Tips for Managing Last-Minute Business Trip Expenses

Almost everyone who regularly travels for work has had to take a last-minute trip. A business partner has a pressing need that can only be addressed face-to-face. A meeting scheduled for next month was moved to next Tuesday. A prospective client is finally ready to sign on the dotted line—and they want to do it tomorrow.

While there are many reasons why business travelers hit the road on-the-fly, they all share the common challenge of making last-minute travel arrangements, for which the usual travel management protocols don’t necessarily apply. This can take them out of compliance with company travel policy and ultimately cost the organization more than they bargained for. The designated travel manager may be left out of the loop—and that means no pre-negotiated rates on flights and hotel rooms, and out-of-channel bookings that are hard to track.

Before taking a look at things travel managers can do to promote smart last-minute booking practices, let’s take a quick trip around the world to see what type of traveler heads out of town without much planning.

Global Insights: Who’s Traveling Last-Minute?

Research from travel data company Sojern compares the incidence of last minute travel (booked seven days or less prior to departure) between business and leisure travelers:

North America:

Business: 56%

Leisure: 44%

Latin America:

Business: 70%

Leisure: 30%

Europe:

Business: 73%

Leisure: 27%

Middle East and Africa:

Business: 88%

Leisure: 12%

Asia-Pacific:

Business: 76%

Leisure: 24%

Another Sojern study reveals that last-minute bookings among business travelers is 75% more frequent than for leisure travelers—and that Boston, Chicago, and Washington D.C. have the highest levels of last-minute travel.

Last-Minute Travel Management Tips

Here are some tips to help travel managers maintain at least some control over employees’ booking and travel expenses at the eleventh hour:

• When arranging a trip through the traditional corporate channel isn’t an option, take advantage of deals from websites and apps like Kayak, Hotel Tonight, and Last Minute Travel that offer special last-minute pricing for flights with unsold seats, hotels with unreserved rooms, and car rentals with un-rented vehicles left in the lot.
• Make it easy for employees to use plastic—a business credit card, virtual credit card, or pre-paid card—when making purchases. These are more secure than using cash, but charges are also traceable and easier to manage at the back-end when it’s time to reconcile receipts for reimbursement. Plus, since card-based transactions are electronic, they can usually be uploaded and integrated into your company’s travel management and expense system.
• Encourage travelers to leverage their trip to take care of any other business that can be accomplished while they’re away. Can the traveler stop in to see another client while they’re in town? Are there any hot prospects in the area? Can they conference into an important meeting they’re missing back at the home office? Maximizing productivity can help offset any additional expenses that incur.

Last-minute business travel happens—and it happens frequently. It helps to be prepared with strategies that help your employees achieve their travel goals while staying within budget and in compliance with your corporate travel policies.