The Cost of Time: Is Travel a Waste?

This article was sponsored by RollCall Business Conferencing Solutions, a proud supporter of OfficeArrow. You can also visit RollCall's community here on OfficeArrow.

We've all heard the saying, "Time is money." When it comes to business, this is certainly true. After all, when you consider what some executives get paid, you realize that every minute of their time is actually incredibly expensive. It boggles my mind that so many executives continue to travel as much as they do, especially when today's technology connects people at lightning fast speeds for a fraction of the price.

Now, I understand that there are times when a face-to-face meeting simply cannot be avoided. But, even so, let's evaluate the real cost of a face-to-face meeting that requires an executive to hop a flight from San Francisco, CA to Atlanta, GA.

Roundtrip airfare: $452

1 night hotel: $143

2 day rental car: $69

Food expense: $150

Now, in all honesty, this is a conservative estimate. But it still gives you a pretty good idea of what we're working with. So, you think this trip is going to cost a total of $814? Think again. We haven't factored in the time.

Assuming the executive leaves for the airport around 7 am in the morning, and assuming he returns home the next day around 5 pm in the evening, this trip has taken 34 hours of his time. Let's say he makes $250,000 per year (a fair estimate). In a standard 40 hour work week, he is making about $130 per hour. This trip cost him 34 hours, which is equal to $4,420.

Ok, so this isn't perfect math. Of course, during this 34 hour trip, the executive took time to sleep and eat and get from one place to another. In all actuality, he probably did very little work. The meeting probably didn't last more than a few hours. But he certainly lost a full two days of work - that's 16 hours of productivity lost at $130 apiece. Perhaps a more realistic estimate of the cost of his time would be $2080. So we need to add that to the cost above.

We're now looking at $814 + $2080. That's a total cost of $2894 for this meeting that probably lasted a couple of hours. Was it worth it? Maybe.

As we've mentioned so many times here on OfficeArrow, teleconferencing is an excellent alternative to travel. While we typically evaluate the physical costs associated with travel (hotel, airfare, lodging, etc.) we often forget the largest expense - the cost of lost productivity. A teleconference would have cost a considerable amount less in both physical expense and time.

Ultimately, executives will always have to travel for meetings. But let's not kid ourselves. It costs a heck of a lot more than what shows up on the credit card bill. Next time you (or your boss) is considering business travel, be sure to consider the cost of time and weigh the importance of a face-to-face meeting. For more assistance deciding what kind of meeting is appropriate, check out our article on the topic: Decision Time: Face-to-Face Meeting, Web or Teleconference?

For more information on teleconferencing services, contact the friendly, knowledgeable folks at RollCall Business Conferencing.