your opinion

What do you believe will be the biggest trend in corporate event planning over the next year?
 
What do you believe will be the biggest trend in corporate event planning over the next year?
Virtual and hybrid events
58%
Increased focus on sustainability
10%
Advanced event technology (e.g., AI, VR)
0%
Personalized attendee experiences
19%
Health and safety measures
3%
Other
10%
 
 

latest issue

Latest Issue

Crucial Travel Policy Changes to Save Time and Money

Five leading ways companies can tweak or enforce travel policy to recoup dollars or time.

With an eye on the bottom line and the very health of your organization at stake, everyone’s doing more with less to save a few bucks on travel costs. Here are five proven ways.

1. Make your mandate stick

 “The things we’re doing now in corporate travel management are the same things we’ve been doing for five or six years, but now it’s coming down to demand management and the word ‘mandate’ is coming into the picture,” says Annemarie Reininger, a consultant with The Bottom Line Group, Toronto, and Canadian regional board member of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. In her recent role managing global supplier relationships at MDS Inc., Toronto, Reininger helped refine the travel policy.

“We tightened the language: Instead of ‘we recommend,’ and ‘we suggest’, it’s now ‘you must’, ‘you are responsible,’ ‘you are accountable’," says Reininger. "In this economy, people have a much greater acceptance, if not willingness, to comply.”

2. Try self-serve

As a line item in overall travel costs, transaction fees may represent a tiny slice of 2% to 3%. But when dollars make a difference, self-booking tools can trim these fees by at least half within a managed corporate travel program, says Ian Race, vice-president of client services in the Ontario office of Vision 2000. Plus, there’s an even bigger payoff when self-serve tools – such as Sabre’s Get There, ResX and Concur’s CliqBook – are customized to support your travel policies and preferred vendors.

“In and of themselves, self-booking tools won’t always work for more complicated travel plans,” says Race, “but when you can use them in a managed travel environment, it can be very effective.”

3. Rally the troops

Even with a strong travel policy in place, austere times may call for extra effort from your away team. Your travellers can be your best cost-saving allies, if you can lead the charge. For instance, in the face of looming layoffs, employees of CBC/Radio Canada helped bring overall travel spending down some 20%, since management made a strong plea to make every dollar count and trim discretionary travel, according to Claude Laroche, Montreal-based senior director, Supply Management.

“We’ve stepped up communications with an awareness campaign on our internal websites. It’s around a ‘Did you know?’ theme, reminding employees of things like fees associated with changing tickets at the last minute, how much you can save by pre-booking, and other practical business travel tips,” he says.

 4. Stay ahead on airfares

As airlines tighten the slack in negotiated rates, corporate travel management policies are key to savings. According to Carlson Wagonlit Travel, travellers who book seven to 14 days in advance will save 50% on average over tickets booked less than a week out.

Even if your corporate travel policy addresses this, the firm suggests more savings are attainable by requiring travellers to book 14-21 days out, or to require pre-trip approval for bookings made less than seven days in advance “to ensure the reason for the trip is worth the higher ticket price,” says the company.

5. Don't treat your agency as just an order-taker

Revamping travel policy to better use the resources of a corporate travel management company can save money and reshape traveller behaviour.

“We’ve made an effort to have our corporate travel management company guide our travellers’ decisions and make more cost-effective choices,” says René Nieuwesteeg, director, Corporate Services with Hatch Ltd., an 8,000 employee consulting engineering firm with operations worldwide. Travellers used to book for a specified date or time, no questions asked: now, lower-cost alternatives are always recommended around flexible dates or routes.

- Julie Charles, Ignite

other articles in this section

The Waiting Game

Q&A with Suzanne Neufang, Executive Director, GBTA

By the Numbers

Keeping Corporate Data Safe

Are Your Female Business Travellers Safe on the Road?

Flight Turbulence

What’s your Data Plan?

Get it in Writing

Follow the money

In Harm’s Way

It’s all in the timing

Covering Trouble in Paradise

Flight Plan

For Safe Keeping

Smooth Moves

On the Safe Side

At Your Bleisure

Cover me!

Uber. Airbnb. Lyft…

Q&A with Anthony Pollard

Data Dilemma

Getting on track

So Long, Swipecards

Take your Best Shot

Benefits of Integrating Mobile Payment Platforms

Trend Setter, Dorothy Dowling

Newest Cloud Technology

Is it Time to Dust Off your Corporate Travel Policy?

The Future Travel Credit Management Solution

Planes, trains and data plans

When employees fall ill on the road

Burnout Busters

The Rules of Compliance

Communal Spaces Boost Hotels' Comfort Factor

Making the most of travel and expense management systems

May the Best Vendor Win

Evaluating disaster recovery plans

On the Road Again

Hotels Taking Wellness to a Whole New Level

Corporate Travel Tracker

Controlling Corporate Travel Costs

The Anti-stress List

The Blurred Line Between Corporate Travel Manager and Planner

Big Flight Discounts for Small Businesses

Are Business Travellers Putting Corporate Data at Risk?

Timesaving Mobile App for Superior Car Service

Company Car or Driver-owned?

10 Healthy Travel Tips

Navigating Emerging Markets

Business Travel Etiquette

Rogue Travellers on Spending Sprees!

Business Travel and Health

Social Media and Travel Programs

Baggage Handler Confidential

Travel Expense Reporting

Buses Mean Business

Travel Budgets Analyzed

Q+A with Ron DiLeo

Progressive Extended-Stay Programs

Dynamic Hotel Pricing

The Perfect Travel Management Company

The Kindest Cuts

Green Businesses

Travel Policy Compliance

Car Sharing: The leaner, greener choice!

Expense Accountability

Hotel Program Success

Costly Corporate Credit Card Programs

Travel Less, Save More?

Dynamic Pricing

Travel Program Success

Meetings Abroad: Are you Prepared?

Maneuvering Through the RFP Process

Cross-Border Air Travel

Time for a Travel Policy

10 Ways to Avoid Business Travel Pitfalls

Bargaining Table Car Rental Tips for Corporate Planners

Creating Travel Policy Compliance

Sustainable Travel Tips

Crucial Travel Policy Changes to Save Time and Money

Tipping Guide for Business Travellers

Corporate Travel Policy

Passport Essentials and Other Requirements

Managing your Company's Travel Risks

Duty of care to travellers goes beyond borders