I used to book flights the way most people do — search on Google Flights, pick the cheapest option, and move on.

Then I started tracking every booking across 200+ business trips over 3 years. Here's what I found:

The average business traveler overpays by $200/trip simply because they book at the wrong time, on the wrong day, through the wrong channel.

A few things that actually move the needle:

• Tuesday/Wednesday departures save 12-18% on domestic routes vs Monday morning flights

• Booking 21-28 days out hits the sweet spot for domestic. International? 60-90 days.

• Hidden city ticketing can cut fares by 30%+ on certain hub routes (but know the risks)

• Corporate rate negotiation — most companies with 10+ travelers/year qualify but never ask

I built BookVoyage because I got tired of leaving money on the table. The tool automates all of this — fare tracking, optimal booking windows, route optimization — so you stop thinking about it.

If you travel for work more than once a month, you're probably leaving $2,000+ on the table annually. That's not a guess — it's what our beta users found when they switched.

Happy to answer questions about travel optimization in the comments.