Foundation Tendriling Travel Expenses

As business vacation charges nose upward, providers are realizing airportcarhireonline.co.uk superior cost-management strategies might make a difference

US. corporate vacation bills rocketed to additional than $143 billion in 1994, in accordance to American Express' newest study on small business travel management. Private-sector businesses spend an believed $2,484 for every worker on travel and amusement, a seventeen percent maximize in the last four decades.

Corporate T&E costs, now the third-largest controllable expense behind sales and data-processing costs, are under new scrutiny. Corporations are acknowledging that even a savings of 1 per cent or two % can translate into millions of dollars added to their bottom line.

Savings of that order are sure to get management's attention, which is a requirement for this type of project. Involvement begins with understanding and evaluating the components of T&E management in order to control and monitor it a lot more effectively.

Hands-on administration includes assigning responsibility for journey management, implementing a quality-measurement system for vacation services used, and writing and distributing a formal travel policy. Only 64 per cent of U.S. corporations have vacation policies.

Even with senior management's support, the road to savings is rocky-only one in three businesses has successfully instituted an internal program that will help cut travel bills, and the myriad aspects of travel are so overwhelming, most firms don't know where to start. "The industry of journey is based on information," says Steven R. Schoen, founder and CEO of The Global Group Inc. "Until such time as a passenger actually sets foot on the plane, they've [only] been purchasing information."

If that's the case, information technology seems a viable place to hammer out those elusive, but highly sought-after, savings. "Technological innovations in the business travel industry are allowing firms to realize the potential of automation to control and reduce indirect [travel] costs," says Roger H. Ballou, president of the Vacation Services Group USA of American Express. "In addition, many companies are embarking on quality programs that include sophisticated process improvement and reengineering efforts designed to substantially improve T&E management processes and reduce indirect costs."