subject: Tips For Booking Online Business Travel [print this page] Like other industries, travel agents have seen a decrease in their business by about 13% as more and more travelers make their own business travel arrangements. Everything can be done online: booking airfare, hotel arrangements and care hire. Depending upon how much business travel the company does, 1000s can be saved each year, enough to make a real difference in todays economy.
When to use a Travel Agent
Very complicated itinerary with multiple stops involved. It is worth the travel agent fee for these trips
The PA schedule is just to full to make the travel arrangements. We have all had those days, convenience does come with a price however
Tips for Booking Online
No travel agent fees are wonderful, however, be sure to watch for booking fees with the online services. Kayak.co.uk advertises no fees.
Sign up for price alerts on the places you will usually have to book business travel. If the boss flies to Dallas, New York or Rome several times a year, get weekly alerts to any great deals to those cities. Expedia.co.uk as well as others has this service.
Traveling on a Tuesday as opposed to a Monday is a real money saver. Kayak.co.uk will allow you to see different travel day pricing for the trip.
Last minute trips can also be accommodated by looking at Expedia.ie as well as others.
Some of the best business travel deals can be found on the smaller airlines. Be sure to look at BudgetAir.co.uk, Netflights.com and Lastminute.com
Check any old itineraries for tips. Did the agent have the trip starting or returning to a smaller airport? This trick CAN save , but it has to be convenient.
Booking airfare and hotel together can also be a money saver. Price the trip both ways with the business hotel separately and as a package. Opodo.co.uk as well as most other sites makes it easy to run this query.
If you havent already booked business travel for the company, it is time to start saving money. Hot deals can be found with a little patience. At the very least, the travel agent commission can be saved and that can be as much as 100 depending upon the trip. Additionally, pricing the hotel that provides only the amenities that are actually needed can save 50 to 75 per night. That is real, bottom line savings for the company.
Another incredible money saving strategy is to book business travel through PouringPounds.com. It is free to sign up, then just visit the site and enter your usual business travel vendor to make the travel arrangements. Cashback ranges from 1% to 9% adding even more money back into the business bottom line. It is a win-win situation. Cashback is earned using the sites you normally use and trust.
