3 Travel Trends to Cut Costs on Business Trips

As a business owner, it quickly becomes overwhelming, daunting, and even confusing to know where to spend your time, and most importantly, where to spend your money when planning a business trip. You know how important every penny spent is to your business and how important it is to keep your travel expenses under control – something many business owners struggle with. The way business owners book their travel is constantly evolving, with new apps, services, and products popping up almost daily to help offset the rising costs of hotels, car rentals, and flights. Consider using these three travel trends the next time you plan a business trip to help cut your travel expenses in half.

1. Last, Last Minute Booking…On Your Mobile Device

Mobile apps like Hotel Tonight (my personal favorite) and Hotels.com offer last minute deals on hotel rooms that hotels have been unable to fill for the night. Hotel Tonight releases their available rooms at 12:00 p.m. every day in the given time zone, and you can book one or multiple nights at a generously discounted rate with just a few clicks. Travelers can find a $369 Midtown New York City hotel room for $178 or reserve a $218 room in Montreal for $115 on Hotel Tonight. Whether you’re just looking for the cheapest overnight rate or a better rate at your favorite luxury hotel, apps like Hotel Tonight can be the best way to go.

Business trips can often be last minute, making this a great solution that will not only ease your stress, it will also ease the burden on your corporate credit card. Yes, arriving in a city and not having a hotel reservation can be scary, and not ideal for all instances, but you can easily get a great room at a cheap rate by booking this way.

2. Hourly Car Rental Options

Newer companies like Zip Car and established car rental companies like Hertz are now offering travelers the chance to rent from their fleet by the hour – a cost effective solution for someone who may only need a rental for a short period of time. Zip Car and Hertz 24/7 both allow you to reserve a car in under a minute once you’ve created an account with them. If you’re in a bind, and need a rental car quick, this is a cheap and simple solution.

Before you leave for your trip, research which hourly car rental services are available in the areas you’re traveling to, create the necessary accounts beforehand so that they can set you up with the necessary vehicle entry devices, download the associated app, and you’re ready to make advanced reservations or last second pickups in under 60 seconds. With Zip Car, you’ll be asked to purchase a yearly membership ($60) and then each rental will be between $8 - $10 an hour including gas and insurance (rates vary on rental size and city).

My favorite part: you don’t have to worry about returning the car to where you picked it up from. Return the rental to the closest designated location. Pick up a Hertz 24/7 car at John F. Kennedy International Airport and drop it off right by your hotel in Manhattan.

3. Fly into a Regional Airport on a Smaller Airline

Time can be of the essence when traveling for work, but so can cost. If you plan right, it’s much cheaper to fly into a regional airport on carriers like Frontier and Spirit and visit your clients on the outskirts of the city first and then work your way in to the city’s center. Spirit may be cheap to book up front, but be warned, if you travel with a carry-on suitcase, you’ll have to pay for it. Forgot to print your boarding pass before getting to the airport? There’s a fee for that too.

Use this list from Condé Nast Traveler to find the top regional airport alternatives.

Know Your Options as a Business Traveler

The biggest thing to take away from these trends is to know your options. When you’re a business owner, saving money where you can will make all the difference to your business. Business trip expenses can add up quick, and become a stress to you and your business. Don’t risk the future of your business because you couldn't afford to make a sale, build a client base, or build relationships with people on the other side of the country. Don’t cut out the things that are necessary to grow your business because they are too expensive -- find a work around. These new technologies and companies are making it easier than ever to pay for exactly what you need without any additional costs, exactly when you need it.