How does a travel management company work?
Corporate travel management is outsourced or handled in house. When it is outsourced, it’s usually handled by a corporate travel management company or agency. When corporate travel management is managed in house, it’s typically handled by a corporate travel manager. But that doesn't mean corporate travel management has to handle travel on their own. Corporate Travel management companies offer platforms to support both travel managers and travellers with all things corporate travel.
But how can they accomplish all of that?
Corporate Travel management serves as a one-stop-shop for booking, managing and reporting on business travel.Relationships between corporate travel management companies and airlines, hotels, and car rental providers give users access to the same inventory they would find on consumer websites.
A single booking tool centralizes travel policy guidelines and all employee travel plans so travel managers don't have to chase down receipts or traveller information. Integrations with common expense management platforms reconcile bookings and expenses — all within the same tool.
What does a travel manager do?
A corporate travel manager is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of, and overall strategy behind, a business travel program. A corporate travel manager’s role includes:
1. Creating and enforcing the company’s corporate travel policy.
2. Booking (or facilitating the booking of) travel and accommodations for travellers.
3. Managing traveller safety
4. Overseeing the company’s travel budget.
5. Managing reimbursements for travel expenses.
6. Corporate travel management gets corporate travel where they need to go while keeping the company’s finances top of mind.
What are the greatest challenges in travel management?
With so many moving employees, corporate travel management can be a tricky discipline to master. Challenges in travel management include:
Enforcing corporate travel policy. About one in three American business travellers forego company policy when booking travel for work, citing convenience and price as top reasons for eschewing their corporate travel program’s rules.
Lifting booking roadblocks - Companies are foregoing pre-booking approval in order to lock in the best rates on flights and accommodations.
Bleisure - Business travellers are increasingly extending work trips for leisure.
The rise of AI - Artificial intelligence is facilitating corporate travel management.
Innovation is rapidly changing how companies manage their travel trips and write their travel policy for there customers.
How is AI transforming business travel?
Artificial intelligence is making the lives of business travellers and jobs of corporate travel managers easier. AI is learning (and automatically apply) traveller preferences like hotel locations and favourite seats on flights. When travel managers can spend less time booking, they are able to dedicate more time to strategic business decisions, caring for passengers, and enforcing company travel policies.
Where is the corporate travel industry heading?
The future of corporate travel looks bright. By 2023, business travel will be a $1.67 billion industry. That amounts to 4.1% growth in the market year over year. Group travel is gaining popularity for corporate travellers for things like conferences and retreats, leading to a rise in the use of home-sharing for corporate travel. While traditional hotels used to have a monopoly on accommodations for business trips, 700,000 companies now let their employees book accommodations online. Growth in the corporate travel market, a rise in group business travel, and the popularity of home-sharing have led to the increased need for managed corporate travel programs.
