For the longest time, travel has played a major role in the professional world. Whether we are talking about business trips abroad, employees visiting client offices, or workers commuting to the office via car and public transit, individuals have always been on the move.
With such movement, however, comes many travel expenses for both companies and their employees. From airfare, to hotels, to transit passes, to gas, and to vehicle maintenance, going anywhere for work costs money. Now, just think about how many of these expenses could be shrunk down if people could stay home more often and participate in virtual meetings.
According to recent findings by Globe Newswire, 47% of video call users have seen their travel costs reduced. That’s a huge number, and one that could increase as more and more companies put their trust into online meeting platforms.
Here’s a closer look at how virtual meetings can cut down travel expenses:
Business Conferences and Trade Shows are Now Online
Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, industries around the world had to find new ways to conduct business – especially as it related to business conferences and trade shows.
Now, video meeting service providers like Banty are offering virtual event services that take away the need of booking a sizeable conference centre, and having industry mates fly in from all over the world to attend.
Virtual events are highly customizable affairs tailored to an event’s specific needs. They give participants a truly interactive experience, without having to incur giant travel costs.
Reduce Office-to-Office Travel
In business, relationships are everything. As such, it does pay to have plenty of face-to-face interactions with your most loyal clients and associates.
That said, once you have become comfortable with a specific video chat app, you will be far more inclined to meet with these individuals online. In this type of venue you will still be able to talk shop in a convenient 1:1 manner, as well as deliver presentations when necessary to do so.
Say “buh-bye” to Commuting Costs
When some employees negotiate their salary, oftentimes the estimated cost of their commute to the office is factored into the equation. However, if your company embraces virtual meeting technology, it is possible to offer an employee more of a remote work scenario.
This arrangement will automatically reduce travel expenses for the employee, and subsequently save the company money in the long run. Better yet, you could see your team’s performance improve thanks to less travel-related burnout.
Less Travel = Less Per Diems
In addition to airfare, hotel, and car rental costs, business travel also comes with pricy per diems given to employees to cover general expenses like meals, supplies, and taxis. As employees travel all over the world to various business events, per diem costs add up.
By instituting more of a live video chat online way of doing business, you can minimize how often staff need to travel to events, thus shrinking down instances in which per diems must be doled out. Nowadays, many 1:1 and group business gatherings are conducted online at a fraction of the cost to attend.
The Convenience is Attractive
Not everyone loves business travel. Airports bring with them very stressful experiences, while sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic five days a week can be soul-crushing.
As soon as your staff sees how positive and convenient an online team meeting can be, it will quickly get onboard with virtual meeting technology. Once this happens, staff will focus more on which gatherings need to be done in person, and which can be completed in a video call setting. From there, travel costs will noticeably ease up over time.
Banty is one of the best virtual meeting platforms for Business and Personal use.
Tap here to learn more about our services, as well as the 14-day free trial available to all new customers.
