Managing ancillary fees
Ancillary fees, charges, or services refer to the "extra" things a person might need when taking a trip. This could be extra legroom on a flight, a hotel car park, or an additional driver for the hire car. These extras are additional revenue streams that travel suppliers charge for non-essential products and services, and have likely been showing up more and more in your corporate travel expenses.
According to FCM Consulting's recent trends report, spending on these extras has increased by over 33% in the past few years. Global Business Travel Association further reports that these fees now make up around 8% of total business travel expenses. For corporate travel budgets, that's a considerable chunk.
Staying on top of corporate travel ancillary charges can help avoid extra fees, improve visibility and policy compliance, create stronger relationships with suppliers, and sweeten the experience for travellers.
Airlines
The OG in the world of ancillaries. Airline ancillaries have been around forever but ramped up when low-cost airlines entered the market. Remember when Jetstar launched in Australia? Offering low-cost fare options, or when Virgin Australia removed free meals and baggage as a standard offering and added the 'lite fare' to their ticketing options? These moves normalised the idea that seat + extras = boarding pass.
Nowadays, it's not just budget airlines, though. Most airlines offer chargeable add-ons. These often present during the booking process, check-in, at the airport, and through direct communications. Some even sneak them in where you least expect it. Ryanair, infamously, charges their travellers to check-in at the airport and for infant equipment, and if you need your boarding pass re-printed? Yep, that costs too.
In some regions, airline ancillary revenue made up 30-50% of an airline's total revenue in 2023. IATA reports that ancillary revenue is forecast to reach record levels of USD 145 billion in 2025. Shooting above pre-pandemic levels for the first time, marking an impressive 10% growth in 2019.
Typical airline ancillaries include:
- Seat selection, extra legroom, and upfront spots
- Inflight meals and drinks
- Ticket changes and flex fare options
- Upgraded seats through bidding
- Priority boarding and express check-in
- Checked baggage, oversized, overweight, and sometimes carry-on bags
- Inflight Wi-Fi, entertainment, and headphones
- Comfort kits and amenities packs
- Kid’s entertainment kits and souvenirs
- Lounge or shower room access
- Fast-track through security
- Airport check-in fees and boarding card re-issue
- Infants, child equipment, and unaccompanied minors
- Flight and name changes
Pre-planning and bundling
When booking flights, travellers and bookers could avoid piecemeal chargers by considering ticketing options that already include extras. Things like seat selection, extra legroom, checked baggage, meals, and even cancellation or change options if flexibility is required.
If your travel policy allows, business class or premium economy might be more justified. These classes already include many of the above extras, plus additional comforts that can make a big difference to your traveller's journey.
Maximise loyalty programmes
Many, if not all, airlines reward frequent travellers and businesses with points for usage. These points can often lead to cabin upgrades, additional baggage allowances, lounge access, and free flights. Delivering long-term savings for companies with corporate travel programmes.
This value doesn’t stop with one airline. Countless airlines operate within industry alliances - oneworld, Star Alliance, or SkyTeam, or have direct partnerships. These alliances allow travellers to earn and redeem points across multiple carriers, routes, and other travel related products and services. Corporate programmes like Virgin Australia Business Flyer or British Airways On Business add another layer of value. Allowing businesses to earn their own rewards pool on top of what individual travellers earn.
Negotiate smarter
Businesses with high-volume travel should negotiate more than just base fares. You can build bespoke ancillary contracts by working directly with airlines or alliances. These will fetch you better rates and include ancillaries to match how your people fly. Just be sure to keep an eye on those traveller patterns, though. Preferences shift. A strong reporting suite will help you keep tabs on new and old travel trends to stay ahead of negotiations. Beyond budget wins, corporate airline contracts can bring stronger supplier relationships, improved policy compliance, and reduced friction during booking and travelling.
You won't be the first to ask for ancillary inclusions. In recent years, travel managers have been demanding more from airlines: more comfort, sustainability, and flexibility to justify airline's premium price tags. Negotiations are getting tougher, but the value remains, especially if you know how to ask for it and come prepared with the data to back it up.
Accommodation
Hotel ancillaries have also jumped on board, with hotel chains and brands reaping the rewards of additional items and services outside its core product (a room to sleep and shower in).
