Grounding Flights of Fancy

>>Bank executive Harlan Parrish had no problem chartering planes for quick business trips to Tampa a few years ago. The costly way of commuting got him there faster than the two-hour-plus drive from Naples and let him avoid an overnight stay.

Time was money then. Now it’s the other way around.

Parrish, president and CEO of Colonial Bank’s Southwest Florida region, and other business people are saving money on pricey flights and other costs by spending more time in cars and at airports.

Parrish estimates that the bank locally has cut travel and entertainment expenses by 40 percent in the past couple of years. That’s resulted from efforts such as flying to Atlanta and driving two hours to the corporate office in Montgomery, Ala., for half the cost; in the past, it wasn’t unusual to drop $800 to $900 for a round-trip ticket.

"It takes a little longer," says Parrish, who uses driving time during trips to Tampa, for instance, for returning phone calls. "The amount of money we’re saving is well worth doing that."

For many companies, freewheeling in first class and jetting off on spur-of-the-moment trips are out. As more cut travel budgets, they’re looking for ways to conduct long-distance business as cheaply as possible. Some are turning to video, Web conferencing and other online alternatives. Rather than getting in a car or a plane and traveling to a clients’ site, Neighborhood America uses tools such as Skype for meetings and interviews with job candidates, says Lori Burke, director of human resources for the Naples-based company.

When traveling is a must, companies such as Chico’s FAS are visiting with multiple clients on one trip or sending fewer people to industry conferences.

Cutting travel expenses is one element of the Fort Myers-based retailer’s $50 million cost-saving initiative.