Company Travel Policy...
Discussion
Hi All,
Just keen to gauge interest on this, from various point of views - employees and bosses.
We are in process of thinking out a proper Travel & Expenses policy, we have grown significantly so we need to have a policy in place for our employees to follow and as a company, I do think we give a lot back to the employee with lots of benefits and very keen on employee retention. As a result, the work we do - we charge a set rate for 'Accommodation & Subsistence' which is charged back to the client on chargeable work. We have two rates - one outside of M25 and one within, so with these rates in mind - we 99% cover our hotel, breakfast, lunch and evening meals - sometimes even making profit on them.
On the above basis, we now to set our 'Preferred' hotels with our travel supplier and wanted to know peoples feedback.
What does your company offer, in terms of hotel brands?
Employees - Would you prefer to put up in a Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn on a regular basis instead of Premier Inns etc?
Thoughts please, like I say - I am more keen on employee retention rather than profit on things like this. I do feel like we offer a very generous subsistence for the employees too!
Thanks
Just keen to gauge interest on this, from various point of views - employees and bosses.
We are in process of thinking out a proper Travel & Expenses policy, we have grown significantly so we need to have a policy in place for our employees to follow and as a company, I do think we give a lot back to the employee with lots of benefits and very keen on employee retention. As a result, the work we do - we charge a set rate for 'Accommodation & Subsistence' which is charged back to the client on chargeable work. We have two rates - one outside of M25 and one within, so with these rates in mind - we 99% cover our hotel, breakfast, lunch and evening meals - sometimes even making profit on them.
On the above basis, we now to set our 'Preferred' hotels with our travel supplier and wanted to know peoples feedback.
What does your company offer, in terms of hotel brands?
Employees - Would you prefer to put up in a Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn on a regular basis instead of Premier Inns etc?
Thoughts please, like I say - I am more keen on employee retention rather than profit on things like this. I do feel like we offer a very generous subsistence for the employees too!
Thanks
To me it all depends how long you are asking people to stay in hotels for. If it's 1 night in the week then all you want is somewhere clean, comfortable with a basic place to get a meal. If you are asking people to spend a week or more then you need to look at the facilities available which may take you more to the Hilton / Holiday Inn style of place over Travel lodge.
What they said. One night, I'm happy with a Travelodge as long as it's not at motorway services; more than that I tend to want something that has a reasonable gym and (if in the middle of nowhere) a decent restaurant so I won't have to eat the same thing four nights straight.
This leads to some Ibis, Hilton always good, Marriot also OK. Village hotels very nice but rarely in budget.
This leads to some Ibis, Hilton always good, Marriot also OK. Village hotels very nice but rarely in budget.
Our online travel system has pre-approved daily rates for hotels. For example London / SE is £160 per day which normally gets you at least a 4* place. Outside of London it's £120 per day. These limits can be exceeded but the line manager gets an exception report showing who has exceeded the limits.
Tbh if the working day ends up being 12 - 14 hours including travel time the least we can do is provide a decent hotel rather than forcing people into out of town Travelodges.
Tbh if the working day ends up being 12 - 14 hours including travel time the least we can do is provide a decent hotel rather than forcing people into out of town Travelodges.
GT03ROB said:
To me it all depends how long you are asking people to stay in hotels for. If it's 1 night in the week then all you want is somewhere clean, comfortable with a basic place to get a meal. If you are asking people to spend a week or more then you need to look at the facilities available which may take you more to the Hilton / Holiday Inn style of place over Travel lodge.
It could be 1 night or it could be 4, our work is very varied. I think most would be happy with a Premier Inn say for the 1 night, then moving onto something else after. I was thinking about a Premier Inn Business Account which seemed attractive.anothernameitist said:
We tend to go with nationwide brands, but at the rate of Premier Inns or Travel Lodge.
the Holiday inns and Hilton can some times be just as cost effective.
What about IBIS too?
Nice of an employer to think about retention
I have found the Marriott and Hilton just as effective. For instance, I was visiting some clients around Reading 3 weeks ago and I stayed the Hilton, Reading for £90 per night inclusive of breakfast and parking. I doubt a Premier Inn would be less than that. the Holiday inns and Hilton can some times be just as cost effective.
What about IBIS too?
Nice of an employer to think about retention
Thanks for the heads up regarding Ibis....I wasn't aware they were kind of up there??
We like to do our bit for employees, along with the various perks they receive including 'beer fridays'
Shirt587 said:
What they said. One night, I'm happy with a Travelodge as long as it's not at motorway services; more than that I tend to want something that has a reasonable gym and (if in the middle of nowhere) a decent restaurant so I won't have to eat the same thing four nights straight.
This leads to some Ibis, Hilton always good, Marriot also OK. Village hotels very nice but rarely in budget.
Yes, M-Way services I wouldn't let them stay in - too noisy etc!This leads to some Ibis, Hilton always good, Marriot also OK. Village hotels very nice but rarely in budget.
