Month: June 2016

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Business Travel Guides Travel Tips

What Is The Right Size For Carry-on Luggage?

tsa lines

Just the other day I was looking for a new piece of luggage.  I frequently travel for business, and I’ve found carrying on luggage is the most convenient for short trips.  I’m also upgrading to a piece of luggage with four wheels.  As I began my search, I realized how tough this new quest is, considering the varying size specifications between airlines.  Not only are these size requirements often changing in general, but they vary by airline too.

With these varying size requirements, I think it is best to stick with the Delta Air Line, United Airline, and American Airline’s size requirements (22 X 14 X 9 inches).  The size is smaller than permitted by other airlines, but it seems to be the average size used. Some airlines do allow slightly larger luggage, like Southwest or Air Canada.  If you decide on a piece of luggage, you then need to consider if a future flight will be with an airline like United or Delta. If so, you will be required to check your new ‘carry-on’ bag with these airlines.

Our new cheat sheet about carry-on luggage facts provides additional information. Keep it handy for carry-on dimensions based on the airline you are flying.

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Christopherson Business Travel is an award-winning corporate travel management company. With more than 60 years of experience, we provide our clients superior mobile travel technology and individualized customer support. Contact us to learn why we are different.

Read next:  Laptop Totes- No More Choosing Between Your Purse And Laptop!

Categories
Travel Management

The Downside Of Using Online Booking Sites

When the time comes to book upcoming business travel, many companies ask their employees to take on the responsibility. They are often told to use public online booking sites or book directly through the website of a specific airline or hotel.  Though this may initially seem like the easiest way to book travel, it often isn’t the best solution for a company.  Here are our top five reasons why booking through online sites are not always the best option for corporate travel management:

What every company should know about online booking sites:

  • Time.  It takes time to shop every airline website for the best deal. Your employees should be focusing on their ‘real’ job, not bogged down by price checking travel on different sites.
  • Hidden Charges.  Most online booking websites and airline websites charge a service fee.  In many cases, it is hidden in the small print with the taxes and then further buried in a hyperlink.  Additionally, they are often missing out on vendor discounts or bundled deals by booking for themselves.
  • No Travel Policy Enforcement. What stops your employee from booking a more expensive hotel or choosing a first class seat? Without an enforcement on travel policy, what may seem like a tiny splurge to them, could be taking a toll on your bottom line.
  • Duty of Care. When a traveler books from an outside source or multiple sources, the only way the company can provide their duty of care obligation is to have the traveler email a copy of each segment of their trip to one person in the organization.  It is that person’s responsibility to keep track of each traveler. That can easily get confusing and stressful should something go wrong.
  • No Data. Companies typically have no data to negotiate better rates when available. We often see that internal reporting and analysis of their travel management is also lacking.

Working with a TMC provides additional benefits

Travel management companies, including Christopherson Business Travel, specialize in understanding these downfalls and provide solutions for your business travel needs. Whether it’s keeping employees within your travel policy, or just the convenience of booking, there are many benefits to using a travel management company. Though our clients can customize their plans, below are a few of the benefits that are always included for our clients.

  • Discounted and negotiated airfares, hotel and car rental discounts.
  • Company travel policy, so your travelers can’t book Business Class and stay at the Four Seasons without your knowledge.
  • Christopherson’s partner discounts – we have discounts with airlines and at more than 40,000 hotels in over 170 countries.
  • Travel approval notification for managers, if desired.
  • Safety and security alerts for Duty of Care responsibility, using geo-location technology in case of an emergency.

Christopherson Business Travel has more than 60 years of experience with business travel management. Combine that with our mobile travel technology and superior customer service, and it’s no surprise we have a 97 percent client retention rate. Please contact us to learn more about our corporate travel packages or read or recommended blogs below.

Read next: What Are The Benefits Of A Travel Management Company

 

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management

How To Stay Under Your Corporate Travel Budget

Managing corporate travel is a tough job with many moving parts. Not only are you, as the travel manager, accountable for everything going smoothly, but also responsible for any unforeseen glitches. The biggest frustration is often budget. Check out our seven tips to keep you under your corporate travel budget.

