Travel Budget Worksheet

Are you planning a major trip? Will you be able to stay within your budget? Rather than just spending without a plan and then dealing with the debt for the next few years, use our travel budget template to list your travel expenses. It will help you estimate your total travel costs and see if you will be able to take your trip without going over budget.

Travel Budget Worksheet | Travel Cost Estimator

License : Private Use (not for distribution or resale)

Authors: Jon Wittwer and Jim Wittwer

Description

This travel budget template makes it easy to enter your travel expenses for your next trip. The top section allows you to set a total budget, and as you enter your travel costs you can quickly see where the money is going, how much extra you'll have, or how much you'll need to add to your budget.

The worksheet is set up to let you enter a quantity and unit cost for each item. For example, for lodging you can enter the number of nights you will be staying and the cost per night. If you will be driving rather than flying, you can enter the total miles and the cost per mile. Remember to include both fuel and wear as part of the cost (see the link below for what the IRS uses as the standard mileage rate - $0.56/mile in 2014).

Additional Resources

  • Be sure to check out our Travel Itinerary and Packing List templates.
  • IRS Publication showing Standard Mileage Rates at irs.gov - You might consider using the standard mileage rate if you are estimating the cost of driving.
  • Tips for Creating a Budget for Travel at wikihow.com - This article is actually a really good resource to help you remember what to consider when budgeting for a trip.

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How to Make a Travel Budget in 2023 [Free Template]

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How to Make a Travel Budget in 2023 [Free Template]

Can You Afford to Travel?

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Creating a travel budget isn’t all about boring spreadsheets and searching for low budget bargains — a finely-crafted budget it is designed to maximize your total travel experience.

Let’s start out easy here. You may have dreams of globetrotting and living your best life in distant lands, but can you actually afford it?

The amount you have to spend on your trip will need to be proportionate to the place you are visiting. By that, we mean that some destinations can be done on the cheap, while others will be a bit more of an investment.

Where you want to stay, what you intend to do when you get there, and physically how far away you will be from home can all have a considerable bearing on how deep your pockets will need to be.

Before you book yourself silly, really break down the potential costs of your dream trip and tally it up with the amount of money you will realistically have to fund it.

Bottom Line: Sometimes, it may be better to put your plans on hold until you have saved up enough cash to really experience a place, rather than rushing to get there and missing out on some of the best bits.

Whether you are a plan-well-in-advance sort of traveler or more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person, there are different ways to approach setting out your budget based on what works best for you.

Plan Your Adventure Well in Advance

The most traditional way to book a vacation is to think of somewhere you want to go, plan your vacation dates, and decide how long you want to stay. This kind of advanced planning is the usual go-to for most travelers, as it allows you to book time off of work or plan trips around school semesters, and gives you the opportunity to firm up plans before you leave.

Knowing when and where you are going also has another key advantage — it gives you plenty of time to save up all the cash you will need to really enjoy your time there. Booking in advance also means you get your choice of cheaper accommodation at better rates.

Book months in advance and you can research your planned itinerary and potential expenditure, and maybe even save enough extra for upgrades of luxuries to make your adventure truly special. This kind of planning is a great incentive for saving hard.

Travel Based on Your Bank Balance

If, on the other hand, you want to take your cash and get the hell out of dodge, you can work backward to identify the most amount of fun you can have for your money. If you are feeling lucky, and you know how much you are willing to spend, the world really is your oyster.

The awesome power of the internet has made impulse traveling even easier, as you can simply hit up any number of booking sites to find an exciting destination, as well as suitable flights, accommodation, and excursions in just a few clicks.

Another great way to make your budget go further is to think outside the box. Visiting popular destinations out of season, taking shorter vacation times, or even looking at places away from the main tourist trail can all make your money go further.

A trip to the legendary Yosemite National Park during April or May, for example, is a great way to experience some of the most iconic open spaces in America before the schools let out, or hit the beaches of Miami or the Florida Keys during September and October when tourists shy away from the increased risk of stormy weather.

You can also look at alternatives to the more traditional resort destinations to get more bang for your buck. Consider a trip to Reno instead of Las Vegas, hit the slopes in Winter Park instead of the sky-high prices in Vail, or take in the history of Williamsburg and avoid the price tags of New York or Los Angeles on your next city break.

Globe on Desk with Travel Money

To help you plan and keep track of your travel budget we have created a free, handy Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

📋  Click to Download Our Travel Budget Template >  📋

Travel Budget Considerations

When planning your travel budget, there are lots of different things to consider. Break down your budget into subsections to make it easier to plan and stick to:

One of the most essential elements of your travel plan will revolve around the legal and local requirements for travel to and from your destination. You must research any visa requirements and restrictions before you fly, and be sure to have all the documentation you need before you leave.

Most countries will have their own individual and very specific entry requirements, and there may be restrictions on how much local currency you can bring with you, as well as how long you can stay.

As a very rough guide, some examples of the requirements for U.S. citizens could include:

  • Travel to Europe — If you are traveling to or through any of the main 26 European countries, you must know the requirements of the Schengen Agreement, which eliminates borders and assumes that travelers will be able to enjoy up to 3-months of visa-free travel. This will change in January 2021 with the introduction of the ETIAS .
  • Travel to Australia — You must have a valid U.S. passport and an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to enjoy up to 90 days of travel in Australia.
  • Travel to Central America — You will not need a visa to visit most Central American countries, but you may need a tourist card for some destinations (~$10) to allow stays of up to 90 days visa-free.
  • Travel To South Africa — You must have a valid U.S. passport, but do not need a visa for stays of 30 days or less.

Check out our guide to tourist visa information on over 100 countries.

There are many great reasons why you should always buy travel insurance coverage for your trips overseas, and only 1 reason not to. Trust us. If the worst should happen while you are away, you will wish you hadn’t tried to save money by skipping on the insurance, so make sure you always make space for travel insurance in your travel budget .

The best travel insurance policy does not necessarily have to be the most expensive one you find, but it probably won’t be the cheapest either. With this in mind, shop around and speak to a variety of providers before committing to any 1 product.

There will be different levels of coverage available to suit the requirements of every type of traveler, from lone backpackers to family vacations, but at the very least you should try to include:

  • Emergency medical expenses
  • Repatriation expenses
  • Cancellation or curtailment coverage
  • Lost baggage coverage
  • Travel delay/missed departure coverage
  • Journey disruption coverage
  • Personal liability coverage
  • Legal expenses coverage
  • Electronics loss/theft and damage coverage

Depending on where you go, what you’ll be doing, and the nature of your trip, you may want to also consider dedicated financial protection that could include specific coverage for:

  • Winter sports coverage
  • Terrorism disruption coverage
  • Cruise coverage
  • Business coverage
  • Sports equipment coverage

It is important to remember that the domestic health insurance that you use at home will not necessarily cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas . Don’t leave it to chance — invest wisely in your travel insurance and never skimp on the coverage just to save yourself a few bucks before you go.

You should also look into insurance coverage for your prized electrical items and personal belongings, too . While we would recommend leaving the diamonds at home, unless you are going somewhere exceptionally glamorous, many of us will take expensive electronics with us everywhere we go.

Find coverage that offers repairs or replacement for damaged, broken, lost, or stolen items before you go.

Hot Tip: There are some credit cards with travel insurance , so you might already have some coverage without knowing it!

map of world syringe vaccination

Some parts of the world pose more of a risk to our health than others. By ensuring that you have all the travel vaccinations you need before you go, you can reduce the risk of developing serious diseases that your immune system may not be used to.

You can pretty much be vaccinated against all of the world’s most common communicable diseases at your local doctor’s office, health care center, or health department, and there will be medical professionals who will be able to provide you with useful information for your trip.

You will need to do your own research before you travel and speak to healthcare providers about the risks. But, as a rough guide to keep in mind when planning your travel budget, here are some of the most common travel vaccinations and their approximate costs:

  • Cholera — A single-dose oral vaccine costs around $45.
  • Hepatitis A — A single-dose vaccine costs around $115.
  • Japanese Encephalitis — 2 doses given 4 weeks apart costs around $290 per injection.
  • Meningococcal Disease — This single-dose vaccine is recommended from pre-teenage years and costs around $135.
  • Rabies — A series of 3 or 4 injections into the muscles over the course of 4 weeks costs around $3000 for the entire course.
  • Typhoid Fever — A single oral dose for anyone over 6 years old costs around $60.
  • Yellow Fever — This vaccine is not stocked everywhere, but if you can find a clinic that offers it, you will need a single shot costing as much as $350.
  • Malaria — There is no single vaccine, but antimalarial tablets can be taken to reduce the risk of contracting the disease by 90%. These may need to be taken as far as 3 months in advance and can cost anything from $20 a pack up to $260 per pack.

What you need to take with you will depend very much on where you headed. Whether you choose to travel light or max out your luggage allowance is up to you, but there are plenty of ways to help keep costs down when it comes to packing for your next adventure.

Compile a Capsule Wardrobe

Travel guides always bang on about the legendary “capsule wardrobe” — but it literally is a real thing. By taking 7 or 8 items of clothing with you that can be worn in a variety of ways you can dress for days at a time without worrying about overfilling your luggage or maxing out your travel budget.

Choose 2 pants, skirts or jeans, 3 tops, 1 sweater, 1 dress or a smart shirt and a coat or jacket, and you should be pretty much good to go. Throw in beachwear, sports gear, or thermals as-needed and some socks and underwear to see yourself sorted for the duration of your stay.

Another way to keep costs down is to avoid buying new stuff for every vacation . Your favorite bikini, flip flops, party dress, or even hoodie should be shown off time and time again, so never feel the need to replace your vacation clothing unless you really need to.

Here are some destination-specific packing lists:

  • Beach Vacation Packing List
  • Cruise Vacation Packing List
  • Disney Vacation Packing List

If you want to take your travel camera with you, your GoPro for awesome live video, your phone, tablet, laptop, headphones , or any other bits of kit — think carefully about whether or not you really need it.

Taking more expensive gear with you increases the risk of stuff getting lost, broken, or stolen, as well as weighing your luggage down and tying you to charging ports and electrical sockets.

Keeping Clean

Most people like to have their favorite toiletries with them, but save money and space in your luggage by not taking full-size products.

You needn’t even worry about wasting money on cute little travel size products either. Simply decant your full-size bottles and pots into smaller travel containers instead . This is super easy to do, meets with TSA regulations, and saves you a few dollars here and there.

Alternatively, buy what you need when you arrive. Most destinations and airports will have plenty of shops to choose from. One area where you shouldn’t cut costs, however, is sunscreen. Buy the best you can, ideally from a trusted brand, before you leave.

Finally, check if the airline you are using charges extra for checked baggage and if so, see if you can get away with just a carry-on case instead.

The amount you pay for your flights will vary widely depending on a wide number of variants, including:

  • Your destination
  • Who you choose to fly with
  • Whether you fly direct
  • Whether you fly return or one-way
  • The day of the week and time of day that you fly, and even the time of year
  • Where you fly from
  • When you book

There are many different ways to fly around the skies, but here are some ways to bag cheaper flights :

  • Use Points and Miles — If you aren’t accumulating points to fly, read this beginner’s guide to get started.
  • Book as Early as You Can — Flights often significantly increase in price within 3 weeks of the departure date.
  • Stay Flexible — Flights leaving on different days or at times of day can be cheaper than others.
  • Don’t Dismiss Discount Airlines — Short journeys, internal flights, and even some international journeys can be way cheaper on discount, no-frills airlines.
  • Sign Up and Shop Around — Sign up with airlines direct to be notified of discounts and flash sales, and be sure to check in on all airlines that fly to your preferred destination.
  • Use Aggregation Sites — Sometimes this is a winner, sometimes it isn’t — but don’t be afraid to try. Sites like Kayak or Skyscanner can be good, but don’t just accept the first price they give you.
  • Buy Connecting Flights — It can be cheaper to buy 2 separate connecting flights than a direct 1. Check your destination and see who stops where along the route.

Again, how much you spend on where you stay is entirely up to you. Keeping costs down can be harder in large cities or expensive beach resorts, but there are ways to rest your head without losing your mind over the cost of it all.

Whether you are going for an all-out 5-star luxury or a family-friendly motel room, there are always deals to be had. Book direct through the hotel, include weeknights or a Sunday night in your stay, and be flexible on location.

