Business Travel Tips

With fears of a recession in the U.S. mounting, many companies are starting to reduce their travel budgets.

Corporate travel managers are already faced with rising travel costs such as business class fares increased by 12.4 percent during the first half of February compared with last year (according to Sabre Travel Networks), airport rental-car rates jumped at least 20 percent each week this month compared with a year ago (according to Abrams Consulting Group), and hotel room rates jumped 5.9 percent in 2007 (according to Smith Travel Research). So they are taking a more active role in keeping on-the-road spending in check:
- Employees are increasingly being asked to provide an economic rationale for their trips.
- Rules that require employees to book the lowest fare or stay in pre-approved hotels
- Executives are pushing alternatives to face-to-face meetings, including phone- and Web-conferencing.

Despite airline bookings don’t typically fall until economic conditions have slowed noticeably, any reduced spending by corporate travelers — who typically pay more per ticket than leisure travelers — is bad news for airlines.
In the airline industry, a new recession could lead to further industry restructuring, including new partnerships, consolidation or even a return to bankruptcy for the weakest carriers. (source)