Ridiculous things your company has done to reduce travel expenses
Dec 21, 2016, 4:43 pm
#1291
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: Etihad Guest Platinum; Accor Platinum; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,356
That's definitely the case for me (we get rebates for booking on United or Delta), but I've been told the rebate is on the order of 2-3% not the 10-20% fare difference I often see. I think the accountants care more about being in control than actually finding cost savings.
It is very similar to what you are saying in that the bean counters want to have the ability to say
"look the syst we put in has saved you three whole percent on every ticket"
But in an entirely month python slight of verbiage forget to mention that the original ticket is twenty five percent over the odds....
Dec 21, 2016, 5:43 pm
#1292
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
Fighting with the bean counters again.
Background: I have a trial in Charlotte at 8:30 AM on 1/3. I go to Charlotte two or three times a month and I pick up a rental from a nearby Enterprise. 1/2 is a federal holiday so all local Enterprise branches in my area are closed. I told my executive director I'd pick up a car from RDU and expense that plus one day's parking of my car at RDU. This will cost a total of $68 ($54 for the rental, $14 for parking) She flipped out at the idea because it's outside the box and started to try and think of alternates. None of which were feasible.
- Pick up at RDU and return at local branch: $185 due to $75 drop fee plus there's still the issue of how I get from my house to RDU then home the next day.
- We'll pay you mileage to drive your car. 290 miles round trip * $.56 = $162.40
- I'll pick you up at your house on 1/2, take you to the airport, and on 1/3 I'll drive you home. That wastes a ton of time, I tried to explain what opportunity costs were and how this was entirely nonsensical.
Eventually I got them to just listen that they were arguing over $14 and this really was the only solution. After all, I'm the only one in the office with any degree of travel experience and I spent three years working in the rental car industry. Sigh, maybe I should have just eaten the $14.
Background: I have a trial in Charlotte at 8:30 AM on 1/3. I go to Charlotte two or three times a month and I pick up a rental from a nearby Enterprise. 1/2 is a federal holiday so all local Enterprise branches in my area are closed. I told my executive director I'd pick up a car from RDU and expense that plus one day's parking of my car at RDU. This will cost a total of $68 ($54 for the rental, $14 for parking) She flipped out at the idea because it's outside the box and started to try and think of alternates. None of which were feasible.
- Pick up at RDU and return at local branch: $185 due to $75 drop fee plus there's still the issue of how I get from my house to RDU then home the next day.
- We'll pay you mileage to drive your car. 290 miles round trip * $.56 = $162.40
- I'll pick you up at your house on 1/2, take you to the airport, and on 1/3 I'll drive you home. That wastes a ton of time, I tried to explain what opportunity costs were and how this was entirely nonsensical.
Eventually I got them to just listen that they were arguing over $14 and this really was the only solution. After all, I'm the only one in the office with any degree of travel experience and I spent three years working in the rental car industry. Sigh, maybe I should have just eaten the $14.
Dec 21, 2016, 9:00 pm
#1293
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,594
The per diem approach seems like it breaks down, though, when entertaining customers. If I've got $60/day for myself, what do I do when I take two of a customer's IT engineers to lunch when we're working together, or treat a prospect to a nice dinner while trying to earn his business?
Rules that I deal with are that I generally can't buy our customers food, and can't accept food from vendors, but can from customers. When we're at an all day meeting at a vendor and they bring in lunch, we all put money in a cup for them (and they usually don't have a way to book it) and then it gets used for their office coffee and snack fund or something. If a customer brings in food it's not a problem.
If you're expected to entertain customers, then you need to have a mechanism to get reimbursed for it.
Dec 21, 2016, 9:07 pm
#1294
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: YVR
Programs: UA Premier Platinum
Posts: 3,759
Ours does but only if the multi-stop can be priced out and issued all on one ticket. If you need two completely separate tickets for some legitimate reason, you need to create a separate trip request for that.
Dec 22, 2016, 9:37 am
#1295
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hilton Gold, Hyatt Gold, Emerald Club Executive Elite, Global Entry
Posts: 33
Another +1 for this. In all but the most expensive cities and with the toughest schedules to keep, I can eat reasonably for $60/day average. I'll take the lower budget in exchange for avoiding the hassle of expense reports and the ability to pocket the difference on days when I can eat cheaply.
The per diem approach seems like it breaks down, though, when entertaining customers. If I've got $60/day for myself, what do I do when I take two of a customer's IT engineers to lunch when we're working together, or treat a prospect to a nice dinner while trying to earn his business?
The per diem approach seems like it breaks down, though, when entertaining customers. If I've got $60/day for myself, what do I do when I take two of a customer's IT engineers to lunch when we're working together, or treat a prospect to a nice dinner while trying to earn his business?
Dec 23, 2016, 8:39 am
#1296
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Jupiter, FL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Silver
Posts: 29,821
For the first time, we were given an actual travel budget. It used to be that we just got yelled at at the end of the year for all the trips, typically by the person that approved all the trips.
Being the good traveler, I finished the year several hundred dollars under my given budget. Good job, huh?
Nope, got pointed out that others finished several thousand under their budgets. (which were higher than mine for similar work).
Being the good traveler, I finished the year several hundred dollars under my given budget. Good job, huh?
Nope, got pointed out that others finished several thousand under their budgets. (which were higher than mine for similar work).
Dec 23, 2016, 8:41 am
#1297
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Jupiter, FL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Silver
Posts: 29,821
I noticed that recently, it was reinstated.
Dec 23, 2016, 12:34 pm
#1298
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,368
For the first time, we were given an actual travel budget. It used to be that we just got yelled at at the end of the year for all the trips, typically by the person that approved all the trips.
Being the good traveler, I finished the year several hundred dollars under my given budget. Good job, huh?
Nope, got pointed out that others finished several thousand under their budgets. (which were higher than mine for similar work).
Being the good traveler, I finished the year several hundred dollars under my given budget. Good job, huh?
Nope, got pointed out that others finished several thousand under their budgets. (which were higher than mine for similar work).
clearly this is where presenting underrun as a percentage of budget rather than in absolute dollars would probably be to your benefit
Dec 23, 2016, 10:10 pm
#1299
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Sydney Australia
Programs: No programs & No Points!!!
Posts: 14,222
For the first time, we were given an actual travel budget. It used to be that we just got yelled at at the end of the year for all the trips, typically by the person that approved all the trips.
Being the good traveler, I finished the year several hundred dollars under my given budget. Good job, huh?
Nope, got pointed out that others finished several thousand under their budgets. (which were higher than mine for similar work).
Being the good traveler, I finished the year several hundred dollars under my given budget. Good job, huh?
Nope, got pointed out that others finished several thousand under their budgets. (which were higher than mine for similar work).
Feb 12, 2017, 8:40 am
#1300
Moderator: Travel Buzz
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 3,098
Travel Expenses: Dumb Things your Company has Done
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