Hot Tip: A hotel just outside of town, for example, will offer more attractive nightly rates and free parking and will usually represent better value for money than a downtown hotel will.

Renting a private home or vacation apartment on a short term basis can be much more affordable than a hotel. You can also find some superb properties for rent, complete with everything you need to enjoy your stay.

Fully-equipped kitchens, parking, TVs, and even pools often come standard and depending on your destination, there are lots of great Airbnbs and other holiday rental websites available.

If you are heading to the coast, the backcountry, or just getting out into the great outdoors, camping can completely transform your experience. Many campsites come complete with showers and cooking facilities and even pools, sports facilities, and fitness centers. You can take your own tent or rent one.

Another great way to save money on accommodation is to look at hostels in the area. A far cry from old fashioned student accommodation, many modern hostels are clean, bright, and modern and offer a combination of dorm-style bedrooms and private double or family rooms with en-suite facilities.

Hot Tip: Hostels are a great way to stay right in the middle of some of the most expensive cities in the world.

Rent a Recreational Vehicle

Another great choice if you are heading out on the open road, RVs can save you a fortune as you literally take your accommodation with you. RV trips are fun, family-friendly, and provided you aren’t always in a gas station, a great way to save money on where you stay.

RVshare and Outdoorsy are 2 companies that rent out campers and RVs.

You can pretty much rent any kind of vehicle , anywhere in the world. Although if you are staying in a city, public transport is a much more useful and affordable proposition.

The same rules also apply to some intercontinental trips, as well. For example, it can be easier and cheaper to travel through Europe using trains and buses than worrying about having to take care of a car when you get there.

If you want to explore out of the way destinations, hard to reach beaches, or just like the idea of being free to come and go as you please, car hire is readily available in most corners of the world.

Before you commit to it, think about the rental fees, fuel costs, and other potential expenditures and compare the costs of using public transport in your chosen destination.

Car Rental

Car hire here in the U.S. will vary depending on the type of car you choose and how long you intend to hire it. Small city cars are the most cost-effective, and big SUVs, 4x4s and luxury cars can also be hired if you have deep pockets.

When it comes to car rental, keep your costs down by:

  • Booking your vehicle in advance
  • Looking outside the airport as you may get a better deal in town
  • Choosing a practical vehicle to suit your needs, not your dream supercar
  • Being aware of mileage limits and one-way fees
  • Use a credit card with car rental insurance , so you can be ready to turn down unnecessary add-ons and cross-sells that you don’t need
  • Making sure the vehicle is checked for damage before you take the keys
  • Only hiring it for as long as you need it
  • Keeping your eyes out for deals on particular types of car, and better prices for longer-term rentals

Most tourist hotspots, big towns, cities, and even some iconic landmarks will offer a wide range of public transport options to get you around. There will be more choice and more frequent services in highly populated areas, while services may become more restricted further out in the countryside or suburbs.

If you are clever, you could save yourself a small fortune by grabbing good deals on public transport, leaving you with more cash to spend on the fun things in life.

Try these to tips for traveling around town on the cheap:

  • Buy daily, weekly or even monthly travel passes in advance
  • Bulk buy tickets online or via an app
  • Take advantage of student passes or discounted fares for families, seniors, or children
  • Avoid traveling during peak commuter times
  • Services like Greyhound offer cheaper fares for mid-week journeys
  • Sign up for early notification of flash sales and other promotional codes and discounts

Wherever you are headed, there will no doubt be plenty of things to do and places to see when you get there. The key to not missing a single thing is researching everything before you leave.

Have a plan in place of all the activities you want to take part in and the attractions you want to see and integrate the potential entrance costs, additional fees, and other expenses into your initial budget.

With a bit of luck, you will be able to find plenty of local discounts, city passes, and money-saving ways to see all of the very best attractions at rock bottom prices.

Pick up a copy of the local listings magazine or newspaper and check out free events , as well as using the coupons and discount codes they supply for all kinds of attractions. You can also subscribe to online discount sites like Groupon to find discounted ticket prices.

Historical landmarks, museums , art galleries, theme parks , sporting events, concerts, and many more attractions often offer reduced entrance prices at off-peak times or group discounts to entice visitors in. Some even have a free entrance day once a month.

Big cities often have lots of free entertainment on offer, too. Check out the artsy districts of major cities for street entertainers and free shows. If you are heading to the beach, research costs such as sunbed rental, locker rental, and even the menus at local restaurants to gauge an idea of how much a day on the beach could potentially cost you.

If you want to try your hand at surfing, sailing, or other kinds of water sports, you may want to get back on the internet and find reduced price lessons or discounts for group bookings.

Colosseum during daytime

While you may have budgeted every dollar down to the last cent, you should also keep a contingency plan for some pocket money . Days out in the town, lazy afternoons on the beach, or even a trip on a planned excursion can present you with lots of little unknown expenses.

Whether you need to buy an extra bottle of water, some sunscreen for your face, or entrance to additional attractions, keeping a little cash on you is a good way to be prepared.

Large amounts of cash should never be carried about your person while you are out exploring, but a couple of dollars stashed into your pocket or travel wallet and can be incredibly useful.

In order to keep your money safe, you should:

  • Never flash wads of cash
  • Keep your notes and loose change somewhere safe like your inside pocket or in a money belt
  • Carry small denomination notes and coins
  • Understand the local currency you are carrying, so you known how much to give over when paying

Walk-around money is simply a little buffer to keep you going, but set yourself a daily budget and stick to it.

These days, almost everyone travels at some point. This means that those unusual and unique products that we used to buy as souvenirs are no longer as sought after as they once were.

Nearly every tourist destination on earth will be able to sell you tacky bits and pieces for you to take home, but savvy travelers bypass these and look for more personalized and unique mementos to take home with them instead.

Bottom Line: A t-shirt here, a guide book there, and lots of little bits and pieces in between can soon add up. Spend wisely, and if you must buy gifts and souvenirs, choose ones that have a special meaning to you, that you can treasure forever.

To help make your research easier, some clever folks who have traveled before you have made websites that can help you to research and plan every single aspect of your next big adventure and what the costs involved may be.

Budget Your Trip

Budget Your Trip is a huge repository of travel costs that have been hand-gathered from thousands of travelers, and now provides an incredibly comprehensive guide to how much your trip will really cost you.

You can create and personalize your very own travel budget once you register with the website. You can also pick up tons of top travel tips and advice for both new and experienced travelers alike.

Nomad List offers a heap of resources and information for remote workers, digital nomads, and travelers, Nomad List is designed to help users navigate the world. Find information on thousands of destinations, places to work, neighborhoods to stay, and even make new friends before you go.

A great site for anyone who wants to work and travel for longer-term adventures, you can ask questions and arrange meet-ups to touch base with other like-minded wanderers.

This clever little website has 1 goal in mind — to let you know exactly how much money you really need to stay at your dream destination. Expatistan offers direct comparisons between different locations and the website is essentially a giant cost-of-living database that is updated and improved on a regular basis.

Using collaborative information garnered from expats from all over the world, this website really will give you the lowdown of where you can, and can’t, afford to be.

Keeping track of your expenses using your bank balance alone can be a real pain. A dedicated travel money app will help you to keep control of your finances, even when you can’t check the internet. Here are some of the best:

Trail Wallet

Trail Wallet

This easy to use expense tracker is a great way to keep an accurate record of your finances on the go. Designed to be incredibly intuitive and easy to use, you can make a note of all your expenses in a way that makes the best sense to you. Set up daily spending limits, view records of your recent outgoings, and upload images of receipts for multiple trips with custom start and end dates.

Perfect for use both at home and away, this clever little app will even let you input amounts in local currencies from over 200 countries , and you can update the app with the current exchange rate.

Trail Wallet can be used on both iPhone and iPad and is free for up to 25 items, or unlock unlimited amounts for continuous travel with the $4.99 upgrade.

Trabee Pocket

Trabee Pocket

Trabee Pocket is available on both iOS and Android, and you can choose between the free version or additional services in the paid-for version. Even with the basic version, you can add the details of as many expenses as you like, covering various trips and destinations. You can choose your currency, and there are 8 basic categories to file your virtual expenses under.

You can add images of the physical receipt and produce an expense report and breakdown of expenditure using the data from each category . The upgrade costs around $2.49, and you can add multiple currencies and additional customized categories.

All in all, Trabee Pocket is sleek and an easy to use app that helps you to see how much you are spending and where you are spending it.

Tripcoin

TripCoin is a concise and easy to use app that is available on iOS only. It is free to download , and there are no upgrade options at the present time. This smart app allows you to keep tabs on your spending at the touch of a button while making is super easy to add new entries when you need to.

Summary reports can quickly be compiled to let you see progress reports and spreadsheets, and you can even export the data to Excel, Numbers, Open Office, or Google to keep your inner accountant happy anywhere in the world.

Wally App

Wally was designed to help anyone to manage their finances, anywhere in the world easily. It promises to offer a simple, seamless tool that works in an intuitive way, making it super easy to keep track of your money on the move.

The basic version allows you to add details of all of your regular incoming and outgoings as well as inputting your day to day expenditure, creating groups to manage joint accounts, and splitting payments with your friends when you need to.

It can be set to your local currency and lets you divide your outgoings into easy to find pre-set categories. Available on both iOs and Android, you can upgrade to the paid-for version for $24.99 a year to enjoy unlimited trips and categories.

Splitwise

This is a brilliant invention for anyone traveling with friends. Available on both iOS and Android, you can download it for free, but an in-app upgrade is available to Splitwise Pro. No more scrambling around with a pen and paper to split the bill, this app allows you and your buddies to keep track of your shared expenses and balances at the touch of a button.

You can add a bill, and choose how to split it, or send text or email requests to remind your friends and family that payments are now due. You can also categorize your expenses, calculate amounts in over 100 different currencies, and even sync all of your expenditures with the Cloud.

If you want to keep a more detailed record of your accounts, this little app will also export the data into easy to read CSV reports.

Before you worry about how to manage your finances while you are away, you will need to devise a plan that gives you the funds to get you there in the first place. Unless you have been blessed with a sudden windfall or a lottery win, you will need to save your cents to achieve your goals.

Set a Savings Timeline

If you receive a regular wage, or you are able to forecast your earnings accurately, you can start to set a timeline on how long it will take you to save up for your vacation . If you put aside just $100 a month, for example, you will be able to have $1200 to play with in just a year. This amount may not pay for a new life abroad, but it could you buy a week by the ocean.

Bottom Line: Think of where you want to go to, find out how much it will cost, and then set a monthly savings goal and stick to it. Some months you may have to sacrifice on your social life or shopping habits, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Multiple Savings Accounts

Once you know how much you need to save each month, be sure to physically remove that money from your day to day bank account. Set up at least 1 separate savings account and electronically move it , or set up an automated payment to leave your regular account on payday.

Visualization

Re-train your brain to save instead of spend, and you will be able to tally up every cent you save with something amazing . Your first $150 saved, for example, could mean that you have those tickets for that boat party in Miami in the bag, or that you are on your way to paying for a 4-star hotel instead of a mid-range one.

Whether you are dreaming of trekking up the Himalayas, backpacking around Asia, Interailing through Europe , or a long-awaited family vacation, seeing what your savings can afford will super motivate you to save more.

Wherever you are planning on traveling to, being in control of your finances will make your experience even more amazing. Worrying about getting into debt on your credit cards or not having the cash in your pocket to really explore the region will ruin your adventures.

Save hard, spend well, and look for ways to save money across every aspect of your trip. Plan your spending before you go and keep track of your expenditure while you travel. There are deals to be had on flights, accommodation, food, attractions, and almost every area of your next vacation. Plan in advance and enjoy knowing that you are having the best time for less.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can i travel with a low budget.

There are plenty of excellent places to travel on a low budget. Here are some great options:

  • South Africa

How much should I budget for a trip?

There are lots of factors that make up how much you should budget for a trip. Where you are going, the time of year, your travel style, what you want to do, and how long are you going for are just some of the considerations. It’s best to work out exactly what the trip would cost, cut out anything you can do without, and go from there.

How do I stick to a budget while traveling?

