The cost of oil has skyrocketed over the last 12 months. It’s hard to watch a newscast or pick up a newspaper without hearing or reading about the surge in oil prices. The increase in oil and energy prices has had an impact on nearly every business. Nobody has been hit harder than the travel industry.

As the cost of oil continues to rise so does the cost of airline tickets, cab fares and other travel related expenses. Widespread increases in travel expenditures have hit small businesses particularly hard.

Meeting with prospective clients, existing customers, and remote employees is essential – and often expensive. Here’s a quick look at 2008 travel expenses.

Flight:

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics the average cost of a domestic flight is $332. This is the highest average fare recorded in the 15 years the agency has been tracking this statistic.

Taxi:

Cab fares vary widely by city and distance. For the sake of simplicity let’s pretend you’re catching a cab from JFK in New York to Midtown Manhattan. Taxi Fare Finder says this ride will cost about $53 – this doesn’t include a tip. You’ll need a ride back to the airport, so we’ll need to double that figure to $106.

Hotel:

You just traveled from LA to NYC (5 hour flight) so you’re going to have to stay the night – even if you only have one meeting planned. A decent hotel in Midtown is going to cost you at least $350/night.

Food:

I’ve been to New York twice and spent about $100/day on food. Unless you plan on eating out of a vending machine you can say goodbye to another c-note.

Let’s add it up

Airfare = $332
Hotel = $350
Taxi = $106
Food = $100

Total travel costs = $888 (conservative)

$888 for a one day trip! Your costs could easily double if you stayed a few more days. None of these estimates included taxes, gratuities, or other incidentals.

Save Thousands of Dollars a Year with Web Conferencing

Having high touch meetings with clients, customers, and employees is an important part of running a business. Sometimes you need more than e-mail, phone and chat to close a deal, but that doesn’t mean you have to pack your bags and hop on a plane.

Today’s web conferencing applications allow you to have personalized meetings with people all over the world. You’ll not only save thousands a year in travel, but you’ll also save precious time.

For example, I use WebEx MeetMeNow to connect with clients, vendors, and remote workers all over the world. MeetMeNow has built-in desktop sharing, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing. The application is so seamless I often feel like we’re all in the same room when we have a web meeting.

I pay $39/mo for unlimited meetings that can host up to 15 people at a time. I can connect with people on the opposite side of the globe with nothing more than a laptop and Internet connection. I don’t even need a phone, I can just plug a headset into my laptop and use the built-in VOIP to teleconference.

I’m based in Salt Lake City, Utah and work with client all over the United States and manage remote workers in the Philippines. As much as I like to travel I don’t have the time or the money to jetset across the country every time I acquire a new client or hire a new developer in Asia.

Take a minute to write down your travel expenses from the last year. Does it exceed $39/mo? If so, you should strongly consider test driving a web conferencing application like MeetMeNow. You’ll quickly find that you can have effective meetings without draining your bank account and getting jet lag.

Do you want to learn more about web conferencing applications? Read our reviews and check out our product comparison chart.