Every year British businesses spend over £25 million on hotels, flights, surface travel and related services. In fact, the largest item of corporate expenditure after payroll in most organisations is business travel.

The fact is that although companies need to travel to do business, most adopt a cautious approach to what they spend, and how they spend it. The major corporations and bigger companies have travel policies. Many employ third party agents to negotiate discounted rates, handle reservations and to provide the priceless management information that confirms whether or not the travel policy is being adhered to.

Smaller firms without the volumes to attract discounts from hotels or airlines tend to adopt a DIY approach, but not always wisely or successfully. The internet is a popular tool for finding last minute deals, especially on hotels, but may not be the right medium through which to arrange the MD's forthcoming business trip, or the next board meeting. Getting a cheap rate is one thing; finding that the hotel has a room available, on the dates required, at that rate, is another matter. The worldwide web also struggles when it comes to group bookings and multiple-sector (i.e. London — Paris — Sydney) trips.

The market is also recovering from the traumas of 9/11 and SARS. Hotel rates now are on the move again after falling consistently over the last 12-18 months, although the use of budget hotels in particular is surging. During 2003 it is estimated that more than 69% of business travellers used budget hotels.

So what advice can we give the PA who is charged with taking care of travel arrangements in a small company, probably as part of an already overflowing workload? Here are ten steps, which should ensure a tear-free travel booking experience:

1. Find out how much your company spent last year in hotels and on travel, and where, either from expenses claims submitted to the finance department or, if you work with a Travel Management Company (TMC), from management information reports.



2. However modest your company's travel needs, create a policy that is simple to understand, practical and enforceable. Your travel policy should set down rules and limits such as the maximum amount employees can spend on flights, hotel accommodation per night or on car hire per day. You may need different levels for different grades of personnel — the Chairman may not appreciate staying in a B&B.



3. Are you the only person in your company with responsibility for travel arrangements? If not, get together with others in the same position. Pool your respective volumes and agree a common standard that will work for all of you.



4. To help you decide hotel spend limits for your company there are a number of regular surveys that track trends in corporate expenditure that can be used as a benchmark. For example, Company Barclaycard's annual Travel in Business Survey, and American Express Consulting Services' reports are both excellent sources.



5. In locations where your company has a regular requirement, invite hotels that satisfy your quality requirements to tender for the year-round business. Be open and honest about the likely levels of bookings from your company; over-egging things won't help you in the long run.



6. It's pointless having a travel policy if you can't apply it. Make sure you take into account the culture of your organisation. Many travel policies fail because key travellers simply refuse to follow the mandates of the policy, so consultation with your travellers is thoroughly recommended — especially the MD!



7. Think long term. Although there are advantages to using the web for spot, or promotional deals, negotiated hotel rates are guaranteed during both good and bad times, and can be used as the basis for re-negotiation in subsequent years. Last room availability is another benefit of long-term relationship contracts, as are recognition, flexibility and up-grades for regular travellers. Another problem with the internet is that you can't capture online bookings in your management information, which is your best negotiating tool for next year.



8. Rail is a much — and in our opinion wrongly — maligned travel mode, especially on the major (ex-InterCity) routes. Fare structures offer excellent savings for advance booking, whilst the product itself has been radically overhauled for the better.



9. For hotels and meetings, Hotel Booking Agents (HBAs) offer a specialist independent reservations service that allows smaller companies to benefit from a much larger, collective buying power. HBAs now handle over 10,000 bookings a day between them and usually provide a free service, relying instead on the commissions they receive from hotels.



10. Listen to your travellers and to fellow travel bookers. You can never learn enough — especially when it comes to the mistakes of others. Joining a trade association will help too, both in expanding your own knowledge and your circle of contacts.