According to a recent study by the Global Business Travel Association Foundation (the educational branch of the GBTA), the most troublesome expenses for Travel Managers are additional charges, the so-called ancillary fees.
They are less (or not at all) predictable, can't be paid in advance and are difficult to track individually. Using these criteria as a measure, the GBTA Foundation has drawn up a list of the ten most common and problematic ancillary fees. These would be:
- Airline fees for soft drinks.
- Airline fees for headset use.
- Airline fees for movies and videos.
- Airline fees for food.
- Car rental fees for toll passage.
- Hotel-related fees for internet use.
- Hotel-related fees for parking.
- Car rental fees for late returns.
- Car rental fees for drop-off of a one-way rental.
- Car rental fees for fuel charge.
As you can see, there are a lot of ancillary fees on the list related to the world of transport. The thing is that ancillary fees have become crucial in the financing of many airlines and car rental firms. In the case of airlines, this increase has been calculated at around 66% in the last two years.
Ancillary fees are a constant headache for Travel Managers, who often have to "dig around" to find the information they need. The details of these fees are not usually specified on invoices and reports after the trip but are added to other information. In fact, according to another study by the same Foundation, only 21% of Travel Mangers correctly manage ancillary fees and do so basing this on internal reimbursement figures, corporate credit cards or business travel agencies.
If you're interested in accessing the full report by the Global Business Travel Association Foundation, click here.
And, in your particular case, what are the ancillary fees that bother you the most?
