In-person or online meeting: how to decide if a trip is worth it

Since video calls became routine, every business trip carries a question: did someone really need to go? In many cases an online meeting does the job with less cost and less time away. In others, skipping the face-to-face meeting is expensive: a contract that does not close, a client who drifts away, a team that loses its bond.

Choosing between an in-person or online meeting gets easier when the company replaces gut feeling with clear criteria. At ArrowTur, which has organized corporate travel since 1989, we see that the companies that travel best are not the ones that travel least, but the ones that know why each trip happens. Here is a practical guide to making that call.

Start with the purpose of the meeting

Before looking at the fare, define what needs to come out of the meeting. Meetings have different goals, and some work very well remotely:

• Work well online: routine check-ins, project follow-ups, results presentations, short training sessions and status meetings.
• Gain from meeting in person: important negotiations, a first meeting with a strategic client, conflict resolution, annual planning, onboarding new teams and site visits that require seeing the place.

A simple rule: the more a meeting depends on trust, reading people or understanding the setting, the more being there makes a difference.

Criteria to decide whether the trip is worth it

A short list of questions helps managers and travelers decide with the same reasoning:

• What is at stake in revenue, contract value or risk?
• Is this a first contact or an established relationship?
• Does the meeting require seeing something up close, such as a construction site, a plant or a product?
• How many people would need to travel, and for how long?
• Can other appointments be grouped into the same trip?
• Could the result be achieved with a good video call and well-prepared material?

If most answers point to high value, a first contact or the need to see the site, the trip tends to pay for itself. If it is a follow-up meeting and everyone already knows each other, online is probably enough.

The real cost of a trip, beyond the ticket

Comparing only the airfare with the zero cost of a video call distorts the analysis. A trip has other costs, and an online meeting has its own as well.

For the trip, add airfare, hotel, local transport, meals and, above all, the employee’s hours away from their routine. On short trips, the time spent getting to the airport and waiting can be longer than the meeting itself.

Online, the cost shows up differently: decisions take longer, more meetings are needed to reach the same result and relationships cool over time. These effects do not appear on the monthly invoice, but they weigh on results.

How to get the most out of each trip

When the decision is to travel, make the trip count. A few practices help:

• Group meetings with other clients, suppliers or the local team into the same trip.
• Choose flight times that allow a same-day return when the agenda is short, or one overnight stay when there are meetings on two days.
• Pick a hotel close to the meetings to cut travel time.
• Book early whenever possible: planned trips usually cost less than last-minute ones.
• Record the purpose of the trip in the approval request, so the company can later assess whether it was achieved.

The hybrid model: alternating in person and online

In practice, most working relationships do best with a mix of both formats. A common pattern is to hold the first meeting and key milestones in person, such as project kick-off, contract renewal and annual planning, and keep day-to-day follow-up online.

With distributed teams the logic is similar: periodic in-person gatherings, such as a managers’ meeting or a convention, strengthen team bonds, while daily work continues remotely. Setting this cadence in advance helps plan the trips and negotiate better terms.

Bring the criteria into the travel policy

So that the decision does not depend on each manager’s mood, include the criteria in the company travel policy. It does not need to be a rigid rule; guidance with examples of when to travel and when to prefer online already standardizes choices. Also follow the reports: trips with a recorded purpose let the company compare spend and results over time and adjust the guidance.

In-person meetings with ArrowTur

When the decision is to travel, ArrowTur handles the logistics so the trip pays off: flight searches with the best times for the agenda, hotels close to the meetings, transfers, application of the company’s travel policy and reports showing spend by traveler, cost center and trip purpose. Our team works Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Brasília time), with an emergency on-call service outside those hours.

Learn about our corporate travel service or contact us. To talk to our sales team, call +55 11 5189-4120 or message us on WhatsApp.

Read also: How to reduce corporate travel costs: 10 practices.

Frequently asked questions

When is an in-person meeting the better choice?

For important negotiations, a first contact with strategic clients, conflict resolution, annual planning and visits that require seeing the site.

Is an online meeting always cheaper?

In direct cost, yes. But slower decisions and cooler relationships also have a cost, so the comparison should consider the expected result.

How can we cut costs when the trip is necessary?

Book early, group appointments into the same trip, choose hotels close to the meetings and use an agency to apply the policy and negotiated fares.