.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} The last time Frank Russell, president of GeoLearning Inc., traveled to San Diego, he chose to stay in an older part of town, in an older, no-frills hotel with a competitive room rate. One of the company’s sales representatives picked him up for a client meeting, so he wouldn’t have to rent a car.

Such measures are becoming common among business travelers as companies try to control costs while gasoline prices, hotel room rates and other expenses continue to rise.

The Travel Price Index for July 2007 rose 3.4 percent compared with July 2006, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. Lodging prices were up 7.3 percent. This compares with a Consumer Price Index increase of 2.4 percent in July 2007 from the previous year.

“I think with most of our companies, the main impact we have seen is that they are more conscious of travel costs and are looking for ways to keep costs to a minimum,” said Mary Phillips, supervisor of ITAGroup Inc.’s corporate and leisure division. These changes include booking tickets further in advance, asking employees to fly coach instead of business class and asking hotels and car rental companies for volume discounts.

“We’re asking people to be smart about their travel,” said Art Slusark, vice president of corporate communications and government relations at Meredith Corp. “There’s no edict that says, ‘Thou shall not travel.’ We’ve got to get our business done, but we’re asking people to be wise about it and get as much done as they can during the trips they do take.”

These efforts, Slusark added, “can have an important effect on your business, and it sends the right message to the clients you work with and also to fellow employees.”

For Meredith, watching travel expenses is part of its overall strategy to cut costs throughout the company through such measures as purchasing items in bulk, updating computer equipment and analyzing freelance costs.

The company’s travel expenses were up approximately 10 percent in fiscal year 2007, which ended June 30, compared with the previous year; the change largely reflects the company’s growth through several acquisitions. Air trips were up about 5 percent, with the average ticket price up 10 percent. The number of car rentals and average cost per day of those rentals each increased by about 10 percent. Hotel bookings remained flat, with the average cost per night up about 2 percent.

Principal Financial Group Inc.’s travel expenses have been “trending up, simply because our businesses are growing and part of that is business travel,” said Scott Cahill, director of supply management.

GeoLearning has also grown rapidly, which caused its travel expenses to increase. However, Russell said by being more conscientious about travel arrangements and cutting down on trips, his company has managed to keep travel expenses at a consistent portion of total sales.

One way many companies cut costs is negotiating deals with hotels to get discounts on room rates in exchange for a large number of bookings per year, and making sure employees use the preferred hotels. Meredith also owns a couple of apartments in New York City and encourages its staff to use those when they’re available.

Principal has signed contracts with major hotels in areas where employees often travel, which locks the company into a rate that escalates at a set pace. This allows Principal to better budget for travel expenses, Cahill said.

Many companies prefer mid-level hotels with a few basic amenities, such as Internet connections and a health club. However, location is still a top priority.

Meredith also has tried to eliminate private car travel, especially to and from airports, unless several employees are traveling together. Slusark said transportation costs can double when using private cars versus a taxi. “Car service we’ve looked at very closely and are making sure that it is the most cost effective, without being inconvenient,” he said.

Many companies also have begun to monitor employees’ travel expenses more closely.

Slusark said Meredith has become stricter about requiring employees to submit receipts. If a meal or any other expense is greater than what the company considers normal, the employee must explain why.

Principal has a similar system, where employees submit travel expenses online and a supervisor reviews them before they’re passed on for reimbursement. If an expense is above the company’s guideline for a particular city, the item is flagged. The price guidelines are reviewed annually and adjusted for inflation, Cahill said.

“We have a very extensive travel policy,” he said, “and it outlines basically that you want to travel for business like this were your own funds for your own family.”

GeoLearning is in the process of creating a central system to monitor travel expenses, working through Expedia Inc.’s business site. The program puts controls on hotel room rates and other items as employees make their arrangements.

Companies also are questioning whether employees need to travel as often. Russell said GeoLearning has tripled its use of virtual meetings and other online conferencing technologies to make sales pitches and train employees.

“Customers are accepting of the fact that you can use these virtual technologies. They’re used to those sort of things,” he said. “Between virtual meetings and online training and video phone conferencing, we can save quite a bit of money.”

Meredith has upgraded its video conferencing equipment and constructed a new media center, which opened earlier this year. Principal is encouraging employees to work with their supervisor to determine if business could be conducted through a teleconference or videoconference rather than in person.

“In the grand scheme of things,” Slusark said, “it doesn’t compare to printing and purchasing paper, but it does add up.”