Egencia | An Expedia, Inc. Company

Top 5 Tips to Weather Winter Business Travel

Mother Nature can wreak havoc on business travel plans this time of year. Here are a few tools to help your travelers avoid delays and stay productive on the road. You may want to post these tips on your company's intranet or share them with your travelers via e-mail.

1. Manage Your Travel Changes Online
Did you know that in many cases, you can change your flight, redeem an unused ticket and cancel your hotel online, without contacting a travel consultant? You are also able to void most flights online, within one business day of purchase.

Learn more about online exchanges.

2. Manage your Business Travel from your Mobile
Did you know you could manage your business travel right from your mobile device? The Egencia On the Go Mobile Portal allows you to:

• Stay on top of your travel by learning your most up-to-date flight status and itinerary
• Avoid long lines at the airport by checking in for your flights on your mobile
• Keep colleagues and loved ones informed by quickly e-mailing your itinerary
• Get to your business engagement faster by taking advantage of Google map support for addresses included in itinerary

To get started, visit www.egencia.com from your mobile and login to your Egencia account.

For more information, view the Egencia on the Go Mobile Portal Guide.

Leverage Egencia on the Go Mobile Trip Alerts

• Trip Alerts provide you with the latest information impacting your business travel right to your mobile device, such as flight delays and gate changes. In some cases, you could learn about the status of your flight before it is announced at the airport gate.
• If your company has access to Trip Alerts, you will see the option to set them up on your Egencia Profile in the Egencia on the Go section.

3. Receipts at Your Finger tips
Did you know that in most cases there is no need to call an Egencia Travel Consultant to locate a receipt? You can quickly access your receipts within your Egencia profile, as long as your ticket:

• was purchased at least 24 hours ago, with an active itinerary
• was not booked on Southwest Airlines

As a reminder, hotel receipts for Egencia Preferred Rates or Expedia Special Rates are also available through Egencia. All other rates such as negotiated rates for your specific company or standard hotel rates (as called published rates or rack rates) are available from the hotel directly.

To access your receipts, visit the "My Trips" page within your Egencia profile and click the receipt icon.

4. Avoid Long Hold Times and Minimize Delays

• Booking the first flight out in the morning is often a good way to avoid delays as the plane arrives the night before. Weather delays also have a rippling effect throughout the day and later flights are often impacted, even if the weather has improved.


• If it appears that your flight is going to be cancelled, you may want to look at booking a hotel close to the airport as these accommodations will fill quickly and the alternative may be sleeping at the airport.


• Avoid releasing your hotel room or rental car if your flight is significantly delayed due to severe weather. Find out what the real possibility is of your flight departing, before canceling any travel arrangements.

5. Know the Airlines' Policy for Delays Due to Weather

• The Tarmac Delay Rule set forth earlier this year has helped to minimize the number of flights stuck on the runway for long periods of time but it is not yet known what it will mean for travelers during the winter months. The rule fines airlines up to $27,500 per passenger, for flights that sits on a runway without taking off for more than three hours and that does not serve food to passengers or allow them to deplane. When faced with weather storm delays, airlines may be more likely to cancel flights rather than risk delays on the tarmac.


• Airlines are not responsible for providing stranded travelers with compensation for hotel, food or transport due to weather delays. While each airline's policy in unique, most will likely offer flexible changes to tickets, waived fees or penalties and in some cases refunds or partial refunds.

Share These Tips with Your Travelers
You might consider sharing this information with your travelers via broadcast message.

Suggested Broadcast Message: Learn how to avoid winter weather travel delays and long hold times.
http://www.expediacorporate.com/daily/resource/wintertraveltips.asp

If you prefer to notify your travelers via e-mail, click the link below for a suggested message.

Questions? Contact us.