Handy hints on how to book academic travel and save!

Booking university travel can be complex and costly. There are, however, many simple and smart ways you can help reduce costs on every booking. Campus Travel offers you these handy tips to help keep your travel spend down and make the booking process easier!

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Purchase in advance

• Booking your flights up to 30 days (or more) prior to departure date is the easiest way to save money on your airfares. Don't forget to make yourself fully aware of terms and conditions for all airline bookings! As cheaper flights can also translate to greater restrictions.
• Being flexible on travel can make a major difference to your fares. Arriving a day earlier or later, or taking a less direct route (if you don't mind any layovers or longer flight times) can save you money.
• Also remember to book transfers, hotels, car hire and rail tickets before departure, which can often be more time and cost effective, and less hassle for the traveller. No one wants to be buying tickets and checking schedules when they are in the middle of a conference or on a post-conference break!

Tap into our technology

• Campus Travel's online booking tool (OBT) automatically displays the best available fare of the day and allows you to make instant bookings. This includes domestic flights, as well as prepaid, government and other corporate rates for hotels and car hire. Our powerful OBT also preloads your exclusive discounted rates and makes them immediately available to you.
• You can book all elements of a trip in one transaction. This not only saves you a bundle of time by not having to trawl through various websites, but can also lower your service fees!
• You can make booking changes if you need to, and often avoid hefty penalties.

Check our academic rates

• Campus Travel negotiates special academic rates with many hotel and car hire suppliers. These rates and fares are available to you via our OBT. When booking with us, you have exclusive access to these rates, which can save you up to 30% on standard rates.

Use quickbeds for last-minute hotel bookings

• Through our proprietary technology, we now offer you online access to last-minute discounted hotel rates on http://www.quickbeds.com, which cannot be matched by any other accommodation booking website. Quickbeds is a great option if you are booking at the last minute and you're certain your booking won't change.

Rely on your Campus team to negotiate rates

• If your booking volume is high, your account manager may be able to negotiate lower rates with preferred suppliers. Your travel manager can also negotiate special group rates at hotels if you are booking groups of nine or more rooms.

Use our expert destination knowledge

• Campus Travel can save you substantial time, effort and money in booking the best flights, accommodation and car hire for a specific destination, based on our in-depth knowledge. Our people have travelled extensively themselves, so we have ample first-hand experience and useful tips to help guide you through your travels.

Put your trust in our Value Pledge

• Campus Travel guarantees to beat any rate, provided the same product is available at the time of booking. Our Value Pledge applies to all international flights, accommodation, car hire and travel insurance, giving you complete assurance that your rates with us are always the lowest!

Book your whole itinerary in one go

• By doing this you can often take advantage of bundled booking fees and save time sourcing from different channels.

Use your credits on hold

• Don't forget to use your credits on hold. Campus Travel can provide regular reporting and advise on any flight credits you may have on hold.

Stick to the deadlines

• Most bookings come with terms and conditions. It is strongly recommended that you adhere to these, to keep costs in check. If you miss a deadline we may not be able to secure your same seats, fare or conditions. Be flexible with your suppliers
• Be prepared to use a few different suppliers rather than just one, who may not always be able to offer the best or cheapest rate. Remember that frequent flyer alliances can often provide you with other airline options at cheaper rates, while still giving you frequent flyer points and status.
• Campus Travel can book a wide range of airlines and other suppliers. Other travel websites often restrict the number of airlines and hotels etc they display, if they have preferred partnerships with selected suppliers. So if you're booking via such websites, you will not be able to view the full range of fares and rates available to you.

Check our website for great deals

• Campustravel.com.au features special travel offers available exclusively to you, so make sure you check it regularly for the latest savings!

If you would like further advice on any of these tips, contact your local Campus Travel team now or phone 1300 882 021 – we're here to help you!