The best way to stick to a budget while traveling is to keep track of all your expenses so you know exactly where you are against your budget. The easiest way of doing this is to use a travel budget and expenses up like Trail Wallet, Trabee Pocket, or Tripcoin.

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About Amar Hussain

Amar is an avid traveler and tester of products. He has spent the last 13 years traveling all 7 continents and has put the products to the test on each of them. He has contributed to publications including Forbes, the Huffington Post, and more.

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How to Calculate Cost of Travel

Last Updated: September 27, 2023

This article was co-authored by Greg Guiteras . Greg Guiteras is the CEO of Lorraine Travel, LLC, one of the largest privately-owned travel management companies in Florida founded in 1948. With over 34 years of experience, Greg's specialties are in corporate travel management, sales and marketing, contract negotiations, strategic partnerships, and luxury hotel sales. Greg holds a BS in Marketing from Florida State University. Greg has also created WhataHotel!, a website offering exclusive perks on hotel bookings, and CabinMate, an app that matches single cruise travelers with potential cabin matches "in the same boat" to avoid traveling solo on a cruise. This article has been viewed 150,102 times.

Calculating your travel costs can help you plan and organize your trip, and though it may seem difficult or confusing, it’s actually pretty easy to do. Look into the cost of lodging, vehicle rentals, fuel costs, flight costs, and any other expenses you may incur. Gather all of your costs together and keep them organized so you can plan for expenses and calculate your costs. You can also use a formula to figure out your fuel costs if you’re driving to your destination.

Calculating Your Travel Budget

Step 1 Keep track of your costs so they’re organized.

  • Use a spreadsheet to organize costs, make plans, and keep a checklist of items.
  • Write down any expenses that you make or plan to make in the document.

Step 2 Research the total cost of round trip airline tickets if you’re flying.

  • You can also estimate your budget based on other round trip ticket prices. For example, if you’re in the US, you could calculate round trip tickets across the country at around $500.
  • Look for roundtrip ticket deals that bundle your flights together.
  • Compare rates of round trip flights online so you can find the most affordable option.

Step 3 Look up the price of vehicle rentals where you’re going.

  • For example, if a rental company charges $50 a day, and you need to rent a vehicle for 3 days, then you’ll need to budget at least $150 for rental costs.
  • If you’re traveling far, choose the vehicle with the best mileage so you can save on fuel costs.

Step 4 Incorporate additional transportation you’ll use into your costs.

  • Search online to determine the type of travel you’ll use.
  • Find out the costs of using the transportation, whether it’s a rental fee or a ticket price, and estimate how much you’ll need to budget for it. For example, if you plan to take a ferry to visit a remote island at least 4 times, and the ticket prices are $5 per trip, then you can budget $20 for ferry tickets.
  • If you’re unsure of how to arrange for transportation at your destination, contact a travel agency and ask them to assist you. You’ll have to pay them for their services, but they’ll be able to fully assist you!

Step 5 Find out the costs of any lodgings you plan to use.

  • For instance, if you plan to stay at a hotel that costs $100 a night, and you plan to stay for 5 days, then you’ll need to budget $500 to stay there for the duration.
  • Calculate your total lodging costs by adding together the total amounts of each place you plan to stay.
  • You can find rental rates for many hotels on their website.

Step 6 Include the costs of food for each traveler.

  • Check to see if there are any restaurants that you plan to visit so you can adjust your food costs based on the prices of the restaurant.
  • If you plan to eat on the airplane, contact the airline to find out the cost of meals.

Tip: A good rule of thumb is to figure about $20 of food costs per person for a full day of traveling.

Step 7 Add in the costs of any activities you plan to do.

  • Try to think of any miscellaneous costs that you may have such as toll roads or baggage fees.

Budgeting Fuel Costs

Step 1 Find out the total distance you will drive on your trip.

  • Put together all of the driving trips you plan to take to get a total traveling distance.

Step 2 Divide the distance by your vehicle’s mileage to find your fuel needs.

  • For example, if you’re going to Kansas, you plan to drive a total of about 200 miles (320 km), and your rental car gets about 20 miles (32 km) per gallon of fuel, then you’ll need to purchase a total of about 10 gallons (38 L) of fuel in order to get around.

Step 3 Multiply how much fuel you need by the cost of fuel where you’re traveling.

  • For instance, if you need about 10 gallons (38 L) of fuel to travel around and the cost of fuel is about $3.00 per gallon, then you’ll need to spend about $30.00 on fuel.

Tip: If you’re traveling for business or you plan to be reimbursed for your expenses, keep your receipts so you can be reimbursed and calculate your mileage for tax purposes.

Expert Q&A

Greg Guiteras

You Might Also Like

Create a Travel Budget

  • ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/budget-spreadsheet-advice-2018-4
  • ↑ https://familytravelsonabudget.com/budget/how-to-estimate-travel-expenses/
  • ↑ https://travel-made-simple.com/how-to-make-a-travel-budget/

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How to estimate travel expenses

This post may contain affiliate links.  Click here  to see what that means.

Whether planning business travel expenses or a vacation budget for the family, knowing how to estimate travel expenses really helps you stick to your travel budget.

We use this step by step guide, Our TRAVEL COST ESTIMATOR, to determine trip costs including car rental or flights, hotel expenses, food and activities. For business or corporate travel, a tool like this helps with expense management.

The example in this article uses vacation trip planning, factoring in entertainment costs which would not be needed for business travel.

Be sure to download our FREE travel cost estimator to use for your own travel planning.

travel costing example

When calculating travel expenses, we estimate the cost of each aspect of the trip to determine the final budget. Knowing the budget we have to work with saves time when making final reservations and plans. Online tools make it a lot easier to estimate prices to help us save on travel.

Table of Contents

How to determine a vacation budget

Travel resources, travel costs: how much will it cost to get there, hotel and lodging costs: where will you stay, food costs: where will you eat, attractions and entertainment: what will you do, estimate travel expenses: total the costs.

When you estimate travel costs ahead of time, it’s easier to make vacation planning decisions.

Using this tool to set your vacation budget helps you keep travel costs in line with what you really plan to spend.

Step one  is deciding the type of vacation you want and where to go. Step two  is figuring out how much it will cost.

If planning a vacation budget is new to you, it might seem overwhelming at first. But, I promise, after you do it once, it’s easy! And the peace of mind you get from knowing you can afford your vacation? Priceless! So let’s look at how to calculate travel costs of your vacation.

I’ll be using a 5 day vacation example through the whole thing to help you see how it works.

There are lots of travel resources online that make it easy to estimate travel expenses.

We have a page dedicated to the travel resources we use to plan our own trips, which you can use. Each of these travel resource tools is free to use!

Visit our TRAVEL RESOURCES page to start planning your trip!

Step by step travel cost planning

So, you know where you want to go. Let’s figure out how much this vacation is going to cost.

The first thing to consider when planning vacation is how to get there.

When I plan a vacation more than a one day drive from home (10 car hours), I compare the vacation expenses of driving to the vacation expenses of flying.

We actually enjoy road trip travel , so ten hours in the car isn’t too bad. But, sometimes, when you weigh out all travel expenses, flying is actually cheaper than driving, particularly for smaller families.

How do you calculate travel costs by car?

There are several questions to consider when calculating road trip costs:

  • Will you have a rental car or be driving your own vehicle? If you’ll be using a car rental, estimate the cost. (For business travel, ask your tax professional which is best for your situation.) Here’s a great rental car savings site !
  • How much will gas cost. I used to calculate this myself, but the Fuel Economy Trip Calculator from the US EPA is a whole lot easier! Answer a few questions, and it calculates road trip gas costs for you.
  • Then add in costs for toll roads if needed. This link helps make that easy.  
  • We calculate $25/person for all day road trips (2 meals), unless we pack a cooler to save on food costs. Remember to calculate costs for getting home, too.
  • Add overnight hotel lodging (if needed for the length of the trip). We use hotel savings sites to book inexpensive rooms along our route to keep this travel expense down.
  • Consider the cost of parking your car during your trip. In major cities, you’ll likely have to pay to park your car even at the hotel, so it helps to budget that cost in.

Once you have each of these numbers, add them up for a good road trip cost estimate.

How do you calculate air travel costs?

To decide if it might be better to fly to your destination, also consider the time involved. If you only have a few days, it might be better to fly so you have more time to enjoy at your destination. For corporate travel, knowing air travel costs is helpful to determine business travel expenses.

Here’s the step by step process to determine air travel costs:

  • Time of day can affect cost — Early morning and late evening flights tend to be cheaper, if that time of day works for your travel needs.
  • Different airlines have different prices — Finding an airline with a direct hub to your destination is often cheaper (and quicker) than if you need to make connections.
  • Consider costs from nearby airports — Sometimes you can save a lot by traveling a bit further from home. Years ago, we flew to Paris from Washington, DC (5 hours from our home) because it saved us more than $1,000 on airfare. On a trip where every dollar mattered, that was a huge savings!
  • Add in the cost of checked luggage. (Airlines charge $25-$50 for each checked bag unless you get a free checked bag as a perk with an affiliated credit card. I use American Express to get free checked luggage on Delta, which has a hub at my home airport.)
  • Factor in daily parking at the airport. I use $10/day for easy math.
  • Add in the cost of airport transfers to the hotel or the cost of rental car for the trip.

Once you estimate each of these four costs, total them up for a good estimate of travel flight costs.

You would use the same process for train tickets and public transportation instead of flights and car rental/airport transfers. When we go to New York City, we use public transportation and save a lot of money over car transfers or rental cars!

Where you stay on vacation can have a great impact on your vacation budget.

Consider a variety of hotel options as you calculate travel costs: hotel brands, amenities offered and location related to what you want to do when deciding your vacation budget.

Using a hotel comparison site like Trivago , you can quickly compare hotels to find the best one for your needs.

AN EXAMPLE: We are taking a cruise vacation, and want to stay at a hotel the night before the cruise. We considered hotels near the cruise port in Tampa, but the cheapest we found was close to $300 per night. We looked at hotels about an hour away (along our road trip travel route), and found an overnight stay for about $120, including a full hot breakfast. The hour drive to the cruise port won’t be hard the morning of the cruise, and we save about $180!

When you estimate travel expenses, remember resort fees. Some hotels charge a daily resort fee, especially hotels that offer extra amenities like a lazy river, playgrounds or sauna. Many hotels charge a daily fee for WiFi and/or parking. Add those costs to your travel expenses worksheet.

Here’s an example in a post I wrote about hotels near Carowinds . It’s a detailed example of what I do when selecting hotels for my personal family vacation. And, when you see hotel recommendations on this site, I try to include the information you need to quickly determine if it’s a good fit for your trip.

You might not be able to estimate food costs exactly, but you can calculate travel costs for dining based on how you usually spend money at restaurants.

  • If your family spends $100 when you eat out, budget $100 for every meal you will be eating at a restaurant.
  • If you eat quick meals on the go and/or carry snacks, you might be able to budget less.
  • And, if you like to enjoy a bottle of wine or a couple of beers at dinner, the costs go up.
  • Simply put: You know your restaurant spending habits. Use that number to calculate vacation expenses for dining.

As a general rule (before 2022 when food costs skyrocketed), we factor $100/day for a family of four if breakfast is included at the hotel. We usually grab quick meals between sightseeing adventures on vacation and plan only one or two “nice” restaurant meals.

We increase it to $150/day if breakfast is not included. In major cities and at theme parks, we increase our budget by $50/day for a total of $200/day.

Look at theme park restaurant menus or do an internet search of restaurants at your destination if you have specific restaurants in mind.

What do you plan to do on vacation? Make a list and estimate costs for tickets and parking.

Consider these attraction costs:

  • Theme park tickets (multiday tickets are cheaper than single day tickets),
  • Theater tickets
  • Game tickets (NFL, MLB, etc)
  • Concert tickets
  • Museum admission costs
  • National park admission fees
  • Bike, kayak, or other adventure rental costs
  • Ferry costs
  • Mass transit costs (subway or metro tickets)

There are lots of ways to save on the cost of attraction tickets. We use them for all our vacations to save big on the cost of attractions:

  • UndercoverTourist: This is a great site to save on theme park tickets, especially in Orlando and Los Angeles. I always check here for theme park tickets. (We saved about $400 using UndercoverTourist on a trip to Universal Orlando compared to what we would have paid directly back in 2018).
  • CityPASS: Use CityPASS to save up to 50% on attraction admission in major cities. We have used CityPASS in Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco and Tampa. It’s the first place I check for big city travel savings.
  • GetYourGuide: This is a tour site I like to use to save on food tours, adventure tours and city tours. GetYourGuide offers some of the best tour options at a savings compared to rack rate. It has United States and international offerings, and can be good for cruise shore excursions, too.
  • TripAdvisor: If you aren’t sure what you want to do, TripAdvisor is a good place to start. See what’s available. But, compare prices before you book! The other links I share tend to save me more than if I book through TripAdvisor.

