I book the big trips

The strategic corporate travel booking guide

 

We get it. The corporate travel booking process isn’t always a neat, straight line. Travel needs change, prices fluctuate, and flights sell out. 

There are so many details to juggle. As the corporate travel arranger, you might spend as much time booking the travel as the traveler spends taking the trip! 

corporate travel booking

Corporate travel booking workflow

Messy? Yep. Time-consuming? You betcha. 

But what if you had a strategic workflow to streamline the travel booking process? A repeatable framework you can use to book any trip.

A flexible checklist could help you:

  • Save time and money
  • Minimize the risk of overlooking a tiny detail that could have big implications for your traveler
  • Avoid starting each new booking from scratch

And you don’t need to spend hours creating the perfect travel booking workflow. Just steal ours! 

As experts in corporate travel, this is the checklist we follow to make sure everyone gets where they need to be. Seamlessly. 

Contents

Step 1: Grab the travel details

Your first job: figure out who’s going where, when, and why. 

Instead of going back and forth via email or chasing down travelers to get the details, create a standardized form as part of your travel booking workflow for employees.

In fact, use two forms:

  1. A traveler form. This intake form captures the travelers’ contact info, travel preferences, any accessibility issues, any allergies, etc. Complete this once per traveler and keep the data on file for all future trips. Update only as needed.
  2. A current trip form. This outlines the details of the specific trip you’re booking: Purpose of travel, who’s going, dates, times, and locations of meetings (including what time the traveler needs to arrive to make it to their meeting/event on time).     

Give your travelers a deadline for submitting these forms so you have enough time to research and book the trips. 

Step 2: Scout the trip

This is your early-stage business travel planning. You can’t compare flights until you get a bird’s-eye view of the trip. 

This means answering bigger picture questions like:

  • Will your traveler need a visa?
  • Does your traveler need any vaccinations or immunizations for their destination?
  • Which airport is the closest to their destination? 
  • Which flight paths will get them there on time?
  • Will they need a rental car? Or can they walk or take public transportation? 
  • What risks need to be considered (weather, political unrest, viral outbreaks)?

Step 3: Get policy-compliant approval(s)

Your company may already have general corporate travel policies in place to outline items like preferred suppliers, approved booking platforms, duty of care procedures, and expense reimbursement. 

(If your company doesn’t have this yet, you can grab a free travel policy template online to create a customized policy.)

But you probably still need trip-specific approval before getting into the nitty-gritty research and booking the trip.

The exact corporate travel approval workflow varies by company. But no matter where you work, you need to:

  • Know your corporate travel policies. Keep the policy handy for easy reference. 
  • Get the right approvals. Make sure you know who needs to sign off (and at what point(s) during the planning process) and how to present the trip to them for approval.
  • Understand budget limits. You might need additional approvals for trips that break the standard budget. 

Step 4: Shop travel options

Now you’re ready to dive into the details:

  • Research any air transportation options first. Flights tend to be the most limited, so place this piece of the puzzle early. 
  • Then check into accommodations. Pay attention to locations (like distance from the meeting/event space), any necessary amenities, and any construction going on at the property.
  • Look at ground transportation options. Consider any taxis, rideshares, or car rentals your traveler might need.

As you shop, keep rewards programs, traveler preferences, and corporate travel policy compliance in mind.

And don’t just automatically book the cheapest option. Compare cost vs. productivity. A pricier flight or hotel might be a better value if it better serves your traveler, so they can perform at the top of their game. 

Step 5: Confirm itineraries and book the trip!

Before you click “book now,” double (triple?!) check itineraries with the travelers and get final approvals from management as needed. 

But don’t just pop by their desk for verbal agreement. 

Document their approval as part of your business travel booking best practices.

Even better: Share documentation (the original itinerary, any changes, and all approvals) in one place, accessible to everyone who needs the info. This accessible documentation is helpful for audits and emergencies. You should include traveler support details as well, so your traveler knows what to do and who to call if their middle-of-the-night flight gets cancelled.

With everything confirmed and documented (with the documentation on a shared drive or platform so everyone has what they need), congrats! You’re ready to book the trip!

The easiest way to streamline corporate travel booking? A user-friendly platform!

Corporate travel booking requires such careful attention to detail. It can take hours (okay, sometimes days) to fit all the pieces into place. If you're frustrated by the process, you're not the problem. The process is.

If you're tired of spending so much time booking business trips, treat yourself and your travelers to a corporate travel booking platform!

Corporate Traveler’s Melon can have your trip booked in five minutes. We timed it. 

With all your travelers, preferences, and policies stored in one hyper-convenient platform, there’s no need for countless online searches, annoying tab switching, or frustrating back and forth. 

Melon gives you extra support with every step of your corporate travel arrangements:

  • Traveler profiles. Complete with contact info, travel preferences, loyalty programs, and any special needs on file.
  • At-a-glance trip proposals. No more screenshots! Share your trip proposal with travelers directly in Melon.
  • Built-in travel policy guardrails. Options that don’t comply with your company’s travel policy get flagged during the booking process.
  • Preferred provider tips. See preferred hotel badges and get unused rewards reminders so you know which properties and providers to prioritize. Plus, rates are pre-negotiated to save you money!
  • In-platform approvals and automatic documentation. Streamline the approvals process and fool-proof your record-keeping. 

Real-time updates. Crisis 24 alerts help you stay ahead of potential issues while your travelers are on the move.

Want to streamline your next booking? And every booking after? 

Schedule a meeting with Corporate Traveler to discuss your unique travel needs. 

Your future self will thank you.