Whether they’re attending conferences, meeting with clients or trying to land investment dollars, traveling is a way of life for many professionals. Many growing businesses have limited travel budgets that make it a burden to hop on a plane every time the need arises. Even if you only travel when you’re confident it will bring a substantial ROI, you can still find yourself spending too much on airline tickets, rental cars and hotel rooms.
There are a few time-tested tricks you can use to make the trips you need without blowing your operating budget. Over time, you may find that these lead you to even more freebies that you wouldn’t have otherwise known about.
1. Free hotel breakfast.
Most hotels offer free breakfast as part of your reservation. At one time, this may have been a small selection of muffins and cereals, but free breakfasts have improved in recent years. Many provide a waffle maker, as well as items like scrambled eggs, bacon or even biscuits and gravy. As busy as you may be, you can save money by getting up a half an hour early and eating a big breakfast. Make yourself an extra plate and save it for lunch. If you need to, you can even skip through lunch and work until dinnertime, saving even more money.