5 Ways to Save Money on Your Next Business Trip
Though new technology has made business trips less common, they are not obsolete and can eat up a big chunk of your budget. Guest author, Daniel Abrahams, explains 5 ways you can save money on your next business trip.
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Business travel is what fuels a large percentage of travel industry profits. While many people have ditched corporate travel and invested in the best video conferencing equipment, sometimes nothing can really beat that face-to-face meeting overseas.
Whether you are part of a multinational corporate or you run your own small business, there are many ways you can reduce your business travel expenditure. Here are just 5 of them and they won’t damage your business or your professional pride:
Tip #1: Simply Don’t Travel
Do you really need to hop on that 
plane? It might be what you’re used to, but is it absolutely necessary? As mentioned above, many businesses are increasing their investment in video and web conferencing technology that allows them to do business from the comfort of their own office. Faster internet speed and advances in conferencing have pretty much eliminated dropped connections and crackly audio, making this a cost effective and efficient way to present pitches and close deals.
Tip #2: Eat a Little Humble Pie
So you’ve been used to a life of first class business travel, neck massages as you read your latest sales report, and your own personal sleep cabin. If you really want to save on business travel, it’s time to swallow that pride and downgrade your ticket. Come on, you can do it. Simply by changing the way you travel, the time you travel, and the airline you travel with, you could save yourself and your company thousands.
Tip #3: Let Your Air Miles Work Their Magic
If you find yourself travelling long haul a few times or year or making lots of regular short trips, it is definitely worth signing up for a loyalty program. Whether you are collecting air miles, hotel loyalty points, or points on your company credit card, such a program could pay huge dividends in a relatively short space of time.
Tip #4: Be Clever With Your Currency
If rushing to the airport Bureau de Change to exchange your currency is a common scenario for you, you could be blowing your travel budget on thin air. That 0% commission deal you see at the counter might sound like a great offer but in reality it should make you stop and think. No business is going to offer their services free of charge so just where are the charges coming from?Â
Well, companies offering 0% commission on any transactions simply offer you a substantially reduced exchange rate to what you might be able to find elsewhere. They buy the currency at one rate, work out their profit margin, and mark-up the currency at a less favorable rate to the customer.
You could save up to 10% on your currency transactions by ordering currency online for home delivery.
When exchanging currency, it is all about the exchange rate, pure and simple. Pay no heed to 0% deals or any other marketing fluff you might be offered. A good way to compare exchange rates and get the best deal is to use a live, reputable currency aggregator giving you a full market view of the latest currency deals. You could save up to 10% on your currency transactions by ordering currency online for home delivery. Â
Tip #5: Save Money on Ground Transportation
Do you really need a flashy rental car or would a shuttle bus or taxi be more cost effective and practical? If that expensive Mercedes you rented at the airport is going to be sitting in the hotel parking lot for 3 days, it’s probably not the most sensible option.
Saving money on business travel and accommodation could shave thousands off your annual travel budget. In today’s volatile economy it makes sense to make a few compromises and sacrifices if it means your business stays buoyant.
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Daniel Abrahams is a personal finance writer, startup mentor at ABC Startups, and the Co-Founder of OPP award winning comparison website, MyTravelMoney. His company recently debuted its sister product for businesses, CurrencyTransfer.
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