5 Secrets To Save Money On Your Business Travel Expenses |
Posted: November 18, 2017 |
Running a business is hard work. Long days, daunting hours, complications and unforeseen obstacles – it never ends really. On top of the day-to-day operational stresses, there are also the financial ones that come into play – or rather that are always lingering. Small businesses often run on tight budgets, this is just the nature of the game. With a small budget comes difficulty in many areas of business, including travel. Which fortunately, often indicates business success; but unfortunately can make a large dent in the company budget. No one ever said that business dealings would be easy, or cheap. So don’t expect that they will be. With a prospering business comes long travel days, foreign hotel rooms, discomforts in preparing presentations in the oddest of places and so much more. There are the definite benefits that are associated with business travel though, such as the potential to increase profits and expand operating territories. However, travel costs money and when you are operating on a tight budget, this can cause immense stress. The good news is that there is always room to save – always a way in which you can cut costs and decrease your travel expenses. Here are 5 secrets that will help you save when it comes to your company's business travel. Take Advantage of Discounts First and foremost, though this might seem obvious, you would be surprised by the lack of eligible individuals that take advantage of discounts. One of the easiest ways to save is to utilize corporate discounts. Call the airline directly to book over the phone, as this is often the only way to find out about what corporate discounts the airline offers. There are a few intrinsic advantages that come along with corporate discounts:
You might even consider consulting a travel agent as they can also help you to take advantage of corporate discounts and also many times can rack up additional savings for you. Rack Up the Rewards Always – I repeat, always – take advantage of rewards. Whether it’s frequent flyer miles or reward points that you can rack up through dedicated travel expense credit cards, you should always collect and utilize your points. These programs are designed to help business owners and/or corporate executives who have to frequently travel, save. Some rewards programs allow you to earn cash on every dollar spent, others – points for every mile traveled, all redeemable for useful travel expenses. Whether you use your rewards to purchase future plane tickets, book hotel rooms, rental cars or simply collect in the form of a check at the end of the quarter – it matters not. The point is, it is free money. You are essentially being paid to travel and make money. You can’t beat that! Use Regional Airports When possible, fly regionally. The savings associated with using regional airports cannot be understated. Regional airports can save you not only in terms of your corporate discounts, but also by ways of lower ticket prices, less sales tax, and transportation to and from these airports are generally lower – for whatever reason. Flying into regional airports might be particularly attractive to you because they tend to cater to business travelers. That means they have smaller security checkpoint lines, less wait times and overall just a better, more professional flying experience. In terms of saving on business travel expenses, regional airports have tremendous value to a business owner. The time and costs saved by flying regionally ultimately boils down to savings in travel overhead, as well as increased productivity. This is because time that is not spent waiting in airport lines and passing through monotonous checkpoints, is time spent that you can convert to cash via business transactions. Online Conferencing Tools Taking advantage of online conferencing tools and online conferencing apps is secret number four to saving on travel. The use of these integrated online conference rooms is a growing trend that makes it possible to stay connected with your office, despite location or device limitations. It is a fairly new concept that epitomizes the way in which technology can be utilized in order to save business owners time and money when it comes to travel. Though not fairly common, free online conferencing apps do exist. If you are like most all small business owners operating on a tight budget, then it might be worth the search to try and locate a service that offers discounted or free rates. Most that you find offering free usage of online conferencing tools, will limit you in how many participants can join the meeting, which may or may not pose an issue for you. Regardless, these services are always upgradable and always useful and affordable. Take the Train Do not discount this secret before you give it a try. If your schedule permits, taking the train can be much more comfortable than and ten times as affordable, as flying. You can compare train travel to if every seat on the plane were first class. They are that spacious and boast that many amenities. The cost of travel is a mere fraction of what it would be if you were to book a flight and as mentioned, the accommodations are second to none. Additionally, if you live or are traveling to a city that is frequently plagued by bad weather, then you can really benefit from the reliability that comes along with taking the train. You can count on if the airports are shut down and not running because of the snow, that the trains will still be operational. Additionally, trains can also help you to save on sleep and dining arrangements – as both can be taken advantage of by providing sleep accommodations, as well as satisfactory dining amenities during train travel. Business travel does not have to be a headache that plagues you with unnecessary stresses and hefty bills. Implement the above five secret travel tips into your business travel and watch the savings rack up! Have something to contribute? Do you know of more travel secrets that can help small business owners stay on track with their tight budget? If so, please share. We would love to hear from you!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|