Every now and then, you need to engage in business travel. Unfortunately, travel can get expensive, especially if you are going overseas.
You can offset some of the costs of business travel with the help of tax deductions. While you won’t see a dollar-for-dollar return of your resources, it can help you reduce the sting a little bit by reducing your tax liability.
There’s more to saving money on business travel, though. Here are 3 tips to help you get the most bang for your business travel buck:
1. Don’t Rely on Traditional Hotel Arrangements
Recently, Airbnb released its business travel suite. It’s aimed specifically at professionals and businesses of all sizes who are on the go. For the last few years, Airbnb has been known as an inexpensive way to stay. Now, it is catering specifically to businesses, and that can help you find the right accommodations for your team at a low price.
Even if you don’t use Airbnb for saving money on business travel, you can still opt out of traditional hotel arrangements. Contact an extended-stay hotel for good deals, and negotiate with a hotel chain for better rates if you promise to send more business their way.
2. Change the Way Your Employees Move About
I had my first Uber experience while traveling for business in Charlotte, North Carolina earlier this year. Overall, I found it positive. I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, but coming back used ridesharing. The cost of using ridesharing was half the cost of a taxi.
You can use ridesharing options like Uber and Lyft to get your employees around more easily and cheaply. Even if you use an airport shuttle service like Super Shuttle, you can save money. These types of services are increasingly common and so affordable that it can make sense to forgo the car rental, and rely on ridesharing and public transit.
3. Take Advantage of Travel Rewards
Don’t forget that one of the best ways for saving money on business travel is still the business rewards card. Use your business rewards credit card to earn points on planned travel. You can also use your business credit card to get points in other ways. It’s usually possible to earn points on equipment purchases and utility payments. In fact, some types of purchases might mean extra rewards points.
Whenever you can, use your business credit card to make planned purchases. This method works best if you can pay off your charges as quickly as possible. However, part of maximizing your business credit card use is also realizing that you can deduct fees and interest in some cases. Pay attention to how that works, and see if it makes sense for your situation.
When you plan ahead, it’s possible to save money on travel. From negotiating better deals on hotels to finding alternative transportation and earning cash back and free future travel with credit cards, you can get ahead of the game. Don’t forget to document your expenses on top of everything, though. You still want that tax deduction.
