Cvent

Though air travel is what most often comes to mind when thinking of transportation expenses, it certainly isn't the only area of spend for meetings and events. Ground transportation take a major chunk of your budget if not planned well.

Here are some tips for minimizing ground transportation costs:

• Choose locations wisely. Ground transportation to and from an airport is a common necessity in most cities, as airports in walking distance of downtown are few and far between. But once you're in the city, it's much easier to pick and choose your venues so that transportation is not needed.

Select among hotels, unique venues and convention or conference centers that are within walking distance of one another—about a five-block radius. Not only will you save on transportation costs, but you'll be cutting back on your carbon footprint. Just make sure to let you event attendees know ahead of time whether or not shuttle service will be offered, and always be sure to carefully consider the demographics of your attendees before eliminating the option.

• Make reservations ahead of time. As with every other aspect of your event, booking as far in advance as possible will get you much better rates than waiting until the last minute. If your event is being held during a peak time when demand for group transportation is high, it's even more critical that you get ahead of the game.

• Be specific. Include as many details as possible in your transportation RFP, including the city, event dates, number of attendees, venues included, additional services such as meet-and-greets and valet, etc.

Not only does including all the specifics help you leverage better rates, it also ensures that the quote you receive covers everything you need. Fail to mention the specifics and you'll likely be let down when you receive rates that don't include what you need.