7 tips to stay under corporate travel budget

  1. Book travel early. Did you know that even just a two day difference in purchasing a plane ticket can make a big difference? One study looking at the difference in business travel purchase behavior between men and women, found that waiting only two days for a ticket was a difference of 113 dollars. We know that business travel is often last minute, but keep in mind–even an extra day in booking can make a big difference.
  2. Take into account all the details and agendas before booking. How long will your travelers be staying? Are there any alternatives that may work better than the norm? For instance, it might make more sense to purchase metro cards for travelers in New York City, rather than renting a car. Driving and parking in large cities are often a pain anyway, and you will also avoid parking fees.
  3. Review travel receipts in more detail. Give yourself more time to look through the details of submitted travel receipts. Does anything unnecessary pop out at you? Nipping those unnecessary expenses can add up to big savings.
  4. Create and actively use travel incentives. Give your team of business travelers incentives to stay under budget. This keeps them motivated to shop for the best price. You can also encourage them to become loyalty members with your preferred vendors. This allows you to fulfill your contract agreements while your travelers rack up personal travel points.
  5. Stay organized. Work to proactively take control of the next trip. Know what’s needed and don’t be caught scrambling to make travel plans at the last minute.
  6. Establish preferred vendor relationships. Developing these relationships will definitely benefit you in the long run.
  7. Hire a travel management company. Sometimes the best solution is having an expert manage your travel in order to get the most out of your budget and valuable time. Most travel management companies, including Christopherson, are affiliates of global companies. This allows them to provide the individualized customer service experience you need, with global relationships and discounts that help you always get you the best price on business travel.

Staying on top of your travel is not difficult, but it does take additional time and forethought. Try out our tips this month and see if you notice any difference in travel costs. Let us know what you find. Or, contact us if you would like to know more about how Christopherson Business Travel can save you time and money.

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Company News and Announcements

SMEs Find New Reasons to Globalize

BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS | JUNE 23, 2016

SMEs Find New Reasons to Globalize

Categories
Company News and Announcements

Top 100 Woman-Owned Companies 2016 Event Sponsored by Christopherson

COLORADOBIZ | JUNE 23, 2016

Top 100 Woman-Owned Companies 2016 Event Sponsored by Christopherson

Categories
Business Travel Travel Tips

Avoiding High-Tech Scams When Traveling

As business travelers, we rely so heavily on electronic devices to keep us on task and updated. So much so, that it can be easy to forget that others can hack these devices and prey on our need for accessibility. It seems like there are always new high-tech scams being created.

Common hacking techniques

Spoofing

“Spoofing” is when a replica is created to make you think you are safe. An example of this is when your friend’s Facebook profile has been hacked and they begin constantly posting Rayban sunglasses specials with prices listed in yen. Websites themselves can also be spoofed, ultimately tricking you into downloading harmful data. Even caller ID and GPS coordinates can be hacked using this technique!

Spamming

“Spamming” is unsolicited or junk e-mail. For example, I apparently have a rich uncle in Jakarta who wants to deposit money in my account, I just need to send him my bank number! These emails are sent to thousands of unsuspecting recipients at one time. It is often used in combination with spoofing, to make the originating address difficult to pinpoint.

Phishing

“Phishing” is the act of using spoofing and spamming to lure unsuspecting victims, hoping to deceive you into disclosing your credit card number, bank accounts, passwords, Social Security number, or other sensitive information. An example of this is a hacker calling you, pretending to be someone of authority. They then ask for your social security number or access to your computer. Or, when the credit card information of Target’s customers was hacked and stolen in 2013.

Tips to avoid being scammed

So, what can you do to avoid being a victim? The Federal Trade Commission recommends a few tips to avoid getting “hooked.”

  1. Don’t email personal or financial information.
  2. Use trusted security software and set it to automatically update.
  3. Be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails (especially emails with subject lines like “Hi” or “Open Immediately”).
  4. Type in an organization’s website first, rather than automatically replying, and look for a URL that begins with https (the “s” stands for secure).
  5. Review credit card and bank statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late, call your provider.
  6. When using wireless hotspots, send information only to sites that are fully encrypted, and avoid using mobile apps that require personal or financial information.
  7. Last but not least, as much as it may be a pain to update or change your passwords, keep your passwords strong, secret, and safe.

