FREQUENT BUSINESS travellers are well aware that glamorous high-flying is not always all it is cracked up to be. They end up paying in time and energy, and according to a Visa pan-European survey released last month, they also pay in hard cash.
Only an average 57 per cent of expenses incurred while travelling on business was refunded by companies, the survey found.
Accommodation and transport do not present a problem, but it is the ancillary items such as personal phone calls and laundry bills which are often refused.
The lesson is to count the costs along the way. Find out what your company covers and stick within the limits.
It is a treat to have your suit pressed or shoes polished by gracious hotel staff, but laundry rates are exorbitant at most hotels. Telephone calls are another money-spinner.
The Marriott hotel in Hong Kong, for example, charges HK$5 for each local call and adds a HK$60 surcharge to each international call. Some establishments push the rates a great deal higher.