Once you have decided what you want to do on vacation, total up the cost of all the tickets to get a good estimate of your entertainment costs.

Now that you’ve crunched the numbers for each aspect of vacation, total them up, and that’s your vacation estimate. Don’t forget travel insurance , if you think you’ll need it.

If the total cost is higher than you want to spend, look at your options to see how you can save. Like I explained above, we cut our air travel costs to Paris by $1,000 by choosing a different airport with a direct flight. Or, see if you can get discount tickets to save on attractions.

With this vacation cost estimator, you can adjust to save on travel costs if you need to. Or, if you have a dream trip in mind, you can use this tool to plan and budget for it.

As promised, here is your FREE Vacation Cost Estimator Tool ! <– click on that and it will open! Use it to calculate travel expenses for your vacation, and you’ll know your vacation budget before you go.

Finance Microsoft Excel

11 minute read

How to Use Excel to Manage Your Travel Budget

Eliza Medley

Eliza Medley

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travel costing example

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Crafting the perfect travel spreadsheet transforms trip planning into a seamless experience. It tailors your itinerary to match your travel whims while effortlessly adapting to changing plans. Let's discuss how to use Excel to manage a travel budget.

How to create the ultimate travel spreadsheet

Here is a simple guide to creating a travel spreadsheet.

Set up your Excel spreadsheet

Follow these steps to create a new spreadsheet:

  • Open Excel. Launch Microsoft Excel on your computer. You can typically find it in the Microsoft Office suite or as a standalone application.
  • Create a new spreadsheet. Once Excel is open, click on "File" in the top-left corner. Select "New" and then choose "Blank Workbook" to start with a fresh spreadsheet.
  • Familiarize yourself with the interface. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Excel interface. You'll see a grid of cells arranged in rows and columns.
  • Create sections for clarity. Label the first few rows for specific sections. For example, use the first row for titles like "Date," "Expense Category," "Description," "Amount," and "Balance."
  • Format for readability. Adjust the column widths to accommodate your labels and make the spreadsheet visually appealing. Consider using bold fonts or shading for headers to distinguish different sections.
  • Reserve space for totals. Dedicate a section at the bottom for total expenses, income, and the remaining budget. Excel will do the math for you later.

You've now set up the foundation for managing your travel budget in Excel.

Track expenses

Now that you've established the groundwork for your travel budget spreadsheet, it's time to delve into the crucial task of tracking your expenses efficiently.

travel budget

  • Create a column for expense categories. In the "Expense Category" column you created earlier, list the categories that align with your travel plans. For instance, if your trip involves flights, include a category for "Transportation".
  • Customize categories to suit your trip. Tailor the categories based on your unique itinerary. If you plan to indulge in specific activities, create categories accordingly.
  • Enter each expense. With your expense categories established, it's time to start logging individual expenses.
  • Fill in the details for each expense. In the rows beneath your category labels, start entering the details of each expense. Include the date, a brief description, and the amount spent in their respective columns.
  • Be detailed and accurate. The more detailed your entries, the better you can analyze your spending later. Instead of a generic "Food", specify if it was a restaurant meal or grocery.
  • Utilize the SUM function for totals. Click on the cell where you want the total to appear (e.g., the cell beneath the "Amount" column for each category). Use the formula =SUM(range) to add up all the expenses within a specific category. Replace "range" with the cells containing your expense amounts.

By following these steps, you've successfully set up your Excel spreadsheet to track expenses for your upcoming trip.

Budgeting for your trip

Now that you've diligently tracked your expenses , it's time to take control of your travel finances by setting a realistic budget for your trip and allocating funds strategically.

trip budgeting with computer

  • Establish your total budget. Decide on the maximum amount you're comfortable spending during your trip. This includes all anticipated expenses, from accommodation and transportation to meals and activities.
  • Enter the total budget in your spreadsheet. Designate a cell in your spreadsheet, perhaps at the top, to enter your total budget. This serves as your financial anchor throughout the trip-planning process.
  • Distribute the budget among categories. Allocate a portion of your total budget to each expense category. For example, if you've budgeted $1,000 for your trip and plan to spend more on activities than accommodation, adjust the allocation accordingly.
  • Monitor category budgets. Regularly check your category budgets as you enter expenses. This will help you stay on track and make adjustments if necessary.
  • Be realistic and flexible. While setting a budget is essential, it's equally crucial to be realistic and flexible. Unexpected expenses may arise, so allow some flexibility in your allocations.
  • Consider contingency. Include a contingency or buffer in your budget to account for unforeseen expenses. This ensures you're prepared for unexpected costs without derailing your entire budget.

By setting a total budget and strategically allocating funds to different categories, you've taken a significant step toward financial planning for your trip.

Tips and tricks for managing your travel budget in Excel

Now that you've set up your Excel spreadsheet to manage your travel budget, let's explore additional tips and tricks to maximize Excel's features.

Tip 1: Use conditional formatting

Conditional formatting is a powerful tool in Excel that allows you to visually highlight specific cells based on their values. How to apply conditional formatting to expense totals:

  • Select the cell containing the total expense for each category.
  • Navigate to the "Home" tab, click on "Conditional Formatting," and choose a relevant option, such as color scales or data bars.
  • This visual representation makes it easy to identify categories where you may need to reconsider your spending.

This can help you quickly identify budget exceedances or areas where you may overspend.

Tip 2: Regularly update your spreadsheet

Consistency is key to effective budget management. Make it a habit to update your spreadsheet regularly to ensure accurate and up-to-date financial information. You should:

  • Set a schedule for updates. Establish a routine for updating your budget, whether it's daily, weekly, or bi-weekly. Consistent updates help you stay on top of your financial situation.
  • Document expenses promptly. Record your expenses as soon as possible to avoid forgetting or misplacing receipts. This practice ensures that your spreadsheet reflects the most accurate information.

track travel expenses

Tip 3: Include contingency in your budget

Unforeseen expenses are a part of travel. Including a contingency in your budget helps you account for unexpected costs without jeopardizing your overall financial plan.

You should allocate a contingency fund. This can act as a safety net for emergencies or unexpected opportunities that may arise during your trip. If you dip into your contingency fund, be sure to update your spreadsheet accordingly. This adjustment ensures that your remaining budget accurately reflects your financial situation.

Tip 4: Leverage Excel's graphs and charts

Excel offers various tools for visual representation, such as graphs and charts . Utilize these features to gain a more insightful overview of your budget trends:

  • Select relevant data in your spreadsheet.
  • Navigate to the "Insert" tab and choose the type of graph or chart that best represents your data (e.g., a pie chart for expense categories).

Visualizations can provide a quick and easy way to understand your budget distribution.

Make use of Excel templates

Here is how you can use Excel templates to manage your your trips like a pro.

⭐ Organize a meal plan

To keep track of your nutrition on the trip, you can create a table or download a ready-made one. Click the File - New tab and choose from one of Meal Planner templates.

Excel travel template

Excel spreadsheets make it easy to plan your daily trip menu and count calories, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Search for " Food " within the templates and you will find not only templates for managing your grocery budget, but also the immensely popular calorie-counting logs.

Food budget templates

These spreadsheets are designed so that if you exceed the norm, you'll immediately see the deviation. They use basic yet popular Excel functions , including IF and SUM to summarize the details entered. For convenience, there are drop-down lists and visual chart effects.

⭐ Check your car costs

To find out the cost of a car for the trip, you need basic skills in MS Excel to create your own budget or expense tracker. Skills like creating dropdown lists , using the SUBTOTAL function, and working with Excel Tables will come in handy.

transportation budget template

Download this template

We've done most of the work for you. Just customize this free template to suit your needs.

Enter the data with detailed descriptions. As a result, you will understand what the most expensive items of car usage consist of and will be able to optimize your expenses. Statistics throughout the trip will help you plan your budget.

Suppose you go for a trip for a month with your own car. In that case, you can expand the template. You can include the cost of insurance, spare parts, technical inspections, tire fitting, and other minor expenses.

This way, you can find out how much the full cost of car maintenance costs you on your trip.

⭐ Calculate your travel budget

Buying cheap airline tickets is half the battle. Include all expenses in your travel plan to avoid flying off into the unknown.

If you search for " Trip planner ", you will find several templates for entering trip details and all expenses.

Excel trip planner

Take charge of your journey

Mastering your travel budget with Excel can be a game-changer in ensuring a financially stress-free and enjoyable trip. The step-by-step guides provided in this article empower you to take control of your finances and personal life, allowing for informed decisions and flexible adjustments as needed.

Looking for  free Excel templates for business ? We have templates for project management, finance, invoicing, and more. Get skilled-up with our  Excel courses  no matter where you are on your Excel journey.

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Eliza Medley

Eliza Medley is an experienced writer and psychologist. She is actively interested in management, new technologies, and writing motivational articles. She also loves catching up on modern trends. She inspires people to learn new things and reach new heights with her work. In case of any inquiries or suggestions kindly reach out to her at [email protected].

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18+ travel budget template in google docs | google sheets | ms excel | ms word | numbers | pages | pdf.

Organizing for a trip or vacation is the most tedious thing to do. Travel budgets will help you determine, in advance, whether you have enough money to spend on your vacation. Travel budgets that excel in saving money should include the expected expenses such as food, accommodation, leisure activities, transportation, and other miscellaneous items. These budget templates help you make and organize your expenses in a way you can save more money before and also, after your trip.

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Travel Budget Template

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Managing business travel expenses

Best practices for travel expense management, what exactly are business travel expenses, need to get better control of your business travel spend, what business travel expenses can employees claim.

  • The actual costs of the travel (the flight, train ticket, hotel cost, etc)
  • The subsistence expenditure (your food and drink consumed during the time you travel)
  • Any other costs that came about because you made the journey such as entertainment.

What is not a legitimate travel expense

  • Commuting to and from your usual office
  • Any travel taken for private reasons.

How to manage the travel & expense process

1. decide on the employee payment method.

  • Ask employees to pay them upfront using personal card/bank account/cash and then have them submit expense claims.
  • Pay expenses directly from a company bank account or company card.

1. The company credit/spending card

2. pay with personal cards and submit expense claims, 2. set out a clear process for expense submission & reimbursement.

  • Pre-trip expense projection - ask employees to complete a projection prior to their trip, this will force them to consider their spend.
  • Receipt and invoice types - Be sure to state in what format you expect evidence to be provided (e.g. tax invoice in PDF/ physical receipt)
  • Expense claim submission timeline - Ensure that expense claims are all made within 5 working days of the business trip finishing.
  • Expense reimbursement period - The company commits to reimburse staff within 15- 30 days of the expense claim, during which period the company can query expenses.

3. Communicate the expense policy

  • Company-wide emails every quarter - Send an email with the policy every quarter, this may not be necessary if you are a small team.
  • Talk about it at all-hands meetings - Your job is important and saves the company money , and people need to know the rules. At the next meeting ask to speak for a few minutes giving examples (not naming names) of good and bad expense claims
  • Post it on your company intranet - Make sure it is a live document and easily accessible. Link it to a Google doc or whatever tool you use, this means updates don’t require you to ask employees to delete or disregard previous versions,

How to calculate and track business travel expenses like a pro

1. record everything and tag each expense.

  • By trip type (existing client, sales, corporate event)
  • By department
  • By expense type

2. Calculate every trip

  • Travel cost - plane, train, car hire, this includes the petrol you put in the car
  • Accommodation - Hotel, Airbnb, or wherever you stayed
  • Food & drink
  • Entertainment - either for clients or if permitted in policy
  • Wi-Fi connections , or anything else you needed to get your business done on the road.

