T&E budgets are not he rise—and so are the headaches that come with their own solutions to the trials of business travel
By Nancy Lazarus
Pack extra patience and a passport along with your three-ounce liquid containers, arrange your travel plans far in advance, and always have a back up plan to deal with unexpected emergencies. This is the advice offered by sales and marketing managers for dealing with today's increasingly tough business travel environment in Sales & Marketing Management's 2007 Business Travel Survey.
Many executives pursue such measures to lessen the challenges of frequent travel, according to the poll of 275 respondents conducted in April. This year's group travels an average of 57 days per year for business and will take about 17 trips, mostly domestic. While the frustrations of business travel never go away, executives seem to be getting smarter about dealing with the toll that life on the road takes on them.
Old and New Troubles
The negative impact on one's personal life, as usual, was one of the key problems associated with business travel, along with weather-related delays and security hassles at airports. Other difficulties included the steep cost of airline travel and the high cost of hotel stays. Fortunately, about 50 percent of managers say their travel and entertainment budgets are the same as last year's budgets, while about 30 percent say they are higher, to keep pace with rising air and lodging costs. This year's T&E budget was $24,000 per sales rep on average.
New frustrations have emerged as well, especially with the strict Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations regarding carry-on toiletries. According to Scott Jameson, manager of tradeshows and events for automotive parts manufacturer Robert Bosch in Broadview, Ill., "I often encounter non-business travelers clogging up the security lines. Despite messages, notices, pictures, videos, and TSA employees holding up examples, these folks just do not understand what to do with their personal effects going through the security process." Joe Ferguson, customer development manager at meat packingcompany Tyson Foods in Springdale, Ark., also reported having to "deal with non-frequent travelers who insist that their mouthwash, shampoo and eye drops do not each exceed three ounces, that they are not explosives and should be allowed through."
In addition to dealing with inexperienced flyers, limited flight availability was another common complaint. According to Antoinette Modica, national sales and marketing manager for electronics firm Panasonic in Mississauga, Ontario, "There aren't that many options available due to cutbacks in services. There is not enough flexibility in flight times and not enough flights, period." Another frustration in the air: Airlines discontinuing or curtailing their food service. This has led to "people carrying on unsuitable food and spilling it all over the place," says Bob Axline, CEO of Plastic Card Systems, an ID card and badge-printing technology firm based in Northboro, Mass.
Do-It-Yourself Solutions
One notable step professionals are taking to stem the travails of travel is regaining control of their planning. An unexpected two-thirds of those surveyed have used travel booking Web sites outside of their corporate travel policy to book arrangements.
Bill Nehring, sales representative for Hamilton Medical, a manufacturer of ventilation technology based in Reno, Nev., uses this method: "I always book my own travel plans because they change frequently. I can at least equal what a booking company can do in terms of the flights, schedule, cost and time involved," he says. "It really sours a business trip when you go to the rental car desk and find out they booked a car in San Francisco and you are in Anchorage."
Compliance with corporate travel policies depends on the company, according to Bill Connors, executive director and chief operating officer for the National Business Travel Association in Alexandria, Va. "What it often boils down to is one simple question: Does the company's corporate culture allow for real enforcement of policy? If the answer is no, it should not be a surprise to anyone when travelers do their own thing."
Seasoned business travelers also have other effective ways of dealing with their frequent trips while in transit. Bill Hicks, divisional vice president at insurance and investment firm John Hancock Financial based in Atlanta, says he uses frequent flyer fast lanes and adheres to security procedures to ensure speedy processing. Meanwhile, carefully selecting travel times is a popular tactic. Axline says, "I fly as early as possible to avoid the rolling delays as the system gets overloaded. I also drive as often as I can to avoid the hassles at the airport. I would fly private if I could afford it." Panasonic's Modica has preferred flight times she always tries to book. "I plan to travel at a time where I am almost first one out in the morning, and on my return I try and avoid flying around the dinner hour. It's either early noon or red eye."
Smart dressing and light packing is another trip saver. Josh Teweles, national account manager at the New York office of credit reporting firm Equifax, says "I always carry my luggage on board, and Brooks Brothers wrinkle-free dress shirts are a godsend." Jameson has his own method. "I make sure to pack anything that could remotely be construed as a threat in my checked luggage, including tools and lotions. I wear loafers that allow me to take my shoes off when going through airport security," he says.
There is one thing that can make all that traveling worthwhile for executives: Taking leisure trips with their families using loyalty program points. While an average 10 percent of respondents' business trips have a leisure travel component, most executives tend to take separate trips for pleasure using their reward miles or points.
The vast majority are members of travel loyalty programs: 95 percent are in airline programs, 85 percent are in hotel programs, and 60 percent are part of car rental programs. These managers were asked how valuable these programs were in terms of their use in leisure travel. Airline programs were rated highest, closely followed by hotel guest programs and then car rental programs.
As Paul Benton, national sales manager at Advanced Lighting Systems in Sauk Centre, Minn., says, "I try to use the travel loyalty programs as much as I can for leisure. They always seem to offset the hassles when you are finally lying on the beach."
Ferguson agrees that the benefits are well worth it. "I am very loyal to a particular carrier even if I have to add an additional leg. While I fly enough not to want to travel again through the air, it is nice to get a few free fares each year for my wife and child."
Other sales professionals were more emphatic. "If I weren't able to use these benefits, I would not continue to be a traveling salesman," Nehring says. "Two years ago I surprised my wife with dinner on Valentine's Day in Paris. We stayed at a suite at the Marriott on the des Champs-Elysées for a week. The entire trip cost only the dinner and some other personal items. That made the hassles worthwhile."
Jameson was equally clear about the tradeoff. "I consider loyalty programs my reward for the numerous holiday or weekend nightsspent away from my familyin hotel beds, or hours in the airports trying to get some work done," he says. "I let the points stack up, and then treat the whole family to a couple weeks in Hawaii or the Caribbean. Mess with my miles, and we need to renegotiate my salary."
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