Are you looking for a way to improve your company’s visibility with regard to travel expenses? Right now, there are a lot of companies that are getting ready to put their employees in the air once again. Now that the world is slowly returning to normal following the coronavirus pandemic, your employees might be ready to start traveling; however, you need to make sure that you have appropriate visibility with regard to the amount of money you spend on travel.
What do you need to do if you want to maximize your travel spend visibility at your company? Take a look at a few important points below, and do not hesitate to reach out to an expert who can assist you.
1. Use Rewards to Save on Airline Flights
One of the first tips you should keep in mind is that you have to take advantage of rewards that allow you to save money on airline flights. Without a doubt, one of the most expensive portions of corporate travel is flying. If you can find a way to save money on the cost of your flights, you don’t have to spend as much money on corporate travel. Some of the ways you might be able to spend money on flights include using reward cards, trying to book multiple tickets at the same time, and looking for opportunities to access nonstop flights that cut time and hotel costs.
2. Have a Trip Approval Process
Next, you need to have a trip approval process in mind. You might think that you can save time by having your employees look for their own flights; however, this does not necessarily mean that they are going to find the cheapest option. You might want to have a dashboard where you can take a look at all the trips that may have been proposed by different departments. Then, you can take a look at the flight expenses, figure out if it is a good deal or not, and either approve the trip or reject it.
3. Book Far in Advance
When possible, you need to book your trips as far in advance as possible. The longer you wait to book your flights, the more expensive they will be. Even though there are last-minute issues that may pop up from time to time, there are also trips that you might know about months in advance. If that is the case, you should try to book them as early as possible. In particular, if you have to do a lot of overseas traveling, you might want to book the flight more than six months out. With this kind of notice, you will have an easier time saving money on the cost of your plane tickets. You might even want to reach out to a consultant who can help you schedule your trips in advance.
4. Develop Better Relationships with Airlines
Finally, you need to develop better relationships with airlines. If you have a strong relationship with certain airlines, they might be willing to give you a discount on the cost of your flights. For example, if you look close to Charlotte, you are close to an American Airlines hub. If you are close to Newark, New Jersey, you are close to a united hub. If you are close to Atlanta, you are close to a Delta hub. If you find yourself flying on the same airlines over and over again, you might want to reach out to those airlines personally. If you let them know you are willing to book exclusively with them, they might be willing to give you a discount on your tickets.
Find Ways to Increase Visibility on Corporate Travel
In the end, these are just a few of the most important tips you need to keep in mind if you are looking for a way to increase the visibility you have with regard to travel expenses. There are plenty of new tools available, and you need to find the right ones to meet your needs. If you can increase the visibility you have regarding the amount of money you spend on travel, you will have an easier time managing your overhead expenses.
That way, you can increase your profit margin, which can help you keep your company one step ahead of your competitors. Consider taking a look at a few tools that can help you do exactly that. You might be able to reduce your business expenses significantly with a bit of extra planning.