3. Categorize your spend

Project your travel expenses, need more tips on managing business travel, how to reduce travel expenses for small businesses, 1. do you have to stay the night, 2. get the point(s), 3. cut the taxis, 4. get corporate rates, 5. get the per diem right, 6. recover the tax, travelperk makes calculating your recoverable vat simple, 7. get cashback.

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The Trusted Traveller

How to Budget for Travel

So you’ve chosen the perfect holiday destination and have a rough idea of when you want to go. You’re next step is to figure out roughly how much it’s going to cost you and start saving!

My  how to budget for travel guide will help you work out how much money you’ll need for every aspect of your holiday. From the big ticket items like airfares, right down to the change in your pocket to pay for street snacks and subway tickets. I’ll touch on every expense you might have and help make the experience a little less daunting.

Budgeting Early is Important

If you don’t figure out how much this holiday is going to cost you right from the start, you won’t know if you can afford it in the time frame you are hoping for. You don’t want to get your hopes up or put a deposit on an airfare only to discover that you can’t afford to stay in a standard of accommodation you’re hoping too, or that you can’t afford to eat for most of the trip.

Having a budget in the initial planning phase stops you from having a massive blowout and spending way more than you originally expected. Your budget is what you will refer to and update regularly through the planning process and having it from the start gives you the bones of the holiday from which you can build on.

Where to Start

Start with a simple spreadsheet. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated, just a row for each type of expense and a column each for your budget, actual spend and difference so you can see how you’re tracking over time.

I also like to add a notes column to the end of each item so I can make a note of anything important. For example, the row for breakfast, I would type how many breakfasts I’ve budgeted for and at what cost per day. This way if the number of days changes I can quickly change the amount.

If you’re not sure where to start, I’ve created a sample budget spreadsheet for you which you can download below.

It is complete with formulas that do all the calculations for you. You can add and remove whatever rows are appropriate for your holiday.

travel costing example

Working out the Costs

Once you have your spreadsheet ready to go, you can start researching costs and add them in as you go. You don’t need to make any firm decisions about which suppliers you want to use or what you want to see and do yet. Just take a look around to get a rough idea of cost.

Let me break it down for you by going through each type of expense and how you can go about researching it.

There are a few types of transport costs you might encounter when booking and while on your holiday. Think airfares, car hire, gas, rail/bus tickets, transfers or public transport.

Basically you need to get to your destination somehow. Even if it’s in your own vehicle driving just a few hours away, you will still encounter the cost of gas.

Start your research by finding out what types of transport you will need on this holiday.

Obviously, if you’re travelling overseas or across a large country or continent you will need to start with airfares.

For research purposes, I use websites like Expedia or Skyscanner   for this. Input your destination, approximate dates, number of travellers and press search. This will bring up a bunch of different results from different airlines at different times of day, some via other destinations. You don’t need to go into specifics at this stage, just scroll through and average the costs.

Again, I use Expedia , so head over there and input your dates, pick up and drop off location(s) and any other specifications you might like including GPS, child seat etc.

Like with the airfare search, you will get a bunch of results from different car hire companies and different types of vehicles available. Have a quick think about the size of car you might like and look at the different prices for each car company. Note that there is a price difference between automatic and manual car rentals. Do an average and add this price to your budget.

If you’re planning on travelling by rail or bus during your trip you will need to find an average cost for this also. Unlike with airfares and car hire, there isn’t one website that covers the whole world for rail and bus tickets so you’re going to have to do a bit more looking around for this one.

I suggest you do an internet search, for example, “rail tickets Europe”. Depending on which country you’re from will depend on the results but usually you will find a reputable website on the first page of results that will provide you with a way to search for rough prices. Once you have an average cost, add it to the spreadsheet.

While transfers are generally minor costs, they do eventually add up when combined with the other costs and help to make your budget more accurate.

Do an internet search again, this time for the airport you will be transferring to/from. Most major airports will have a section on their website called something like “getting to/from the airport”. Click on that, and it is here that you are likely to find which airport transfer companies operate at this airport and sometimes this page may even have costs on it. If costs are not listed, visit the transfer company’s website to find them out. Add this cost to the spreadsheet and remember to factor in return transfers if needed.

Public Transport

Finally public transport. This is going to be the hardest to determine and will depend on where you are travelling to. If you’re headed to a big city then this cost will be higher than if you’re visiting a smaller city or town where you’ll likely get around on foot.

Do an internet search for the official public transport website for the city you are visiting. There you will find information on tickets and prices for passes etc. When I visit a big city I usually budget for around two trips on public transport per day.

This is something that not all of you will need to think about. If you are planning on going on an organised, multi-day guided tour, then this will be one of your biggest holiday costs.

If you haven’t selected a tour company yet, I recommend that you check out Intrepid . I have personally been on a few of their tours and have nothing but great things to say about them. They offer tours to all corners of the world and having something to suit all budgets and comfort levels.

Once you have chosen your tour, you’ll be able to see on the tour company’s website how much it will cost. Don’t forget to check the tour dossier for any additional fees like single supplement, entrance fees not included in the tour price or a trip kitty to be paid on arrival.

Accommodation

The next biggest expense for your holiday is likely to be your accommodation.

There are a number of different accommodation types ranging from top of the range luxury hotels and resorts; modest run of the mill hotels and chains; apartments; budget hotels; B&B’s; hostels; and even free accommodation like coachsurfing.

Here are our go to resources for each of these accommodation styles:

  • Booking.com  – You can find just about every type of accommodation on Booking.com these days including luxury hotels and resorts, hotels in all price ranges, B&B’s and hostels.
  • Airbnb – Unique apartments and rooms all over the world. (P.S. Get up to $45 AUD off with that link!)
  • Couchsurfing – Exactly as the name says, find a couch, usually free, to sleep on in someone’s home. These aren’t always couches and sometime can be a bed or a whole room.

Once you’ve done research on one of the above websites, you should be able to find an average price from the options available and then add it to the spreadsheet.

If during your holiday you will be staying in more than one location, I suggest having a different row on the spreadsheet for each location to keep a better track of each cost. Some destinations are more expensive than others.

Sights & Activities

This is where a good guide book will come in handy. I always reference my trusty Lonely Planet at this point to get prices for the key attractions in the place I’m visiting. It’s quick and easy and you don’t need to make any firm decisions about what exactly you’re going to see and do, this is just to get an idea of price.

How much you plan to spend on sights and activities will be up to you and the destination you are visiting. If you’re spending nights in an all-inclusive resort where you plan to relax and do nothing, then this cost will likely be zero. However, if you’re visiting a big city, say Paris or New York, where a lot of the city’s must see attractions charge an entrance fee, then the costs of these will add up.

At this point you also need to think about any half and full day tours you might like to do. I use and recommend  GetYourGuide for day trips and tours. They have a wide range of tours in places all over the world and offer something to suit all budgets.

Once you have an idea of prices for sights, activities and tours you can determine an average price and add that to the spreadsheet.

Food & Drink

Working out how much you’re going to spend on food and drink will depend on what type of food experience you want to have.

If you love street food, don’t mind cooking your own meals from time to time in the hostel and drinking little or at backpacker bars then your budget will be very low. If, however you’re after fine dining experiences and lavish cocktails in flashy bars with equally flashy views, then your food budget will be high.

My food and drink budget is usually somewhere in between. I like to make a simple breakfast in the hostel (when staying in hostels), have a quick simple lunch on the go and finish the day off with a reasonable meal in a nice sit down restaurant. I don’t snack a lot throughout the day but might have an ice cream on a hot day or the odd street snack if I can’t help myself.

As an example, for Europe my average daily food budget following the above criteria is around €40 per person. This might seem a lot to budget travellers and too little to those who travel more up market.

It is also going to depend on which part of the world you are in. Most of SE Asia will cost you a small fraction of the price of most other regions and countries in the world. Australia is notorious for being expensive for food and parts of Europe and South America are up there too.

The Budget Your Trip website has estimated costs in three budget levels that should help you figure out how much you’ll need in each of your destinations. Once you have these, add them to the spreadsheet. And remember my earlier tip of using the notes column to mention how many meals you have budgeted for.

How much you want to spend on souvenirs and shopping when you travel is entirely up to you. Some people, like me, avoid buying souvenirs and shopping all together because it is extra weight on my back. But for others, shopping is part of the travel experience.

If there is something specific that you want to purchase in your destination then do a bit of research about how much it costs.

Closer to your trip if you have saved really well and have more than you need to cover the important expenses, then you might like to allow yourself a bit of shopping money. Really, it’s up to you. Just make sure that these expenses make it on your budget at some point before you leave.

Other Expenses

The biggest major expense you will have in this section is travel insurance. The cost of this is going to depend on where you are travelling to, from and what level of cover you are comfortable with.

When travelling overseas I use and recommend World Nomads .  They offer different levels of cover with something to suit everyone, cover a large range of destinations and are competitively priced.

Purchasing luggage, if this is your first trip, may also be a cost you need to factor in. If you’re after a backpack check out your local adventure stores and for suitcases try a department store. Online research is also a great idea to get an average price.

I also highly recommend having a good guide book or eBook with you before and during your travels. I personally love Lonely Planet but there are others that provide similar information for similar prices.

Bringing it All Together

A sample capture of what my travel budget looks like - How to Budget for Travel - The Trusted Traveller

By now your spreadsheet will be looking very full and you should have an idea of a total average budget. This of course can be tweaked at this stage if you feel it is too high or (very rarely) too low. You’ll have to really think about what is most important to you when you travel.

There are ways of reducing your budget with a bit of creative thinking. Here are a few of my tips:

  • To reduce airfares consider budget airlines or indirect flights. Keep an eye out for sales or use airline miles to cover some of the costs.
  • Forgo adding a GPS to your hire car and instead download offline maps using a good app to your smartphone.
  • Mix it up a bit with your accommodation, especially on a long trip. If you like sleeping in luxury, try adding a few nights in a cheaper form of accommodation like an apartment.
  • Research free activities and events going in your destination and look up museum websites for days they offer free entry.
  • Have a picnic lunch from time to time with food purchased at a local market or supermarket. Not only is this cheaper but it will give you a great insight into the food that the locals eat.
  • If you don’t travel too often, borrow luggage from friends and family to save you the cost of purchasing it yourself.
  • Don’t settle for the cheapest travel insurance policy just because it’s cheaper. Remember that you get what you pay for and that sometimes spending that little bit more will save you in the long run.

Now it’s time to start saving!

Over to you!

What style of traveller are you? Budget, luxury or somewhere in between? Or does your budget vary from trip to trip like me?

Let me know using the comments section below or join me on social media to start a conversation.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.

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19 thoughts on “How to Budget for Travel”

Learning how to budget is extremely important! This shows you don’t have to break the bank to have a great travel experience!

That is very true Emma. Thanks for stopping by.

This is so helpful. Thanks for breaking it down easily. I love the spreadsheet. Planning a big vacation can often seem daunting, but this will sure help for our next big trip.

Thanks Gretta! I’m glad this will be of help to you.

This is a great, comprehensive list Jen. I like how you’ve covered the various areas for each cost budget of travel such as cost of accommodation etc.

I always think it is wise to add in a contingency element. There is always unexpected costs or an emergency. Mind you travel insurance should help if you get a good policy.

I also vouch the idea of downloading offline maps to a phone, these are a great innovation.

Absolutely, a contingency is very important for those unexpected costs with or without travel insurance.

Hi! Great post, thanks for being so organized and covering ALL the possible areas of travel costs, especially the sneaky ones like travel insurance. I’m a frequent trip planner myself.

Rather than just downloading offline maps, did you know you can look up a map while you have service or wifi on your phone, and then follow yourself on the map via the GPS dot even when you lose service? It doesn’t always work, and you don’t get navigation, but most times you can at least track your location which helps me a ton.

Thanks Leslie and thanks too for sharing such a fantastic tip, i’d never thought of doing that.

Great breakdown! I think it’s important to figure out a ‘daily budget’ once you’ve saved.

Thanks Dannielle. Totally agree.

Thank you so much for this article. I’m so gonna refer to this for my NZ trip January next year! 🙂

Awesome! Have a great time.

We’re traveling to Europe in April and your spreadsheet example has been really helpful!! Thanks 🙂

So glad I could help Nicole. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about your trip. We are always happy to help out where we can. Hope you have an amazing time!

