Many suppliers add fees that go unnoticed by travelers. Airlines add baggage fees, hoteliers add resort fees, car rental companies add fuel fees, entertainment tickets add service fees….the list goes on and on. Seeking revenue boosts, suppliers create new fees.
Do you know how much your company pays for the "service" versus the "fees?" What fees are negotiable? MANY fees are negotiable - don't settle for status quo.
Did you actually receive the correct fee that your company negotiated? Possibly not. Maybe you thought you received the $149 room rate or your travel management company guaranteed you the lowest airfare, yet, errors occur.
Do you know why it takes a meeting planner 60-90 days to pay an invoice? It isn't because she or he is slow…often, planners are negotiating billing disputes. Thousands of dollars can be saved by reviewing meeting invoices.
During the preferred supplier selection process, negotiate fees. Add service level agreements that contain penalites for supplier rate errors. Individuals, unaware of what has been negotiated, should ask every supplier how to reduce the fees at the point of purchase.
What should you do? What was your contracted price versus what did you actually pay? How many fees were added along the way? How can you eliminate those fees going forward?
At the Corporate level, conduct rate audits in every category: airlines, hotels, car rental, entertainment suites/venues/tickets, parking, travel management company, meeting management company, corporate credit card, P-card, etc.
Rate audits will provide you with numerous benefits and action plans:
à Recover money from suppliers when erroneous amounts were charged
à Reevaluate the current suppliers' practices
à Recognize contract improvements
à Ramp up the service level agreements and add risk/reward clauses
à Review your spend, controls and risks regularly
At the Individual level, negotiate at every stage of your trip and ask for the lowest fare or rate. Review your bills and ask for fees to be eliminated.
Read the Wall Street Journal article from yesterday to learn more about hotel fees: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124528364807225577.html
We conduct rate audits and recover significant money for our clients. Contact me for assistance.
Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT
Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation, T&E policy, plus more...
Follow me on Twitter ...http://www.twitter.com/debischolar and on LinkedIN at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dscholar
Comments