Travel management 101: Back to the basics of corporate travel
Traveling for business isn't just about hopping on a plane – it requires structured precision and robust support. As corporate travel grows, so does your need for an efficient travel management program.
This guide includes:
- Business travel management 101
- What is a corporate travel manager?
- What is a travel management company (TMC)?
- Managed vs unmanaged travel
- What is corporate travel tech?
- What is a corporate travel management system?
- Five key parts of an effective travel program
- Why partner with Corporate Traveler?
- Additional resources
What is corporate travel management?
Corporate travel management refers to the strategic planning, coordination, and control of multiple processes - all relating to business travel. Each company has its own unique approach on how to manage corporate travel, but at the end of the day, the primary goal remains the same: guaranteeing safe and cost-effective travel for employees, within the framework of the company's policies and guidelines.
This involves (but is in no way limited to) overseeing travel expenses, mitigating potential travel risks, and ensuring booking processes adhere to the company travel policy.
Businesses navigate travel management through various channels, including:
- Travel management companies (TMC)
- In-house travel manager(s)
- External travel agents
That’s why Corporate Traveler created this guide. It’s packed with indispensable knowledge and pragmatic insights, covering everything from the fundamentals of business travel management to evaluating the advantages of integrating the right travel management software solutions.
Whether you're an aspiring travel manager or a seasoned business professional looking to enhance an existing travel program, this guide serves as your compass through the labyrinth that is corporate travel management.
What is a corporate travel manager?
A corporate travel manager is typically an internal employee who’s responsible for coordinating the business travel program. They’re the architects behind the corporate travel policy, handle duty of care (DOC) and risk management initiatives, as well as assist the company in navigating the global business travel landscape.
Daily duties include:
- Booking trips for employees across various roles
- Tracking departmental travel expenses to stay on budget
- Offering travel support to employees throughout their journey
- Managing the travel vendors or tools being used
- Negotiating corporate rates with frequently used hotels
- Arranging group travel and ground transportation, like rental cars, buses, or trains
- Tracking company travel spend and providing reports for analysis
Side note: When the expertise comes from someone outside the organization, we call those experts corporate travel agents.
What is a travel management company (TMC)?
At the most basic level, a TMC is a specialized corporate travel agency that assists businesses in managing their corporate travel needs.
Like travel managers, TMCs adeptly handle all the nuances involved in corporate travel planning, from handling flights and securing hotel reservations to providing high-quality DOC and analyzing expense reports.
So, what sets them apart? The value of working with a TMC like Corporate Traveler comes from getting holistic travel management services specifically designed to streamline travel processes, optimize costs, as well as facilitate convenient and efficient business travel for your employees.
Is your travel program expanding quickly? An increase in employee travel necessitates stronger travel and expense management. With Corporate Traveler, you can access negotiated rates, analyze your spend, and save across the board – all from anywhere, on any device.
Managed vs. unmanaged travel
Managed travel refers to any business trip planning that is supported by the services and expertise of a TMC. Travel bookings are either made with a dedicated travel consultant or via the travel company’s online booking tool (OBT) - all of which are consolidated into a single, easy-to-digest report.
Unmanaged travel, on the other hand, is where an organization handles its own business travel arrangements. In some cases, travel tasks and responsibilities may be delegated to a travel arranger or assistant. In others, businesses leave employees to book for themselves directly on the airline's website.
When do companies move from self-booking to a managed travel service?
For some businesses, unmanaged travel a highly attractive option. But things aren’t always as they seem.
Unless your whole corporate travel program is basic, infrequently used, and/or easy A-B routes, eventually your corporate travel planning needs will become a hefty lift for one in-house person to handle.
Is your travel program unmanaged? Check out our article on managed vs. unmanaged corporate travel to see some key benefits to a managed program that you might not know you’re missing out on.
What is corporate travel technology?