- Car parking, valet parking and bike rentals
- Private car hire through the hotel and transfers
- In-room luxuries, champagne, treats, and movies
- Take-home merchandise, shampoo, conditioner, robes, slippers
- Reward programme memberships
- Late check-outs and early check-ins
- Co-working spaces & day passes
- Hotel Wi-fi and streaming services
- Room service
- Spa and fitness centre services
- Minibar consumption, restocking, and removal
- Room upgrades
- Pillow menus
- Personal shopping concierge
- Cleaning fees (we're looking at you, Airbnb)
Pre-negotiate amenities
For frequent hotel stays, companies can negotiate discounted all-inclusive rates that include Wi-Fi, parking, or breakfast. These packages help reduce individual charges and create a VIP experience for your travellers.
FCM Consulting negotiated inclusive hotel amenities for a client, avoiding common add-on fees and unlocking AU$130k in savings. The team also secured six new chain agreements with best available rate (BAR) discounts of 10–15%, delivering $275k in forecasted savings.
Loyalty programmes
Encourage employees to sign up for hotel loyalty programmes. Frequent guests who gather enough points can redeem them for future stays or services to avoid ancillary fees altogether.
Monitor add-ons
It's not just the room rate. Expense reports often reveal unexpected charges—meals, minibar, parking, laundry, hotel dining, room service, etc. Leveraging reporting tools or an integrated booking tool can uncover sneaky costs and help you refine your travel policy or supplier contracts.
Limit unnecessary extras
Discourage the purchase of luxury in-room extras and take-home items (robes, slippers), minibar use, or celebratory add-ons (flowers, champagne) unless business trip critical.
Opt for business-friendly options
Hotels, Airbnb, and self-contained apartments can cater to corporate travellers differently and their preferences. Some offer business centre access so travellers can catch up on emails outside of the four walls of their room, and others provide in-room facilities like a kitchen, which can help curb dining costs
Ground transport
Gone are the days when the car itself was deemed an ancillary service. Car hire companies now offer multiple extras, all at a cost of course. Today’s ancillary list includes:
- Different levels of car insurance cover
- Window screen and tyre coverage
- Roadside assistance
- Kilometre limits
- Child car seats, GPS navigation system, mobile phone holders
- After-hours collection and drop-off
- Additional drivers
- Refuelling
- Late return fees
- Toll processing, fines, and late fees
Pre-purchase insurance
Car rental insurance can be one of the priciest add-ons. Instead of opting for the rental company's coverage, double-check that the business coverage covers this sort of activity, and if yes, make that information easily accessible.
Negotiate car hire extras
Car rental insurance can be one of the priciest add-ons. Instead of opting for the rental company's coverage, double-check that the business coverage covers this sort of activity, and if yes, make that information easily accessible.
FCM Consulting helped one client review their car hire usage, bundle standard insurances, and extra driver fees, resulting in fewer expense disputes and a measurable drop in post-trip add-ons.
Educate to avoid unnecessary costs
As a travel manager, you don't need to police every journey, but a few nudges go a long way. Remind travellers to top up the tank to avoid inflated fuel fees. Pay attention to travel distances. If your travellers often take long trips, encourage car bookings with unlimited k's upfront. And enable travellers to link their rental cars to company toll accounts before hitting the road.
Ancillary fees may seem like small fry, but they can become a major cost factor or a clever saving opportunity across a high-volume travel programme.
FCM Consulting Managing Director APAC Felicity Burke said,
It’s important to understand what’s included, especially in airline fares. A traditional fare may appear more expensive than an unbundled fare, but in reality, a traveller is getting more included in their traditional fare.
By the time a traveller adds their seat selection, luggage, and the extras needed on an unbundled fare, it could work out to be more expensive than the traditional fare. That’s where a travel manager’s knowledge comes into play, to help get the best value for what is needed.
Sometimes, they’re obvious; other times, they’re buried in the fine print. And we see new ancillary fees hitting the market often. By keeping a close eye on traveller trends, empowering travellers with the right tools and information, and negotiating with purpose, travel managers can turn ‘extras’ into value-adds that improve compliance and traveller comfort and convenience.
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