Today’s blog is one in a series focused on corporate travel. This weekly series will focus on travel tips covering a variety of topics, including air travel, hotel tips, comfort and safety. Each week, Kevin Smith Transportation Group will bring advice from some of the leading travel experts across the greater Philadelphia, PA area.
Do you need to book ground transportation for your next business trip or meeting? Call Kevin Smith Transportation Group today at 610-222-6225 and let one of our Corporate Concierges handle all of the logistics for you. From Airport Transportation to Executive Car Services to Employee Shuttle Services, KSTG can coordinate and deliver all of your transportation needs.
The 2018 Corporate Travel Index published by the Business Travel News says companies spend on average over $1,400 for a three-day business trip. However, even with the advancements of technology, this traditional method of face to face client interaction is still critical.
To help make the most of your next business trip, here are some suggestions from some of our most frequent travels who utilize Kevin Smith Transportation Group.
Develop Great Relationships with Your Most Frequented Hotels
If you are constantly visiting the same location, find a hotel you like and make that your go-to accommodation on each trip. This way, over time, you can negotiate the rates of the hotel; if you know you will be staying in this city for at least two weeks throughout the year, that’s two weeks that hotel needn’t worry about their rooms being empty.
This gives you grounds to negotiate some sort of special rate in advance of your trip. Many hotels are famous for giving corporate rates and discounts for loyal customers, so it can’t hurt to ask. Furthermore, returning to a hotel you know you will like will seriously help to reduce your stress levels. You know what you’re going to get, and you know you like it.
Reap Your Rewards: You earned the points and miles, take time off to enjoy them! Find out what your points are worth and cash them in for some fun. Leisure travel (adding a few vacation days onto your business trip) is a great way to vacation without taking as much time off.
Utilize Your Credit Card Reward Points
Many companies are really focused on growth but have to be frugal with all expenses. This is especially important with business travel. Many people maximize their rewards points earned from AMEX and other credit cards to cover the costs of all their business travel costs.
In some cases, the individual employee can capture those points like you can for hotels or car rentals. Understanding their worth can allow you to score yourself free stuff when you take your next personal vacation.
Hire a Travel Agency for Efficiency
This saves both time and money, as all you need to do is let them know how many people are traveling and what type of accommodation is required. If you don’t like their suggestions, you can look elsewhere but if you do, they book your transport or/and hotel for you and everything is done in a matter of minutes.
A B2B agency’s buying power and volume of bookings enable them to negotiate discounts that are unobtainable by an individual traveler or even a group. Through their services, small businesses have access to much lower room rates than can be found on a hotel website or a booking platform for leisure travelers.
Using the services of a travel agency also saves time and effort that is better spent on preparing for the upcoming meeting / event rather than browsing for budget hotels.
In many cases, the only chance to get properties or flights listed as fully booked is through a travel agency. And finally, agents have valuable information and advice on each destination and are willing to share it with their customers, which can also make the business trip easier.
Do you need to book ground transportation for your next business trip or meeting? Call Kevin Smith Transportation Group today at 610-222-6225 and let one of our Corporate Concierges handle all of the logistics for you. From Airport Transportation to Executive Car Services to Employee Shuttle Services, KSTG can coordinate and deliver all of your transportation needs.
Thank you for reading our continuing blog series on Corporate Travel Tips. Please join us every week when we continue our ongoing series on corporate travel. To visit any of our blog series on Wedding Transportation, Wine Tours and Party Bus destinations, visit our blog homepage here.