Countdown said:
Our online travel system has pre-approved daily rates for hotels. For example London / SE is £160 per day which normally gets you at least a 4* place. Outside of London it's £120 per day. These limits can be exceeded but the line manager gets an exception report showing who has exceeded the limits.
Tbh if the working day ends up being 12 - 14 hours including travel time the least we can do is provide a decent hotel rather than forcing people into out of town Travelodges.
Can I ask if those rates include or exclude VAT?Tbh if the working day ends up being 12 - 14 hours including travel time the least we can do is provide a decent hotel rather than forcing people into out of town Travelodges.
We have set our rates at £130 including VAT outside of London.
Snowdrop_ said:
Can I ask if those rates include or exclude VAT?
We have set our rates at £130 including VAT outside of London.
They include VAT and (usually) breakfast as well. Our travel provider is Redfern. they negotiate room rates with hotel providers and, when our employees go on the booking system, they enter a postcode and it brings up all the hotels that are happy to provide rooms within the £160/day allowance.We have set our rates at £130 including VAT outside of London.
Countdown said:
They include VAT and (usually) breakfast as well. Our travel provider is Redfern. they negotiate room rates with hotel providers and, when our employees go on the booking system, they enter a postcode and it brings up all the hotels that are happy to provide rooms within the £160/day allowance.
Thanks for that, very helpful!We have gone with FCM so same kind of idea as Redfern. Do you find car parking is included?
surveyor said:
Is choosing a single brand/supplier not really restrictive? Certainly seem's it to me - I use hotels a lot, and I certainly would not be able to do this without adding a lot of inconvenience.
The thing I want most of all is to be staying near where I should be....
Sorry, not sure I understand..?The thing I want most of all is to be staying near where I should be....
Snowdrop_ said:
Thanks for that, very helpful!
We have gone with FCM so same kind of idea as Redfern. Do you find car parking is included?
Our staff don't take their cars down to London. It's always cheaper on the train/tube. Parking outside London, if it's extra they claim it via expenses.We have gone with FCM so same kind of idea as Redfern. Do you find car parking is included?
Happy Jim said:
As in, set a £Value threshold and let the people decide which brand they want to stay in - if you constrain it to 3 or 4 brands you will probably inconvenience someone somewhere, if it's an amount then it's much more flexible (speaking as an end user)
Jim
What we are trying to achieve is, you can stay in Hotel Brand 1, 2, 3 and 4 but if these are not available - here at 5, 6, 7 kinda thing where this will be Premier Inns, Travelodge and HI Express. We want employees to stay in the better brand hotels, whilst enjoying the points from these hotels so they can in turn go out and use these points for pleasure purposes.Jim
Like I stayed in a Marriott a month ago for a week, I got enough points for 1 nights stay already.
Snowdrop_ said:
surveyor said:
Is choosing a single brand/supplier not really restrictive? Certainly seem's it to me - I use hotels a lot, and I certainly would not be able to do this without adding a lot of inconvenience.
The thing I want most of all is to be staying near where I should be....
Sorry, not sure I understand..?The thing I want most of all is to be staying near where I should be....
I would have thought a budget to keep to rather than restricting options would be more helpful....
surveyor said:
What if there is not a Holiday Inn / Premier Inn or whatever near where your staff want to be. Do they have to go further just to go with your 'supplier'.
I would have thought a budget to keep to rather than restricting options would be more helpful....
What we are trying to achieve is, you can stay in Hotel Brand 1, 2, 3 and 4 but if these are not available - here at 5, 6, 7 kinda thing where this will be Premier Inns, Travelodge and HI Express. We want employees to stay in the better brand hotels, whilst enjoying the points from these hotels so they can in turn go out and use these points for pleasure purposes.I would have thought a budget to keep to rather than restricting options would be more helpful....
Like I stayed in a Marriott a month ago for a week, I got enough points for 1 nights stay already.
Taken from above, understand what you are saying and suppose something to consider!
I do a lot of travelling for work and our hotel budget is £75 outside London and £125 within M25 which doesn't get you much. I always request a Holiday Inn or another brand within the IHG group. I signed up to the IHG reward scheme a few years ago and end up with about 10 free nights away each year through it. This goes some way to making up for so many nights away from home, as I can take the wife away for free (especially as I have a fuel card as well)
jpringle819 said:
I do a lot of travelling for work and our hotel budget is £75 outside London and £125 within M25 which doesn't get you much. I always request a Holiday Inn or another brand within the IHG group. I signed up to the IHG reward scheme a few years ago and end up with about 10 free nights away each year through it. This goes some way to making up for so many nights away from home, as I can take the wife away for free (especially as I have a fuel card as well)
Yeah that budget is rather low, I bet you struggle with the £75 aswell?Snowdrop_ said:
Yeah that budget is rather low, I bet you struggle with the £75 aswell?
It is sometimes a struggle but I rarely have to stay anywhere but an IHG hotel. They seem to have a way for the business to earn points as well https://www.businessadvantage.ihg.com/Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff