4 Affordable Ways to Manage Business Travel on a Tight Budget

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Even in this digital age, business owners have found that in order to scale, they need to travel quite often. Whether you are meeting with suppliers, networking with potential clients, or looking for new distributors, the chances are high that you will need to leave your office and meet people in-person. And we all know what that means – travel expenses. Over time, these can add up so much that they can start eating into your profits to the extent of stalling your business growth.

So, how do you keep expenses in check without sacrificing the opportunities available to you?

The Importance of Managing Travel Expenses

While some people believe that to make money you have to spend money, the truth is that top entrepreneurs know better than this. They believe that to make money, you have to limit your expenses through preventative approaches.

And you see this everywhere. Hotels hire skilled staff who can serve multiple roles for one salary. Airlines lean on companies like Magnetic Enginestands for aircraft engine covering services that protect their engines and lower their replacement costs. Food companies make their products in batches to lower their operational costs. And the list goes on.

In the same way, you, too, have to reduce your overall expenses. And starting with travel is a good idea. Why?

For one, when you travel, you do not just spend money on plane tickets. Your costs also extend to hotel stays, restaurant dinners, tips, and other expenses; this is money that you can easily inject into your business to increase your profits. Secondly, investors care about how you spend your money. If they look at your books and realize that a huge chunk of your budget goes into travel costs, they may not think that you are making financially sound decisions, and this could make them hesitant to work with you. And finally, how you travel spills over to the rest of the organisation. So, if you model a culture of spending freely while travelling, the rest of your team will follow suit, which could hurt you in the future.

How Can You Stay on Top of Travel Costs?

While we are not saying you have to cut travel to save money, there are some measures you can put in place to have your cake and eat it. They are as follows:

  • Set travel rules. Your organisation should have a travel guide that spells out when travelling is acceptable, which means of travel people should use, and how much they can spend on travel, based on factors such as distance, location, and purpose. It is also important to have a manager review all travel plans to ensure that no employee goes on a trip whose costs exceed what is in the guide.
  • Use one booking system. Travel costs can vary widely if each person plans their trip on their own. After all, different websites offer different rates, and what may cost $200 for one employee could easily be $400 for another. That is why it is important to have a central booking system that everyone uses to book flights, hotels, taxis, and all other travel services, all of which should be connected to the company card. Again, the travel guide should set the upper spending limits, and a manager should still review and authorise travel plans before any bookings are made.
  • Book trips in advance. Given that airlines, hotels, and other travel services raise prices as travel dates approach, you can save a lot of money by planning trips in advance where possible. For example, your travel guide can state that employees should book international trips a month in advance and domestic trips at least two weeks in advance. Of course, there should be room for impromptu trips, as reviewed by the manager.
  • Cut out unnecessary trips. We live in a time when video calls are often sufficient for business meetings, saving you time and money. So, get your employees into the habit of holding online meetings, and approve travel costs only if video calls and other digital communication prove insufficient.

    • With these strategies in place, you can avoid costly trips while still moving your business in the right direction.

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