Buy business travel

Business travel is an integral, and expensive, part of most organisations. By adopting a structured approach to buying travel or booking venues, facilities managers can slash up to 20 per cent from their budgets.

24 January 2011

   
1⁄ Get a manager
The first step in developing a structured approach to business travel buying is to make someone responsible for it. Too often, travel and meetings expenses are an afterthought in organisations, yet it’s the second-most controllable business cost after people and many companies could be doing it more efficiently and getting better value for money.

2⁄ Don’t cut
During and following a recession, spending gets put on hold and budgets are snipped.  However, the same ‘trim-now- pay-later’ ethos that applies to people also applies to travel and entertainment: short-term cuts can have a long-term impact on the financial health of the company. The answer is not necessarily to slash business travel and meetings spend, but to learn how to make those budgets work harder.

3⁄ Watch the £s
Be aware of your spending: the travel industry calls it ‘visibility of spend’. Basically, it means not only being aware of how much you’re spending but what you are spending it on, such as airlines, trains, taxis, hotel accommodation, meetings and conference venues, chauffeur costs. Only once you have visibility of spend can you better control it – and start making savings.

4⁄ Avoid OTAs
Don’t use online travel agents (OTAs). If you are not a travel expert this is the best tip you could be given. Using OTAs eats up valuable time. They also charge hidden fees. If it’s an itinerary you are familiar with and you know what you want to book then always go direct. You will receive much better service 
– and equally good prices.

5⁄ Use HBAs
Use hotel and rail booking agents. If the majority of your business travel is domestic, they will save you a lot of time. And even better, HBAs don’t charge for their service because they receive a commission from their suppliers. Unlike travel agents, HBAs have access to a much wider choice of accommodation across the entire budget range.

6⁄ Too complex?
If you manage minimal long-haul travel for your company or are responsible for arranging trips to unfamiliar places that would require extensive research, use a local business travel agent like Advantage Business Travel or Uniglobe Travel. They are equipped to deal with more complex itineraries. They only charge a small fee and, compared to the time they will save you, it will be worth every penny.

7⁄ Choose TMCs
If the majority of your organisation’s business travel is international and involves regular long-haul trips, then a travel management company may be your best option. During a recession, our knee-jerk reaction is to keep things in-house to reduce costs. But this can lead to a false economy. Expert suppliers, such as TMCs, can, through a combination of their expertise and buying power, cut your costs, get you a better deal and save a lot of time and effort.

8⁄ Book ahead
Planning ahead can help you buy quality services for less. Fly mid-week or out of season, buy a multi-city ticket rather than a round trip fare, bundle your flights and accommodation, buy a restricted ticket and stick to your plan rather than fork out for a fully flexible fare. And for rail travel, never buy tickets at the station – it will cost you 30-40 per cent more.

9⁄ Be branded
Price is king, but if you can be loyal it pays. By signing up for programmes that reward companies as well as travellers, you can use kickbacks, such as free upgrades, to get more for your money. Most major airlines and hotel groups operate reward schemes and, thanks to the recession, they are on the rise.

10⁄ Think big
Look at the complete picture. Booking the cheapest but not the nearest hotel room, for example, may end up costing you more when you factor in extras such as cab fares, parking fees, airport transfers, internet charges and the time and hassle it takes to get to your meeting.
Once you have done all this you are ready to create a company-wide travel and meetings policy to start making real savings.


How to buy
Buying business travel is complex and time-consuming. Facilities managers who understand the industry and learn the tricks of the trade will save time, cut costs and secure significantly better deals for their organisation. Start with this three-point approach: Analyse what you are spending and where. Appoint a travel manager and approved travel suppliers. Adopt a structured company-wide travel policy company.


David Chapple is event director for the Business Travel & Meetings Show, taking place 8-9 February in London.