 

Categories
Travel Management

The Balancing Act of Business Travel Rewards and Business Travel Expense

It wasn’t that long ago that I was a road-warrior, traveling 75 percent of the work week. In the business travel environment, you’re bound to connect with other road-warriors. Whether it’s over a meal or during a layover, you often find yourself sharing the tricks of the trade. Now that I’m not traveling as much, I don’t find myself discussing packing tips or how to negotiate an upgrade with as much frequency. What I do share with fellow business professionals though, is how to maximize their personal travel benefits while traveling for business.

While there are tricks to boosting personal travel rewards, they often come at the employer’s expense. And some may think, “well, why not?” From the road warrior’s perspective: doesn’t the employer owe them for their time? Doesn’t the employer realize how much revenue their road-warriors create for them? Despite an employer’s investment in a positive corporate culture and benefits to encourage their travelers’ satisfaction, some road-warriors still feel entitled to more. Loyalty points are an easy way to make them feel repaid. Take, for example, direct bookings with hotels. If you book on a hotel chain’s app, a $129/night standard room may be $159/night. While the cost difference is only $30, the reward difference for the business traveler is an extra 5,000 bonus points.

What about airlines? A business traveler may book their ticket on a low-cost carrier where bags are included, and it appears they’re trying to watch the company’s bottom line. But did anyone catch that the ticket was booked at the highest-priced tier for $200 more? The difference for the business traveler is that they’ve just gotten double miles, priority status, and their companion pass in sight. If that same business traveler is on the road every week, buying tickets based on their rewards rather than cost, that $200 extra per ticket, quickly becomes $800/month and $10,400/year. Were a company to have a team of 10 road-warriors with the same buying practices as their perk-seeking colleague, the company could potentially accrue $104,000 in lost costs each year.

As you can see, the balancing act between taking care of the people who take care of your business, while also making sure that their travel expenses don’t come with detriment to the bottom line, can be delicate. While it is certainly understandable for a business traveler to want compensation for their time and energy, the downside is that they often don’t see the repercussions until those costs are added up. The reality is that it’s not just a few extra perks here and there, but can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses for the business.

If you’re trying to figure out how to balance costs and traveler rewards, it may be beneficial to consider a managed travel program. As a corporate travel management agency, we encourage companies to allow their travelers to accrue the loyalty points they deserve at a cost that makes sense, and we show you how. By outlining your travel policy and creating stop gaps, unruly spending can be taken under control and business travelers can still be rewarded. Christopherson Business Travel’s cost-saving solutions and consultative account management helps do just that. Interested in learning more about how to control corporate travel expenses? Contact us to talk to one of our experienced business travel experts.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management

Top 10 Reasons You DON’T Need a Travel Management Company

Nowadays, it seems like there’s list after list of reasons that you “NEED” to do something.  But sometimes, perspectives need to be altered. That’s why today we are focusing on the top 10 reasons you don’t need a travel management company to assist with your business travel needs.

10 Reasons You Don’t Need a TMC:

  1. Saving the company money simply isn’t that important to you or the company
  2. Ensuring the safety of your travelers isn’t a critical responsibility
  3. Its not important for the company’s employees to be more efficient
  4. Paying travel suppliers more than needed sounds like a great idea
  5. It doesn’t matter if unused tickets expire, or are being misused
  6. Maintaining a spreadsheet is preferred to a professional reporting system
  7. A preference for getting nothing vs. earning corporate travel loyalty points
  8. Love living by the saying: “We’ve always done it this way, so why change now?”
  9. When there’s a travel problem, it’s a ‘thrill’ to spend 2hrs on the phone solving it
  10. Enjoy having no one to call for help, after missing the day’s last flight home

The bottom-line is that if you travel any more than never, it probably doesn’t hurt to have a travel management company on your side.  Christopherson Business Travel is an award-winning travel management company. With more than 60 years of experience, our cost-saving solutions and dedicated travel experts have saved companies thousands every year. Contact us to learn more. Or, keep reading about the benefits of using a travel management company.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Tips

Which Airports To Avoid This Summer

With the prediction of this being the worst summer in TSA history due to an increase in travelers, you can’t help but wonder if the wait times and delays will measure up to all the hype. And additionally, what areas are being affected the most for frequent business travelers.
A new article from MileCards.com offers some insight into this predicament. Looking at airport travel delays for the past five years, they found some interesting trends. The month of June is considered to be the worst month of the year for delays at U.S. airports. Yep, more than winter months or holiday season. The main culprits are congestion and summer thunderstorms. The best months for arriving on time are September and January.

