Cutting back on business travel costs

With major factors affecting the economy such as increasing fuel costs and the global recession, most top airline companies suffer huge losses resulting to reduced flights and higher rates according to an air travel forecast article from USA Today. Also, there’s been a decrease in first-class and business-class tickets since last year which means revenue loss for the airline industry. So what can businesses and organizations do to lessen travel-related expenses than to resort to cost-saving measures such as online video-conferencing or giving up the comforts and perks of choosing premium seats?

“IATA concludes many business travelers may be downgrading to economy class to cut travel costs, in addition to canceling or postponing business trips. Meetings and conventions have taken the hardest hit, particularly to destinations perceived as “fun” places, like Florida or Las Vegas. More than one corporate travel manager told me that many former road warriors have transitioned into “conference-call warriors” as businesses seek to curtail travel spend in this age of austerity.”
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The readers’ comments on the said article show varied reactions. Some suggested high speed rails as a solution although some disagreed as they think such a project would amount to billions in investment. Another interesting contribution to the topic was from Dude, one of the readers, as he shared about his company’s experience in using technology to cut down on travel costs, “Our company has invested heavily in conf. call and intranet technology. We no longer have senior execs traveling over 100k miles a year. All travel budgets slashed by 60%. I used to fly over 34 weeks a year. Now it’s only 4 weeks. I don’t mind it either. The headaches and the poor service of the travel industry make it a joy to be home more often. Anyone who enjoys business travel is either a masochist or has no life, or both. I doubt when things in the economy improve that businesses will ramp up travel spending to the same level as 2006.”

While meeting via the Internet seems like a good idea for cutting back on travel costs, others would not agree to such as they consider a face-to-face meeting as the best way to market your product or increase sales. When deciding on travel saving measures, one really has to consider all the options, analyze the pros and cons, and decide on what really works for the business.

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