Travel management software is like a specialized toolbox companies wield to renovate their travel programs. Think of it as software tailor-made to streamline and automate every feature of travel management, including:
- Travel booking
- Travel supplier management
- Approval workflows
- Corporate travel policy enforcement
- Real-time traveler tracking
- Expense management
- Reporting and analytics
These travel management solutions aren’t just confined to desktops! They’re also offered as user-friendly mobile apps, allowing employees to book and manage their business trips without a travel agent or manager.
In a nutshell, this tech is your control tower – a centralized platform steering travel bookings, policies, expenses, and reporting. It hands you the reins, granting you stellar control, efficiency, and a crystal-clear view of all your previously overlooked corporate travel management data.
Remember: Don’t just pick any OBT. Choose a tech solution that knows the importance of connecting every facet of your travel program. This way, you can optimize its efficiency and ability to facilitate smooth cross-department collaboration.
What is a corporate travel management system?
This is a holistic, agile travel tech stack that consists of interdependent software solutions that work together seamlessly to provide end-to-end corporate travel planning. Such a cohesive system gives you the ability to streamline approvals, stay connected to employees wherever they are, and improve business travel compliance.
By integrating different software solutions such as online booking tools, expense management systems, and travel risk management platforms, companies can create a comprehensive travel program that enhances the traveler experience, reduces costs, and improves compliance.
With a travel tech stack in place, companies can also gain greater visibility into employee travel spend, track traveler behaviors, and make data-driven decisions to optimize strategies for their travel program.
Introducing Melon
Our corporate travel platform, Melon, is a lot like having a travel expert with you at all times. One that not only knows corporate travel basics in-and-out, but can manage large-scale requests, complex itineraries, and maintain traveler wellness and duty of care. Melon lets you book, manage, track, and report - from a single, easy-to-use location.
How Melon works:
Using Melon is a simple process, where you first make a booking through the platform. In–policy bookings can be set to automatically approve, while off-policy requests require manual approvals.
Once booked, the itineraries are integrated into your expenses and visible in upcoming trips. In transit, travelers can access 24/7 emergency support in the event of a disruption on the road - anytime, anywhere.
5 key components of an effective corporate travel management program
No matter the size of the organization, number of stakeholders, or software employed, an effective corporate travel management program typically consists of several key components:
1. Inclusive corporate travel policies
This one might seem obvious, but it can’t be stressed enough. Your travel policy is an extension of your travel program and company culture. A travel policy is the glue that holds your travel program together – from approvals, expenses, booking processes, and emergency contacts.
Having a travel policy helps you:
- Control travel costs
- Determine how reimbursement works
- Compile a list of trusted and approved travel vendors
- Manage an employee’s travel experience and safety
- Cut rogue bookings – and simplify approvals
- Budget, report on travel expenses and activity, and reconcile bookings
As a company, your travel policy helps centralize your travel program, makes data and tracking more accurate and easier to navigate, and saves time and money. Plus, if you take the time to craft your policy in an intentional and inclusive way, you’ll have a policy your travelers are happier to follow.
Want to learn how? Check out our guide to corporate travel policies.
2. The “right” corporate travel booking tool
Not all online booking tools are created equal.
Look for a travel platform that helps you develop processes that simplify:
- Travel policy compliance: You've gone through the trouble of building a policy that meets all your travelers' needs. How can you make sure your travelers follow it? A corporate travel management platform, like Melon, allows you to outline your travel policy in the platform, as well as alert bookers when they’re selecting options that fall outside the travel policy guidelines.
- Centralized booking: Booking across different websites and compiling them into one organized itinerary is tricky. Melon brings all the available booking options, including flights, hotels, and transportation, into one platform.
- Preferred vendor integration: Have a preferred airline? Enjoy a specific hotel bed the most? Collecting rental car loyalty points? Melon delivers your preferred vendors first, so you always find what you're looking for. You'll rest easy knowing your travelers are choosing from the negotiated rates and exclusive deals that protect your bottom line.
- Approval workflows: Stop wasting time on exhaustive approvals. With Melon, you can set up a custom approval workflow to make sure that travel requests are routed to the appropriate managers for review. Once approved, Melon takes care of booking the rest.
