Options for travel being paid on freelance gigs

Hi, I live in a bad place for air travel and I'm afraid I might lose out on travel gigs for a company I work for(freelancers fly in from multiple locations).

I'd like to offer them a flat rate for my travel expenses, but they refuse... also the production is ran by people who have never worked in video production and have never worked as freelancers.

Any advice or discussion is appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Can you explain better? I didn't get it.
 
Basically, a company I work for has been 'making comments' about the cost of flights from my home town.

I do slightly specialized work on the road(25 gigs per year) and very specialized work for them from home.

We have freelancers come in from multiple locations and the cost of their flights are cheaper by usually 20-40%.

I've offered to give them a flat rate for my cost of travel and add that to my paycheck, but they refuse and insist they must book and pay for the travel.

Trying to figure out how to handle this, also trying to figure out why they refuse to let me save them money when I work for them
 
The company will be able to answer your questions about why they use
the method they use better than I can.

I travel a lot for work. Sometimes I get a flat travel expense but most of
the time the company books all travel. Each company has their own
accounting and billing methods. If yours doesn't pay a flat fee there is
nothing you can do. If your travel expenses are higher than another
freelancer then there is a risk they will hire someone whose travel expenses
are cheaper. Always annoying but a risk freelancers take.

Not sure if this helps but I'm friends with a fellow camera op who lives in
Santa Barbara, CA. Flights from that small airport are higher than flights
from Los Angeles. He was losing gigs so he started flying out of LAX.
 
thanks for your response.

This isn't a huge operation in terms of the production and it's basically the same crew every event and this is the only production unit within in the company.

What I'm trying to propose or rather have tried to propose is to simply raise my work rate by an amount that corresponds to an average flight expense as if i was flying out of the nearby major market.

The only explanation I got was they can't do it... if I truly understood why they can't do it, I might be less frustrated by the scenario. I'm not convinced they even understand what I have proposed.

Also hoping to find a 'how to run a tv production for dummies' book that could be shared with the main guy who does the booking.

Again, thanks for your response
 
Why are you trying to get them to pay you the average flight when you will end up paying more?

Is this because you are afraid they are going to let you go and this is your way of mitigating this situation?

Basically taking a pay cut. If they refuse maybe the cost of the flight is not the actual issue. I have no idea. Feel it out.
 
The only explanation I got was they can't do it...
if I truly understood why they can't do it, I might be less frustrated by the scenario.
I'm not convinced they even understand what I have proposed.
Are you sure he knows you’re concerned you won’t be hired because of your higher flight cost?
Maybe they have strict accounting procedures. Or maybe the booker doesn’t have the authority to do what you want & doesn’t want the hassle of asking someone else for you. What if you talk to someone higher up?
Also hoping to find a 'how to run a tv production for dummies' book that could be shared with the main guy who does the booking.
His reaction to that might be interesting/entertaining :)
Do you think he won’t be offended?
 
The only explanation I got was they can't do it... if I truly understood why they can't do it, I might be less frustrated by the scenario. I'm not convinced they even understand what I have proposed.
In my opinion the only way to truly understand why they can't
do it is to ask them. If they don't understand what you have proposed
then perhaps you need to present your proposal better.

Or...

It's possible that they do understand but have chosen to continue doing
it the way the fell most comfortable.

I understand how frustrating it can be. But in my experience there isn't
a general way all companies should work. Sometimes companies do things
that just seem flat out counterproductive. Are you losing work because of
their decisions?
 
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