corporate Travel Solutions. “With scheduled airlines, price is based on availability,” she says. That means your chance of getting a good deal is likely to be higher at least three to four weeks out – before the flight is booked up.
Skip the refundable plane ticket. Consider this: a non-refundable Air Canada Tango flight to Vancouver cost $390 in mid-November while a fully refundable Latitude ticket for the same flight cost $1,110.
This way you could get the cheapest ticket and change it several times and you still wouldn’t be at the price of the fully refundable ticket. The kicker? You can still get credit for the Tango ticket by paying a change fee of $75 to $150 per direction (depending on when you cancel) plus the difference between the new fare and the old when you rebook.
Book direct. Airlines such as Porter and WestJet in Canada, Southwest and Jet Blue in the U.S., and Ryanair and easyJet in Europe don’t always sell through travel agencies or third-party websites. Find out which airlines serve your market and check their websites directly.
Try an online aggregator. Travel aggregators scan many different websites for you, to come up with the lowest price.
Favourites include skyscanner.ca (airfares) and trivago.ca (hotels).
Expand your search to nearby airports. Some websites, including Travelocity.ca and Seatguru.com, let you search nearby airports at both ends of your journey for deals. Toronto residents can check Buffalo and Hamilton, while Vancouverites may opt to take off or land in Abbotsford. Apart from possible savings on flight costs, parking is usually cheap or free at smaller airports.
Get hotel stays gratis. Hotel rewards programs can help you give back to employees for time spent away from home. And they may even help you cut travel costs.
Best Western’s free Business Advantage Program offers reward points to travellers themselves that can be used toward personal travel. In addition, your company gets an extra 10 per cent on the points its travellers accumulate, as well as 10 per cent off on the best available rate for each hotel stay and automatic elite status in the Best Western Rewards program.
Other hotel chains with frequent traveller programs include Delta Ho- tels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group). Pick the one with the most hotels where your company travels frequently.
Cut down on incidental costs. Some hotels offer free airport shuttles or lifts within a set radius of your accommodation. Others feature free Internet, breakfast and newspaper. The good news: you don’t have to stay at an expensive five-star hotel to get such perks. More often you’ll find them at lower-priced chains such as Hampton Inn & Suites and Embassy Suites.
Join the (car rental) club. Most car rental agencies have small business programs. With National Car Rental’s Emerald Club, “as long as you book a mid-sized car or higher, you can get an upgrade for no extra cost,” points out Patrick Sojka, founder and CEO of Rewards Canada.
Other programs from Hertz, Alamo and Thrifty offer rental discounts, access to special members-only promotions and custom billing options, or increased mileage allowances. Most important of all, says Sojka, “any of these car rental programs let you bypass the counter. That’s a real benefit.”
Hire a corporate travel specialist. You don’t have to be a big spender. The agency will shop around for you, notify you of upcoming seat sales and deals, keep you posted on ticket rules and travel requirements and make sure you take advantage of unused tickets (if, for instance, a meeting is cancelled) within the airline’s deadline. The cost: generally less than $50 per ticket.