• Tips for business travel reduction
• Increase the value of your travel agency
• Tips for frequent travelers
  

7 reasons why your company spends too much on corporate travel:

1. Travel does not get booked at least 14 days in advance
2. Admin staff and assistants have never been trained in booking travel
3. Travel policy compliance is low and not monitored
4. Itineraries get changed very frequently, attracting high fees
5. The travel agent customer service level is not meeting the company’s needs
6. Supplier contracts with airlines and hotels are not at the best possible rate
7. No online booking tool implemented

10 tips to instantly reduce business travel cost:

1. Train travelers and travel bookers to book more efficiently
2. Tighten internal approval process
3. Review the service level agreement with your travel agent
4. Benchmark your airline and hotel contracts against industry peers and re-negotiate if necessary
5. Source online booking tool – the quickest way to improve  policy compliance
6. Introduce a corporate charge card to monitor all cost related to travel and improve your negotiations with hotels
7. Introduce an inhouse incentive to approving managers and travel bookers to reduce cost
8. Consolidate your travel program with other regions or divisions
9. Provide a list of preferred suppliers to your travelers via your intranet

Why corporate travel audits?

ARE YOU LOSING MORE AND MORE CLIENTS TO THE INTERNET?

You are putting in long hours but not getting the results you expect….

5 reasons why your travel agency is not performing as well as it could:

1. No service fees are being charged or even considered
2. Prices and quotes will be matched at any cost to secure the sale
3. Too much staff turnover
4. Consultants do not ask for the sale but give away a lot of free information
5. The agency is still being run the same way before the internet became a major competitor

12 tips to run a successful retail travel agency:

1. Research a niche and fill it!
2. Adapt to changes in the industry
3. Motivate your staff – the lower your staff turnover the more repeat clientele
4. Rotate desks – don’t let consultants get too comfortable in their seats
5. Find out what motivates each individual consultant – it might not always be money!
6. Invest in sales and communications training
7. Run small weekly incentives
8. Have a detailed business plan – and review your progress monthly
9. Implement individual scorecards for your staff
10. Work on your business – not in it
11. Attend networking events
12. Establish contracts with regular corporate clients

12 money saving tips for business and leisure travel

1. The internet is a great tool to find cheap airfares, for domestic and international flights.  Check the airlines websites on Wednesday for drastically reduced weekend fares. Jetstar offers specials such as the 'Friday Frenzy' sale.
   
   
2. If you are travelling to a European city compare prices to a nearby place. Cheap tickets to your destination might have sold but flights to another city nearby could be still available for a low cost. Even if you need to buy another cheap flight or take the train you often save a few hundred dollars.
   
   
3. Staying up until midnight might pay off when searching for cheap airfares. Specials and discounted airfares are loaded overnight and a cheap seat could be booked before too many others visit the website.
   
   
4. If your travel insurance includes car hire you won't need to purchase additional cover at the car hire company. Adding insurance is their way of up selling, check your policy first.
   
   
5. If you are booking a ticket for business travel within Australia book a cheap and restrictive fare for the outbound flight and a more flexible fare for the return. Should your meeting or appointment finish earlier you will be able to change the flight on the same day without penalties. Changes on restricted fares are often more costly than buying a more flexible ticket to begin with.
   
   
6. Shop around for package holidays; ask 3 travel agents for a quote as the cost can greatly vary. Some agents get higher levels of commission with some suppliers and can therefore pass on bigger discounts.
   
   
7. Taxes on international airfares are always the same! They do not vary from travel agent to travel agent. Some agencies offer a cheap fare but mark up the taxes! This is illegal but does happen.
   
   
8. If travelling on an overseas business trip book your outbound flight as soon as you know the date. International airfares are determined by the departure date from Australia, by booking the first flight you lock in the cost. If the booking gets delayed until all meetings are confirmed the likelihood of securing a cheap seat is very low. Adding the return flight is usually not a problem. Ask your travel agent about the cancellation conditions should you not travel at all.
   
   
9. Always ask your travel agent for 2 quotes for international air tickets. You might be surprised by the price difference.
   
   
10. If you are flying with one of the alliances, such as Star Alliance or One World, verify with your agent what plane is going to be used. They should tell you, but it is surprising how often you will see people complaining that they expected to be on a Singapore Airlines plane, not the Lufthansa one that they find themselves on. This is the result of the code share agreements that the airlines are using.
    
    
11. If you anticipate changes to your flights while overseas use a travel agent to book the ticket whenever possible. Trying to change a ticket booked via the internet can soon turn into a nightmare.
    
    
12. Buy travel insurance when you pay the deposit for your airfare as it will cover cancellation fees should you not be able to travel due to unforeseen circumstances. Frequent travelers can purchase a corporate policy which will cover international travel for 12 months