Yes, it is possible to travel wisely. Our family of four spent almost 3 weeks in the Dominican Republic earlier this year and paid cash! It was amazing! Thanks for sharing tips on how to plan and budget for vacation.

Well done Aja. I think everyone should be like that too!

Absolutely helpful! Great tips and websites for research, I am a planner, I still find new websites, blogs to read that help me to improve my planning skills.

You are awesome!

Thanks Celestina!

Your budget sheet is going to be a huge help.

Thanks so much for sending this.

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Always feel confident about your tour prices. Simply plugin your overall costs to see what you should be charging to cover your expenses. And play around with your seasonal pricing to make more during your peak times or drive bookings when it’s slow.

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Tour costing example included!

We’re not going to lie; this tour operator costing sheet is extensive. But there’s an example and helpful notes you can use as a reference along the way.

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More tips on pricing and promotion

  • How to Make Tour Packages That Sell Themselves
  • Why Tour Photos Make the Best Souvenirs
  • How to Create an Early Bird Pricing Strategy
  • How to Sell Out In Advance with Group Pricing

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Home » Google Sheets » 9 Best Free☝️ Google Sheets Travel Budget Templates for 2023

Daniel Smith

  • Updated: April 17, 2023

9 Best Free☝️ Google Sheets Travel Budget Templates for 2023

Planning for a vacation is undoubtedly one of the more exciting budgeting exercises you can do. Even a business trip can be an occasion to look forward to. 

However, a lack of proper planning can result in a flop of a holiday or a business trip rather than a fabulous or productive one. 

But that doesn’t have to be you. In this article, we review some of the best Google Sheets travel budget templates to help you prepare for your long-awaited break or business trip!

1. Free Downloadable Travel Budget Template

Free Downloadable Travel Budget Template

Designed by Vertex42

If your itinerary is going to be jam-packed with lots of stopovers and plenty of travel activities to see and do, the Free Downloadable Travel Budget Template by Vertex42 is an excellent option.

It is so user-friendly and ideally suited to travel planning, with a graph that depicts the sum totals of your budget categories so that you can view how these costs are going without necessarily having to go back to the drawing board to establish where you overspend.

2.Daily Travel Budget Template

Daily Travel Budget Template

Designed by Charlie Marchant

The Daily Travel Budget Template by Charlie Marchant is an excellent step-by-step guide to use if you have a jam-packed travel trip coming up that requires you to track daily expenses more carefully. 

What’s unique about this travel budget template is that you have a local currency column and a home currency column you can use for comparison purposes. 

And then there’s also a total budget row that you can compare to the sum of your daily totals to see if you are edging towards going over budget or keeping to the plan .

3. Artist Tour Budget Template

Artist Tour Budget Template

Designed by The Crafty Musician

The Artist Tour Budget Template by The Crafty Musician is a great touring budget if you plan on going from place to place and want to enjoy yourself in the process while not being too preoccupied by expenses that go with the territory. 

This budget template also has a special column for venue prices depending on the town you’re in, so you can pick the most profitable venue for you depending on your tour goals and the spend you have available – which, of course, relies on how your trip pans out while you’re visiting each destination.

4. Business Travel Budget Template

Business Travel Budget Template

Designed by Spreadsheet Daddy

The Business Travel Budget by Spreadsheet Daddy is designed nicely for business trip expenses. This spreadsheet should help you monitor and account for expenses on a business trip for record-keeping purposes. 

Category expenses that this budget template include are airfare, hotel, car rental, gas, entertainment, food, and other miscellaneous costs.

5. Corporate Travel Budget Template

Corporate Travel Budget Template

Since a corporate travel budget needs to be a little more finessed than the norm, this spreadsheet template by Spreadsheet Daddy is the one to use to accurately record typical corporate travel costs in a neat and corporate-looking document for future company reference.

6. Family Travel Template

Family Travel Template

The Family Travel Template by Spreadsheet is perfect for your next family vacation. It has a place for listing itineraries and transportation details. 

If you need a helpful reminder on what to pack, this template has a section for that, too, so you won’t forget the essentials when you and your family depart on a long journey.

7. Study Abroad Travel Budget Template

Study Abroad Travel Budget Template

Studying and living abroad can be costly. Take control over your new lifestyle expenses with The Study Abroad Travel Budget Template by Spreadsheet Daddy and jot down the main category expenses to avoid being caught unawares regarding unanticipated expenses in a new country.

8. Sales Travel Budget

Sales Travel Budget

The Sales Travel Budget Template is ideal for recording all the sales you make while on your travels. You can even use filters to establish what you sold more of and when this occurred to validate your trip.

9. Year-Long Travel Budget Template

Year-Long Travel Budget Template

The Year-Long Travel Budget Template by Spreadsheet Daddy is a good example to use if you are a perpetual traveler and require a suitable budget for year-round travel.

You can even record miles traveled, how much time you spent traveling during daylight hours and during the night, and additional expenses incurred. You can gain insights and reflect on how your travels were spent and if the trip was optimized as much as possible.

Does Google Sheets have a travel budget template?

Google Sheets does not have a travel budget template that you can download within its standard templates. However, there are plenty of free travel budget templates available for download that you can access simply by clicking on the links shown above. Perhaps best of all is the fact you can customize these spreadsheet templates to personify your travel trip best.

How do I create a travel budget in Google Sheets?

Travel budgets are one of these things where you might not think it necessary to list certain expenses. Or you may think it’s necessary to list everything – but this can get a little messy and difficult to track if you don’t have the main travel categories to follow.

Daniel Smith

5 Things to Consider When Costing and Pricing a Tour

One of the key factors for success in the tourism industry is the right tour costing and pricing. Set the price too high and people won’t buy. Set it too low, and you’ll go out of business .

To ensure that consumers purchase your tours and partners promote them, your prices must be consistent, accurate, and competitive.

If you are developing a new vacation package, have you considered listing your existing tour offer on various distribution channels? Or perhaps attract another type of travelers?

  • The Best Distribution Channels in Travel and Tourism

The cost and price of your products are connected with the decisions you make in the early stages of product development.

This article will help you determine the individual elements that make up the cost and price of your products. Read on and learn how to better costing and pricing a tour.

What you should consider when costing and pricing a tour

travel costing example

Finding an optimal price for your travel products involves researching, doing some math and a little bit of trial and error .

Below you can find what is necessary for a tour operator to get as close as possible to the ideal price of a tour.

Define your pricing objective

The pricing objective is the goal you want to achieve with your pricing strategy. There are multiple pricing objectives, some of the most common are:

  • Premium pricing — charging a high, rarely discounted price to preserve the status of your brand.
  • Differentiation — thinking of price as one of the differentiation factors of your brand. For instance, you could aim to be the best budget travel company in New York.
  • Closing sales — closing as many sales as possible, which often implicates negotiations and discounts.
  • Price leadership — setting a lower price than the competition.
  • Price discrimination — charging a high price to customers who are willing to pay more while still selling to price-sensitive customers. For example, by offering coupons that are valid only on Thursdays, you may attract price-sensitive travelers while travelers who are willing to pay more will travel at their convenience.

Take your time to choose the right price objective for your business. You should pick the one that is in accordance with your marketing, financial, strategic and product goals.

  • How to Profit from a Discount Strategy for Tours and Activities

Remember, business and market conditions change over time, and may your price objective as well. Review it when you feel it’s necessary, and don’t be afraid to change it according to a future business scenario.

Determine the demand

The demand has an important role in tour costing and pricing

According to Investopedia :

Demand is an economic principle referring to a consumer’s desire to purchase goods and services and willingness to pay a price for a specific good or service.

Demand in the tours and activities sector means how many tourists would book your tour for a determined price.

Other factors that have a direct impact on the demand for your experiences are:

  • The degree of competition in your market
  • How unique is your product
  • The quality of the overall experience

To estimate the demand for your product, you can perform surveys, price experiments, and statistical analyses. Creating your ideal customer persona will also help you measure the size of your market.

  • Get to Know the Ideal Customer for Your Tour Business

Calculating demand may be a complex task, so it’s a good idea to hire a specialized company to handle it for you.

Estimate your costs

travel costing example

Costing an experience is different than costing a good.

For the first one, you are essentially selling a service . Of course, your offer may include add-ons that are goods. But pricing those items is not the objective here.

To price an experience you should consider the many expenses needed to keep your business running. From energy bills to organizing, distributing, selling, and leading a tour.

Your final price should be able to cover all the expenses directly related to the tour, and also a fraction of the expenses that will occur despite the tour. Those are the direct and indirect costs respectively.

Some of the expenses connected to a tour operator business are:

  • Maintenance of the equipment used during the tour/activity
  • The salary of tour guides, sales personnel, customer service, etc.
  • Training courses you will offer to your staff
  • The commission for distributing your tours — depends on your chosen channel (business partners, direct bookings, Online Travel Agencies, etc.)
  • Internet, mobile phone, energy, rent, and other bills
  • Government taxes according to the country you operate
  • Your monthly investment in marketing

The list of expenses goes on. But you should know all of them to better costing and pricing tour tours.

For that reason, don’t hesitate in asking for help from a professional accountant. Setting the correct cost will save you a lot of money.

Analyze your competition

Tour operators should benchmark their prices against competitors to establish a reference price.

A reference price is a price that a traveler considers fair to pay for your tour in comparison to competitors’ tours.

When benchmarking the competition you should note the differences between the experience you are offering and the ones your competitors are offering.

What are their differentials? What is their price? Which channels do they use to distribute their tours? Who is the market leader? What are their payment conditions?

Each detail matters. By understanding your competition it will be easier to see your own strengths and weaknesses, and what is considered a fair price for your tours in the eyes of your customers.

Select a pricing method

travel costing example

Unfortunately, there isn’t an ultimate formula for tour costing and pricing. Although would be great just to add the inputs, set the parameters and… voilà! Here you go the right price for your experience.

As I said at the beginning of this article, finding the price that works better for your business is more or less a trial and error journey.

The good news is that you can use one of the methods I’ll describe below as the starting point for your journey.

Cost-oriented pricing

This method involves calculating the cost of a tour and then adding a percentage markup to determine the final price. That’s the easiest way to calculate what a tour should be priced at.

There are essentially five ways that you can do that:

  • Cost-plus pricing involves adding a certain percentage to the cost to fix the price. For example, if the cost of a wine experience is $150 per person and the marketer expects 12% profit on costs, then the selling price will be $168. The difference between the selling price and the cost ($18) is the profit.
  • Mark-up pricing is a variation of cost pricing where tour operators increase the cost of a tour before offering a significant discount. That way, travelers feel like they are getting a deal and travel companies can get more profits. Mark-ups are calculated as a percentage of the selling price and not as a percentage of the cost price.
  • Mark-down pricing means that you offer your products at a discounted rate in order to increase the number of bookings you receive.
  • Break-even pricing covers all the relevant fixed and variable costs. The sales revenue equals the cost of sold tour and vacation packages. There is neither profit nor loss.
  • Target return pricing is the pricing method where a tour operator sets prices to achieve a certain level of return on investment (ROI).

Market-oriented pricing

When using this method you will set a final price based on the current market conditions.

This means you should know very well the market that you are operating including your competitors, demand, etc.

This method fits well with companies that offer products with a high intangible value . That’s the case for tour operators.

Each experience is unique and customers will perceive a higher value as more memorable the experience is.

In a similar way to costing oriented pricing, there are different techniques to find a final price based on the market:

  • Perceived value pricing considers perceived value as the primary factor for fixing prices, and the costs as a secondary factor. If the customer perceives a higher value, then the price fixed will be high, otherwise, it should be lowered.
  • Going-rate pricing sets the price by major competitors. If a major competitor changes their price, then the smaller travel companies may also change their price, irrespective of their costs or demand.
  • Customer segment pricing : Here different customer groups are charged different prices for the same tour depending on the size of group bookings, payment terms, and so on.
  • Time pricing : Here different prices are charged for the same tour at different departures or season. It includes off-peak pricing, where low prices are charged during low-demand tunings or season.
  • Area pricing : Here different prices are charged for the same tour in different market areas. For instance, a travel company may charge a lower price in a new market to attract travelers.

If you want to dive deeper into the matter, the book Pricing Done Right is a good start.

