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Business travelers can save big with the right strategies

(ARA) - Corporate America is cutting costs like never before. The complimentary lunches and corporate bonuses are long gone as companies look to find savings wherever possible. But for many frequent business travelers, the savings associated with, say, a conference call instead of an in-person meeting are outweighed by the lack of face time between the two parties.

"I need to be there in person, sitting across from my colleagues around the country," says Chad Grimes, a travel manager at T System, who logs more than 100,000 miles a year. "You simply can't get a good sense for how they're feeling over the phone. Our business would suffer if I couldn't travel."

Aside from flying discount air carriers or avoiding extra nights in hotels, experts point to a variety of cost-saving tools that companies are implementing to cut travel costs but still ensure the trips can continue.

Airfare

"Booking at the last minute is likely to instantaneously ruin your travel budget," says Aimee Prunier Stoltz with AmTrav, a corporate travel agency.

Stoltz notes that companies are encouraging their employees to book trips weeks, if not months, in advance. Some are instituting online booking tools that track how much money could have been saved had the flight been purchased earlier to help encourage advanced scheduling.

Hotels

Often the information on a Web site for the city's convention and visitor's bureau can serve as a helpful asset for frequent business travelers.

"Each site will provide a schedule of the big meetings and events taking place. Often the most expensive hotels will be the ones nearest those events, so choose one a little farther away and you'll likely find it much more affordable," adds Stoltz.

Parking

"Most major airports are adjacent to a variety of near-airport parking facilities that offer tremendous value compared with parking onsite. These are nationally recognized brands that provide a secure location to park your car and in many cases, include a number of additional benefits such as car care services or frequent parking rewards."

Stoltz says that one near-airport parker, The Parking Spot, is becoming increasingly popular with frequent travelers. Easily recognizable with their yellow-and-black spotted shuttles, The Parking Spot operates 18 facilities across 12 U.S. airports, offers a frequent parking program and accepts reservations at www.theparkingspot.com.

"Ultimately, it comes down to being a savvy traveler - it's clear the savings are out there, you just need to know where to look," says Stoltz.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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