Delving further, the Department of Transportation report ranked the busiest airports during summer months since 2010 based on several factors like on time arrivals, the wait time between leaving the gate and taking off, and the wait time from landing to parking at the gate.

Worst Airports For On-Time Summer Travel:

  • Newark- 68.4% arrive on time
  • San Francisco- 68.4%
  • New York – La Guardia – 70.3%

Worst For Waiting To Take Off:

  • New York – Kennedy – 29.8 minutes average taxi out time
  • New York – La Guardia – 28.0 minutes
  • Philadelphia – 23.5 minutes

Worst For Getting To The Gate:

  • Los Angeles- 10.7 minutes average for taxi to gate
  • Chicago O’Hare- 10.5 minutes
  • Dallas – Fort Worth – 10.5 minutes

Worst Airport Overall:

  • Newark – (is this really a surprise?)

 

Which begs the question, what are the best airports to fly through during the summer?

Best For On-Time Summer Flights:

  • Honolulu- 86.4% arrive on time
  • Salt lake City- 86.2%
  • Seattle- 83.1%

Best For Waiting To Take Off:

  • Houston – Hobby – 9.3 minutes average taxi time
  • Dallas – Love – 9.9
  • Oakland- 10.2 minutes

Best For Getting To The Gate:

  • San Diego – 3.9 minutes to taxi to gate
  • Portland – 4.0 minutes
  • San Antonio – 4.1 minutes

Though a lot of business travel can be out of your control, doing what you can to avoid these airports can save you valuable time. Or, if there is no way to avoid going through Newark, for example, come prepared with extra things to keep you busy, just in case you are stuck taxiing.

Read next: 8 Tips For Getting A Better Airplane Seat

Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate business travel company, nationally recognized for our travel technology and superior customer service. If you are interested in discussing how we save our clients time and money, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

 

 

Categories
Travel Management

Relating Seinfeld’s “Red Dot” Episode with Corporate Travel

Seinfeld logoA cashmere sweater for $85; marked down from $600!  George from the classic tv show, Seinfeld, knows a deal when he sees one. Or is he just blinded by the ridiculously low price?  As the episode continues, we learn that the beautiful cashmere sweater is damaged with a small red dot.  However, George marches on with his purchase, only to find out that no one wants the cashmere sweater.  It’s priced low for a reason: the quality falls short of the expectation.

So how does this relate to corporate travel?  Well, nowadays, there’s a number of travel management companies offering “cashmere” quality service, for an unbelievable price…as long as you don’t mind the “red dot.”

So how do you know?  Like anything in life, ask questions!  Ask yourself the following questions when presented with a ‘red dot’ quality deal:

  • Additional Fees. Is everything included in your corporate travel agreement, or are there additional fees? A few examples of items that are often included as additional fees are; after-hours calls, premium/proprietary technology, dedicated Account Management and Agent team, implementation, and supplier negotiation assistance.   
  • Flexibility. Are you going to be locked into a contractual term?  What are the annual fees and early termination fees?
  • Customization. Are they willing to customize your solution, including access to their premium/proprietary technology?
  • Service. Will your travelers be subject to a Call Center environment when they need assistance? Or will you have a reliable account manager to ensure everything is set up correctly? What is their client retention rate, employee turnover rate, and employee’s years of experience? These are all questions you should ask before committing to a new corporate travel management company.

I know that it sounds like a lot, and while there are many other questions that you can ask, just be sure to dig a little deeper!  Don’t get caught with what you believe is quality cashmere, only to find out that it has a red dot!

Read Next: Have You Reviewed Or Updated Your Corporate Travel Program?

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management

5 Signs You Need A Corporate Travel Management Company

You are busy. Between today’s deadlines and propelling your company to the next level, you likely don’t have time to sort through details. And corporate travel may be one of those details you are ignoring. Unfortunately, this aspect of business plays a major role in the functionality of your company as well as the lives of your employees. Without a corporate travel management company (TMC) to assist you, you may be missing out on valuable resources and savings. But how do you know if you would benefit from a TMC?

