There are many options available to employees when purchasing travel. Most travelers are aware of policies and procedures, however, vendors may not be aware of certain restrictions and will try to upsell or upgrade amenities to our employees. When this is accepted by the traveler, they run into cost reimbursable issues when filing expense reports.
As an example, car rental companies will try to upsell a traveler by offering additional insurances, GPS systems, larger vehicles, sporty or hybrid models. All of which are not reimbursed by our organization. Also, a traveler may not realize they are being charged an additional amount for the vehicle being offered if it happens to be a larger vehicle.
What we’ve done to alleviate all the backend hassles of trying to recoup extra dollars spent on miscellaneous fees, is put together a training manual on how to travel effortlessly.
This material includes a car rental section which gives step by step instructions for travelers to understand all the miscellaneous offerings that are not reimbursed by the organization. Here’s a brief summary:
- Step 1 – Always sign up with the preferred vendors rental program. By doing this, it ensures that negotiated rates are always purchased and the necessary insurance coverage is included within the quoted rate. And most importantly, the ability to bypass the rental counter to avoid the additional offerings.
- Step 2 – Book the vehicle through preferred method of on-line booking or through TMC. This again, ensures proper rates and necessary coverage, as well as reporting capabilities for travel management.
- Step 3 – Make sure you check the vehicle for damage prior to taking off the lot. This alleviates the many damage claims that are received because travelers often forget to do this. This is a rampant problem with international bookings and becomes a lengthy hassle to resolve.
- Step 4 – Upon return of the vehicle review your receipt prior to leaving for your flight home. This helps the traveler reconcile correct charges when filing an expense report. There are times when a vendor will accidentally charge for excess mileage, gas or fees that should not have been applied. Taking care of this prior to leaving ensures there will be no hassles when the expense reporting department receives the bill.
By following these four simple steps, our travelers can ensure a smooth, successful trip and not have to worry about reconciling items that they did not ask for, or expect. This has helped to cut down on the many receipts that have been received with extra charges for travelers that are not aware of vendor upselling techniques.
by Stefanie Tretola