As an entrepreneur, you may find yourself traveling a lot more than you would have expected. From meeting potential clients to meetings with the manufacturer, seminars, conventions, and so much more, you’re probably doing a lot of travel. You may also have realized that a significant part of your business’s budget is being eaten up by travel-related costs.
As any seasoned traveler will tell you, there are plenty of booby traps set by airports and airlines that will trick you into spending more money. But if you’re smart enough to prepare for them, you can save a lot of dough! Here are some of the ways you can travel on a budget:
1. Bring Your Own Food
Not only is the food that is provided on-flight tasteless and devoid of any actual nutrition, but it is also so bad that it makes airport food – which consists of “cardboard pizza or an asbestos sandwich that costs as much as a cruise in the Bahamas” according to comedian Barry Sobel – look good!
Setting aside that the fact that one might question if it was food at all, airport/flight food is so expensive that you wish you could eat your arm instead. To save yourself from resorting to cannibalism, the best solution would be to bring your own food. If it is a short flight, you can even opt to have a filling meal before arriving at the airport. Or make yourself a healthy sandwich or snack to snack on while waiting in line or during the flight.
2. Don’t Get Taken for a Ride
It’s common knowledge that taxi drivers like to swindle unsuspecting out-of-towners by taking longer routes, which means you’ll have to spend more money than you should and that your time is being wasted. According to a recent newspaper report, New York City cab patrons often spend about $10 more than necessary due to drivers taking long routes.
Apart from the obvious negatives of getting cheated, it can also leave you in a sour mood – which is not exactly ideal on a business trip. It can lead to stress and frustration over your predicament, and even make you distrustful of the people you are meeting.
Jens Wohltorf, CEO and co-founder of Blacklane, a worldwide professional driver service, says, “Scheduling a one-way ride or an hourly car reservation when you’re traveling on business saves money, time and effort. You see the full cost when you book and don’t have to worry about gratuities, meters, or surge prices.”
3. Consolidate Reward Program Details
Credit cards and airlines provide a lot of benefits to loyal customers, many of which may go unused simply because you lost track of it or didn’t know what to do with it. Tying to stay informed about everything from customer loyalty rewards, frequent flier miles, hotel and credit card points, etc. can feel overwhelming. A secretary may not be able to do a much better job either. The best solution is to use an online service to monitor your information and provide options for what you can do with it. You don’t even have to spend a dime because most such services can be found free of charge!
4. Ask and You Shall Receive
A lot of us tend to stop ourselves from asking for something, when, in fact, you may be surprised at just how much free stuff you can get just by making a request. You don’t have to book an expensive suite for every trip; instead, try asking for a free upgrade.
Pick a time when the concierge desk is free; if there are too many people around, they may not want to give you special treatment as others will start asking as well. Make a polite request, try saying “I noticed the hotel doesn’t seem too full today, do you mind upgrading me to a suite?” If it’s your birthday, anniversary, or any other special occasion, mention it too! If they say yes, you just got yourself a better room for no extra cost; if they say no, you haven’t lost anything!
5. Don’t Rack Up Luggage Fees
Before you book that super cheap flight that you found to fly to your next investor meeting, read the fine print. A lot of budget airlines charge you for checked-in baggage – this is one of the money booby-traps we mentioned.
Your best bet is to learn to travel with just a carry-on bag. After all, you’re just going on a short work trip, not moving to a different city! Not only will you avoid getting trapped by hidden fees – you can also avoid the hassle of waiting for baggage at the airport or even losing it!
6. Be Smart When Booking Online
You probably already know that everything you do on the internet is tracked and recorded by the websites you visit. But did you know that data like your browser history and location can influence prices as well? Clearing your browser history/cookies and using a private/incognito browser can prevent websites from tracking prices that you’ve been quoted before. This way, you can ensure that you get the cheapest prices every single time.
Similarly, hotel and flight ticket prices can vary depending on where you’re booking from. Using a VPN can help you pretend like you’re in a completely different place. This trick can save you anywhere from a few bucks to even hundreds of dollars.
7. Tax Deductions
Among the tax concessions that are given to individuals and businesses is an often-underutilized one – tax deductions for business trips. Everything from transportation and lodging to meals and incidental expenses can be claimed as tax deductibles. Even things like dry cleaning, shipping of baggage, and tips paid are included in this.
Of course, each of them has a specific set of criteria (like how you have to stay overnight for a hotel room charge to be considered tax-deductible), and international travel has a different set of rules. But many of your business travel-related costs can be filed as tax-deductible and you would be a fool not to take advantage of it!
