Should you video conference or travel to a business meeting?
- Suppose you own a profitable small business in Washington, D.C. You desire to hold an essential 1-hour meeting with business executives in New York, NY. You have two options:
- You can fly to New York. You own 25,000 frequent-flyer miles, which you can return to the airline at any time for a free ticket anywhere in the United States. Thus, you need not pay for your flight to New York. Your only expenditures would be for 15-minute cab rides to and from the airport in D.C. (fares = $25 each way) plus 15 - minute cab ride to and from the airport in New York (fares = $25 each way). Or,
- You can use a video conferencing facility. Last January, you paid $3,000 to obtain access to a video conferencing facility located within your office building for one year. You also must pay $125/hour for each hour the facility is used.
You estimate the meeting will be equally effective if held in person or via video conferencing. (Meeting face to face has advantages, but video conferencing may impress the other executives.)
What option should you choose and why? How should you think about this decision?