- Ready-to-scale: Whether you’re growing slowly or at breakneck speed, Melon has a global customer base and purchasing power. It can support you not only in creating a personalized travel program, but also by providing travelers with 24/7 real human support by phone or live chat - no call centers or chatbots!
3. Consolidated reporting and expense management
It’s hard to think strategically about your travel program when your travel spend data is split up amongst several places. This is where consolidating your data into a single travel management company is extremely valuable:
- Centralize your data management: The sheer volume of incoming travel data can be overwhelming. You can spot trends and opportunities to cut travel costs, as well as enhance your travel program, from a single dashboard.
- Leverage the right tools: TMCs offer a range of tools for various aspects of travel management. With the right TMC, you can consolidate the tools you need for reporting, so that you can quickly track everything from travel expenses to carbon emissions.
- Nothing will get past you: One of the most common basic corporate travel challenges companies face with their travel programs is booking leakage, where employees make bookings outside the approved channels. By consolidating your travel data, you can more effectively identify and target booking, supplier, or channel leakage and plug it.
4. Corporate travel discounts & rates
Business travel isn’t cheap. And if it is not managed effectively, it can be a black hole for your company’s budget.
Corporate travel rates are special deals that are offered to companies by travel service providers. These rates are specifically designed to cater to the travel needs of individual businesses, giving them access to more economical options and perks that might not be available to the average solo traveler.
Why? Essentially, travel services providers want to give businesses like yours a more attractive rate, so that they can gain your loyalty and secure a higher volume of business. This includes air travel, hotels, car rentals, and rideshare accounts.
While DIY booking can seem tempting sometimes, booking directly via airline or hotel sites keeps costs and policy checks separate. A corporate travel team centralizes rates, support, and policy compliance, making it easier to leverage insights and build travel strategies based on your data.
So how can you benefit? That’s easy – invest in a full travel management package.
When you partner with us, you can expect greater choices without missing out on business travel savings. With a network spanning 90+ countries and counting, Corporate Traveler can hook you up with ALL the rates.
5. Proactive duty of care
Duty of care is a company’s moral and legal obligation to monitor its employees' safety and security. And when your employees venture beyond the borders of their familiar workspace, their health and safety take center stage.
Most incidents that occur on business trips are not a matter of life-or-death, but they can still be pretty inconvenient. From a stolen phone to food poisoning, small incidents may add up to lost workdays, wasted business trips, and unhappy employees.
To keep your travelers safe, they need support and assistance - no matter where they are. This not only ensures that they’re always safe, but also that they feel safe. The safer your team members feel on their travels, the more relaxed and productive they’ll be - improving staff retention and streamlining their travel experiences.
The best way to ensure your traveler’s safety? Preparation when planning for your business trips. Put a plan in place to reassure your travelers and give them a game plan for every potential situation. With the right prep, you’ll know exactly where all your travelers are and how to reach them at any point in their journey.
Your business travel matters. Make it count.
In the dynamic landscape of corporate travel, success hinges on effective management, nuanced strategies, and unwavering support. And if there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that precision and dedicated guidance are the gateway for streamlined, efficient business travel.
At Corporate Traveler, we understand the intricacies of this realm. Our comprehensive solutions and expert guidance are tailored to elevate your travel program to new heights.
Travel expertise? Anytime. We get you and your travelers where they need to go. You can depend on a team of real people to support you, 24/7.
Latest tech? Always ahead. Innovative booking solutions, real-time updates, and on-demand reporting to take visibility to the next level.
The best fares and rates? Of course. Access the widest range of travel options with the most perks, with superior value, choice, and savings that add up quickly.
More savings? Yes, please! Access all the available content from negotiated fares, custom deals, perks, and Melon exclusive rates.
Business travel is an investment, and it should feel simple. Take your corporate travel planning to the next level, and enjoy exceptional service every step of the way.
With a blend of knowledgeable travel experts and seamless digital experiences, we’ve got you covered from door to door.
Want to make corporate travel easier? Corporate Traveler has your back.
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