Corporate Travel Booking- Everything you need to know
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Written by Emma Marais

July 11, 2024

Corporate Travel Booking

Corporate travel booking is a fundamental aspect of corporate travel management and requires strategic planning to ensure your business travellers have an efficient and safe journey. However, navigating all the intricacies of corporate travel can be a daunting task and you may feel unsure where to start.

This article contains corporate travel management essentials to help you navigate your company’s business travel. As well as help you make the right decisions for your corporate travel booking process.

Corporate travel management is no easy task and ensuring all aspects of a business trip are thoroughly planned and organised takes considerable time. Corporate travel agencies have industry experts that can make the corporate travel booking process more simple and effective.

What is Corporate Travel?

Corporate travel, also known as business travel, refers to any travel that is intended for work or business purposes. These purposes may include conferences, client meetings, visiting other offices, training and more.  

What is Corporate Travel Management?

Corporate travel management involves the strategic handling of travel by a company. It includes planning, organising and managing employee travel. The primary aim of corporate travel management is to ensure employees’ journeys are safe and efficient while adhering to the company’s travel policy.

How Do Most Companies Handle Their Corporate Travel?

There are various ways to handle your corporate travels and factors like the company’s size, resources, travel requirements and travel volume are all things that should be considered when deciding which approach is best for your company.

Common approaches to managing Corporate Travel include:

Booking Websites: This allows employees to book airfare, accommodation, car rentals etc via an online booking tool. Employees make their own bookings and then submit receipts to the company for reimbursement.

Travel Agencies: These travel agencies assist with booking flights, accommodation and other travel services.

Travel Management Companies: All aspects of travel management are outsourced to a travel management company (TMC) that specialises in corporate travel. TMCs offer various services that help ensure business travel is efficient and cost-effective.

Why should businesses use Corporate Travel Management Agencies?

Using a TMC also known as a corporate travel agency has many benefits for a company, let’s look at the top three:

Time-Saving: Planning and organising a business trip can take a lot of valuable time. A corporate travel agency will handle all the various tasks of business travel for you, so you have time to focus on other important things in your company.

Reduce Travel costs: One of the biggest benefits of using a corporate travel agency is reduced travel costs. Through their industry expertise, they can save you money on accommodation, airline tickets, insurance and more. Their experience will ensure you receive the best possible rates for your business travel.

Efficiency: Corporate Travel agents ensure all business travellers are safe throughout their journey while adhering to the company’s travel policy.

If you are looking for more benefits of corporate travel agencies then read this article:

Business Travel Agency – What can they do for you?

Corporate Travel Booking

In-House vs External Corporate Travel Management

There are two main ways to handle your Corporate Travel Management :

1. In-house Travel Management:

This is an employee you hire to handle the company’s business travel needs. They are responsible for booking trips, making last-minute changes to itineraries as well as finding ways to save costs and get the best deals for the business traveller and the company. An in-house travel manager will ensure you will be able to work alongside them which allows greater control and makes the planning process easier.

However, an in-house travel manager may have limited expertise compared to a corporate travel agent, this could have an impact on cost savings and travel efficiency. Time constraints can also be an issue as managing business travel is time-consuming and the employee may have other responsibilities leading to time conflicts and a decrease in productivity. Hiring someone for this specific role will also require investment into hiring, training and equipping them for the role.

 

2. External Travel Management Company:

Travel management companies are industry experts who have extensive experience and knowledge when it comes to business travel. This ensures they can maximise your cost savings and get the best rates for your business travels. Not only do they save you money but they can also save you valuable time. As they are an external company you are not paying them a salary but rather a fee or commission every time they make you a booking. They also offer 24/7 support and a dedicated agent meaning they can assist you or your travellers anytime with whatever issue arises.

As they are an external company you don’t have as much control over the travel process. There could also be potential communication gaps through delayed responses or miscommunication which could lead to errors and misunderstandings. Travel management companies also come with additional fees therefore it is important to evaluate the benefits and decide if they outweigh the additional costs of hiring an external travel management company.   

 

What are the Tasks of a Corporate Travel agent?

TMCs offer various services, with corporate travel agents being responsible for the following tasks when it comes to your business travel:

Developing itineraries: A corporate travel agent will ensure all itineraries are thoroughly planned and optimised to ensure an efficient journey for business travellers.

Organising appropriate accommodation: Organising the right accommodation is an extremely important part of corporate travel management. A  corporate travel agent will find business travellers the best accommodation without going over the budget.

Finding the best rates: This is where a travel agent’s expertise shines. They find and negotiate the best rates and have access to special rates not available to the general public.

Organising transportation: This is another key aspect of business travel that can have a big impact on a business traveller’s journey. Corporate travel agents find the best transport options that will ensure the most efficient travel for business travellers.

Organising meetings and events: A corporate travel agent can assist with the planning process of organising meetings and events and can save you time and money.

Managing travel costs and policy compliance: Managing travel costs is the main task of a corporate travel agent. They ensure that all bookings and other travel costs are in line with the travel policy.

 

List of Corporate Travel Management Companies

Outsourcing your corporate travel management can be highly beneficial for your company and can save you time and money. Their experience and knowledge allow for a more smooth and simple planning process.

In the article below we have done the research and have put together a list of the best Travel Management Companies in the UK.

Top 10 Business Travel Agencies UK

This list will help you find the right travel management company for your business travel needs.

 

Corporate travel booking is a complex, time-consuming process that requires a lot of planning and experience for a business trip to be effective. Using a Travel Management Company comes with many benefits that can take your business travel to a new level while saving time and money.

The Travel Group is a leading travel management company that provides companies with a complete travel solution from booking flights to arranging VIP services. They understand that every company has unique business travel needs and create fully customisable solutions. Book a free travel assessment to see what they can do for you and your business travel needs.

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