Calculating the tour costing and pricing is essential for all tour operators and it’s something that should be done in the early stages of your business.

Finding the right prices for your products will prevent future losses. If you are in the market for a while, consider checking your pricing objectives and updating your market research.

That is something you should do once in a while to make sure your prices are competitive and that you are receiving what is fair for your tours.

If you found this article useful, download our guide The Best Way to Price Tour and Vacation Packages .

ORIOLY on August 18, 2021

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Automatic Tour Cost Calculation for Travel Agencies & DMCs

Travel agencies and DMCs create lots of Tour Itinerary proposals for Tour package queries from B2B & B2C Clients. One of the most important aspects of the Tour Itinerary building process is tour cost calculation and defining the selling price of the Tour Itinerary proposal.

To calculate the tour costing, you need to check out the cost of Hotel Room (Extra bed price if needed), cost of meals, Transportation cost (Airport Transfers and Sightseeing cost) & Activities cost. You collect all these data in a paper or excel sheet to calculate the total cost and Also, you add your markup and GST to get the final Tour cost. Also, you need to do the same process again if you have received any change in itinerary from a customer.

If you need to calculate the per person costing then you need to get the cost of every service for every person involved in the Tour which requires more time and effort.

Let's take an example of Andaman Tour Query received from B2B agent: -

Requirements:

  • Tour: 6 days for Family of 4 Adults and 2 Children (12 Yrs, 8 Yrs) from 25th Dec 2022
  • Places to visit: Port Blair, Havelock and Neil Island
  • Hotel Preference: 4 Star Hotels on MAP Meal Plan
  • Special Preference: Scuba Diving, Luxury Ferries and Glass Boat Ride

General Tour Cost Calculation Process

  • So, You search for Hotel cost for every place according to the Tour date and Room Type, Transfers & Sightseeing cost for everyday, Cost of ferries and Activities. Sometimes you need to ask the cost of Hotels, Transportation and Others from managers OR colleagues.
  • You paste all the components costing into an excel sheet or paper and You loosely calculate the total cost of Tour.
  • You add your markup and GST on the total cost to get the Final tour costing.
  • If you need to provide the per person costing then you calculate the cost of every component for every person.
  • If a customer asks you for changes in Tour Itinerary (4-5 changes for every convertible query) then you need to do the same process again.

Facing issue of wrong price calculation?

Manual tour cost calculation (Loosely calculated tour cost) brings lots of problems for Travel Agencies and DMCs like wrong tour cost calculation, error in picking up the component price and NO trail OR record of cost calculation if required later by the reservations team. Also error in tour cost calculation brings revenue loss and sometimes hurt the goodwill of Travel Agency.

But Sembark Travel Software is here to help the Travel Agencies and DMCs to automate the Tour cost calculation which is error free and fast.

How does Sembark Travel Software Automate the Tour Cost Calculation Process ?

Auto hotel cost calculation.

Auto prices fetch from database for hotels as per room type, meal plan, extra bed requirement (Adult, Child) & Date and provides the Hotel cost by combining costs of all hotels

image showing hotel selection with meal plan, room type, no of rooms with extra bed and per room night price

Auto Transport & Activity Cost Calculation

Auto prices fetch from database for Transport (as per cab type, type of service & Date) and Activity cost (as per day type of activity, Adult/Child/ Group and Date) & Auto Calculate the total cost of Transports and Activities

Image showing transport and activity cost as per date, type and service

Auto Per person price

Automatically calculate the per person cost (Adult and Child separately) as per the Hotels, Transports and Activities of every person involved in the Tour

Image showing per person cost calculation as per different travel services

Markup & GST

Define markup in % OR absolute markup OR per person wise markup and GST & Get the Total Tour Cost

Image showing markup, get calculation and get total price

Do you want to know more about Sembark Travel Software ? We are ready to answer all the questions and explain how it can help you to Transform your travel business.

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Thoughtful pricing strategies for tour operators

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Tour costing and pricing is one of the most important things to get right, especially for new tour operators. Even experienced operators with established pricing strategies can’t rest on their laurels, and need to review and tweak their pricing according to changing market and business conditions. 

travel costing example

In recent years, tour companies have had to scramble to adapt multiple parts of their business, including pricing, to a new world–first with COVID-19, and then with rapidly rising inflation. Adjusting your prices can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some important things to consider when pricing your tours and activities.

The importance of pricing objectives

As with all parts of your business strategy, setting prices takes a lot of thought. You could, for example, aim to establish a name as the go-to budget operator for a particular destination, but you don’t want to price so low that you struggle to make a profit—or even stay in business. And what about travelers’ perception of your brand? Go too cheap and you may put some people off. On the flip side, go too far down the premium pricing route and you risk putting your tours out of reach for a lot of travelers and not generating enough business. 

travel costing example

To get your tour pricing right, it’s important to do some thorough research, know your audience and market inside out, undertake a lot of number crunching, and ideally do some testing. 

The first step is to consider your goals or, in this case, your pricing objectives. Once you know these, you can make clear-headed, informed pricing strategy decisions. Otherwise you’re just throwing out some numbers and hoping for the best. Consider the following common tour pricing objectives:

travel costing example

Retain customers: Do you want to build a loyal, long-term customer base? Typically, this means fairly consistent pricing so you don’t upset existing customers with out-of-the-blue price raises.

Differentiate your brand: Pricing is one way to stand out from the competition—either pricing lower to be the go-to budget tour operator or pricing higher to be known as a premium option in the market. Alternatively you could take a price-matching approach and aim to stand out in other ways.

Make more profits: You’re obviously in business to be as successful as possible. Maximizing profits typically involves keeping your costs as low as possible and your prices as high as possible, as well as by selling as many tours as possible. All of this requires thoughtful pricing. 

Maximize sales: Another common objective is to sell as many tours as possible. Do you price low to corner the market? Do you adjust your pricing at different times in different markets to keep sales high?

Maintain your brand image: Pricing also affects branding. There’s a big difference in how a brand is perceived if they price low or high. How do you want your brand to be seen?

Your pricing objectives should align with your broader business objectives, your stage and place in the market—e.g. a new or established name—and your financial circumstances.

4 key pricing considerations

Once you know your objectives, you need to consider the various factors that go into tour pricing. Here are some of the main things to focus on when setting prices for your tours and activities:

1. Know your costs 

Calculating-costs

You simply can’t consider pricing without considering operating costs. The two work together like a fine wine paired with the perfect cheese. Knowing your costs helps you establish a minimum price starting point—your break-even point—capable of at least keeping you in business. Your costs can be put into two broad categories:

Fixed costs: Rent, utility bills, staff salaries, and equipment and software maintenance or operation are all examples of fixed costs. These are predictable expenses.

Variable costs: These include less predictable costs. For tour operators, these often depend on how many tours and activities you sell and what they are. For example, you may need to hire more guides one season to cope with an increase in demand. Other costs to consider include commissions, staff training, and marketing. 

Ideally, you want to figure out a per-tour and per-activity cost to help you price your tours and activities appropriately. This pricing method is known as cost-based pricing. It’s perhaps the simplest strategy. When you know your per-tour and per-activity cost, you can mark up (or down) as needed according to your overall pricing objectives, and in a way that helps you reach your revenue targets. 

2. Know your value

travel costing example

Every tour you sell has a particular value to your customers. They are buying an experience rather than a product, so a tour that has a very high perceived value—for example a once-in-a- lifetime experience—can have a higher price. 

You can add value to your tours by offering specific services that may not add too much to your costs but have a high perceived value to your customers. For example, including meals or hotel transfers, etc.

Travelers value different things. Some might place a lot of value in an all-inclusive package to a highly popular resort, while others may place great value on doing something different and unique. You should aim to price your tours and activities accordingly. Knowing your target audience is a key part of this.

3. Know your competition

travel costing example

Who is your competition and how do they price their tours? You almost certainly have competitors who offer similar tours or operate in the same locations. Even if you have few or no direct competitors, you are still competing with the many other things people have to spend their travel budget on.

Knowing how your competition prices their tours, and what value they offer, will help you establish a benchmark price so you can position your tours appropriately. If travelers are used to paying a certain amount for a particular type of tour—the market rate—you need to know what that is so you can then price higher or lower depending on what you offer compared to your competitors.

This is some of the most important research you can carry out, so take your time with a deep dive into your competition:

  • Who is the premium operator in your space?
  • Who is the budget option?
  • What do their customers get for their money?
  • Where do they sell their tours?
  • What reviews do they get (a great way to see if customers feel they are getting value for money)?

4. Know your market

As well as knowing the market rate for tours and activities, you need to know the demand within your market. If there is high demand, you may be able to charge higher prices and focus on adding value. If demand is low for some reason, e.g. it’s a new type of activity that hasn’t taken off yet or there has been a change in market conditions that reduced demand, then your price can reflect that lower demand, and then rise as demand increases.

Adapting pricing to market conditions is known as market-based pricing. The key is to constantly monitor your market, including what people want and what they’re willing to pay for—and how much they’re willing to pay—as well as your competition, inflation, and other timely factors.

This pricing model includes seasonal pricing, dynamic pricing (which we look at below), and last-minute pricing and discounts.

Pricing integrity when pricing tours and activities

travel costing example

Almost all travelers are price-conscious to some degree. No one wants to feel like they’re paying too much for something. And everyone loves to feel like they’re getting a good deal.

This is where “pricing integrity” comes into play. The more common definition of pricing integrity from a tour operator’s perspective is how fair, transparent, and consistent your pricing is. As mentioned earlier, you don’t want to surprise customers with sudden and drastic price increases. And you don’t want to offer some customer groups a huge discount while others pay full whack.

Making sure your pricing is fair and consistent for all of your customers, and giving them full transparency, ie. no hidden and unexpected costs while or after booking, is very important for your brand. This is especially important in a post-COVID world, where customers increasingly want to deal with brands they can trust and rely on—especially over the long-term.

Another definition of “integrity” is to describe something that is structurally sound. This can also apply to your pricing strategy. A sound, sustainable pricing strategy can be the solid foundation on which your business success is built.

Dynamic pricing for tour operators

Dynamic pricing is a market-based pricing strategy that is very common in the travel and tourism industry, and one that is increasingly accepted by consumers.

travel costing example

If you’ve ever noticed how airline ticket prices change depending on when a ticket is booked, or when ski hill passes change price the nearer you get to the day you want to ski, you’ve seen dynamic pricing in action. 

Dynamic pricing has been used in the travel industry for years, and it’s also common in the entertainment, retail, sports, and other sectors. It enables you to adjust your pricing based on a variety of factors in order to fill more seats, increase profits, and even offer your customers incentives for early booking.

Dynamic pricing is a way for tour operators to maintain price integrity, by rewarding customers who book early or showing that you can adapt to their changing needs, while also adapting to changing market conditions. 

Rezgo online booking system screen

To succeed with dynamic pricing, you need adaptable online booking software. Rezgo provides a rules-based pricing system that enables you to set up automated pricing adjustments based on a variety of factors, such as date, remaining capacity, early birds, and promo codes, so you can offer the right pricing for every situation.  Developing the right pricing strategy, or combination of strategies, is a crucial part of running a tour operator business. Be aware though that even when you settle on a pricing strategy, it’s never really settled, just like how your website is never really finished. You need to always keep a close eye on your market and competitors, and make tweaks and improvements to make it work better for you.

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Written By | Rob Mathison

Rob Mathison is a Vancouver-based freelance writer focusing on tech, travel, digital marketing, and education. He is a co-author of The Complete Resident’s Guide to Vancouver.

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Pricing Strategies for Tour Operators

Moira McCormick

Price setting for tour operators requires a strong mix of marketing strategy and financial analysis.  The people, accommodation and components that make up the experience/holiday you provide can be incredibly diverse and pricing strategies often evolve as a tour operator develops its brand and market share. 

