12 Business Travel Cost Saving Techniques for Companies

Business travel costs are one of the largest expenses in company operations, especially for businesses with high mobility. Therefore, without proper budget control, business expenses can increase significantly.

As a solution, business travel cost saving techniques are needed. With the right strategies and techniques, companies can optimize expenses without sacrificing employee comfort and productivity.

This article will discuss in detail tips for saving on business travel, from before, during, and after the trip so that business travel costs can be better controlled.

Why companies need to optimize business travel expenses?

Optimizing business travel costs is not just about saving money, but about maintaining a balance between cost efficiency and employee travel experience. Companies that are able to manage travel expenses well can maximize the budget from every business trip.

Strategies such as implementing travel policies, using approval systems, and utilizing software can create sustainable corporate travel savings for businesses.

In addition, optimizing travel expenses also helps companies maintain cash flow stability, improve expense transparency, and support data-driven decision-making for planning future business travel.

Read more: Employee Expense Reporting Guide to Reduce Cost up to 43%

Cost saving techniques for business travel

To reduce expenses during business trips, a comprehensive strategy is needed, starting from before, during, and after the trip.

Before the Trip

The planning stage is the key to controlling business travel costs.

1.  Set a clear travel policy 

Establish clear travel policies so employees understand spending limits. With structured policies, companies can avoid unnecessary expenses and ensure consistency in every trip.

2. Set a daily spending limit or per diem

Set a daily spending limit (per diem) to control expenses while accelerating approval and audit processes. With these limits, employees can easily adjust their spending according to company policies.

3. Book early to lock in better rates

Make accommodation and transportation bookings early to get lower prices. Set internal policies to encourage employees to book within a certain timeframe before departure.

4. Use an approval workflow T&E

Use automated approval features in a spend management system to ensure business travel complies with policies and helps control costs from the beginning. In addition, this workflow also simplifies monitoring and reduces the risk of overspending.

5. Choose hotels strategically

Instead of choosing cheap hotels without facilities, choose hotels with additional amenities such as free WiFi, breakfast, and airport transportation to reduce additional costs during the trip.

Read more: Business Travel Expenses Guide: How to Manage & Tracking

During the trip

During the trip, companies can still control expenses through several ways.

6. Use a corporate card

Encourage employees to use corporate cards during business trips with predefined limits and categories. The use of corporate cards helps businesses gain full visibility of employee spending in real time.

7. Corporate cashback and discounts

Corporate cards usually offer cashback, reward points, and travel discounts. To maximize spending, take advantage of cashback and special discounts to significantly reduce costs.

8. Reduce redundant trips with a policy

To avoid wasting budget, set policies to combine multiple agendas into one trip or replace certain meetings with video conferences to reduce travel frequency and unnecessary expenses.

9. Alternative transportation

If employees need to visit multiple locations in a day, instead of using taxis, provide vehicle rental options to reduce transportation costs while improving travel efficiency.

After the trip

The post-trip stage is often overlooked, even though it plays an important role in long-term cost optimization.

10. Automate expense reporting and reimbursement

Support the use of business travel saving tools to identify inefficiencies and improve operational efficiency. This system also simplifies reporting, reimbursement, and provides full real-time visibility of expenses.

11. Analyze travel data

Analyze travel data to understand spending patterns during business trips, evaluate performance, and identify cost-saving opportunities for future trips.

12. Conduct regular policy review and audit

Evaluate travel policies to ensure they remain relevant to business conditions and conduct regular audits to ensure compliance and identify potential inefficiencies.

Read more: Top 10 Best Business Expense Tracking Software

Saving more while business travel with spend management system

Implementing strategies manually alone is not enough to maintain consistent cost savings. Therefore, Mekari Expense, as a spend management system, helps businesses in Indonesia manage and optimize expenses during business travel.

The business trip feature in the T&E module allows companies to manage the entire business travel process by:

• Setting policies: Create travel policies based on employee grade, position, team, or travel purpose for more efficient budget control.
• Submitting business trips: Employees can fill in travel details, including destination, estimated costs, and cash advance requirements in one application.
• Multi-level approval: Approve submissions based on approval workflows aligned with company policies.
• Reporting & settlement: After the trip, submit reports, upload receipts, and settle cash advances easily through the application.
• Fund disbursement and reconciliation: Reimbursements are processed automatically, and all data is recorded and integrated with Mekari Jurnal for reconciliation.
• Mekari Limitless Card: Create physical and virtual corporate cards and set limits and categories for more efficient expense management.

Apply business travel cost saving techniques automatically with Mekari Expense!

Reference

Mastercard. “Five takeaways from the big travel & expense policy overhaul”