ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 9, 1996 TAG: 9610090018
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: KAREN SCHWARTZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
Road-weary business travelers are increasingly becoming road warriors, with limited rations when it comes to how much they can pay for flights, car rentals and hotel rooms.
``Prices of business travel have gone up, but companies have struggled to contain business travel expenses,'' said Craig Lanza, who edited this year's business survey for for Runzheimer International, a management-consulting firm in Rochester, Wis.
The Runzheimer survey of 218 companies found that although airline seats, hotel rates and car rental prices have increased in the past two years, the average domestic business trip in 1996 cost $958, just $1 more than the 1994 average.
That's because, Lanza said Tuesday, companies are controlling costs by negotiating discounted rates with airlines, hotels and rental car agencies and then requiring their employees to use those businesses.
``Other actions taken to control costs were requiring use of the lowest convenient airfare, tightening adherence to travel policies and limiting first class travel,'' he said.
A survey of 1,200 companies by American Express found a similar trend.
The number of companies lacking an air travel policy fell from nearly 20 percent in 1994 to only 4 percent this year, according to the American Express survey released Tuesday.
As part of their policies, 78 percent of firms require employees to take the lowest air fare, up from 69 percent in 1994. More than one-third of the companies require employees to stay over a Saturday night if it will significantly reduce the airfare.
When it comes to finding a place to rest their weary heads, nearly 15 percent of firms regularly make employees stay in economy hotels, twice as many as two years ago. Deluxe hotel rooms are routine at only 19 percent of companies, down from 28 percent in 1994.
More than three-quarters of companies impose a size limit on car rentals, compared with 70 percent in 1994.
But there are some concessions. In watching the big-ticket items, some businesses are easing up on the little things.
For instance, only 4 percent of companies require travelers to return frequent flier points earned from business trips, down from 9 percent two years ago; and only 41 percent of companies require employees to refuel rental cars before returning them, a drop of 22 percentage points from 1994.
Although it might be more for productivity than comfort, 36 percent of companies allow employees to fly business class on international flights, up from 31 percent in 1994; and 10 percent will allow business-class travel on long-distance flights, compared with 5 percent in 1994.
And, perhaps most satisfying to travelers in the trenches, more bosses are required to abide by the same rules.
The number of firms that had separate - meaning more generous - policies for senior executives dropped to 28 percent from 35 percent two years ago, according to the American Express survey.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB