7 Ways to Save Money on Your Next Business Trip

With any business trip, there are expenses to consider, which will therefore impact the income the company makes. From flights to hotel room bookings, expenses can quickly add up; therefore, it’s essential to find ways to save money on your next business trip, thereby reducing overall costs.

From utilizing corporate rewards programs to taking advantage of credit card perks. There are plenty of tips and tricks that can help you save on costs here and there, ultimately helping you save some money along the way.

With that being said, here are several ways to save money on your next business trip this year.

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Book everything in advance

It’s always good to try and book everything that you can in advance. The earlier you book things, the more money you’re guaranteed to save. While there are some last-minute savings to be made if you’re booking at the very last minute, these savings might not be as good as the ones you’d get when booking six or twelve months in advance.

From your travel to your accommodation, some will let you book fairly far in advance, whereas others might only let you book for the next three to six months, for example.

Be mindful of how much you’ve booked thus far and how much is left you have to book so that you can hopefully save some additional money where possible.

Use corporate booking tools

Corporate booking tools are really useful to take advantage of when you’re looking to save yourself some money.

These corporate booking tools are designed in a way that they’re able to get all of the best possible deals across the internet and, in some cases, through offline means too.

When it comes to travel management and those responsible for booking the travel, these tools are an extra helping hand to take full advantage of what savings are available. From airline loyalty programs to corporate discounts with various hotels, a corporate booking tool will likely be able to book and manage everything under one platform.

It can help to streamline your efforts in booking travel and travel-related expenses, helping save as much money as possible.

Negotiate with suppliers

The prices you’re given over the phone or online aren’t always the lowest available to offer. You may find that there’s a little bit of negotiation available with companies that are happy to give you a discount on their services if you’re able to provide high-volume travel.

Companies that can negotiate are sometimes the best travel service providers you’ll want to use frequently. Having a bit more flexibility in pricing is a sign of a trusted and reasonable company to work with.

Suppliers are plentiful, so as a business or person booking the travel for yourself or employees, making use of your negotiation skills is definitely something worth doing.

Stick to travel and expenses policies

Travel and expenses policies are certainly something to be mindful of when it comes to spending money on your next business trip. Some businesses might not actually have policies in place, which might need to change once the business expands and more expenses are added to the company budget in general.

Sticking to travel and expense policies will make sure that staff members don’t go overboard when it comes to their spending habits. With a travel and expense policy written out and shared with the workforce in general, it can help keep everyone in line when spending.

It’s good to be aware of an expense reimbursement guide, too, so that those responsible for booking and managing travel expenses do it accurately. It’s good for employees to know how the reimbursement of expenses works, too.

Leverage corporate reward programs

Leveraging corporate reward programs is something to be mindful of, too, when it comes to booking travel and accommodation for business trips. As mentioned above, having a corporate travel tool available can be helpful.

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When it comes to corporate reward programs, it’s good to do some digging to find which ones are available and are best for what you’re after. A lot of hotel chains and travel operators now offer corporate loyalty programs, so you’ll likely be spoilt for choice.

With that being said, check in with the companies that you might be inclined to buy from when it comes to their travel and accommodation services. Use these regularly and try to establish a long-lasting relationship with these programs where you can.

Keep packing light to avoid bag fees

When packing, make sure you’re packing light because this will help to avoid any checked bag fees that might be incurred. There are trips that you may take, and going over the luggage allowance is inevitable. 

However, you want to try and avoid it for the most part so that you can cut some of those costs that would otherwise be incurred. Some airline providers also charge quite a substantial amount in luggage fees.

To help save yourself from making the mistake of getting luggage fees, have a good weight scale at home that can help you weigh the suitcase or luggage in question. That way, you’ll hopefully get yourself under the luggage allowance with a bit of extra room for anything you want to bring back while you’re over in the destination in question.

Assess expense performance and improve it

Expense performance is good to assess because there’s always room for improvement, no matter what. Perfection isn’t attainable, so when it comes to expenses, look at how it’s performing so far.

Are there some changes you could be making to your expenses in order to improve them? To save money? Often, there are some adjustments that can be made and some mistakes that can be avoided next time.

Saving money on your next business trip helps keep business finances healthy, so use these tips to help save some money where you can. The more you can save, the more of the company’s profit can go back into the profits of employees in general.