5 Signs That You Could Use a Corporate Travel Management Company

  • You lack the human resources. The task of travel management often falls on someone with a completely different title, who likely hasn’t been trained in corporate travel. This wastes company time and money when that person should be doing their “real” job, but is stuck trying to buy tickets and wrangle itineraries.
  • You lack patience. Do you struggle to know which deals are the best deals? Do you have other things to do than spend the afternoon comparing sites, flight routes, and prices? With a travel management company, let someone else find the best deals.
  • You have little or no travel management industry knowledge. Do you know the most effective practices for corporate travel policies? How about negotiating airline or hotel contracts? You may be missing out on standard practices or budget saving tips.
  • Your analytics and reporting are non-existent. Just like other areas of your business, analyzing and managing the expenses and trends of your corporate travel program is important for running your business overall.
  • You don’t have an emergency plan for travelers. Should your employees face an emergency when traveling, do you have a plan? Do they know what to do next? Travel management companies can provide additional duty of care support when you need it the most.

If you answered “yes” to any of the signs above, you would certainly benefit from using a business travel management company. Let the corporate travel experts handle the details, while you focus on your company’s growth and success. Christopherson Business Travel has more than 60 years of experience, and continually ranks one of the top travel management companies in the country. Learn more about our advanced travel technology and what else makes us different.

Categories
Travel News

What Else Is Causing The Long TSA Lines?

One of the biggest frustrations in life is waiting in a long security line at the airport, especially when the boarding time of your flight is starting soon! Travelers have been given ample warning from airports and TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to allow for more time to get through the growing airport security lines.
According to a recent article in The Washington Post, TSA is hiring 768 new airport screeners by the end of June.  They will also be moving 2,784 part-time employees to full time to accommodate for the anticipated high volume summer ahead. It is clear that TSA is doing all they can to elevate the situation, and it’s still not enough. Even with these upcoming changes, they still recommend arriving at the airport three hours before your flight time.

But is TSA the only culprit in the increasingly long lines? Two senators, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) cite another point of contention; the additional carry-on baggage we bring through security with us. They are urging all airlines to eliminate the fees for checking baggage for this summer. They cite the TSA in saying checked baggage fees may add an addition 27 percent toward passenger checkpoints, increasing the time needed to get through security.  It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it?I don’t know about you, but I would rather pack lighter and carry a bag with me, than pay additionally out-of-pocket to have my bags checked.  And a big time suck of the security line process is the multi-bin organization, waiting of new bins to be wheeled out, and claiming enough conveyer belt room for all your stuff. The entire security line environment may be different if we weren’t lugging around additional bags in an effort to save a few well deserved bucks.

Read Next: The Ultimate Airport Time-Saver

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry

Most American Employees Don’t Do This Anymore

As we approach summer, it’s hard not to daydream of the adventures the next few months hold. But interestingly, the idea of the American vacation may be on the way out the door. Last year, Americans left a total of 429 million vacation days unused.

Four-in-ten American workers (41% on average) consistently fail to use all of their time off. That is a total of $224 billion total that Americans are forfeiting by not taking these days. Strangely enough, both employees and employers understand the importance of taking time off. Almost every worker and manager in this study reported that vacation time is important for maintaining team energy levels and productivity. So, what’s happening here?

For 25 years, from 1976 to 2000, American workers used an average of 20.3 days of vacation every year. Starting in 2000, the numbers began to drop and continued steadily though the Great Recession. With economic troubles, a lack of vacations is not unimaginable. But surprisingly, this this trend continues to decline, even as our economy improves. Today, Americans report using just 16.0 vacation days in 2014, almost a full work week less than compared to pre-2000.

Looking further into the reasons why, Skift found that 62 percent of their survey group stated they would not be taking a summer vacation in 2015. Of this group, about half stated they could not afford it, while the other half said they were too busy to take those days. Of the remaining pool, only 15 percent stated they would be taking a longer vacation over the summer, with a larger majority of 22 percent taking short vacations on the weekends. Perhaps the biggest issue here, is that though we may be not using these days in an effort to save money, we are actually throwing money away. The U.S. Travel Association calculated this “vacation liability” to be an average of $6,400 per U.S. employee, not including the health and wellbeing benefits of taking time off.

This trend is so startling, that the U.S. Travel Association has launched an initiative to bring vacation time back to American culture, claiming our economy is losing $160 billion by us not taking these days. Their Project: Time Off campaign provides additional statistics and tips to discuss the importance of time off with your employer.

What about you? As a busy professional, are you making time for yourself and your family? Let us know in the comments below, or start the discussion on our Facebook page. Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate travel management company, known for our innovative travel technology and cost-saving solutions.