What to Consider When Setting Your Pricing Strategy

Setting the right price for your products or services can determine your success as tour operator, influence customer perception, and directly impact your bottom line. In this ever-evolving marketplace, mastering the art of pricing requires a keen understanding of various factors that come into play:

  • How unique is your business?  The more unique your product the more flexibility you will have to decide your pricing.
  • What value added services do you provide that enhance the perceived value of your offering?  Some examples include free parking, a purchase incentive such as champagne on arrival or discounted tickets to a particular attraction or eatery.
  • What market do you want to attract and what position in that market do you want to establish?  Research your target market in relation to product needs, price sensitivity, length of stay etc.
  • What are your operating costs?  Calculate your break-even point and therefore what your minimum pricing should be for profit goals (estimates of revenue, occupancy rates etc will be needed).
  • What do competitors with similar products and services charge within your market? Competitors’ prices do influence the maximum rate at which your product can be sold but you must be aware of your own financial position (debt levels, cash flow etc) before you can decide whether you should compete on price.
  • When launching it may be necessary to set prices lower than your longer-term pricing expectations in order to attract volume, credibility and establish your brand.  As you become more established with regular bookings you can consider increasing prices.
  • What is your overall marketing strategy?  If you cater for the luxury traveller pricing may not fluctuate much at all but if you are targeting the budget traveller you will rely on volume of bookings.

Pricing Strategies Tour Operators Can Use 

Mark up pricing strategy.

Set the prices of your holidays, tours and activities to ensure that you make a profit on each sale. Identify all of the costs associated with running your business which includes the time spent developing and promoting a holiday or experience.

The fixed costs include rent, building maintenance, any machinery and insurances.  Variable costs include wages, energy, repairs, petrol, uniforms, bank fees, promotional and travel costs.

Mark Down Pricing Strategy

A mark down pricing strategy requires tour operators to mark down their prices in order to remain competitive.

It’s ideal during slower months.  If the cost for your offering is normally £400 per person, then you might mark down your prices to £299 per person to allow you to (hopefully) earn some profit on each booking, while remaining competitive and keeping the business afloat. 

It might even mean you generate more bookings than you would have without this promotional discount – and thus earn more income.

Tourists are increasingly turning to “packages” to meet all of their holiday needs - hotel, airfare, transfers, tours and activities all for one inclusive price.  Developing packages with complementary tourism partners is a good way to stimulate demand and add value without having to discount.  

Packages can also be used to target niche markets effectively, e.g. golfing holidays, food and wine tasting, beauty and relaxation etc.

You can use “disguised pricing” which hides the exact cost of individual components and also the extent of discount provided by contributing operators.

“Visible pricing” which gives your clients the flexibility to select their preferred package components according to their travel preferences and budget.

All tourism businesses should have a rack rate, an official rate before any discounts are applied. These are the “brochure” prices printed in advance of the coming season.  The rack rate for activity and attraction operators is more likely to remain the same during a peak holiday season without any day to day discounting.  However, accommodation providers will be changing their rack rate almost daily to reach capacity.

Seasonal Pricing

This is different price levels throughout the year to cover low and high seasons. These are usually the same date periods each year and apply for school holidays, public holidays or for local events where the dates vary each year.

Last Minute Pricing

A common pricing strategy for accommodation suppliers and tour operators to fill any last-minute gaps.  It involves discounting prices according to take-up which are then promoted on last minute booking websites.

Discounting

Discounts are often applied in the offseason or to assist with yield management but be selective in their implementation because it could become a fast route to reducing your profitability. 

With last minute price deals, just select those where you really need more takers.  Consider adding conditions to a discounted price like a minimum stay or number of travellers in the booking. 

Tourists do become used to discounted prices and you therefore run the risk of not only making it harder to charge your normal rates, but it will also devalue your product.

Common Pricing Types

Per Person pricing - is a set price per person, commonly used by activity/attraction and transport operators, accommodation providers and campsites.  Options may include an adult, child and senior citizen price.

Per Unit pricing - is a set price for 1 unit of the product, e.g. price per night.  Usually, the advertised price is for 2 adults or 2 + child rate.

Single or double occupancy - is common for B&B’s, there is a single rate and a double rate (which is not double that of the single rate).

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https://www.rezdy.com/blog/mark-up-vs-mark-down-pricing-strategy/

http://www.encore.ca/en/travel-trends-2018-travel-prices-are-going-up/

https://www.rezdy.com/blog/tips-about-selling-packaged-tourism-products/

http://www.tourismindustryblog.co.nz/2010/03/pricing-strategy-for-tourism-businesses/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316972324_Pricing_strategies_of_tour_operator_and_online_travel_agency_based_on_cooperation_to_achieve_O2O_model

https://www.destinationnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Tourism-Business-Toolkit-VOL2-Chapter3.pdf

https://acteavo.com/blog/5-must-marketing-tools-tour-operators/

https://www.4hoteliers.com/features/article/5378

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/online-travel-agents-monitoring-of-pricing-practices

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IMAGES

  1. EXCEL of Travel Expenses Report.xls

    travel costing example

  2. Travel Budget Template

    travel costing example

  3. travel-budget-template-318

    travel costing example

  4. 14+ Free Travel Budget Templates (Excel Worksheets)

    travel costing example

  5. MS Excel Printable Business Trip Budget Template

    travel costing example

  6. Travel Estimate Template for Excel

    travel costing example

VIDEO

  1. Job Order Costing Example Problems

  2. cost accounting

  3. traditional costing # ABC # BBS Second year # TU Solution

  4. Activity Based Costing example Part 6 of 8, tutorial lesson review accounting

  5. Activity Based Costing example Part 5 of 8, tutorial lesson review accounting

  6. 2.8.5 Inventory/ FIFO ITEM COSTING EXAMPLE

COMMENTS

  1. Travel Budget Worksheet

    The worksheet is set up to let you enter a quantity and unit cost for each item. For example, for lodging you can enter the number of nights you will be staying and the cost per night. If you will be driving rather than flying, you can enter the total miles and the cost per mile. Remember to include both fuel and wear as part of the cost (see ...

  2. How to Make a Travel Budget in 2023 [Free Template]

    Creating a travel budget isn't all about spreadsheets. A finely-crafted budget is designed to maximize your total travel experience and make life easy. ... you will need a single shot costing as much as $350. ... For example, it can be easier and cheaper to travel through Europe using trains and buses than worrying about having to take care ...

  3. How to Calculate Cost of Travel: 10 Steps (with Pictures)

    Put together all of the driving trips you plan to take to get a total traveling distance. 2. Divide the distance by your vehicle's mileage to find your fuel needs. Find out your vehicle's mileage rate and then use that number to divide the total distance that you plan to travel with that vehicle.

  4. Estimating Travel Costs

    Consider accommodation, food, entertainment and transportation expenses. Reality check that total. Approximate the cost for a hotel, food, entrance fees (museums, shows, etc), and local transportation. Consult guidebooks, other travelers, and booking websites to ensure that your budget is realistic for your travel style.

  5. Budget Your Trip

    View typical and average travel costs for thousands of cities and hundreds of countries around the world. Plan your next trip with real knowledge of your travel budget. All of the average travel costs come from real travelers. You can sign up to track your own travel expenses, too. France United States Thailand Morocco Ireland Brazil.

  6. How to estimate travel expenses

    AN EXAMPLE: We are taking a cruise vacation, and want to stay at a hotel the night before the cruise.We considered hotels near the cruise port in Tampa, but the cheapest we found was close to $300 per night. We looked at hotels about an hour away (along our road trip travel route), and found an overnight stay for about $120, including a full hot breakfast.

  7. How to Budget YOUR Trip like a Pro! (With Excel)

    with the Budgeting Template. The first thing you'll have to do to get started is to download the Trip Budgeting Template I prepared for you. DOWNLOAD LINK HERE. The file is in .xlsx format, so you'll be able to open it with Excel or any similar program. Once downloaded, open the file and you'll notice a large big table with 3 smaller ...

  8. How to Make a Travel Budget

    Food for 9 days: $405 per person, $810 total (again, this does not include alcohol) Money for unplanned activities, souvenirs, etc.: $300 per person, $600 total. The total for this trip comes out to $5423 total, which I would just round up to $5500 for a cushion, so that's $2750 per person.

  9. Use Excel to Manage Your Travel Budget

    Open Excel. Launch Microsoft Excel on your computer. You can typically find it in the Microsoft Office suite or as a standalone application. Create a new spreadsheet. Once Excel is open, click on "File" in the top-left corner. Select "New" and then choose "Blank Workbook" to start with a fresh spreadsheet.

  10. Free Travel Budget Calculator: Can You Afford Your Trip?

    Enter Your Expenses - Now that you know how much each item will likely cost, enter these figures into our Travel Budget Calculator below, including your total budget, number of travellers, number of days and your estimate for flights, transport, tours, food and miscellaneous items. Click Calculate - This will give you 4 totals below the ...

  11. 18+ Travel Budget Template in Google Docs

    5 Steps to Create a Travel Budget: Step 1: Travel Costs. Your travel costs include your flight tickets to and fro. This way, you can keep in mind how much is the travel costing you on the trip alone. Pick the cheapest flight for your travel, so that you can spend that money on the trip.

  12. How to Increase Revenue with Tour Costing and Pricing

    Ultimately, your approach to tour costing and pricing needs to cover costs and establish a profit margin — even if it's only 10-15% after your costs are accounted for. 2. Demand. If you're already in your busy season, you might find yourself stretched thin with what you can do independent of additional staff.

  13. Calculating Travel Expenses for Businesses

    2. Pay with personal cards and submit expense claims. For many small to medium size businesses, this is the simpler option. Asking employees to pay business expenses from their personal account is pretty standard practice. Reimbursing expenses can be a time-consuming process for both Admin professionals and staff.

  14. How to Budget for Travel

    To reduce airfares consider budget airlines or indirect flights. Keep an eye out for sales or use airline miles to cover some of the costs. Forgo adding a GPS to your hire car and instead download offline maps using a good app to your smartphone. Mix it up a bit with your accommodation, especially on a long trip.

  15. The All-In-One Tour Operator Costing Sheet

    Let the numbers guide you. Always feel confident about your tour prices. Simply plugin your overall costs to see what you should be charging to cover your expenses. And play around with your seasonal pricing to make more during your peak times or drive bookings when it's slow.

  16. Free Travel Budget Templates for Excel

    Step 1: Make a list of all preparation expenses. Preparation expenses include the finances you need to spend for your upcoming trip. Here are the crucial: Besides a valid passport, you will need a travel visa for specific countries. Obtaining both can take weeks, and application fees vary among locations.

  17. 9 Best Free☝️ Google Sheets Travel Budget Templates for 2023

    Quick Jump. 1. Free Downloadable Travel Budget Template. Designed by Vertex42. If your itinerary is going to be jam-packed with lots of stopovers and plenty of travel activities to see and do, the Free Downloadable Travel Budget Template by Vertex42 is an excellent option.

  18. 5 Things to Consider When Costing and Pricing a Tour

    There are essentially five ways that you can do that: Cost-plus pricing involves adding a certain percentage to the cost to fix the price. For example, if the cost of a wine experience is $150 per person. and the marketer expects 12% profit on costs, then the selling price will be $168.

  19. Automatic Tour Cost Calculation for Travel Agencies & DMCs

    If you need to calculate the per person costing then you need to get the cost of every service for every person involved in the Tour which requires more time and effort. Let's take an example of Andaman Tour Query received from B2B agent: - Requirements: Tour: 6 days for Family of 4 Adults and 2 Children (12 Yrs, 8 Yrs) from 25th Dec 2022

  20. 9 Travel Cost Optimization Reports to Consider

    Ultimately this helps in travel cost optimization. 5. Last-Minute Bookings Report. Last-minute flight bookings often cost more. According to a study, if you book a flight 0-6 days in advance, you will pay an average of $220 more.

  21. Travel costs are 'off the charts,' experts say. Here's how to save

    Here are some of the top ways Americans may be able to reduce the overall cost of a trip, according to travel experts. 1. Be flexible with trip timing and location. Being flexible with your plans ...

  22. Thoughtful pricing strategies for tour operators

    4 key pricing considerations. Once you know your objectives, you need to consider the various factors that go into tour pricing. Here are some of the main things to focus on when setting prices for your tours and activities: 1. Know your costs. You simply can't consider pricing without considering operating costs.

  23. Pricing Strategies for Tour Operators

    A mark down pricing strategy requires tour operators to mark down their prices in order to remain competitive. It's ideal during slower months. If the cost for your offering is normally £400 per person, then you might mark down your prices to £299 per person to allow you to (hopefully) earn some profit on each booking, while remaining ...