DALLAS -- 7-Eleven Inc. is among several corporations that The Dallas Morning News said is trying to hold its travel budget flat for 2008 by being savvier on trip planning.
With prices for airfare, hotel rooms and rental cars increasing, the traditional push and pull between travel buyers and suppliers has intensified, said the report. Companies are looking to tightly control costs in an uncertain economy, while suppliers are battling rising energy costs and trying to leverage a seller's market.
Much to the distress of corporate [image-nocss] travel managersand their "road warriors," who increasingly face crowded planes and sold-out hotelsdemand is expected to continue outpacing supply next year. As a result, the average cost of a domestic trip in 2008 is expected to rise 6%, or $63, to $1,110, according to research by American Express Business Travel cited by the newspaper. Overseas trips are forecast to rise 7%, or $205, to $3,171.
The growing costs have caused corporate travel managers to think creatively about ways to save, the report said.
In a survey by the National Business Travel Association, 16% of travel managers reported that they would restrict business-class airline tickets. That is up from 8% who said last year that they would limit the premium-class tickets.
7-Eleven Inc. travel manager Mona Crisp said the focus on travel costs has radically changed the way employees approach trips. Instead of booking airline tickets a week before departure, "our average is now 14 to 21 days in advance," she told the paper. "Our employees have educated themselves and become smart travelers."
This year, Dallas-based 7-Eleven is tackling an expense that has recently come under scrutiny by the travel management industry: internal meetings. The franchiser, which holds eight internal trade shows a year that require between 200 and 300 hotel rooms, will implement an online meetings tool that makes it easier to get proposals from hotels and for employees to identify where they should book, said the report.
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