by Teri Chadbourne, Senior Meeting Planner
1. Save on your flights
Getting a travel budget approved can be the hardest part of getting your boss’s approval to attend any training event. Before you do the math and make your case to management, scout out some travel savings. For all of SAPinsider’s conferences in Las Vegas and Orlando this Spring, attendees qualify for savings of up to 10% off published domestic fares on United Airlines. Call the United Airlines Meeting Desk at 1-800-521-4041 and refer to File # 582PV to seal the deal. Yes, telephones are old fashioned, but this discount is sadly not available online. To get the best bang for your buck, try a travel search engine first on that newfangled internet (think Expedia or Orbitz) to see all your options at a glance. If United is a good choice based on your starting point, call to book at an even better fare. And don’t forget to call out the savings when you hand your boss that expense report!
(Already booked your flights? Stay tuned for a future blog post on how to slash your airfare even after you’ve bought your ticket. Even if your boss is already on board with your travel plans, your diligence in hunting down bargains will earn you major brownie points!)
2. Take a rental car to a local attraction for some team bonding
Taking your whole team to an SAPinsider event? Why not take advantage of the new locale for a team bonding opportunity? All of our conference hotels have great restaurant and entertainment options right on property, but don’t forget to scope out the rest of the city for potential plans for you and your colleagues. Local Convention and Visitors Bureaus are a great one-stop resource to search for restaurants, activities, shows and concerts in Las Vegas and Orlando, and they sometimes offer discounted tickets to attractions. The “Dates and Venue” page on each of our event websites will list any discounts available exclusively to our attendees, such as discounted Disney theme park tickets for our Orlando events. If you need wheels to get to your destination, steal a deal from SAPinsider and Avis. Our attendees can receive discounts from Avis Car Rental by calling 1-800-331-1600 and mentioning AWD # T706699. Team bonding on a budget is sure to please the boss!
3. Bring back hundreds of tips and best practices from industry experts
Let’s face it. Your boss is all about the bottom line, and the more you do to help your company reduce costs and build revenue, the quicker you climb that career ladder. SAPinsider conferences are built to teach you how to make the most of your company’s SAP investment, and the tips and tricks you bring home from each event add efficiency to your workplace. Learning opportunities are all around you at each conference: get the inside scoop from an SAP exec at the keynote address, attend a case study session presented by a customer facing the same challenges you do, sit down for a one-on-one chat with our most popular speakers at Ask-the-Experts, look to the vendors in the Solutions Showcase for help with your next big roll-out, or stick an industry ribbon on your badge and use it to find fellow attendees in your field at lunch. However you choose to take in those tips, make sure your boss sees you applying them when you’re back in the office. There’s no better cost justification for next year’s event than a job well done.
